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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
Is the arctic considered a desert?
There is an Antarctic Desert. Almost the entire continent of Antarctica is considered desert. Some clain that the Arctic is also a desert. However, much of the Arctic is either open sea or sea ice and not land. Those areas on land are mostly tundra which is a different biome from a desert.
Why is Antarctica an uninhabited continent?
Antarctica is covered by an ice sheet and experiences several months of no sunrise, making it the most extreme cold weather on earth. Nothing grows there and there is no food chain.
Settlements would be impractical since everything would be imported and no government has stepped up to 'settle' Antarctica.
How long does darkness last in Antarctica?
there is darkness in antarctica, every June were it is antarcticas winter the moves south and the sun rays shine down on the earth missing the antarctica but hitting the artic. The Darkness usally lasts as long as our summer its temperature gets as low as -70'C giving you frost bite instantly!
Everywhere south of the Antarctic Circle, the earth experiences at least one 24-hour period without a sunrise. At the South Pole, this period is six months. Everywhere on the Antarctic continent experiences some number of 24-hour periods without a sunrise: your answer depends on where you are on the continent.
What can the temperature reach in Antarctica?
The temperature can be in Antarctica as low as -70 degrees Celsius (-94 degrees Fahrenheit).
The annual average temperature is -50°C (-58°F). Winter temperatures drop quickly, then level out. Summer is short, from mid-December to mid-January, however, temperatures can reach a balmy -30°C (-22°F).
Is it dark in Antarctica in summer?
No it is not when the northern hemisphere is in winter months.
In the winter months of December the suns rays falls on the southern hemisphere for brighter and warmer days in the Continent.It is in the months of June-july when the suns rays are in the northern hemisphere that the Antarica will have darkness.
Can you hunt animals in Antarctica?
Animals that die on the Antarctic continent are generally baby animals that become prey to other breeding animals, that need food for their own babies.
For example, an adult, breeding Skua will take a baby Penguin to feed the Skua chicks.
There is no recreational or commercial hunting on Antarctica, because no animals live there. All animals on the continent are sea mammals and sea birds the visit Antarctica's beaches to breed.
Who owns part of Antarctica Can you show a picture on Antarctica?
Antarctica is owned in sections by various countries, being the UK, New Zealand, France, Norway [owns two territories], Australia, Chile, and Argentina.
Nazi Germany also owns a slice of Antarctica, although only Germany recognises this territory [funnily enough]
How can you use the natural resources of Antarctica?
If by natural resources, you include data, then the answer you want is this: scientists study the health of planet earth based on data collected on the continent.
Otherwise, there are no extractive industries allowed to establish ventures anywhere on earth south of 60 degrees S.
How long is the transantarctic mountain range?
The Trans-Antarctics form one of the longest mountain ranges on earth -- about 3,500 miles. The temperature, needless to say, is below freezing. How far below freezing is variable, depending on where you are and the season.
With no sun, the temperatures could be coldest during those months.
What penguins are there in Antarctica?
Of the 17 species of penguins, there are only fourspecies which live at Antarctica: Adelie, Emperor, Chinstrapand Gentoo penguins. The Antarctic is not their only range.
Who has the biggest claim over Antarctica?
Antarctica is divided up by several countries as many made claims.
many countries have their own section of antarctica that they have applied for, but they can't do everything they want on it even though they own it. a decleration was signed by like 80 countries that outlined the rules and regulations of antarctica for the next 50 years, this was signed in 1994, i believe. It was meant to be signed in 80's but a few countries did not want to sign the treaty as antarctica has good mining oppurtunity's.
in terms of who controls antarctica, Australia has the biggest portion than any other country so technically that could count as control but a couple of south American countries i believe one of them is Chile, have a large tourist trade with antarctica and are also the closest to antarctica with islands basically bordering the continent. so a country like Chile ma have more political power through those terms. It was also Chile where i believe the decleration was signed.
Another Answer
Several countries claim territory in Antarctica, however, no claim is legitimate. The Antarctic Treaty system, signed in 1961 negates all existing claims and prohibits future claims. The continent -- and all of earth south of 60 degrees South Latitude -- is governed by the treaty.
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.
