Covering Antarctica. Countries of Antarctica. amazing facts about Antarctica

2. The coldest place on Earth is a high ridge in Antarctica, where the temperature was recorded at -93.2 °C.

3. In some areas of the McMurdo Dry Valleys (the ice-free part of Antarctica) there has been no rain or snow for the last 2 million years.

5. In Antarctica there is a waterfall with water as red as blood, which is explained by the presence of iron, which oxidizes upon contact with air.

9. There are no polar bears in Antarctica (they are only in the Arctic), but there are many penguins.

12. Melting ice in Antarctica caused a slight change in gravity.

13. In Antarctica there is a Chilean town with a school, hospital, hotel, post office, Internet, TV and a network for mobile phones.

14. The Antarctic ice sheet has existed for at least 40 million years.

15. There are lakes in Antarctica that never freeze due to the heat emanating from the bowels of the Earth.

16. The highest temperature ever recorded in Antarctica was 14.5 °C.

17. Since 1994, the use of sled dogs has been prohibited on the continent.

18. Mount Erebus in Antarctica is the southernmost active volcano on Earth.

19. Once upon a time (more than 40 million years ago) it was as hot in Antarctica as in California.

20. There are seven Christian churches on the continent.

21. Ants, whose colonies are distributed over almost the entire land surface of the planet, are absent from Antarctica (as well as from Iceland, Greenland and several remote islands).

22. The territory of Antarctica is larger than Australia by approximately 5.8 million square kilometers.

23. Most of Antarctica is covered with ice, approximately 1% of the land is free from ice cover.

24. In 1977, Argentina sent a pregnant woman to Antarctica so that the Argentine baby would become the first person born on this harsh continent.

Antarctica is a continent located in the south. It is washed by the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, and also includes islands located within 50-60 degrees south latitude, where warm and cool ocean waters meet. Waves in local seas sometimes rise to 20 meters. In winter, the water is covered with ice, framing Antarctica in a circle, the scale of which is 500-2000 km. In summer, currents carry ice north along with icebergs. The area of the continent is approximately 14,107,000 km2, of which 930,000 km2 are ice shelves, 75,500 km2 are islands.

Opening history I

The discovery of Antarctica happened in the 20s of the 19th century, it was made by Russian travelers F.F. Bellingshausen and M.P. Lazarev. But they only testified to the existence of a new piece of land during navigation. American navigators were the first to enter the continent almost a year after the discovery of land by the Russians.

Climate

The warmest time in Antarctica falls from November to February - this is spring and summer in the Southern Hemisphere. On the shores, the temperature sometimes rises to 0 degrees, and near the cold pole the air freezes to -30 degrees. The lowest temperature is from March to October, when the temperature drops to -75 degrees.

Flora

The flora of the mainland is very sparse. The specificity of the surrounding world of Antarctica is explained by its cold environment. Mostly aquatic plants grow here - about 700 forms. The lowlands and shores of land, independent of ice, are covered with mosses and lichens. There are only 2 types of color flora here - Quito colobanthus and Antarctic meadow grass.

Fauna

The individuality of the mainland's fauna is associated with harsh weather. The entire population of animals lives in areas where vegetation is located. The fauna of Antarctica is divided into aquatic and terrestrial; those living only on land do not live here. The surrounding waters are abundant in plankton, which is the main food source for pinnipeds, whales and penguins. The fresh waters of lakes are inhabited by roundworms, blue-green algae, and small crustaceans. There are 4 species of penguins living in Antarctica, the largest population being the emperor. Elephant seals and leopards live on the shores. There are especially many invertebrates on the continent: 67 forms of ticks, 4 types of lice were found here, there are fleas and mosquitoes, most of which were brought to these parts by birds.

Conclusion

In 1959, an agreement was concluded according to which Antarctica is an international zone. The territory may be used by any country exclusively for peaceful purposes. A special document does not allow any extraction of minerals from its depths until 2048.

Option 2

Among the seven continents in the world, Antarctica is the most unique continent covered with ice and snow. Since there is no rain in Antarctica, we can say that this continent is a desert. The area of Antarctica is more than 14 million sq. km. The central point of the South Pole of our planet practically coincides with the center of this continent.

Almost 90 percent of clean water is stored in the Antarctic ice sheet. The deepest ice in Antarctica reaches 3 to 4 kilometers.

In 1994, a very rare lake was discovered in Antarctica, which was located under the Antarctic ice sheet at a depth of more than 3 km. It was called “Lake Vostok”. All the water in the lake is in a liquid state. This can be observed using radar.

The size of Antarctica's ice sheets is so large that if they melt, water could easily flood London, New York and Hong Kong. The level of the World Ocean will reach almost 67 meters.

Emilio Palma, a citizen of Argentina, is the first person born in Antarctica. He was born on January 7, 1978.

In Antarctica, there is Don Juan Pond, where the salt level is so high that large, heavy things can easily float on the surface of the water. This pond is almost twenty times saltier than ocean waters.

Antarctica has no native inhabitants, making it the only uninhabited continent on the planet. During the summer season, about four thousand scientists conduct scientific research in Antarctica; about a thousand people remain for the winter season.

Emperor penguins live in Antarctica. They are the largest penguins in the world and reach a height of about 1 meter. Seals also live here. Ants live on almost every continent on earth except Antarctica.

Compared to the Arctic region, Antarctica has very few plants due to its extremely cold climate. In addition, on this continent there is not enough sunlight for plants to fully grow, the quality of the soil is not very good, there is also a lack of moisture and extremely low temperatures. As a result of such climatic conditions, plants grow in a very limited area of land. There are about 100 different species of mosses that grow only for a few weeks or even days in the summer.

The largest mountain height in Antarctica measures about 4.9 km.

Antarctica is also the windiest continent on Earth.

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The Vatican State is sovereign, located in the west of Rome, but at the same time has complete independence from Italy

Message Algae in human life (7th grade report)

Algae are lower plants. Their role in human life is quite large. Like other plants, algae carry out the process of photosynthesis.

Antarctica- a continent located in the very south of the Earth, the center of Antarctica approximately coincides with the southern geographic pole. Antarctica is washed by the waters of the Southern Ocean.
The area of the continent is about 14,107,000 km² (of which ice shelves - 930,000 km², islands - 75,500 km²).

Antarctica is also called the part of the world consisting of the mainland of Antarctica and adjacent islands.

Antarctica map - open

Opening

Antarctica was officially discovered on January 16 (28), 1820 by a Russian expedition led by Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev, who approached it at the point on the sloops Vostok and Mirny 69°21′ S w. 2°14′ W d.(G) (O) (region of the modern Bellingshausen Ice Shelf). Previous existence of the southern continent (lat. Terra Australis) was stated hypothetically, it was often combined with South America (for example, on the map compiled by Piri Reis in 1513) and Australia (named after the “southern continent”). However, it was the expedition of Bellingshausen and Lazarev in the south polar seas, circumnavigating the Antarctic ice around the world, that confirmed the existence of a sixth continent.

The first to set foot on the continental part were on January 24, 1895, the captain of the Norwegian ship "Antarctic" Christensen and natural science teacher Karsten Borchgrevink.

Geographical division

The territory of Antarctica is divided into geographical areas and regions discovered years earlier by various travelers. The area being explored and named after the discoverer (or others) is called "land".

Official list of lands of Antarctica:

Queen Maud Land
Wilkes Land
Victoria Land
Mary Byrd Land
Ellsworth Land

Relief

Antarctica is the highest continent on Earth; the average height of the continent's surface above sea level is more than 2000 m, and in the center of the continent it reaches 4000 meters. Most of this height is made up of a permanent ice cover of the continent, under which the continental relief is hidden and only 0.3% (about 40 thousand km²) of its area is free from ice - mainly in West Antarctica and the Transantarctic Mountains: islands, sections of the coast, etc. n. “dry valleys” and individual ridges and mountain peaks (nunataks) rising above the icy surface. The Transantarctic Mountains, crossing almost the entire continent, divide Antarctica into two parts - West Antarctica and East Antarctica, which have different origins and geological structures. In the east there is a high (highest elevation of the ice surface ~4100 m above sea level) ice-covered plateau. The western part consists of a group of mountainous islands connected by ice. On the Pacific coast are the Antarctic Andes, whose altitude exceeds 4000 m; the highest point on the continent is 5140 m above sea level - the Vinson Massif in the Ellsworth Mountains. In West Antarctica there is also the deepest depression of the continent - the Bentley Trench, probably of rift origin. The depth of the ice-filled Bentley Trench reaches 2555 m below sea level.

Subglacial relief

Research using modern methods has made it possible to learn more about the subglacial topography of the southern continent. As a result of research, it turned out that about a third of the continent lies below the level of the world ocean; research also showed the presence of mountain ranges and massifs.

The western part of the continent has complex terrain and large elevation changes. Here are the highest mountain (Vinson Mountain 5140 m) and the deepest depression (Bentley Trough −2555 m) in Antarctica. The Antarctic Peninsula is a continuation of the South American Andes, which stretch towards the south pole, slightly deviating from it to the western sector.

The eastern part of the continent has a predominantly smooth topography, with individual plateaus and mountain ranges up to 3-4 km high. In contrast to the western part, which is composed of young Cenozoic rocks, the eastern part is a protrusion of the crystalline foundation of a platform that was previously part of Gondwana.

The continent has relatively low volcanic activity. The largest volcano is Mount Erebus on Ross Island in the sea of the same name.

Studies of subglacial relief conducted by NASA have discovered a crater of asteroid origin in Antarctica. The diameter of the crater is 482 km. The crater was formed when an asteroid with a diameter of about 48 kilometers (larger than Eros) fell to Earth, approximately 250 million years ago, in the Permian-Triassic period. The asteroid did not cause much harm to the nature of the Earth, but the dust raised during the fall led to centuries-long cooling and the death of most of the flora and fauna of that era. This crater is currently considered the largest on Earth.

Ice sheet

The Antarctic ice sheet is the largest on our planet and is approximately 10 times larger in area than the next largest, the Greenland Ice Sheet. It contains ~30 million km³ of ice, that is, 90% of all land ice. Due to the severity of the ice, as studies by geophysicists show, the continent subsided by an average of 0.5 km, as indicated by its relatively deep shelf. The ice sheet in Antarctica contains about 80% of all fresh water on the planet; if it melted completely, sea levels would rise by almost 60 meters (for comparison, if the Greenland ice sheet were to melt, sea levels would rise by only 8 meters).

The ice sheet has a dome shape with increasing surface steepness towards the coast, where it is framed in many places by ice shelves. The average thickness of the ice layer is 2500-2800 m, reaching a maximum value in some areas of East Antarctica - 4800 m. The accumulation of ice on the ice sheet leads, as in the case of other glaciers, to the flow of ice into the ablation (destruction) zone, which acts as continental coast; the ice breaks off in the form of icebergs. The annual volume of ablation is estimated at 2500 km³.

A special feature of Antarctica is the large area of ice shelves (low (blue) areas of West Antarctica), which accounts for ~10% of the area above sea level; these glaciers are the source of icebergs of record sizes, significantly exceeding the size of the icebergs of the outlet glaciers of Greenland; for example, in 2000, the largest currently known iceberg (2005), B-15, with an area of over 10 thousand km², broke off from the Ross Ice Shelf. In winter (summer in the Northern Hemisphere), the area of sea ice around Antarctica increases to 18 million km², and in summer it decreases to 3-4 million km².

The ice cover of Antarctica formed about 14 million years ago, which was apparently facilitated by the rupture of the bridge connecting South America and the Antarctic Peninsula, which led, in turn, to the formation of the Antarctic circumpolar current (Western Wind Current) and the isolation of Antarctic waters from the World ocean - these waters make up the so-called Southern Ocean.

Climate

Antarctica has an extremely harsh cold climate. In East Antarctica, at the Soviet Antarctic station Vostok, on July 21, 1983, the lowest air temperature on Earth in the entire history of meteorological measurements was recorded: 89.2 degrees below zero. The area is considered the Earth's pole of cold. Average temperatures in the winter months (June, July, August) are from −60 to −70 °C, in the summer months (December, January, February) from −30 to −50 °C; on the coast in winter from −8 to −35 °C, in summer 0-5 °C.

Another feature of the meteorology of East Antarctica is the katabatic winds caused by its dome-shaped topography. These stable southerly winds arise on fairly steep slopes of the ice sheet due to the cooling of the air layer near the ice surface, the density of the near-surface layer increases, and it flows down the slope under the influence of gravity. The thickness of the air flow layer is usually 200-300 m; Due to the large amount of ice dust carried by the wind, horizontal visibility in such winds is very low. The strength of the katabatic wind is proportional to the steepness of the slope and reaches its greatest values in coastal areas with a high slope towards the sea. The katabatic winds reach their maximum strength in the Antarctic winter - from April to November they blow almost continuously around the clock, from November to March - at night or when the Sun is low above the horizon. In summer, during the daytime, due to the heating of the surface layer of air by the sun, katabatic winds along the coast cease.

Data on temperature changes from 1981 to 2007 show that the temperature background in Antarctica changed unevenly. For West Antarctica as a whole, an increase in temperature has been observed, while for East Antarctica no warming has been detected, and even some decline has been noted. It is unlikely that the melting of Antarctica's glaciers will increase significantly in the 21st century. On the contrary, as temperatures rise, the amount of snow falling on the Antarctic ice sheet is expected to increase. However, due to warming, more intense destruction of ice shelves and acceleration of the movement of Antarctica's outlet glaciers, throwing ice into the World Ocean, is possible.

Population

In the 19th century, several whaling bases existed on the Antarctic Peninsula and surrounding islands. Subsequently, they were all abandoned.

The harsh climate of Antarctica prevents its settlement. Currently, there is no permanent population in Antarctica; there are several dozen scientific stations where, depending on the season, there live from 4,000 people (150 Russian citizens) in the summer and about 1,000 in the winter (about 100 Russian citizens).

In 1978, the first person in Antarctica, Emilio Marcos Palma, was born at the Argentine station Esperanza.

Antarctica has been assigned a top-level Internet domain .aq and telephone prefix +672 .

Status of Antarctica

In accordance with the Antarctic Convention, signed on December 1, 1959 and entered into force on June 23, 1961, Antarctica does not belong to any state. Only scientific activities are permitted.

The deployment of military facilities, as well as the entry of warships and armed vessels south of 60 degrees south latitude are prohibited.

In the 1980s, Antarctica was also declared a nuclear-free zone, which excluded the appearance of nuclear-powered ships in its waters, and nuclear power units on the mainland.

Currently, 28 states (with voting rights) and dozens of observer countries are parties to the treaty.

Antarctica (Greek ἀνταρκτικός - the opposite of the Arctic) is a continent located in the very south of the Earth, the center of Antarctica approximately coincides with the southern geographic pole. Antarctica is washed by the waters of the Southern Ocean.

The area of the continent is about 14,107,000 km² (of which ice shelves - 930,000 km², islands - 75,500 km²).

Antarctica is also called the part of the world consisting of the mainland of Antarctica and adjacent islands.

Discovery of the continent of Antarctica

Antarctica was discovered on January 16 (28), 1820 by a Russian expedition led by Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev, who approached it at the point 69°21′ S on the sloops “Vostok” and “Mirny”. w. 2°14′ W d. (G) (O) (region of the modern Bellingshausen ice shelf). Previously, the existence of the southern continent (lat. Terra Australis) was stated hypothetically; it was often combined with South America (for example, on the map compiled by Piri Reis in 1513) and Australia. However, it was the expedition of Bellingshausen and Lazarev in the south polar seas, circumnavigating the Antarctic ice around the world, that confirmed the existence of a sixth continent.

The first to enter the continent were probably the crew of the American ship Cecilia on February 7, 1821. The exact location of the landing is unknown, but it is believed to have occurred at Hughes Bay (64°13′S 61°20′W (G)(O)). This statement of landing on the continent is one of the earliest. The most accurate is the statement about the landing on the mainland (Davis Coast) from the Norwegian businessman Henrik Johann Bull, dating back to 1895.

Geographical division

Official list of lands of Antarctica:

Queen Maud Land
Wilkes Land
Victoria Land
Mary Byrd Land
Ellsworth Land
Kotsa Land
Enderby Land

The northernmost point of the continent is Prime Head.

Antarctica is the highest continent on Earth; the average height of the continent's surface above sea level is more than 2000 m, and in the center of the continent it reaches 4000 meters. Most of this height is made up of the permanent ice cover of the continent, under which the continental relief is hidden and only 0.3% (about 40 thousand km²) of its area is free from ice - mainly in West Antarctica and the Transantarctic Mountains: islands, sections of the coast, etc. n. “dry valleys” and individual ridges and mountain peaks (nunataks) rising above the icy surface. The Transantarctic Mountains, crossing almost the entire continent, divide Antarctica into two parts - West Antarctica and East Antarctica, which have different origins and geological structures. In the east there is a high (highest elevation of the ice surface ~4100 m above sea level) ice-covered plateau. The western part consists of a group of mountainous islands connected by ice. On the Pacific coast are the Antarctic Andes, whose altitude exceeds 4000 m; the highest point on the continent is 5140 m above sea level - the Vinson Massif in the Ellsworth Mountains. In West Antarctica there is also the deepest depression of the continent - the Bentley depression, probably of rift origin. The depth of the ice-filled Bentley Trench reaches 2555 m below sea level.

The continent has relatively low volcanic activity. The largest volcano is Mount Erebus on Ross Island in the sea of the same name.

Subglacial studies conducted by NASA have discovered a crater of asteroid origin in Antarctica. The diameter of the crater is 482 km. The crater was formed when an asteroid with a diameter of about 48 kilometers (larger than Eros) fell to Earth, approximately 250 million years ago, during the Permian-Triassic time. The dust raised during the fall and explosion of the asteroid led to centuries-long cooling and the death of most of the flora and fauna of that era. This crater is currently considered the largest on Earth.

If the glaciers completely melt, the area of Antarctica will be reduced by a third: Western Antarctica will turn into an archipelago, and eastern Antarctica will remain a continent. According to other sources, all of Antarctica will turn into an archipelago.

The Antarctic ice sheet is the largest on our planet and is approximately 10 times larger in area than the nearest largest, the Greenland Ice Sheet. It contains ~30 million km³ of ice, that is, 90% of all land ice. Due to the severity of the ice, as studies by geophysicists show, the continent subsided by an average of 0.5 km, as indicated by its relatively deep shelf. The ice sheet in Antarctica contains about 80% of all fresh water on the planet; if it melted completely, sea levels would rise by almost 60 meters (for comparison, if the Greenland ice sheet were to melt, sea levels would rise by only 8 meters).

The age of the ice sheet at the top can be determined from annual layers consisting of winter and summer deposits, as well as from marker horizons that carry information about global events (for example, volcanic eruptions). But at great depths, to determine the age, numerical modeling of ice spreading is used, which is based on knowledge of the relief, temperature, rate of snow accumulation, etc.

According to Academician Vladimir Mikhailovich Kotlyakov, the continental ice sheet formed no later than 5 million years ago, but, more likely, 30-35 million years ago. This was apparently facilitated by the rupture of the bridge connecting South America and the Antarctic Peninsula, which led, in turn, to the formation of the Antarctic circumpolar current (Western Wind Current) and the isolation of the Antarctic waters from the World Ocean - these waters make up the so-called Southern Ocean.

Geological structure

Geological structure of East Antarctica

East Antarctica is an ancient Precambrian continental platform (craton) similar to those of India, Brazil, Africa and Australia. All these cratons were formed during the breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana. The age of the crystalline basement rocks is 2.5-2.8 billion years, the oldest rocks of Enderby Land are more than 3 billion years old.

The foundation is covered by a younger sedimentary cover, formed 350-190 million years ago, mainly of marine origin. In layers with an age of 320-280 million years, there are glacial deposits, but younger ones contain fossil remains of plants and animals, including ichthyosaurs, which indicates a strong difference in the climate of that time from the modern one. Findings of heat-loving reptiles and fern flora were made by the first explorers of Antarctica and served as one of the strongest evidence of large-scale horizontal plate movements, confirming the concept of plate tectonics.

Seismic activity. Volcanism

Antarctica is a tectonically calm continent with little seismic activity; manifestations of volcanism are concentrated in West Antarctica and are associated with the Antarctic Peninsula, which arose during the Andean period of mountain building. Some of the volcanoes, especially island volcanoes, have erupted in the last 200 years. The most active volcano in Antarctica is Erebus. It is called “the volcano guarding the path to the South Pole.”

Climate

Antarctica has an extremely harsh cold climate. In East Antarctica, at the Soviet Antarctic station Vostok, on July 21, 1983, the lowest air temperature on Earth in the entire history of meteorological measurements was recorded: 89.2 degrees below zero. The area is considered the Earth's pole of cold. Average temperatures in the winter months (June, July, August) are from −60 to −75 °C, in the summer months (December, January, February) from −30 to −50 °C; on the coast in winter from −8 to −35 °C, in summer 0-5 °C.

Due to the fact that not only the average annual temperature, but also in most areas even summer temperatures in Antarctica do not exceed zero degrees, precipitation there falls only in the form of snow (rain is an extremely rare occurrence). It forms an ice sheet (snow is compressed under its own weight) more than 1,700 m thick, in some places reaching 4,300 m. About 80% of all fresh water on Earth is concentrated in Antarctic ice. However, there are lakes in Antarctica, and in the summer, rivers. The rivers are fed by glaciers. Thanks to intense solar radiation, due to the exceptional transparency of the air, the melting of glaciers occurs even at slightly negative air temperatures. On the surface of the glacier, often at a considerable distance from the coast, streams of melt water form. The most intense melting occurs near oases, next to rocky soil heated in the sun. Since all streams are fed by the melting of the glacier, their water and level regimes are completely determined by the course of air temperature and solar radiation. The highest flows in them are observed during the hours of the highest air temperatures, that is, in the afternoon, and the lowest - at night, and often at this time the riverbeds dry out completely. As a rule, glacier streams and rivers have very winding channels and connect numerous glacier lakes. Open channels usually end before reaching the sea or lake, and the watercourse makes its way further under the ice or in the thickness of the glacier, like underground rivers in karst areas.

With the onset of autumn frosts, the flow stops, and deep channels with steep banks are covered with snow or blocked by snow bridges. Sometimes almost constant snow drifts and frequent snowstorms block the beds of streams even before the flow stops, and then the streams flow in ice tunnels, completely invisible from the surface. Like cracks in glaciers, they are dangerous, as heavy vehicles can fall into them. If the snow bridge is not strong enough, it may collapse under the weight of a person. The rivers of Antarctic oases, flowing through the ground, usually do not exceed a length of several kilometers. The largest is the river. Onyx, more than 20 km long. Rivers exist only in summer.

Antarctic lakes are no less unique. Sometimes they are classified as a special, Antarctic type. They are located in oases or dry valleys and are almost always covered with a thick layer of ice. However, in the summer, a strip of open water several tens of meters wide forms along the banks and at the mouths of temporary watercourses. Often, lakes are stratified. At the bottom there is a layer of water with increased temperature and salinity, as, for example, in Lake Vanda (English) Russian. In some small closed lakes, the concentration of salt is significantly increased and they can be completely free of ice. For example, lake Don Juan, with a high concentration of calcium chloride in its waters, freezes only at very low temperatures. Antarctic lakes are small, only some of them are larger than 10 km² (Lake Vanda, Lake Figurnoe). The largest of the Antarctic lakes is Lake Figurnoye in the Banger oasis. Curiously meandering among the hills, it stretches for 20 kilometers. Its area is 14.7 km², and its depth exceeds 130 meters. The deepest is Lake Radok, its depth reaches 362 m.

There are lakes on the coast of Antarctica that were formed as a result of the backwater of snowfields or small glaciers. Water in such lakes sometimes accumulates for several years until its level rises to the upper edge of the natural dam. Then excess water begins to flow out of the lake. A channel is formed, which quickly deepens, and the water flow increases. As the channel deepens, the water level in the lake drops and it shrinks in size. In winter, the dry riverbed is covered with snow, which gradually becomes compacted, and the natural dam is restored. In the next summer season, the lake begins to fill with meltwater again. Several years pass until the lake is filled and its waters again break into the sea.

Comparing Antarctica with other continents, it can be noted that there are absolutely no wetlands on the South Polar Continent. However, in the coastal strip there are peculiar glacial “swamps”. They form in summer in depressions filled with snow and firn. Melt water flowing into these depressions moistens the snow and firn, resulting in a snow-water porridge, viscous, like ordinary swamps. The depth of such “swamps” is most often insignificant - no more than a meter. On top they are covered with a thin ice crust. Like real swamps, they are sometimes impassable even for tracked vehicles: a tractor or all-terrain vehicle that gets stuck in such a place, stuck in a snow-water slurry, will not get out without outside help.

In the 1990s, Russian scientists discovered the subglacial non-freezing Lake Vostok - the largest of the Antarctic lakes, having a length of 250 km and a width of 50 km; the lake holds about 5,400 thousand km³ of water.

In January 2006, geophysicists Robin Bell and Michael Studinger from the American Lamont-Doherty Geophysical Observatory discovered the second and third largest subglacial lakes, with an area of 2000 km² and 1600 km² respectively, located at a depth of about 3 km from the surface of the continent. They reported that this could have been done earlier if the data from the 1958-1959 Soviet expedition had been analyzed more thoroughly. In addition to these data, satellite data, radar readings and measurements of the force of gravity on the surface of the continent were used.

In total, as of 2007, more than 140 subglacial lakes were discovered in Antarctica.

As a result of global warming, tundra began to actively form on the Antarctic Peninsula. Scientists predict that in 100 years the first trees may appear in Antarctica.

The oasis on the Antarctic Peninsula covers an area of 400 km², the total area of oases is 10 thousand km², and the area of non-ice areas (including snow-free rocks) is 30-40 thousand km².

The biosphere in Antarctica is represented in four “arenas of life”: coastal islands and ice, coastal oases on the mainland (for example, the “Banger Oasis”), the nunataks arena (Mount Amundsen near Mirny, Mount Nansen on Victoria Land, etc.) and the ice sheet arena .

Plants include flowering plants, ferns (on the Antarctic Peninsula), lichens, fungi, bacteria, and algae (in oases). Seals and penguins live on the coast.

Plants and animals are most common in the coastal zone. Terrestrial vegetation in ice-free areas exists mainly in the form of various types of mosses and lichens and does not form a continuous cover (Antarctic moss-lichen deserts).

Antarctic animals are completely dependent on the coastal ecosystem of the Southern Ocean: due to the paucity of vegetation, all food chains of any significance in coastal ecosystems begin in the waters surrounding Antarctica. Antarctic waters are particularly rich in zooplankton, primarily krill. Krill directly or indirectly form the basis of the food chain of many species of fish, cetaceans, squid, seals, penguins and other animals; There are no completely land mammals in Antarctica; invertebrates are represented by approximately 70 species of arthropods (insects and arachnids) and nematodes living in soils.

Terrestrial animals include seals (Weddell, crabeater seals, leopard seals, Ross seals, elephant seals) and birds (several species of petrels (Antarctic, snowy), two species of skuas, Arctic tern, Adélie penguins and emperor penguins).

In the freshwater lakes of continental coastal oases - “dry valleys” - there are oligotrophic ecosystems inhabited by blue-green algae, roundworms, copepods (cyclops) and daphnia, while birds (petrels and skuas) fly here occasionally.

Nunataks are characterized only by bacteria, algae, lichens and severely suppressed mosses; only skuas, following people, occasionally fly onto the ice sheet.

There is an assumption about the presence in subglacial lakes of Antarctica, such as Lake Vostok, of extremely oligotrophic ecosystems, practically isolated from the outside world.

In 1994, scientists reported a rapid increase in the number of plants in Antarctica, which seems to confirm the hypothesis of global warming of the planet.

The Antarctic Peninsula and its adjacent islands have the most favorable climatic conditions on the mainland. It is here that two species of flowering plants found in the region grow - Antarctic meadowsweet and Quito colobanthus.

Man and Antarctica

In preparation for the International Geophysical Year, about 60 bases and stations belonging to 11 states were founded on the coast, ice sheet and islands (including Soviet - Mirny Observatory, Oasis, Pionerskaya, Vostok-1, Komsomolskaya and Vostok stations, American - Amudsen -Scott at the South Pole, Baird, Hulett, Wilkes and McMurdo).

Since the late 1950s. Oceanological work is being carried out in the seas washing the continent, and regular geophysical research is being carried out at stationary continental stations; Expeditions into the continent are also being undertaken. Soviet scientists carried out a sleigh-and-tractor trip to the Geomagnetic Pole (1957), the Pole of Relative Inaccessibility (1958), and the South Pole (1959). American researchers traveled on all-terrain vehicles from Little America station to Baird station and further to Sentinel station (1957), in 1958-1959 from Ellsworth station through the Dufeka massif to Baird station; English and New Zealand scientists on tractors in 1957-1958 crossed Antarctica through the South Pole from the Wedell Sea to the Ross Sea. Australian, Belgian and French scientists also worked in the interior of Antarctica. In 1959, an international treaty on Antarctica was concluded, which contributed to the development of cooperation in the study of the ice continent.

History of the study of the continent

The first ship to cross the Antarctic Circle belonged to the Dutch; it was commanded by Dirk Geeritz, who sailed in the squadron of Jacob Magyu. In 1559, in the Strait of Magellan, Geeritz's ship lost sight of the squadron after a storm and went south. When it dropped to 64° S. sh., high ground was discovered there. In 1675 La Roche discovered South Georgia; Bouvet Island was discovered in 1739; In 1772, in the Indian Ocean, Yves-Joseph Kerglen, a French naval officer, discovered an island named after him.

Almost simultaneously with Kerglen’s voyage, James Cook set off from England on his first voyage to the Southern Hemisphere, and already in January 1773, his ships “Adventure” and “Resolution” crossed the Antarctic Circle at the meridian 37°33′E. d. After a difficult struggle with ice, he reached 67°15′ S. sh., where he was forced to turn north. In December 1773, Cook again set off for the southern ocean, crossing it on December 8 and at parallel 67°5′ S. w. was covered in ice. Having freed himself, Cook went further south and at the end of January 1774 reached 71°15′ S. sh., southwest of Tierra del Fuego. Here an impenetrable wall of ice prevented him from going further. Cook was one of the first to reach the south polar seas and, having encountered solid ice in several places, declared that it could not be penetrated further. They believed him and did not undertake polar expeditions for 45 years.

The first geographical discovery of land south of 60° S. (modern "political Antarctica", governed by the Antarctic Treaty system) was accomplished by the English merchant William Smith, who stumbled upon Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands, on February 19, 1819.

In 1819, Russian sailors F.F. Bellingshausen and M.P. Lazarev, on the sloops of war "Vostok" and "Mirny", visited South Georgia and tried to penetrate into the depths of the Arctic Ocean. For the first time, on January 28, 1820, almost on the Greenwich meridian, they reached 69°21′ S. w. and discovered modern Antarctica itself; then, leaving the Arctic Circle, Bellingshausen walked along it east to 19° east. d., where he crossed it again and reached in February 1820 again almost the same latitude (69°6′). Further east, he rose only to the 62° parallel and continued his path along the outskirts of the floating ice. Then, on the meridian of the Balleny Islands, Bellingshausen reached 64°55′, and in December 1820 reached 161°w. d., passed the Antarctic Circle and reached 67°15′ S. latitude, and in January 1821 reached 69°53′ S. w. Almost at the 81° meridian, he discovered the high coast of the island of Peter I, and having gone further east, inside the Antarctic Circle, the coast of Alexander I Land. Thus, Bellingshausen was the first to complete a complete voyage around Antarctica at latitudes from 60° to 70°.

In 1838-1842, the American Charles Wilkes explored a part of Antarctica, named after him Wilkes Land. In 1839-1840, the Frenchman Jules Dumont-D'Urville discovered Adélie Land, and in 1841-1842 the Englishman James Ross discovered the Ross Sea and Victoria Land. The first landing on the shores of Antarctica and the first wintering was made by the Norwegian expedition of Karsten Borchgrevink in 1895.

After this, the study of the coast of the continent and its interior began. Numerous studies were carried out by English expeditions led by Ernest Shackleton (he wrote the book “In the Heart of Antarctica” about them). In 1911-1912, a real race to conquer the South Pole began between the expedition of the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and the expedition of the Englishman Robert Scott. The first to reach the South Pole were Amundsen, Olaf Bjaland, Oscar Wisting, Helmer Hansen and Sverre Hassel; a month after him, Scott's party arrived at the cherished point, but died on the way back.

From the middle of the 20th century, the study of Antarctica began on an industrial basis. On the continent, various countries are creating numerous permanent bases that conduct meteorological, glaciological and geological research all year round. On December 14, 1958, the third Soviet Antarctic expedition, led by Evgeniy Tolstikov, reached the South Pole of Inaccessibility and established a temporary station there, the Pole of Inaccessibility.

In the 19th century, several whaling bases existed on the Antarctic Peninsula and surrounding islands. Subsequently, they were all abandoned.

In 1978, the first man of Antarctica, Emilio Marcos Palma, was born at the Argentine station Esperanza.

Antarctica has been assigned the top-level Internet domain .aq and the telephone prefix +672.

Status of Antarctica

In accordance with the Antarctic Convention, signed on December 1, 1959 and entered into force on June 23, 1961, Antarctica does not belong to any state. Only scientific activities are permitted.

The deployment of military facilities, as well as the entry of warships and armed vessels south of 60 degrees south latitude are prohibited.

In the 1980s, Antarctica was also declared a nuclear-free zone, which excluded the appearance of nuclear-powered ships in its waters, and nuclear power units on the mainland.

Currently, 28 states (with voting rights) and dozens of observer countries are parties to the treaty.

Territorial claims

However, the existence of a treaty does not mean that the states that joined it renounced their territorial claims to the continent and the surrounding area. On the contrary, the territorial claims of some countries are enormous. For example, Norway claims a territory ten times larger than its own (including the island of Peter I, discovered by the Bellingshausen-Lazarev expedition). Great Britain declared huge territories as its own. The British intend to extract ore and hydrocarbon resources on the Antarctic shelf. Australia considers almost half of Antarctica its own, into which, however, the “French” Adélie Land is wedged. New Zealand also made territorial claims. Great Britain, Chile and Argentina claim almost the same territory, including the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands. No country has officially made territorial claims to Mary Byrd's land. However, hints about US rights to this territory are contained in unofficial American sources.

The United States and Russia took a special position, declaring that, in principle, they can put forward their territorial claims in Antarctica, although they have not yet done so. Moreover, both states do not recognize the claims of other countries.

The continent of Antarctica today is the only uninhabited and undeveloped continent on Earth. Antarctica has long attracted European powers and the United States, but it began to attract global interest at the end of the 20th century. Antarctica is the last resource reserve for humanity on Earth. After the exhaustion of raw materials on the five inhabited continents, people will develop their resources. However, since Antarctica will remain the only source of resources for countries, the struggle for its resources has already begun, which could result in a fierce military conflict. Geologists have found that the depths of Antarctica contain a significant amount of minerals - iron ore, coal; Traces of ores of copper, nickel, lead, zinc, molybdenum, rock crystal, mica, and graphite were found. In addition, Antarctica contains about 80% of the world's fresh water, a shortage of which is already felt in many countries.

Currently, observations are being made of climatic and meteorological processes on the continent, which, like the Gulf Stream in the Northern Hemisphere, is a climate-forming factor for the entire Earth. In Antarctica, the effects of space and the processes occurring in the earth's crust are also studied.

The study of the ice sheet brings serious scientific results, informing us about the climate of the Earth hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands of years ago. The Antarctic ice sheet contains data on the climate and composition of the atmosphere over the past hundred thousand years. The chemical composition of different layers of ice determines the level of solar activity over the past several centuries.

Microorganisms have been discovered in Antarctica that may be of scientific value and will allow for better study of these life forms.

Many Antarctic bases, especially Russian ones, located around the continent's perimeter, provide ideal opportunities for monitoring seismological activity throughout the planet. Antarctic bases are also testing technologies and equipment that are planned to be used in the future for the exploration, development and colonization of other planets in the solar system.

Russia in Antarctica

In total, there are about 45 year-round scientific stations in Antarctica. Currently, Russia has seven operating stations and one field base in Antarctica.

Permanently operating:

Bellingshausen
Peaceful
Novolazarevskaya
East
Progress
Marine squad
Leningradskaya (Reopened in 2008)
Russian (Reactivated in 2008)

Canned:

Youth
Druzhnaya-4

No longer existing:

Pionerskaya
Komsomolskaya
Soviet
Vostok-1
Lazarev
Pole of inaccessibility
Oasis (transferred to Poland in 1959)

Orthodox Church

The first Orthodox church in Antarctica was built on Waterloo Island (South Shetland Islands) near the Russian Bellingshausen station with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II. They collected it in Altai, and then transported it to the icy continent on the scientific vessel Akademik Vavilov. The fifteen-meter high temple was built from cedar and larch. It can accommodate up to 30 people.

The temple was consecrated in the name of the Holy Trinity on February 15, 2004 by the abbot of the Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, Bishop Feognost of Sergiev Posad, in the presence of numerous clergy, pilgrims and sponsors, who arrived on a special flight from the nearest city, Chilean Punta Arenas. Now the temple is the Patriarchal Metochion of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.

The Church of the Holy Trinity is considered the southernmost Orthodox church in the world. To the south there is only the chapel of St. John of Rila at the Bulgarian station St. Kliment Ohridski and the chapel of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir at the Ukrainian station Academician Vernadski.

On January 29, 2007, the first wedding in Antarctica took place in this temple (the daughter of a polar explorer, Russian Angelina Zhuldybina and Chilean Eduardo Aliaga Ilabac, working at the Chilean Antarctic base).

Interesting Facts

The average surface elevation of Antarctica is the highest of any continent.
In addition to the pole of cold, Antarctica contains points of the lowest relative air humidity, the strongest and longest winds, and the most intense solar radiation.
Although Antarctica is not the territory of any state, enthusiasts from the United States issue the unofficial currency of the continent - the “Antarctic dollar”.

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Incredible facts

Probably, most people who have graduated from school a long time ago will not immediately be able to answer the difference between the Arctic, Antarctica and Antarctica - where are they located and how do they differ?

Many doubt it mainly because of the similarity of names and almost identical climatic conditions.

We can only say with certainty that there is a lot of snow, ice and icebergs in both places.

How are the Arctic, Antarctic and Antarctica similar to each other?

To better understand how they are similar and how they differ, it’s worth starting with what these places have in common.

Name

To be more precise, this is not a similarity, but rather a contrast.

The word "Arctic" is of Greek origin. "Arktos" means "bear". This is connected with the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, which people use to navigate in search of the North Star, that is, the main northern landmark.

The word "Antarctica" was invented quite recently, or rather in the twentieth century. The history of its origin is not so interesting. The fact is that “Antarctica” is a combination of two words “anti” and “Arctic”, that is, the part opposite to the Arctic, or bear.

Climate

Perpetual snow and icebergs are the result of harsh climate conditions. This is the second similarity between the above territories.

However, it is worth noting that the similarity is not entirely complete, since the Arctic climate is still milder due to warm currents that extend quite far along the northern coast of the Eurasian continent. Here the minimum temperature exceeds the minimum temperature of Antarctica.

What is the difference between the Arctic, Antarctica and Antarctica?

Arctic

The northern polar region of our planet, which is adjacent to the North Pole.

The Arctic includes the outskirts of two continents - North America and Eurasia.

The Arctic includes almost the entire Arctic Ocean and many islands in it (except for the coastal islands of Norway).

The Arctic includes adjacent parts of two oceans - the Pacific and the Atlantic.

The average temperature in the Arctic is -34 C.

Arctic (photo)

Antarctic

This is the south polar region of our planet. As already mentioned, its name can be translated as “opposite to the Arctic.”

Antarctica includes the mainland of Antarctica and the adjacent parts of three oceans - the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian, along with the islands.

Antarctica is the harshest climatic zone on Earth. Both the mainland and nearby islands are covered with ice.

The average temperature in Antarctica is -49 C.

Antarctica on the map

Antarctica (photo)

Antarctica

The continent that is located in the southernmost part of the globe.

Antarctica on the map

Simply put:

Antarctica and Antarctica

1. Antarctica is the mainland. The area of this continent is 14.1 million square meters. km., which puts it in 5th place in terms of area among all continents. It has surpassed only Australia in this parameter. Antarctica is a deserted continent discovered by the Lazarev-Bellingshausen expedition in 1820.

2. Antarctica is a territory that includes both the continent of Antarctica itself, and all the islands adjacent to this continent and the waters of three oceans - the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian. According to foreign scientists who call the Antarctic waters the Southern Ocean, the area of Antarctica is about 86 million square meters. km.

3. Relief Antarctica is much more diverse than the topography of the continent that is part of it.

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