As I've been preparing for my expedition, I've been doing a lot of reading and have learned several fascinating facts about Antarctica. Here are just a few!
Antarctica covers about 4.5 million square miles (14 million square km). The continent is divided into 3 parts.
East, or Greater, Antarctica includes everything east of the Transantarctic Mountains
West, or Lesser, Antarctica is all of the continent (except the Peninsula) that’s west of the Transantarctic Mountains
The Antarctic Peninsula is the part of Antarctica stretching out toward South America, and is the only major part of the continent extending north of the Antarctic Circle. Palmer Station, where I will be, is on Anvers Island just off the Antarctic Peninsula. It can be seen on the map below.
Antarctica
Antarctica is a record holder!
Of all the seven continents, Antarctica holds the record for being the:
- coldest (the record is -128.6 degrees F or -89.2 degrees C)
- driest (inland it never rains and seldom snows)
- windiest (katabatic winds reach 100 mph)
- iciest (98% of the continent is covered by ice)
- highest (in terms of average elevation)
Antarctica is home to the world’s largest ice sheet
All but two percent of Antarctica is beneath ice. There are two major ice sheets in Antarctica: the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). The EAIS and WAIS are separated by the Transantarctic Mountains, seen on the map above.
The East Antarctic Ice Sheet is home to the South Pole and also contains the thickest ice on the Antarctic continent at 15,700 ft (4,800 m).
The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is a marine-based ice sheet because its bed lies below sea level.
Antarctica is home to the southernmost active volcano
The volcano, Mt. Erebus, rises 12,447 ft (3,794 m) above Antarctica’s Ross Island, in the Ross Sea. (In Greek literature the name Erebus is used to refer to a region of the underworld where the dead had to pass immediately after dying.) Men from Ernest Shackleton’s Nimrod Expedition were the first to climb Mt. Erebus in 1908. Scientists regularly go to the top today to work at the Mt. Erebus Volcano Observatory.
Mt. Erebus
Antarctica is home to the southernmost mammal
Weddell seals are the world’s southernmost mammal. Check out my friend Alex Eiler’s journals for lots more information about them!
http://www.polartrec.com/expeditions/weddell-seals-in-the-ross-sea
Weddell seals are amazing in many ways, but what I find really interesting about them is their ability to saw at the ice with their forward-pointing upper incisors and canines. They do this in order to open holes in the ice so that they can surface and breathe.
Weddell Seal
Antarctica is considered a desert
Antarctica is considered a desert, with annual precipitation of only 8 in (200 mm) along the coast and far less inland. For comparison, where I live in State College, PA annual precipitation is about 40 in (1000 mm). In some regions of Antarctica it never rains and rarely snows. Some regions are too cold for snow; instead of snow, tiny ice crystals (known and diamond dust) fall.