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Antarctica
Antarctica is an uninhabited continent dedicated to science and governed by The Antarctic Treaty. As questions about the highest, driest, windiest, iciest, darkest continent on earth.
3,949 Questions
What countries make up Australasia?
The continent of Australia is a federation of sovereign states that has no claim over any country's outside the federation, The states Are NEW South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, Queensland. The Australian capital territory and the northern territory as well as a few Territory's that are islands around Australia.
Safety precautions in Antarctica?
I think so. A lot have people have died in Antarctica because of the weather. Because Antarctica is a "polar" region, there is no precipitation, it has no lakes or rivers and is in fact the driest continent. Average temperatures in the Antarctic interior get down to -70 degrees Celsius during the winter months and -35 degrees Celsius in the warmer months. The coastal temperatures are much warmer with a range of -15 to -32 Celsius in Winter and -5 to +5 Celsius in Summer. The interior of Antarctica is considered the world's driest desert because the extreme cold freezes water vapour out of the air. Annual snowfall on the polar plateau is equivalent to less than 5 cm of rain. Antarctica has some of the strongest winds on earth, with some winds reaching 320 kph.
What winter holidays are celebrated in antarctica?
Christmas day is usually a non-working day for most people, though many will also be doing their jobs for part of the day at least.
Details depend on the nationality of the base and on the prevailing base culture, but pretty much all Antarctic bases will have a slap-up Christmas meal and a party of some type. Volunteers often help the base cook/s prepare the special meal.
Presents tend not to be exchanged between base members as there's not really anywhere to buy them from! Shopping as recreation is definitely not on the list of Antarctic things to do.
The party in the evening tends to be the main event. Dinner will be as traditional as possible in the circumstances, though fresh vegetables and meat are not easy to come by and so may be supplemented with dried, tinned or frozen varieties.
Fancy dress is always a great Antarctic favourite(costumes often taking much of the day to make*), usually with some theme or other. If there is anyone on base who can sing or play an instrument (even if pretty awfully) then they will stand up and do their bit. Many base members will have presents from home that may well have arrived months earlier and are saved until Christmas to be opened.
(* The greatest dedication to fancy dress I came across in Antarctica was from a guy who shaved his head and then painted the top half of his body white with a white skirt from the waist down - he came as a snow-man.)
Some people may phone home via a satellite link if this is possible, and most send emails and pictures or update their blogs (communication has been revolutionized in Antarctica more so than any where else probably by the advent of the internet).
How much of the worlds water is held in antarctica?
The Earth total water volume is roughly 1.3 billion cubic kilometres (Volume of all of the oceans), while the volume of water locked in Antarctica is roughly 30 million cubic kilometres. This works out to be about 2.3%;
(3.0x107 / (3.0x107+1.3x109)) x 100
Another way is to consider that Antarctica holds 70% of the worlds freshwater, where freshwater as a whole makes up 3% of the words water. 70% of 3% = roughly 2.1%
How do weddell seals survive in antarctica?
During the Antarctic summer (November-April), leopard seals hunt among the pack ice surrounding the Antarctic continent, spending almost all of their time (except for breeding) in the water. In the winter (May-October) they range northward to the sub-Antarctic islands.
Why is Antarctica used as a research base?
There are several reasons:
1.Due to it's coldness and hostility, it is scientists closest example of the surface of Mars, meaning that some tests can be done here rather than in chambers or on Mars. Furthermore, if life can exist far into Antarctica e.g. Lycon, then maybe life live in similar conditions on Mars
2.Due to it's lack of air pollution, Astronomy tests can be done on Earth where it would usually be hard to do them. Also, tests involving air can be done as it has clean air.
3. Antarctica is the least known continent by long way, with it's under water lakes, its frozen and mysterious waters, its crystal formations and volcano caves. There is a lot to explore. However, such explorations don't usually come from bases all the time, mostly from around the world, including 'Frozen Planet'.
Another Answer
Antarctica is governed -- as is all land south of 60 degrees S -- by the Antarctic Treaty, which preserves the area for the scientific study of the health of planet earth. The treaty was signed by governments representing 80% of the earth's population, and many of these government establish research bases on these lands.
Is the Antarctic and the Arctic the same thing?
Antarctica is a continent, the Arctic is open sea water.
How deep is the Antarctic ocean?
Antarctica is a continent of approximately 14,000,000 sq km. The Antarctic Ice Sheet consists of about 13.72 million sq km of permanent ice up to over 4 km thick representing 90% of the world's ice.
How much of Antarctica is left?
Antarctica is 5,400,000 sq miles (14,000,000 sq km) in size. Of this, 5,300,000 sq mi (13,720,000 sq kms) is ice covered, leaving 100,000 sq mi ( 280,000 sq km) ice free.
This works out at 98.15% ice covered, 1.85% ice free.
How do the animals survive in antarctica?
They survive because their body's were built to survive the cold
Another Answer
Nothing lives in Antarctica; it's too cold. So, nothing 'survives' in Antarctica.
Many animals, including penguins, seals, skuas and petrels, come to Antarctica to breed. As soon as their young are able, all the animals leave Antarctica.
The breeding animals are equipped to deal with the extreme cold weather, and the rising sun and lack of sunsets later in the spring and summer, aid in animals' ability to breed on Antarctica's beaches and in Antarctic waters.
Why is it dark in winter at antarctica?
This phenomenon is caused by the tilt of the earth away from the sun. The same phenomenon occurs in the northern hemisphere during the opposite seasons.
Another Answer
This phenomenon only occurs around 90 degrees S -- the South Pole. Different locations south of the Antarctic Circle experience different periods of sunlight and no sunlight which can be measured in days, weeks or months.
Yes and no. Yes parts of Antarctica are melting, mainly the tip that juts out towards South America, but as a whole Antarctica has added .8% of ice per decade since 1970. So overall Antarctica is gaining ice mass.
What are some important research stations in antarctica?
There are permanent, semi-permanent and temporary research stations on Antarctica. The number of permanent stations exceeds 40, on a continent that covers 10% of the surface of Earth.
From the permanent stations, seasonal/ semi-permanent and temporary research stations are established as needed.
Wikipedia lists less than 1,000 people who have died either in the Southern Ocean around the continent or on Antarctica since 1810 -- in 'disasters'. About 15 people are listed as having died on Antarctica in expeditions since 1899.
There have also been accidental deaths of temporary workers since the 1960s, but the numbers are not readily available.
Why would people want to own Antarctica?
Resources ( link ) and research opportunities.
Another Answer
Today, and since the 1960s, Antarctica is governed by The Antarctic Treaty, which in fact governs the earth south of 60 degrees South Latitude. Governments representing 80% of the earth's population are signatories to this treaty.
The Treaty does not recognize existing claims and prevents future claims. The only value Antarctica presents to any government is as a research facility to study the health of planet earth.
Extraction of any and all resources from Antarctica is expressly forbidden by the treaty.
You can read more about it, below.
What crops are grown in antarctica?
I think not, read on. Because Antarctica is a "polar" region, there is no precipitation, it has no lakes or rivers and is in fact the driest continent. Average temperatures in the Antarctic interior get down to -70 degrees Celsius during the winter months and -35 degrees Celsius in the warmer months. The coastal temperatures are much warmer with a range of -15 to -32 Celsius in Winter and -5 to +5 Celsius in Summer. The interior of Antarctica is considered the world's driest desert because the extreme cold freezes water vapour out of the air. Annual snowfall on the polar plateau is equivalent to less than 5 cm of rain. Antarctica has some of the strongest winds on earth, with some winds reaching 320 kph.
What are the two largest ice shelves in Antarctica?
You can pick any two you want.
From the Wikipedia entry: here is a list of the ice shelves, listed clockwise, starting in the West of East Antarctica. An ice sheet is included in the list:
"Filchner Ice Shelf
"Brunt Ice Shelf
"Riiser-Larsen Ice Shelf
"Quar Ice Shelf
"Ekstrom Ice Shelf
"Jelbart Ice Shelf
"Fimbul Ice Shelf
"Lazarev Ice Shelf
"King Baudouin Ice Shelf
"Hannan Ice Shelf
"Zubchatyy Ice Shelf
"Wyers Ice Shelf
"Edward VIII Ice Shelf
"Amery Ice Shelf
"Publications Ice Shelf
"West Ice Shelf
"Shackleton Ice Shelf
"Moscow University Ice Shelf
"Voyeykov Ice Shelf
"Cook Ice Shelf
"Slava Ice Shelf
"Gillett Ice Shelf
"Nansen Ice Sheet
"McMurdo Ice Shelf
"Ross Ice Shelf
"Swinburne Ice Shelf
"Sulzberger Ice Shelf
"Nickerson Ice Shelf
"Getz Ice Shelf
"Dotson Ice Shelf
"Crosson Ice Shelf
"Cosgrove Ice Shelf
"Abbot Ice Shelf
"Venable Ice Shelf
"Stange Ice Shelf
"Bach Ice Shelf
"George VI Ice Shelf
"Wilkins Ice Shelf
"Wordie Ice Shelf
"Jones Ice Shelf
"Müller Ice Shelf
"Prince Gustav Ice Shelf
"Larsen Ice Shelf (Larsen A and B)
"Ronne Ice Shelf"
Is it possible to live in Antarctica?
yes you can
In order to live in Antarctica, you must work for a government that sponsors, funds and conducts scientific research on the Antarctic continent.The government entity that represents Antarctic science for the United States is the National Science Foundation.
What fraction of the earth does Africa cover?
Africa covers 11,725,385 square miles (or 30,368,609 square kilometers) of land.
Africa accounts for 20.5 of the Earth's land surface and almost 6% of it's total surface.
How do people get to Antarctica?
God put them there.
It is possible that the continent of Antarctica was once part of a larger land mass, and animals could have easily moved between locations. The climate appears to have once been much warmer, and so the type of animal that lived there would have been much different and more diverse than today. == ==
When did Ernest Shackleton set out to go to Antarctica?
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, CVO, OBE, FRGS led three expeditions to Antarctica.
His first journey was as the third officer with Captain Robert Falcon Scott's Discovery expedition in 1901. Discovery set sail from the Isle of Wight on 6 August 1901.
His second expedition attempted to 'conquer' the South Pole, and his team achieved 88 degrees S, only 97 miles from the South Pole. The Nimrod sailed on 11 August 1907, but Shackleton sailed at a later date.
Shackleton led the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, planned for 1914-1917. This was to be the first land crossing of the continent. Endurance left Plymouth on 8 August 1914, but Shackleton, remaining in England to finish expedition business, sailed on a faster ship on a later date and joined the expedition in Buenos Aires.
These details all from multiple entries in Wikipedia covering Shackleton and his three expeditions.
When is the best time to travel in Antarctica?
Tourists do not visit Antarctica during the winter, when the ice pack extends its frozen mantle for 1000km (621mi) around most of the continent, barricading all ship traffic. In any case, few people would pay thousands of dollars, pounds euros to experience the Antarctic winter's near round-the-clock darkness and extreme cold. At that temperature, boiling water thrown into the air freezes instantly -and nosily- into a cloud of snow. Antarctic tour season is short- about four months, with each offering its own highlights. REMEMBER: November is the start of Antarctic summer time. For additional Information go to: www.coolantarctica.com (probably best to type it in google and see what address best fits,
What is the main source of antarctica's water?
Antarctica is surrounded by the Southern Ocean, which when desalinated, can provide potable water. As well, the ice sheet covering 98% of the Antarctic continent contains 70% of the earth's supply of fresh water.
What type of work is conducted in Antarctica?
The only work currently being done in Antarctica is scientific research are finding out how fish live in freezing weather and penguins eat. some of the types are seeing of microorganisms that survive the weather or plants that survive
