Antarctica

Atlantic, Indian, Pacific.

Claims over territory on the Antarctic continent overlap based on lines of longitude and those being used to define territory claimed. The continent is covered -- 98% -- by an ice sheet, making geographic lines useless as bases for claims.

Since claims were made individually by nation states, and not by any agreement, the claims overlap.

The Antarctic Treaty does not recognize any claims and further prohibits future claims.

Both penguins and seals are sea animals and they live at sea. However, during the breeding season, both can be found on Antarctica's beaches.

Continental ice sheets vary in depth from about two miles at the South Pole, to negligible at the beaches.

Ice shelves -- that float on water -- measure several hundred meters in depth.

Sea ice that doubles the size of the continent in winter can form more than 10 feet thick.

The Antarctic Circle is roughly along latitude 66° 33' 39" south (2009).

There is one 24-hour period without daylight in late June along the Antarctic Circle. There is also one 24-hour period of continuous daylight in late December. When the Sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer (June, summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere), it is winter in the Southern Hemisphere. Points south of the Antarctic Circle will get no day at all, being out of the half of the Earth receiving sunlight.

The Sun is always relatively low on the horizon (no higher than halfway to vertical), because the farthest point at which the Sun is ever directly overhead is along the Tropic of Capricorn (23° 26′ 22" S) well to the north.

Icebergs break away from their sources due to the natural phenomenon of being loosened by the underwater currents into which the ice flows.

Ice covers 98% of the Antarctic continent, and some glaciers flow downhill -- extremely slowly -- based on the gravitational pull of the earth. When the ice flow reaches the sea and forms an ice tongue, the underwater currents agitate the tongue, which eventually breaks off and forms an iceberg.

Icebergs originate above land in the ice sheet, so there is no loss of continental acreage due to this normal calving of icebergs.

Summer temperatures in Antarctica are cold, always below freezing and often below zero F. The Antarctic Peninsula, however, may experience temperatures above freezing for short periods during mid-day during summer.

Mostly they are doing research on the climate, ozone levels, oxygen levels, and overall using the lack of human surface modification to study what the Earth's atmosphere is doing and reacting to. There are many other studies (such as those which include Geology, Biology, etc.), but the polar caps are very good areas to study the human impact on the outer atmospheric levels because of the lack general pollution, and "global warming" changes because of all the cold-climate requiring ICE!!! The only problem is there's so much pollution these days, even in Antarctica there are obvious effects of slobbish, inconsiderate, slovenly human behavior. (I, too, am guilty of it ). :(

There is concrete evidence that the Southern Ocean that surrounds Antarctica is getting warmer. This warmth is causing the ice shelves to deteriorate from underneath.

According to the British Antarctic Survey, warming is also evident in the Antarctic Peninsula:

"A total increase in mean annual air temperatures, of around 2.8 °C makes this the most rapidly warming region in the Southern Hemisphere - comparable to rapidly warming regions of the Arctic."

According to its Wikipedia page: "The main treaty was opened for signature on December 1, 1959, and officially entered into force on June 23, 1961."

The 12 countries signed the treaty during that period.

If by 'vacation spot' you mean a spa or resort, the answer is no.

There are no commercial ventures on land anywhere on earth south of 60 degrees S, per the Antarctic Treaty.

However, a commercial boat tour into this geography may be the vacation of a lifetime.

Nation-states claiming territory on the Antarctic continent used lines of longitude to bound their claims. Some claims overlap, and there are areas of the continent that are not claimed.

The Antarctic Treaty (1960) acknowledges all claims and holds them in abeyance, while prohibiting all future claims.

You may be thinking of the circumpolar current in the Southern Ocean.

The ice on Antarctica fell as snow and is therefore not salty. The sea ice forming around Antarctica releases the salt as the sea water freezes.

Sir Earnest Henry Shackleton reached the 'farthest south' marker of 88°23'S, or 97 geographical miles from the South Pole on his second expedition to Antarctica in 1907.

Some say it was this marker that motivated Sir Robert Falcon Scott to better Shackleton's achievement, when Scott returned in 1910 for his own 'conquest of the pole'.

The seas around Antarctica are rich in marine (sea-living) animals, ranging from microscopic plankton to the Earths largest animal, the Blue Whale. Many different species of land animals live there also.

All the animals that live in and around Antarctica have ways of helping them survive the extreme weather conditions:

Some, like the whales, seals and birds, have a layer of fat to insulate and protect them from the cold.

Penguins and seals have a compact body shape and thick skin to help keep in their body heat.

Birds have both waterproof feathers and downy feathers to keep them warm.

Many of the fish and insects have special chemicals in their blood that keep them from freezing.

Some animals leave Antarctica between June and August, its coldest months. For example, Humpback whales eat huge amounts of krill before migrating to warmer waters, where there is little krill, to give birth to their calves .

Some animals remain in Antarctica all the time, for example, the Emperor penguins. They huddle together in huge numbers to keep warm.

Because they have special adaptations to allow them to survive the freezing temperatures, they sleep in the snow (burrows/dens/nests), in the water or on the ice or huddled together in groups.

China is not a continent, but is a country, and part of the Asian continent.

Antarctica is a continent of approximately 14,000,000 sq km. It is surrounded by the Southern Ocean.

The Southern Ocean was proclaimed in 2000 and consists of the southern most parts of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

Antarctica does not have any neighbouring countries. Antarctica is surrounded by the Southern Ocean.

If you were a bird and could fly in a straight line between Bejing, China and McMurdo Station, Antarctica, you'd fly 9,458.185 miles, according to Google Maps.

They consume large amount of fish and anything else they can eat, which helps them store fat. As their fat builds the more heat they can store, which then allows them so survive in cold climates

Antarctica is a land mass with measurements that have not changed in the 10 years.

Of coarse not! That is one of the smallest whales! The blue whale is the biggest animal on Earth, It goes to Antarctica to migrate.

The Antarctic Treaty bans all human activity south of 60 degrees South Latitude with the exception of the pursuit of science.