Antarctica

Sir Ernest Shackleton decided to attempt to cross Antarctica via the south pole.

They usually only stay for the "warmer" months and leave before the onset of winter however, some stay for winter. The danger is that if they stay for winter, they are stuck there with little or no chance of leaving due to the weather conditions.

Antarctica does not pass through any countries. It is a continent located at the southernmost part of the Earth, governed by an international treaty that preserves it for scientific research and environmental protection.

There is no official record of the first person born in Antarctica. However, it is known that the first children born in Antarctica were Emilio Marcos de Palma, son of an Argentine naval officer, born on January 7, 1978 at an Argentine base, and Juan Pablo Camacho, son of a Chilean naval officer, born on January 22, 1984 at a Chilean base.

Because there is so little particulate in the air and because Earth's Southern Hemisphere faces the stellar southern hemisphere -- the thickest part of the galaxy, building astronomical observatories in Antarctica makes perfect sense.

Antarctica is the highest, darkest, coldest, driest, windiest and iciest continent on earth.

In Antarctica, the temperature is consistently below freezing, so there is no opportunity for a freeze-thaw cycle to occur. The extreme cold prevents the melting phase of the cycle from happening, as temperatures remain too low for ice to melt.

Yes, Antarctica is located far south of Greenland. Greenland is in the North Atlantic Ocean, while Antarctica is in the southern hemisphere, at the South Pole.

Ernest Shackleton took dogs but not horses on his expeditions to Antarctica. He used sled dogs to help transport supplies and equipment across the icy terrain.

In order to move from Antarctica to Africa -- or to any other continent on earth -- your direction is north.

No. Just like parallel lines on a flat surface, any two lines of latitude that you

choose are the same distance apart everywhere, they never cross, and they

never touch. That's why they're often called "parallels" of latitude.

Yes, the Antarctic Region near the South Pole generally experiences colder temperatures than the Arctic Region near the North Pole. This is due to various factors such as higher elevation of the Antarctic ice sheet, which promotes colder conditions, as well as differences in ocean currents and sea ice extent in the two regions.

When the sea ice melts, and carnivore marine animals can come closer to the beaches, there are sea birds breeding on the beaches (no animals live on Antarctica0. Their offspring and some adults become food for the carnivore marine animals.

This would alter the snow-albedo feedback. Darkening the surface of snow/ice greatly lowers the albedo (reflectivity) of the surface. This would cause the snow/ice surface to absorb more solar radiation by virtue of its lower albedo, which would allow it to heat up more.

Normally most solar radiation is simply reflected by snow back into the atmosphere and mostly out to space, so by causing it to absorb more you are heating up the lower atmosphere. By doing this, you are more likely to melt the snow/ice, whereby the albedo will be even lower, which would then absorb more radiation, etc.. This is called a positive feedback loop.

Antarctica is a continent like every other continent on earth. Precipitation falls from clouds in the sky. In Antarctica, which is a polar desert, most precipitation evaporates. The moisture that falls to the earth is frozen into ice crystals.

Hot dry summers with most of the precipitation occurring in late spring to early summer, and cold snowy winters. This is different for an African veld/savannah, however, which experiences 4 to 6 months of extreme drought and 6 to 8 months of violent thunderstorms that produce massive amounts of rain.

Antarctica is the continent located nearest to 80 degrees south latitude. At this latitude, the majority of the continent is covered by the vast Antarctic ice sheet, making it the southernmost continent on Earth.

The North Pole is not on any continent. It is an imaginary point on the Earth's surface that can be reached by travelling over the Arctic Ice Sheet, which forms on the surface of the Arctic Sea.

Average temperature:

The average temperature in Antarctica is -50°C (-58°F).

Annual rainfall:

It does not rain in Antarctica because it is so cold and water vapor is frozen out of the air. Although it does not rain, precipitation DOES occur in the form of frost and occasional light snowfall. The interior averages about 2 inches (50 mm) a year, making Antarctica a desert.

The ice thickness depends on season. In the antarctic sea, practically all sea-ice melts in the antarctic summer (keep in mind that antarctic land is covered by deep glaciers all year).

In the arctic, in summer the ice thins. It used to retain an average thickness of a few meters, but in the past few years it thinned. On Aug 16 2010 PIOMAS published an ice volume of about 5 million cubic meters (they actually published an anomaly of about -9.7 from the 1979-2009 average of 14.7). For that date, the

Arctic Climate Research at the University of Illinois published an area of about 4 million square meters (a few thousand more) so it gives about 1.25 meter average depth. Note that PIOMAS is only using a validated model plus some measurements, as there are no global direct measurements (seems there will be next year). Expect to see more numbers at end of September, as the minimum of arctic sea-ice is around mid-Septrmber.

Everything on earth is north of Antarctica.

• Coastal areas all over the world will be flooded.
• All beaches will be destroyed.
• Low lying Pacific Island countries will be finished.
• High tides will swamp London and New York.
• Holland will be under water.

North America is land and is up north, but Antarctica is ice and is down south. Millions live in North America, but not very many live in Antarctica. North America's summer is Antarctica's winter, and North America's winter is Antarctica's summer! Also, North America is much bigger than Antarctica.

No, the south pole is not a continent, but a compass point: 90 degrees South Latitude. It exists on a continent named Antarctica.