| Antarctica (from Greek
ἀνταρκτικός, opposite the arctic) is a continent surrounding the Earth's South Pole. It is the coldest place on
earth and is almost entirely covered by ice. 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 legends 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. A 1513 map by Admiral Piri Reis, however, contains a southern continent
that bears a possible resemblance to the Antarctic coast. (See also History of Antarctica.)
Antarctica is the fifth largest continent in area, 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.
Antarctic climate
Main article: Climate of Antarctica.
Antarctica is the coldest place on earth. Weather patterns 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 a long time. Nearly all of Antarctica is covered by an ice sheet that is, on average, 2.5 kilometres thick.
See-also: sea level rise.
Geography
Main article: Geography of Antarctica
The continent of Antarctica is located mostly south of the Antarctic
Circle. 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
Territorial claims
Several nations, particularly those close to the continent, made territorial claims in the 20th century. These claims have little practical relevance due to the Antarctic Treaty which came into effect in 1961, but continue to be observed by
cartographers.
Most countries that have observation or study facilities in Antarctica have those facilities within their claimed territory.
The Antarctic Treaty defers these claims and most
other nations do not recognize them. No other nations have made claims themselves, although the United States and Russia assert
the right to do so.
No formal claims have been made in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west.
Former claims
Population
It is usually estimated that at a given time there are at least 1,000 people living in Antarctica. This varies strongly with
season.
Antarctica has no permanent residents, but a number of governments maintain permanent research stations on the continent. Many
of the stations are staffed around the year.
These include:
- 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).
- Bellingshausen
Station, King George Island (62°11'47"S, 58°57'39"W)
(Russia)
- Bernardo O'Higgins Station, Antarctic Peninsula, Chilean
Army.
- Casey, Vincennes
Bay (Australian Antarctic
Division)
- Comandante Ferraz Station, King
George Island (62¨08°S, 58¨40°W) Brazil
- Dakshin Gangotri Station, (Indian Antarctic Program)
- Davis, Princess Elizabeth
Land (Australian Antarctic
Division)
- Dumont d'Urville Station (66°40'S, 140°00'E)
France
- Eduardo Frei Montalva Station and Villa
Las Estrellas, King George Island, Chilean Air Force.
- 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 Argentina
- General
Artigas Station, (Uruguay)
- Georg
von Neumayer Station, (70°39'S, 08°15'W) (Atka-Bay) (Alfred Wegener Institute, Germany)
- Jubany, (62°14'S, 58°40'W) (Argentina)
- 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, Poland
- Maitri Station, (70°45.58' S, 11°43.56' E) near Schirmacher Region (Indian Antarctic Program)
- Marambio Station, (64°14'S, 56°37'W)
Seymour-Marambio Island. Laboratory, meteorological station, 1.2Km long, 30 mts. wide landing track (since 1969) (Argentina) website (http://www.marambio.aq)
- McMurdo Station, Ross Island (U.S.)
- Macquarie Island (Australian Antarctic Division)
- Mawson, Mac Robertson Land (Australian Antarctic Division)
- Mirny Station (66°33'07"S,
93°00'53"E) (Russia)
- Mizuho Station (70°41'S,
44°19'E) (National Institute of Polar Research, Japan)
- Molodezhnaya
Station (67°40'18"S, 45°51'21"E) (Russia)
- Novolazarevskaya Station, Dronning
Maud Land (70°46'26"S, 11°51'54"E) (Russia)
- Orcadas (60°44'S, 44°44'W)
Orcadas Islands (since
1904)(Argentina)
- Palmer Station, Anvers Island (U.S.)
- Progress Station
(69°22'44"S, 76°23'13"E) (Russia)
- Rothera Research Station (67°34' S, 68°08' W)
British Antarctic Survey
- San Martín (68°08'S, 67°06'W) (since 1951) Laboratory and Meteorological
measurements (Argentina)
- SANAE (South African National Antarctic Expeditions), on the Fimbul
Coastal Ice Shelf in Queen Maud Land
- Scott Base, Ross Island (New Zealand)
- Showa Station (66°00'S, 39°35'E) (National Institute of Polar Research, Japan)
- Vostok, Antarctica (78 28'S and 106 48'E) (Russia)
Emilio Marcos Palma was the first person born in
Antarctica (Base Esperanza) in 1978, his parents being sent there along with other 7 families.
Literature set in Antarctica
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 manoeuvers, 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
who perform research duty on the Antarctica continent.
External links
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