Antarctica was officially discovered on January 16 (28), 1820 by a Russian expedition led by Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev, who on the sloops Vostok and Mirny approached it at 69 ° 21 ′ S. sh. 2 ° 14 ′ W (G) (O) (area of \u200b\u200bthe present-day Bellingshausen ice shelf). The earlier existence of the southern continent (lat. Terra australis) was argued hypothetically, it was often united with South America (for example, on the map compiled by Piri Reis in 1513) and Australia (so named after the "southern continent"). However, it was the expedition of Bellingshausen and Lazarev in the south polar seas, circling the Antarctic ice around the world, and confirmed the existence of the sixth continent.

The first to enter the mainland on January 24, 1895 were the captain of the Norwegian ship Antarctic Christensen and the teacher of natural sciences Karsten Borchgrevink.

Antarctica status

Cape Hannah According to the convention on Antarctica signed on December 1, 1959 and entered into force on June 23, 1961, Antarctica does not belong to any state. Only scientific activities are allowed.

The placement of military installations, as well as the entry of warships and armed ships south of 60 degrees latitude, is prohibited. In the 80s of the XX century, 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. Now 28 states (with the right to vote) and dozens of observer countries are parties to the treaty.

Mainland Antarctica

The coldest continent on our planet is Antarctica. Part of the planet's world, which includes the mainland itself and adjacent islands, is also called Antarctica. In this article, we will consider Antarctica as a continent. This continent was discovered by a Russian expedition in January 1820. The continent is located in the very south of the planet. Translated from Greek, Antarctica means “opposite the Arctic” or “opposite the north”. Approximately the center of the continent falls on the location of the earth's south pole. The continent is washed by the southern part of the waters of three oceans: the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean, since 2000 this territory of waters has become known as the Southern Ocean. The Southern Ocean is characterized by strong winds and storms.

The area of \u200b\u200bthis continent is approximately 14.107 million km2. In terms of its average height (2040 m), Antarctica ranks first among the continents. The only thing to consider is that this height is achieved thanks to glaciers, while the land of this continent is located much lower than this figure. Therefore, the first place in terms of land height is given to the continent of Eurasia. And in the central part, the ice cover can reach over 4000 meters in height. If we compare the amount of ice on Antarctica with the ice reserves of the entire planet, then Antarctica contains 90% of all ice reserves of the planet. Also, these Ice stores 80% of the entire supply of fresh water on the planet. If all the glaciers of the mainland melt, then this will lead to a rise in the water level in all oceans by 60 meters, and Antarctica itself will become an archipelago (a cluster of islands).

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 the permanent ice sheet of the continent, under which the continental relief is hidden and only 0.3% (about 40 thousand km2) of its area is free of ice - mainly in West Antarctica and the Transantarctic Mountains: islands, coastal areas, etc. n. "Dry valleys" and individual ridges and mountain peaks (nunataks) that rise above the icy surface.

The Transantarctic mountains, which cross almost the entire continent, divide Antarctica into two parts - West Antarctica and East Antarctica, which have different origins and geological structure. 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, which are more than 4000 m high; the highest point on the continent - 5140 m above sea level - Vinson Massif in the Ellsworth Mountains. The deepest depression of the continent is also located in West Antarctica - the Bentley Basin, probably of rift origin. The ice-filled Bentley Trench reaches 2,555 m below sea level.

Ice relief

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

The western part of the continent has a difficult topography and large elevation differences. Here are the highest mountain (Vinson 5140 m) and the deepest depression (Bentley trough -2555 m) in Antarctica. The Antarctic Peninsula is an extension of the South American Andes, which stretch towards the south pole, slightly deviating from it into the western sector.

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

The continent has a relatively low volcanic activity. The largest volcano is Mount Erebus on Ross Island in the sea of \u200b\u200bthe same name.

NASA studies of subglacial relief have discovered an asteroid crater in Antarctica. The funnel diameter is 482 km. The crater was formed when an asteroid about 48 kilometers across (larger than Eros) fell to Earth, about 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 a centuries-old cooling and death of most of the flora and fauna of that era. This crater is considered the largest on Earth today.

Ice sheet

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

The ice sheet has the shape of a dome with an increase in the steepness of the surface 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 regions 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 is coast of the continent; the ice breaks off in the form of icebergs. The annual volume of ablation is estimated at 2500 km³.

A feature of Antarctica is a large area of \u200b\u200bice shelves (low (blue) areas of West Antarctica), which is ~ 10% of the area that rises above sea level; these glaciers are the source of icebergs of record sizes, significantly larger than the icebergs of the outlet glaciers of Greenland; For example, in 2000, the largest iceberg known at the moment (2005) B-15 with an area of \u200b\u200bover 10 thousand km² broke away from the Ross Ice Shelf. In winter (summer in the Northern Hemisphere) the area of \u200b\u200bsea ice around Antarctica increases to 18 million km², and in summer it decreases to 3-4 million km².

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

Climate

On the coast, especially in the Antarctic Peninsula, the air temperature reaches -10 -12 C in summer, and on average in the warmest month (January) is 1 C, 2 C.

In winter (July) on the coast, the average monthly temperature ranges from -8 C on the Antarctic Peninsula to -35 C at the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf.

Due to the prevalence of downdrafts, the relative air humidity is low (60–80%), near the coast and, especially in the Antarctic oases, it decreases to 20 and even 5%. Cloudiness is also relatively small. Precipitation falls almost exclusively in the form of snow: in the center of the mainland, their amount reaches 30-50 mm per year, in the lower part of the continental slope it increases to 600-700 mm, slightly decreases at its foot (up to 400-500 mm) and again increases by some ice shelves and on the northwestern coast of the Antarctic Peninsula (up to 700–800 and even 1000 mm). Due to strong winds and heavy snowfall, snowstorms are very frequent.

Despite global warming, temperatures in Antarctica have dropped significantly over the past 35 years. Surface air temperature drops by 0.7 ° C every ten years. The general decrease in temperature in Antarctica is a mystery to scientists, since most scenarios of climate change assume that the polar regions of the planet should be more rapidly and more intensely exposed to global warming. In the 21st century, the process of melting Antarctica is considered unlikely. Perhaps due to the large amount of precipitation, the Antarctic ice sheet will even increase. However, the melting of Antarctica is possible in the coming centuries, especially if humanity fails to slow down the global warming process in advance.

Inland waters

Due to the fact that not only average annual, but even summer temperatures in most of the territory, temperatures in Antarctica do not exceed zero degrees, precipitation there falls only in the form of snow (rain is an extremely rare phenomenon). It forms an ice (snow is compressed under its own weight) cover with a thickness of more than 1700 m, in some places reaching 4300 m. Antarctic ice contains up to 90% of all fresh water on Earth.

In the 1990s, Russian scientists discovered the non-freezing subglacial Lake Vostok, the largest of the Antarctic lakes, 250 km long and 50 km wide; the lake contains about 5400 thousand km³ of water.

In January 2006, geophysicists Robin Bell and Michael Studinger of the American Geophysical Observatory Lamont-Dougherty discovered the second and third largest subglacial lakes, 2000 km² and 1600 km², respectively, located at a depth of about 3 km from the surface of the continent. They said that this could have been done earlier if the data of the Soviet expedition of 1958-1959 had been analyzed more carefully. In addition to this data, satellite data, radar readings and measurements of the force of gravity on the surface of the continent were used. In 2007, more than 140 subglacial lakes were discovered in Antarctica.

Flora of Antarctica

The flora of Antarctica, due to special climatic conditions, is extremely poor. Most of all there are algae - about 700 species. The coast of the mainland and its ice-free plains are covered with mosses and lichens. But there are only two types of flowering plants. These are colobantus quito and Antarctic meadow.

Colobantus quito belongs to the carnation family. It is a pillow-shaped herb with small white and pale yellow flowers. The growth of an adult plant does not exceed 5 cm.

The Antarctic meadow belongs to the family of cereals. It grows only on plots of land that are well lit by the sun. Meadow bushes can grow up to 20 cm. The plant itself perfectly tolerates frosts. Frost does not harm the plant even during flowering.

All plants in Antarctica have successfully adapted to the eternal cold. Their cells contain little water, and all processes are very slow.

Fauna of Antarctica

The peculiarity of the Antarctic fauna is directly related to its climate. All animals live only where there is vegetation. Despite the harsh climatic conditions, a man was even born in Antarctica (this happened in 1978). And excavations have shown that dinosaurs once lived on this continent.

Conventionally, all Antarctic animals can be divided into two groups: terrestrial and aquatic, and there are no completely terrestrial animals in Antarctica.

The waters around the mainland are rich in zooplankton, which is the main food for whales and seals, fur seals and penguins. Icefish also live here - amazing creatures that have adapted to life in icy water.

Of the large animals, most often the coast of Antarctica is visited by blue whales, which are attracted here by the abundance of shrimp. Roundworms and blue-green algae live in the fresh waters of the lakes, copepods and daphnia are found.

The bird world is represented by penguins, polar terns and skuas. There are 4 types of penguins in Antarctica. The largest population is the emperor penguins. Petrels also fly to the southern continent.

There are also few mammals. These are mainly animals that can live on land and in water. Most of all in Antarctica seals. The coast is also home to leopard seals, elephant seals and Ross. Of the dolphin family, there are only small groups of black-and-white or sand-colored dolphins, known among whalers as "sea cows".

Here there are a lot of invertebrates, arthropods. In Antarctica, 67 species of ticks, 4 species of lice were found. There are fleas, lice and the ubiquitous mosquitoes. And wingless ringing mosquitoes of coal-black color live only in Antarctica. These are the only endemic insects that can be attributed to completely terrestrial animals. Most of the insects and invertebrates are brought to the shores of the southern continent by birds.

Antarctica landmarks

• Glaciers of antarctica. A popular destination in Antarctica is Paradise Harbor. Watching huge blocks of age-old glaciers and icebergs from the sides of inflatable boats is a spectacular sight.
• Antarctica islands. There is a place in Antarctica of particular interest for volcanologists, hunters and travelers - Deception Island. It is an extinct volcano and is shaped like a horseshoe.
• Bloody waterfall. An unusual attraction for icy Antarctica is the Bloody Falls. Streams of red water, with a high concentration of salts and iron oxide, flow down the surface of the glacier, originating in one of the Antarctic lakes.
• Whaler church. Another famous place in Antarctica is the Church of the Whalers, built in the neo-Gothic style back in 1913 near the whaling station. Despite its full functionality, after restoration in 1998, it is practically not used today, but preserved for posterity as a monument.
• Mountains of antarctica. The Queen Maud group of mountain ranges rises 3 thousand meters above sea level. The system was discovered by R. Amundsen's expedition and was named after the Norwegian Queen.
• Drake Passage. The Drake Passage was named after a pirate navigator from England who sailed there in mid-1578. It is the deepest and widest strait in the world.
• Catholic Church. The Catholic Church, located in an ice cave, is located at the Belgrano Arctic research base. This is the "coldest" temple among all known religions on earth.
• Penguins in Antarctica. And, of course, the most important and cutest attraction of Antarctica is royal penguins, without which it is impossible to imagine this land.

Tourism in Antarctica

Given the extremely difficult climatic conditions in Antarctica, tourism here depends entirely on the season and is possible only for several months of the year. In general, this is the period from November to March, however, certain types of tours to Antarctica are held only at the "crown" of the southern hemispheric summer.

Cruises to the Antarctic regions (South Shetland and Falkland Islands, South Georgia Archipelago, the Antarctic Peninsula and continental seas) operate from November to March. Cruises in the eastern part of Antarctica, home to the huge Ross Ice Shelf and landmarks dedicated to the history of the conquest of the mainland, are available in January-February, when the ice melts here. Conquering the South Pole by plane (option: by plane and skiing) is possible only at the peak of the Antarctic summer - in December-January.

Video

Sources

https://tonkosti.ru/Antarctica https: //seasons-goda.rf/nature of Antarctica.html http://chudesnyemesta.ru/antarktida-dostoprimechatelnosti/

ANTARCTIDA (Greek ΄ Α ν ταρκτ ίς, genus Άν ταρκ τ ί δος) the continent in the southern polar region of the Earth, located entirely within the Antarctic Circle, in the center. partsAntarctica.

General information

The area of \u200b\u200bA. is 13975 thousand km 2 (together with ice shelves and islands and ice domes attached to the mainland with a total area of \u200b\u200b1582 thousand km 2), the area with continental shoals is 16355 thousand km 2. A. is within antarctic belt... The coastline with a total length of St. 30 thousand km in the eastern part is weakly dissected and runs near the line of the Arctic circle; in the western part – more indented. The shores are almost everywhere a glacial cliff with a height of several tens of meters. The narrow Antarctic Peninsula stretches towards South America, the northern tip of which, Cape Prime (63 ° 05'S lat.),– northernmost point A. (see physical map). A. is the highest continent on Earth (average height 2350 m, average height of the Earth's land about 900 m), as it is complex. ice, which is almost three times lighter than rocks. Wed h. root sub-ice surface approx. 400 m. The highest point of Armenia is Mount Vinson (altitude up to 5140 m).

There is no permanent population in Armenia. Scientific stations operate on the mainland and coastal islands (see. Antarctic Science Stations), some of them (for example, in Chilean) are equipped with villages for long-term residence (including women and children). In 2015, 5 Russian workers worked in Armenia. year-round operating stations (Novolazarevskaya, Mirny, Vostok, Bellingshausen, Progress), 5 seasonal field bases (Molodezhnaya, Druzhnaya-4, Soyuz, Russkaya, Leningradskaya), 1 mothballed field base (Oasis Bunger).

The first Orthodox church in Armenia was built on about. Waterloo (South Shetland Islands) near dew. Bellingshausen station with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II. The 15-meter high cedar and larch church, which can accommodate up to 30 people, was consecrated in the name of the Holy Trinity on 15.2.2004. The Church of the Holy Trinity - the southernmost church in the world - is the Patriarch's courtyard of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Nearby there are chapels: St. John of Rylsky in Bulgaria. stations of St. Clement of Ohridsky and St. Prince Vladimir Equal to the Apostles in Ukrainian. station Academician Vernadsky.

Antarctica's legal status is governed by the 1959 international Antarctic Treaty.

Relief

B. Ch. A. is a vast glacial plateau (height over 3000 m). By the features of the relief (indigenous and ice) and geological. structures distinguish between Eastern Armenia and Western Armenia, separated by Transantarctic mountains... The relief of the bedrock (subglacial) surface of eastern Africa is characterized by alternating high-mountain uplifts and deep depressions, the deepest of which is located south of the Knox coast. Main raising to the center. parts of Eastern A .: Gamburtsev mountains and Vernadsky mountains, reaching heights under the ice. 3390 m. The Transantarctic Mountains are partially covered with ice (altitude up to 4530 m, Mount Kerkpatrick). The Sovetskoye plateau (up to 4000 m high) decreases to the north, forming a wide valley of the IGY, named after the International Geophysicist. years (1957–58). The mountain ranges of Queen Maud Land, Prince Charles, and others stretch along the coast. The relief of western Africa is much lower, but more complex. Many ridges and peaks (so-called nunataks) deep in Africa and along the coast reach the day surface, especially on the Antarctic Peninsula. In the vicinity of the ridge lies the deepest depression of the subglacial relief, 2,555 m. A. — an area of \u200b\u200bextensive continental glaciation. Under the influence of the glacial load, the earth's crust caved in by an average of 0.5 km, which caused the anomalous (in comparison with other continents) position of the shelf, which was "lowered" here to a depth of 500 m.

Ice sheet

The ice sheet covers almost the entire continent. Only 0.3% of the area is free of ice, where bedrocks emerge on the surface in the form of individual mountain ranges and rocks or small coastal areas of land with a shallow relief, the so-called. antarctic oases ; the largest: McMurdo (area 4500 km 2), Bunger, Vestfold, Grierson, etc. Cf. ice sheet thickness approx. 1800 m, max. - St. 4000 m. The total volume of St. 25 million km 3, more than 90% of the fresh water reserves on Earth. The Antarctic ice sheet is asymmetric in relation to geographic. pole, but symmetrical to its center - the Pole of Relative Inaccessibility (86 ° 06 ′ S and 54 ° 58 ′ E), which is at the height. 3720 m 660 km from the South Pole. To the center. parts of the continent, the bottom layers of ice are close to the melting temperature. In the depressions of the bedrock relief, water accumulates and subglacial lakes arise; the largest lake. Vostok (length 260 km, width up to 50 km, water column up to 600 m) is located in the area of \u200b\u200bVostok station. Flat center. part of the glacial plateau at the height. 2200-2700 m turns into a slope that drops off towards the sea. Here the ice sheet is differentiated. Outlet glaciers (Lambert, Ninnis, Merz, Scott, Denmen, etc.) are formed in the relief depressions, moving inside the continental ice sheet so. speeds. The ends of outlet glaciers often go out to sea, where they stay afloat. They are flat ice plates (up to 700 m thick), resting in some places on the rise of the seabed. The largest is the Ross Ice Shelf (over 0.5 million km 2). Mountain glaciers are found in mountainous regions with a dismembered bedrock relief, Ch. arr. around Cape Ross, where they reach 100-200 km in length and 10-40 km in width. The ice sheet is fed by atmospheric precipitation, which accumulates over the entire area per year approx. 2300 km 3. Ice consumption occurs hl. arr. due to the breakaway of icebergs. Melting and runoff are low. The balance of matter (ice) in the ice sheet b. hours of researchers takes close to zero. From the 2nd floor. 20th century in eastern Africa the mass of ice increases, which apparently slows down the observed rise in the level of the World Ocean.

Geological structure and minerals

In tectonic. The ancient East Antarctic platform (craton), the Transantarctic (Ross) Early Paleozoic fold belt, and the fold belt of Western Africa are distinguished in the structure of A. (see map Tectonic). The East Antarctic Platform is a fragment of a supercontinent Gondwana, disintegrated in the Mesozoic, and has an area of \u200b\u200bmore than 8 million km 2. Takes b. part of Eastern A. The base of the platform, protruding to the surface along the coasts of the continent, is composed of deeply metamorphosed rocks of the Archean: orthogneisses with subordinate primary sedimentary and volcanic rocks. formations. The oldest complexes on Earth (about 4 billion years old) were found on Enderby Land, in the Prince Charles Mountains. Middle Archean rocks (3.2-2.8 billion years) are common in the West. parts of Queen Maud Land, in the area of \u200b\u200bthe Denmen Glacier. Early Middle Archean formations were deformed for the second time in the Late Archean (2.8–2.5 billion years ago). The processes of Early Proterozoic tectonothermal reworking are manifested in Adelie Land, Wilkes Land, Westfall oasis, etc. . coast of Cape Weddell). In the Vendian-Cambrian time (600–500 million years ago), the platform basement again underwent tectonothermal processing. Since the end of the Proterozoic, a sedimentary cover began to accumulate locally in depressions, which in the Devonian became common to the platform and the Transantarctic belt. The latter is folded in the main. shale-graywacke flysch of the passive margin of the ancient East Antarctic continent. Ch. deformation phase - Birdmor orogeny at the border of Riphean and Vendian (650 million years ago). Vendian-Cambrian shallow-water carbonate-terrigenous sediments experienced the final phase of deformation (Russian orogeny) in the Late Cambrian. In the Devonian, the general subsidence of the Ross belt and the ancient platform began with the deposition of shallow-water sandy sediments. Covering glaciation developed in the Carboniferous. In the Permian, coal-bearing strata accumulated (up to 1300 m). An outbreak of plateau-basaltic volcanism occurred in the Early – Middle Jurassic, when, during the disintegration of the supercontinent, Gondwana, Australia separated from Africa and Hindustan. Communication with Australia was interrupted in the Cretaceous, and the Post-Gondwana cover began to accumulate in continental conditions. In the Late Paleogene, A. separated from South America and was covered by glaciation, which in the middle. neogene became a cover. Western Armenia consists of several. blocks ( terranes), folded by formations decomp. age and tectonic. nature, which united relatively recently, forming the Phanerozoic fold belt of West Antarctica. Terranes are distinguished: Early Middle Paleozoic (northern part of Victoria Land), Middle Paleozoic-Early Mesozoic (Mary Bird Land), and Mesozoic-Cenozoic (Antarctic Peninsula, or Antarktandy). The latter is a continuation of the South American Cordilleras. The Terrane of the Ellsworth and Whitmore Mountains occupies a borderline position between the fold belts of western Africa and Ross; has a Precambrian basement overlapped by deformed Paleozoic complexes. The structures of the fold belt of western Armenia are partially overlain by the sedimentary cover of the young platform. The Ross and Weddell Seas are developing links of the West Antarctic Mesozoic-Cenozoic (post-Gondwana) rift system filled with sediments (up to 10,000–15,000 m). Powerful Cenozoic alkaline-basalt volcanics (traps) have been identified under the Ross Cape ice shelf, on Mary Byrd Land and Victoria Land. In the Neogene-Quaternary time to the east. shoulder of the rift system (off the coast of Victoria Land) formed volcanic. cones Erebus (currently active), Terror (extinct). In the Holocene, a general uplift of the continent took place, as indicated by the presence of ancient coastlines and terraces with the remains of marine organisms.

Deposits of coal (the area of \u200b\u200bthe Commonwealth Cape) and iron ores (Prince Charles Mountains), as well as occurrences of chromite, titanium, copper, molybdenum, and beryllium ores, have been identified. Rhinestone veins. Gas showings in wells.

Climate

In addition to coastal regions, the polar continental climate prevails. Despite the fact that the polar night continues in Central Africa for several winter months, the annual total radiation approaches the annual total radiation of the equatorial zone: Vostok station - 5 GJ / m2, or 120 kcal / m2, and in summer it reaches very high values \u200b\u200b- up to 1.25 GJ / m 2 / per month, or 30 kcal / m 2 · per month. Up to 90% of the incoming heat is reflected by the snow surface and only 10% goes to heating it. Therefore, the radiation balance of A. is negative, and the air temperature is very low. Climate center. part of the mainland is sharply different from the climate of the plateau, its slope and coast. On the plateau, severe frosts are constant in clear weather and light winds. Wed temperature of winter months from –60 to –70 ° С; the minimum temperature at Vostok station, measured on 07/21/1983, reached –89.2 ° С. On the glacial slope, there are frequent katabatic winds and strong snowstorms; Wed temperatures from –30 to –50 ° С. In a narrow coastal zone, cf. temperatures in winter from –8 to –35 ° С, in summer (the warmest month is January) from 0 to 5 ° С.The stock winds on the coast reach high speeds (on average up to 12 m / s per year), and when merging with cyclones they often turn into hurricane (up to 50-60, and sometimes up to 90 m / s). Due to the predominance of downdrafts, the. air humidity 60–80%, on the coast and in oases up to 20%, and sometimes up to 5%. Cloudiness is negligible. Precipitation is almost exclusively in the form of snow: from 20-50 mm in the center to 600-900 mm per year on the coast. A noticeable climate warming has been noted in Armenia. In western Africa, intensive destruction of ice shelves is taking place with the breaking off of giant icebergs.

Inland waters

Antarctic is peculiar. lakes, ch. arr. in coastal oases. Many of them are drainless, with increased salinity of waters, up to bitter-salty. Some lakes are not free of ice cover even in summer. Lakes-lagoons are characteristic, lying between coastal rocks and an ice shelf, under which they are connected with the sea. Some lakes are located in the mountains at an altitude. up to 1000 m (Taylor oases, Voltat massif in Queen Maud Land and Victoria in Victoria Land).

Flora and fauna

All of Africa with its coastal islands is located in the Antarctic zone. deserts, which explains the extreme poverty of flora and fauna. The high-altitude zonation of landscapes is traced in the mountains. Almost all organic matter is concentrated in the low mountains, which cover the coast with ice shelves, oases and nunataks. a life. The most typical inhabitants of A. – penguins: imperial, royal, adélie (see.Antarctic region). In the middle mountains (up to a height of 3000 m), lichens and algae grow in places on the rocks that warm up in summer; wingless insects are found. Above 3000 m, there are almost no signs of plant and animal life.

History of Geographic Research

The discovery of A. as a continent belongs to the Rus. a round-the-world naval expedition led by F.F. Bellingshausen and M.P. Lazareva, which on sloops "Vostok" and "Mirny" approached A. on 28.1.1820. Rus. the expedition discovered about. Peter I, the Land of Alexander II and several islands in the South Shetland Islands group. In 1820-21 English. and Amer. fishing vessels (under the leadership of E. Bransfield and N. Palmer) were located near the Antarctic Peninsula (Graham Land). The voyage around Armenia and the discovery of Enderby Land and the Adelaide and Biscoe Islands were made in 1831–33. navigator J. Biscoe. In 1837–43, three scientific expeditions visited Armenia: the French expedition (J. Dumont-Durville), American (C. Wilkes) and English (J.K. Ross). The first discovered the Land of Louis Philippe, the island of Joinville (Joinville), the Land of Adelie and the Clari coast (first landed on the coastal cliffs); the second is Wilkes Land; third – Victoria Land and the offshore islands, and for the first time passed along the Ross Glacier, calculated the location of the South Magnetic Pole.

After a fifty-year lull, interest in A. arose in the late. 19th century Several expeditions visited Armenia: the Scottish expedition on the Balena (1893), which discovered the coast of Oscar II; Norwegian on "Jason" and "Antarctica" (1893–94), which discovered the Larsen Ice Shelf and landed in the area of \u200b\u200bCape Adair; the Belgian under the leadership of A. Gerlache, who wintered in Austria on the drifting ship Belgica (1897–99), and the English on the South Cross (1898–1900), who organized the winter at Cape Adair. In 1901-04, along with the sea. research by the British expedition R.Scott took the first major sledging trip from McMurdo Sound inland (up to 82° 17 'y. sh.); the German expedition of E. von Drygalski conducted winter observations off the coast of the Wilhelm II Land discovered by her; Scottish Oceanographic expedition W. Bruce on the ship "Scotia" in the east. parts of the Weddell Sea discovered Cotes Land; the French expedition of J. Charcot on the ship "France" discovered the coast of Loubet. Means. interest was aroused by trips to the South Pole: in 1909 the Englishman E. Shackleton walked from McMurdo Bay to 88 ° 23'S. w .; following from east. parts of the Ross barrier, Norwegian R.Amundsen for the first time (14 - 16.12.1911) reached the South Pole; Englishman R. Scott made a hiking trip from McMurdo Bay and was the second (18.1.1912) to reach the South Pole. On the way back, R. Scott and his companions died. The Australian expedition of D. Mawson from two ground bases in 1911–14 studied the ice shelves of East Antarctica. In 1928, an American aircraft first appeared over Armenia. In 1929, R. Byrd flew from the Little America base he created over the South Pole. Mary Byrd Land was discovered from the air. The sea and land British-Australo-New Zealand expedition (BANZARE) in 1929–31 studied the coast of Knox and discovered Princess Elizabeth Land to the west of it. During the period of the 2nd International Polar Year (IPY), R. Byrd's expedition (1932–33) worked in Little America, which, during sledding trips and from an airplane, conducted glaciological research. and geological exploration in the mountains of Queen Maud Land and Mary Byrd Land. R. Byrd spent a single winter at the first remote weather station in the depths of the Ross Glacier; in 1935 L. Ellsworth made the first transantarctic. flight from the Antarctic Peninsula to Little America. In the 1940s - 50s. the international is created. a network of ground stations and bases for studying the marginal parts of the continent. Since 1955 began systematic. coordinated research A., including 11 countries have established 57 bases and observation points. In 1955–58 the USSR carried out two sea and wintering expeditions (headed by M. M. Somov and A. F. Treshnikov) on the ships "Ob" and "Lena" (heads of sea expeditions V. G. Kort and V. G. Maksimov ); The Mirny scientific observatory (opened on 13 February 1956) and the stations Oasis, Pionerskaya, Vostok 1, Komsomolskaya and Vostok were built. In 1955–58, the British, together with New Zealand scientists, were the first to cross the mainland (under the leadership of W. Fuchs and Ed. Hillary) on tractors across the South Pole from the Weddell Sea to the Ross Sea. A number of expeditions on the ice sheet were carried out by Belgian (from Baudouin station) scientists; the French worked at the stations Charcot and Dumont-D'Urville (Dumont-Du'Urville). In 1957-67 Sov. scientists carried out 13 sea and wintering expeditions and created a number of new stations. From the inland. the trips of sled-tractor trains from Mirny are the most significant: in 1957 to the Geomagnetic Pole (AF Treshnikov), in 1958 to the Pole of Relative Inaccessibility (EI Tolstikov), in 1959 to the South Pole (AG Dralkin); in 1963–64 from Vostok station to the Pole of relative inaccessibility and to Molodezhnaya station (AP Kapitsa); in 1967 on the route Molodezhnaya - Pole of relative inaccessibility– Plato-Novolazarevskaya station (I.G. Petrov). The results of the studies made it possible to clarify the complex nature of the bedrock topography of Eastern Africa, the features of organic. life and water mass of the Southern Ocean, make more accurate maps. Means. investigations (including cartographic ones) were carried out by US scientists in western Africa, where, in addition to stationary observations, the Dipfreeze sea expeditions and numerous expeditions were organized. inland cross-country vehicle trips. As a result, glaciological. and geophysical. Investigations by American scientists have determined the nature of the subglacial relief of western Africa.

The most fruitful period of domestic research in Armenia was the 1974–1990s, when there was a transition from complex nat. programs to long-term international. scientific. projects. Scientists from the GDR, Mongolia, the USA, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Cuba, and other countries spent the winter at Soviet stations. At the American stations Amundsen-Scott, McMurdo, and the Australian stations Mawson and Davis, meteorologists, geologists, and geophysicists from the USSR carried out research. Participation of the USSR in the Intern. antarctic glaciological. project (MAGP) included superdeep drilling of ice over the lake at Vostok station in the framework of scientific and technical. cooperation with France and the USA, radar measurements of ice thickness from an airplane, systematic. snow surveying, as well as complex glaciological surveys. research in sledge-caterpillar trips. In 1975, the POLEX-South program was launched to develop the resources of the Southern Ocean. An expedition to Soviet-Amer. the Weddell Polynya-81 project. The basis for obtaining data on the nature of A. continued to be a network of permanently operating scientists. stations. In 1989, the first wintering geological facility was commissioned. scientific. station Progress.

In the 1990s. as a result of funding cuts, there was a decline in growth. research in A .: decreased the number of personnel of expeditions, closed a number of scientific. programs, scientific. stations and field bases. In 1992 on the basis of the archive grew. oceanographic data jointly with the Institute of Polar and Marine Research Alfred Wegener (Germany) was published "Hydrographic Atlas of the Southern Ocean". One of the major events in oceanology was the creation of the first Russian-Amer. drifting n.-i. Station Weddell-1 (opened 12.1.1992 on an ice floe in the southwestern part of Cape Weddell). In accordance with the decree of the Government of the Russian Federation. Federation (1998) scientific. research in Antarctica since 1999 has been carried out within the framework of the Subprogram "Study and Research of Antarctica" of the Federal Target Program "World Ocean".

The rapid development of modern. research methods led to the beginning. 21 c. to update scientific. programs for studying A. as an element of the global system for monitoring and forecasting the state of the environment. A characteristic feature is the strengthening of the international. cooperation. Geological and geophysical studies are being carried out. work in the mountains for the int. geotraverse: ANTALIT in the area of \u200b\u200bLambert and Aymery glaciers and GEOMOD in the center. parts of Queen Maud Land. In the Bunger oasis, a collection of cores with continuous sections of bottom sediments up to 13.8 m thick has been collected, unique for Africa in terms of representativeness and completeness. recognition was given to the implementation of the superdeep drilling project at Vostok station. Having drilled a well in the mainland ice with a depth of 3770 m, on 5.2.2012 Russian scientists reached the water area of \u200b\u200bthe subglacial Lake Vostok and received the first samples of lake water. Complex paleogeographic. studies of the ice core made it possible to reconstruct in detail the history of the Earth's climate and atmosphere over 420 thousand years, highlighting four ice ages and five interglacial periods, including the 11th marine isotope stage. Among the most significant international. projects and programs also include the Global Sea Level Observing System (GLOSS); Program for the Study of Cenozoic Stratigraphy of the Antarctic Continental Margin (ANTOSTRAT); Antarctic Ozone Exploration Program (TRACE); Observation program for the biology of marine Antarctica. ecosystems (BIOMASS); Antarctic. geophysical network observations (AGONET), etc.

Antarctic - the southern polar region of the Earth, inside the Antarctic Circle. The Antarctic includes the mainland, the southern outskirts of the Pacific, and and, lying within 50-60 ° south latitude, where the warmer and colder waters of the oceans converge. The Antarctic area is 52.5 million km. " The seas entering this area are very stormy, sometimes reaching heights of over 20 meters. In winter, the water freezes, and the ice surrounds Antarctica in a ring whose width ranges from 500 to 2000 km. In summer, currents carry the ice to the north along with. According to scientists, more than 100 thousand icebergs of various sizes float along the coast of Antarctica. He was the first to penetrate the waters of Antarctica in 1502, discovering a number of islands.

Antarctica is the polar region on the south side of the globe. There is an icy continent inside the Arctic Circle. It is about twice as large - 14 million km2. The average height of the mainland is 2040 meters. has not stopped to this day. In the central part, the ice cover rises to almost 4000 meters. Individual peaks of the Antarctic - a ridge stretching along the coast - rise above the ice up to 5000 meters or more. At the same time, the height of the continent would be less if there were no ice on it. There is a lot of it here - 24 million km3. This is more than 90% of all fresh water reserves on Earth, which are stored here in a frozen state. The average thickness of the ice cover is over 1,700 meters, the maximum is over 4,000 meters. It is thanks to the ice that Antarctica looks like a huge white dome on. If the ice suddenly melted, it would raise the level by 60 meters, which would entail a reduction in the area of \u200b\u200ball continents, including Antarctica itself, which would become an archipelago - a cluster of islands, since a significant part of the continent under the ice dome lies below the level ocean.

Antarctica is the coldest of all continents. In the winter months, frosts can reach -90 ° C. In summer, frosts are less, only -20 ° C. It never rains in Antarctica: precipitation falls here in the form of snow. The center of the mainland and its coasts are very different: in the center there is almost all year round calm and clear skies, and strong winds reign on the shores and. there it can reach 90 m / s. This wind can easily carry heavy objects over considerable distances. Dry snow, rushing at high speed, is able to saw through thick ropes and polishes metal to a shine.

Icy Antarctica is considered the main "refrigerator" of our planet and affects its climate. The mainland receives a very large amount of solar heat. It turns out that in the south polar summer you can't leave the room without sunglasses; the skin tans quickly. But the ice of Antarctica reflects up to 90%, and the mainland does not heat up. And during the polar night it gets very cool.

Most of Antarctica is icy, only life glimmers along the coast. Where a few rocks protrude from under the ice, there are oases of mainland life. This is only 0.02% of its territory. The organic world of Antarctica is poor, only rare mosses, lichens and algae inhabit it. Penguins are the main decoration of the continent. Whales and seals live in the waters of the seas.

Antarctica does not belong to any state, no one lives there permanently. Nevertheless, 16 countries have established their scientific stations here, where various studies of the nature of this continent are conducted. Antarctica is a continent of peace and cooperation. Any military preparations are prohibited within its limits. None of the countries can declare it their land. This is legally enshrined in an international treaty, which was signed on December 1, 1959.

The discovery of Antarctica took place in 1820 by Russian navigators and M.P. Lazarev, and in December 1911 a Norwegian expedition, followed by an English expedition, reached the South Pole.

: the average height of the mainland is 2350 m; the vast plateau, the MGY valley, the mountains of Queen Maud Land, Prince Charles, the Gamburtsev and Vernalsky subglacial mountains; Transantarctic mountains

Additional Information: Antarctica is washed; only 0.3% of land is not covered with ice; the average thickness of the ice cover is 1800 m; there is no permanent population on the mainland.

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

3. In parts 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 red as blood, water, 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. Antarctica has a Chilean town with a school, hospital, hotel, post office, internet, TV and mobile phone network.

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

15. In Antarctica there are lakes that never freeze due to the heat coming 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) Antarctica was as hot as California.

20. There are seven Christian churches on the continent.

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

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

23. Much of Antarctica is ice-covered, with approximately 1% of the land free of ice.

24. In 1977, Argentina sent a pregnant woman to Antarctica to make an Argentinian baby the first person to be born on this rugged continent.

The coldest continent on our planet is Antarctica. Part of the planet's world, which includes the mainland itself and adjacent islands, is also called Antarctica. In this article, we will consider Antarctica as a continent. This continent was discovered by a Russian expedition in January 1820. The continent is located in the very south of the planet. Translated from Greek, Antarctica means “opposite the Arctic” or “opposite the north”. Approximately the center of the continent falls on the location of the earth's south pole. The continent is washed by the southern part of the waters of three oceans: the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean, since 2000 this territory of waters has become known as the Southern Ocean. The Southern Ocean is characterized by strong winds and storms.

The area of \u200b\u200bthis continent is approximately 14.107 million km2. In terms of its average height (2040 m), Antarctica ranks first among the continents. The only thing to consider is that this height is achieved thanks to glaciers, while the land of this continent is located much lower than this figure. Therefore, the first place in terms of land height is given to the continent of Eurasia. And in the central part, the ice cover can reach over 4000 meters in height. If we compare the amount of ice on Antarctica with the ice reserves of the entire planet, then Antarctica contains 90% of all ice reserves of the planet. Also, these Ice stores 80% of the entire supply of fresh water on the planet. If all the glaciers of the mainland melt, this will lead to a rise in the water level in all oceans by 60 meters, and Antarctica itself will become an archipelago (a cluster of islands).

Relief of antarctica

In its structure, the mainland Antarctica resembles a dome. Near the coast, the height of the mainland reaches about 2000 m above sea level, and in the central part it can reach more than 4000 m above sea level. Therefore, a kind of dome is obtained.

Most of the mainland is covered with a permanent ice cover and only 0.3% of its territory rises above the ice, which is about 40,000 m2. These areas include islands, coastal areas and mountain peaks. On the territory of the continent there are the Transantarctic mountains, which almost completely cross the entire continent and, thus, divide it into two different parts, which are called the eastern and western parts.

In the east of Antarctica there is a plateau, which is covered with glaciers and the level of glaciers here reaches the highest heights - over 4000 meters above sea level. The western part of the mainland consists more of mountainous islands. In Antarctica, the highest point above sea level is the Vinson Massif (4892 m), and the lowest point below sea level is the Bentley Trench (2555 m below sea level), which is covered with ice.

Vinson Massif

Thanks to the research, scientists were able to find out that Antarctica is 1/3 submerged under water, where mountain ranges and massifs can be distinguished.

When investigating the under-ice cover of the continent, scientists managed to find a huge crater with a diameter of 482 km. It is believed that the asteroid that left this crater was 48 km across and that it fell to Earth about 250 million years ago, that is, it became the culprit of centuries-old permafrost and the cause of the death of most of the flora and fauna of that period. Today it is the largest crater on planet Earth.

Antarctica climate

The mainland Antarctica is characterized by a harsh cold climate. It was here that the lowest temperature in history was recorded - 89.2 degrees below zero in 1983. The weather conditions in the center of the mainland and on its outskirts are very different. If in the center of the mainland Antarctica can be calm and the sun shines brightly in the blue sky, then the coast of the mainland can be covered with storms. The wind here can rise up to 90 m / s, sweeping away everything in its path. Waves can be up to 20 meters high.

The weather on the continent also changes as the seasons change. The winter months are June, July and August. During these months, temperatures can drop from -60 to -75 degrees Celsius below zero in the central part and from -8 to -35 degrees Celsius below zero on the mainland coast. Summer months are December, January and February. During these months, the continent warms a little, with temperatures rising from -30 to -50 degrees below zero in the central part and from -5 to 0 degrees Celsius on the coast. Based on the temperatures, it almost never rains here - only it snows.

Another characteristic feature of Antarctic weather conditions is strong and continuous winds, which can reach up to 90 meters per second. This is due to the domed structure of the mainland. From April to November, the winds in Antarctica blow almost the whole day without stopping. From November to March, winds can blow at night, and during the day, due to the warming up of the upper layer, the winds can subside.

Flora and fauna of Antarctica

Given the continent's harsh cold climate, the diversity of animals and plants leaves much to be desired.

Ferns, algae (in oases), mushrooms, lichens, flowering plants grow from plants in Antarctica. Among the animals on the coast of the continent, you can find seals and penguins. More animals can be found in the coastal strip. From underground animals, these are arachnids and insects. There are also seals, fur seals, birds, penguins. There are no completely land animals on the territory of Antarctica. Penguins are the main decoration of the coasts of Antarctica.

Antarctica has no established states, and it does not belong to anyone. But 16 countries have built their bases here and are studying this continent.

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