Antarctica

There is no standing inventory of 'huts' in Antarctica, because some can be temporary and erected only during the summer season.

Lieutenant James Cook officially took possession of the east coast of Australia, on behalf of Great Britain, in 1770. He named it New South Wales, but his claim did not extend very far inland so, strictly speaking, it is incorrect to say he took possession of Australia.

Sea level is constant throughout the world on all oceans and on the beaches of all continents.

Antarctica is a frozen land mass. It hardly, if ever rains in Antarctica making it the worlds driest dessert.

There are no cities, states or countries in Antarctica.

There are certainly more than two scientific disciplines existent on the Antarctic continent. Glaciology, geology, zoology, biology, botany, atmospherics, seismology, psychology and more.

All science conducted on Antarctica addresses issues related to the health of planet earth.

one thousand miles

During the winter months when there is no sunrise.

There are no commercial flights to anywhere on the Antarctic continent.

Logistical air supply flights are not viable during the dark winter months, because hydraulics and fuel freeze at extreme low temperatures.

Greenland is mostly covered by an ice sheet.

Depends on your route.

No, because Antarctica is not a nation. Antarctica is a continent governed by the Antarctic Treaty.

Since no one 'owns' any part of Antarctica, it's possible to answer your question by stating that McMurdo Research Station has always been funded by the United States of America, beginning in about 1956.

However, in the early 1900s, Sir Robert Falcon Scott -- a British Citizen -- established a hut there -- Hut Point -- that sheltered several expeditionary teams.

As well, James Clark Ross discovered the geography in February 1841. McMurdo is named after one of his crew.

You may be thinking of the discovery of the hole in the Ozone Layer over planet earth. From Wikipedia:

"The Antarctic Ozone Hole was discovered by the British Antarctic Survey from data obtained with a ground-based instrument from a measuring station at Halley Bay, Antarctica, in the 1981-1983 period. They reported the October ozone loss in 1985. Satellite measurements then confirmed that the springtime ozone loss was a continent-wide feature."

No, sorry.

The sun in Antarctica is the same sun that shines all over the earth. It's rise and set patterns, however, are polar, which makes those patterns different from the sunset/sunrise patterns that most humans are familiar with.

Of the 17 known species of penguins, only two of them actually breed on Antarctica.

For more information, see the related link.

Believe it or not, with all of that frozen water around, Antarctica is considered to be desert.

Steve Irwin I believe.

You may be thinking of East Antarctica and West Antarctica, separated by the Trans-antarctic Mountain Range.

The crystal is called the Erebus Crystal. It's also found in Kenya, and is little understood.

Read more about it, below.

People and organizations interested in processing raw materials found in or on the earth, those motivated by money, may be interested in exploiting Antarctica.

Antarctica is the highest, driest, darkest, windiest, coldest continent on earth. For humans and all other animals, it is a totally dangerous place. In this case, dangerous in the sense that there is no vegetation, no food chain, and there is constant wind and extreme cold.

Animals that are equipped to survive cold weather do so based on their bodies having a layer of blubber that keeps their bodies warm. These animals, such as penguins and seals, come to the coast of Antarctica to breed. Once their young have fledged, the animals return to the sea, which is warmer that the open air in this polar environment.

You cannot take any commercial flights to Antarctica. Cruise ships cruise the warmer parts of the sea around Antarctica, and spots on these vessels can be very expensive, costing tens of thousands of dollars or pounds.

One can assume by barrack stations, you mean sleeping quarters.

Depending on the research station, sleeping quarters can be indoors or outdoors, in buildings or in tents. The variables include the location of the worker, the season and the weather.

Each is designed for maximum shelter from the extreme cold.

You may be thinking of the Trans-antarctic Mountains. However, anything that crosses the entire continent of Antarctica could be prefaced with the descriptor 'transantarctica'.