A World of Ice
Another world, Antarctica, exists at the southernmost tip of our world. A rocky land mass covered in rough sheets of ice, Antarctica is the only continent with zero permanent human settlements. Only a tiny percentage of the world’s population has seen Antarctica in person, and close to zero people have ever ventured into the heart of Antarctica. What exactly is the seventh continent like?
Antarctica’s climatic conditions vary by location. The interior is the coldest and driest, only getting a few centimeters of snow per year. Winds travel at up to 200 miles per hour and pick up loose snow, creating violent blizzards, or “white outs,” that can last for days. The coastal areas are slightly less harsh and cold, and they get more precipitation, several meters of snow per year. The Antarctic Peninsula is the mildest place in Antarctica, as it can get above freezing in the summer, receives more precipitation, and can even support a couple of small flowering plant species.
Conditions vary by season, as well. There are two seasons in Antarctica: winter, which lasts from March to September, and summer, which lasts from early October to February. In the winter, temperatures in the interior average around -76°F (-60°C), and temperatures near the coast and on the Antarctic Peninsula range from about -22°F to 14°F (-30°C to -10°C). In the summer, the interior temperatures usually stay below -4°F (-20°C), coastal temperatures hover close to freezing, and temperatures on the Antarctic Peninsula sometimes reach a few degrees above freezing.
The Transantarctic mountain range runs down the middle of Antarctica, separating it into West Antarctica, which contains the peninsula, and East Antarctica, which is the main body of Antarctica. The tallest mountain is Mt. Vinson (16,050 ft, or 4,892 m). Antarctica’s mountains are sometimes obscured, though, by the huge masses of ice that cover the land. Only the peaks of the mountains poke out from underneath the ice (these mountain tips are called nunataks).
The ice is actually glaciers, or massive bodies of ice formed by compacted snow. Thousands of tons of snow must have gone into the Antarctic glaciers, since they cover over 98% of Antarctica, are 3 miles thick in some places, and contain about 70% of Earth’s fresh water. Fissures, some of which are hundreds of feet deep, form when the glaciers come into contact with other glaciers or scrape against the rocks below.
The glaciers slowly creep away from Antarctica’s interior and toward the coastline, where they flow into the ocean and form solid ice shelves. Ice shelves can be huge; for example, the Ross Ice Shelf is about the size of the state of Texas. Icebergs are also common around Antarctica. They form when a chunk breaks off of a glacier, ice shelf, or larger iceberg.
The Antarctic Treaty of 1961 established that countries would only use Antarctica for peaceful scientific research, so no person or country owns Antarctica. Antarctica has no permanent human population, but about 4,000 researchers live at bases in Antarctica during the summer, and about 1,000 researchers live there during the winter. The only other reason people visit Antarctica is tourism; about 35,000 tourists visit per year.
On the roughly 1% of land area not covered by permanent ice or snow, hundreds of species of mosses, algae, lichens, liverworts, and fungi grow. Most species are found on the Antarctic Peninsula, where two species of small flowering plants can also be found.
Antarctica provides a home for animals, as well. Mites, ticks, and nematodes live year-round on the rocky surface, mostly on the Antarctic Peninsula; while the rest of the animals base their lives on the krill-rich ocean. Migratory birds such as albatrosses, petrels, skuas, and terns use Antarctica as a breeding ground, and penguins live on the shores and on the ice year-round. Seals can be found underneath the ice, on the ice, and on the shores. Some animals that actually live in the Antarctic waters are orcas, whales, mackerels, small crustaceans, worms, echinoderms (like starfish and sea cucumbers), sponges, and mollusks (including squid).
Sometimes forgetting about the continent at the bottom of Earth is easy. Unlike the other continents, no human civilizations exist on Antarctica to make it important to us. When we do think about Antarctica, it seems like a foreign planet: untamed, ruled by the elements, and largely inaccessible, or out of humans’ reach. Thinking of Antarctica can be fun, though, since Antarctica is the world away from, yet on, Earth.
Did you know…
The land area of Antarctica is about 5.4 million square miles, over twice the size of Greenland.
The coldest surface temperature in the world was recorded in Antarctica in 1983. It was -128.6°F (-89.2°C).
Antarctica has two active volcanoes: Mt. Erebus, which has a molten lava lake, and Deception Island, which has volcanically-powered hot springs.
The Antarctic Peninsula is actually an extension of the Andes Mountain range
A period of continuous darkness occurs during the winter, while a period of continuous daylight occurs during the summer. The closer a person gets to the South Pole, the longer and more pronounced these intervals become (see the graphs).
Sources
"Animals." Australian Antarctic Division. Australian Government: Dept. of the Environment, 28 Feb. 2012. Web. 7 June 2015. <http://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/wildlife/animals>.
"Plants of Antarctica." British Antarctic Survey. NERC, 2015. Web. 7 June 2015. <http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/about_antarctica/wildlife/plants/>.
"Snow in Antarctica." British Antarctic Survey. NERC, 2015. Web. 7 June 2015. <http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/about_antarctica/geography/weather/snow.php>.
"Sunlight Hours." Australian Antarctic Division. Australian Government: Dept. of the Environment, 10 Apr. 2015. Web. 7 June 2015. <http://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/environment/weather/sunlight-hours>.
"Temperatures in Antarctica." British Antarctic Survey. NERC, 2015. Web. 7 June 2015. <http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/about_antarctica/geography/weather/temperatures.php>.
Ward, Paul. "What's It like in Antarctica?" Cool Antarctica. N.p., 2011. Web. 7 June 2015. <http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/antarctica%20environment/whats-it-like-in-Antarctica.php>.
Photo credits:
http://geology.com/world/antarctica-satellite-image.shtml
http://www.weather-wherever.co.uk/antarctica/
http://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/environment/weather/sunlight-hours