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- For the Kim Stanley Robinson novel, see Antarctica (novel)
- "Antarctic" redirects here; see also Antarctic Circle
Location of Antartica |
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| Area | 13,200,000 km² |
| Population | ~1,000 |
| Government | None, governed by the Antarctic Treaty System |
| Territorial claims | Argentina Australia Chile France New Zealand Norway United Kingdom |
| Internet TLD | .aq |
| Calling Code | +672 |
A satellite composite image of AntarcticaAntarctica (from Greek ἀνταρκτικός, "opposite the Arctic"; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a continent surrounding the Earth's South Pole. It is the coldest place on Earth and is almost entirely covered by ice; however, it is also the world's largest desert. It is not to be confused with the Arctic, which is located near the Earth's North Pole on the opposite side of the planet.
Although myths and speculation about a Terra Australis ("Southern Land") go back to antiquity, the first commonly accepted sighting of the continent occurred in 1820 and the first verified landing in 1821 by the Russian expion of Mikhail Lazarev and Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen. (See also History of Antarctica.)
With an area of 13,200,000 km², Antarctica is the fifth largest continent, after Asia, Africa, North America, and South America. However, it is by far the smallest in population: indeed, it has no permanent population at all. It is also the continent with the highest average altitude, and the lowest average humidity of any continent on Earth, as well as the lowest average temperature.
It has been assigned the Internet ccTLD .aq.
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Antarctic climate
Main article: Climate of Antarctica.
Antarctica is the coldest place on earth. Temperatures reach a minimum of between -85 and -90 degrees Celsius in the winter and about 30 degrees higher in the summer months. Weather fronts rarely penetrate far into the continent, leaving the center cold and dry. There is little precipitation over the continent, but ice there can last for extended time periods. Nearly all of Antarctica is covered by an ice sheet that is, on average, 2.5 kilometers thick.
At the edge of the continent, strong katabatic winds off the polar plateau often blow at storm force. In the interior, however, windspeeds are often moderate.
Depending on the latitude, long periods of constant darkness, or constant sunlight, mean that climates familiar to humans are not generally available on the continent.
Geography
Region around AntarcticaMain article: Geography of Antarctica
The continent of Antarctica is located mostly south of the Antarctic Circle, surrounded by the Southern Ocean. Physically Antarctica is divided in two by mountains close to the neck between the Ross Sea and the Weddell Sea. The portion of the continent west of the Weddell Sea and east of the Ross Sea is called Western Antarctica and the remainder Eastern Antarctica, since they correspond roughly to the eastern and western hemispheres relative to the Greenwich meridian. Western Antarctica is covered by the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
See also: Extreme points of Antarctica, Antarctica territories.
Population
Territorial claims of Antarctica
Palmer StationIt is usually estimated that at a given time there are at least 1,000 people living in Antarctica. This varies considerably with season. Generally, stations use their home country's time zone, but not always; where known, a base's UTC offset is listed. Although Antarctica has no permanent residents, a number of governments maintain permanent research stations throughout the continent. Many of the stations are staffed around the year. These include:
- Akademik Vernadsky Station, Galindez Island, (65°14′ S 64°15′ W), (Ukraine
UKR) - Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, South Pole United States Antarctic Program
- Belgrano II, (77°52′ S 34°37′ W) Laboratory and meteorological station Argentine southernmost base (since 1979). ARG
- Bellingshausen Station, King George Island (62° 11′ 47″ S, 58° 57′ 39″ W) RUS
- Bernardo O'Higgins Station, Antarctic Peninsula, Chilean Army. CHL
- Casey, Vincennes Bay ( Australian Antarctic Division) (UTC+8)
- Comandante Ferraz Station, King George Island (62°08′ S 58°40′ W) BRA
- Concordia Research Station, (75° S 123° E), FRA ITA
- Dakshin Gangotri Station, Indian Antarctic Program
- Davis, Princess Elizabeth Land ( Australian Antarctic Division) (UTC+7)
- Dumont d'Urville Station (66°40′ S 140°00′ E) FRA (UTC+10)
- Eduardo Frei Montalva Station and Villa Las Estrellas, King George Island, Chilean Air Force. CHL
- Esperanza (63°24′ S 57°00′ W) Laboratory and meteorological station (since 1952). Radio LRA Arcángel, School #38 Julio A. Roca (since 1978), tourist facilities. ARG
- General Artigas Station (Uruguay
URY) - Georg von Neumayer Station, (70°39′ S 08°15′ W) (Atka-Bay) (Alfred Wegener Institute DEU)
- Great Wall Station (62°13′ S 58°57′ W), King George Island ( CHN)
- Halley Research Station (75°35′ S 26°34′ W) British Antarctic Survey
- Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station (62°10′ S 058°28′ W), King George Island POL
- Jubany, (62°14′ S 58°40′ W), since 1953 ( ARG)
- Machu Picchu Research Station, Admiralty Bay, King George Island, summer base established in 1989. PER
- Macquarie Island ( Australian Antarctic Division)
- Maitri Station, (70°45.58′ S 11°43.56′ E) near Schirmacher Region ( Indian Antarctic Program)
- Marambio Base, (64°14′ S 56°37′ W) Seymour-Marambio Island. Laboratory, meteorological station, 1.2Km long, 30 mts. wide landing track (since 1969) ( ARG) website
- Mawson Station, Mac Robertson Land ( Australian Antarctic Division) (UTC+6)
- McMurdo Station, Ross Island ( USA) (UTC+12, follows New Zealand DST)
- Mirny Station (66° 33′ 07″ S, 93° 00′ 53″ E) ( RUS)
- Mizuho Station (70°41′ S 44°19′ E) (National Institute of Polar Research JPN)
- Molodezhnaya Station (67° 40′ 18″ S, 45° 51′ 21″ E) ( RUS)
- Novolazarevskaya Station, Dronning Maud Land (70° 46′ 26″ S, 11° 51′ 54″ E) ( RUS)
- Orcadas (60°44′ S 44°44′ W) Orcadas Islands (since 1904)( ARG)
- Palmer Station, Anvers Island ( USA) (UTC-4, follows Chilean DST)
- Professor Julio Escudero base, King George Island. CHL
- Progress Station (69° 22′ 44″ S, 76° 23′ 13″ E) ( RUS)
- Rothera Research Station (67°34′ S 68°08′ W) British Antarctic Survey (UTC-3)
- San Martín Station (68°08′ S 67°06′ W) (since 1951) Laboratory and Meteorological measurements ( ARG)
- SANAE (South African National Antarctic Expions), on the Fimbul Coastal Ice Shelf in Queen Maud Land ZAF
- Saint Climent Ohridski (62° 38′ 29″ S, 60° 21′ 53″ W) (since 1988) Biology Research, Laboratory and Meteorological measurements. First Orthodox Chirch - St. Ivan Rilski ( BGR)
- Scott Base, (77°51′ S 166°45′ E) Ross Island ( NZL) (UTC+12, follows New Zealand DST)
- Showa Station (66°00′ S 39°35′ E) (National Institute of Polar Research JPN) (GMT+3)
- Troll Station (Norwegian Polar Institute), (72°00′ S 2°32′ E) Queen Maud Land ( NOR)
- Vostok, Antarctica (78°28′ S 106°48′ E) ( RUS) (UTC+6)
- Zhongshan (Sun Yet-Sen) Station (69° 22′ 44″ S, 76° 22′ 40″ E) ( CHN)
Emilio Marcos Palma was the first person born in Antarctica (Base Esperanza) in 1978, his parents being sent there along with seven other families.
Communications
The international dialing code for Antarctica is +672.
Antarctica has wireless telephone services. There is a single cell tower using AMPS technology at Argentina's Marambio Base and an Entel Chile GSM tower on King George Island. Communications are otherwise limited to satellite connections.
Military
The Antarctic Treaty prohibits any measures of a military nature in Antarctica, such as the establishment of military bases and fortifications, the carrying out of military manoeuvres, or the testing of any type of weapon. It permits the use of military personnel or equipment for scientific research or for any other peaceful purposes.
The United States military issues the Antarctica Service Medal to those members of the military or civilians who perform research duty on the Antarctica continent. The medal, including the winter-over bar issued to those who remain on the continent for two complete, six-month seasons, is properly awarded by the United States Congress.
The only documented large-scale land military maneuver was "Operación 90," undertaken 10 years before the Antarctic Treaty by the Argentinian military.
See also
- South Pole
- Southern Ocean
- Antarctic Treaty System
- Climate of Antarctica
- Communications in Antarctica
- Demographics of Antarctica
- Ecology of Antarctica
- Economy of Antarctica
- Flags of Antarctica
- History of Antarctica
- Antarctica territories
- List of antarctic and sub-antarctic islands
- Transportation in Antarctica
- Mount Erebus disaster
- Antarctic Stamps
- Diamond dust, an Antarctic optical phenomenon
- Life in the Freezer, a BBC television series on life on and around Antarctica
- Extreme points of Antarctica
- Wildlife of Antarctica - Krill, Penguins, Pinniped (Seals, Sea Lions, Fur seal), Whales
- Ice, Iceberg, Ice shelf, Glacier
External links
- 70South
- Antarctic Treaty Secretariat
- ANetStation
- The Antarctic Digital Database - a source of digital topographic map data for Antarctica
- Argentine Antarctic history
- Australian Antarctic Division
- British Antarctic Survey
- Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP), official homepage.
- German Antarctic Ships and Stations
- Portals on the World - Antarctica from the Library of Congress
- The Russian State Museum of Arctic and Antarctic
- The Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research - coordinating body for Antarctic Science
- Antarctic Research Stations
- The World Factbook – Antarctica from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency
- Latest Antarctic news and information by 70South
- Biodiversity at Ardley Island, South Shetland archipelago, Antarctica
| Continents and regions of the World | |||
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Geological supercontinents : Gondwana • Laurasia • Pangea • Rodinia |