Antarctica is a continent located in the south. It is washed by the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, and also includes islands located within 50-60 degrees south latitude, where warm and cool ocean waters meet. Waves in local seas sometimes rise to 20 meters. In winter, the water is covered with ice, framing Antarctica in a circle, the scale of which is 500-2000 km. In summer, currents carry ice north along with icebergs. The area of the continent is approximately 14,107,000 km2, of which 930,000 km2 are ice shelves, 75,500 km2 are islands.
Opening history I
The discovery of Antarctica happened in the 20s of the 19th century, it was made by Russian travelers F.F. Bellingshausen and M.P. Lazarev. But they only testified to the existence of a new piece of land during navigation. American navigators were the first to enter the continent almost a year after the discovery of land by the Russians.
Climate
The warmest time in Antarctica falls between November and February - this is spring and summer in the Southern Hemisphere. On the shores, the temperature sometimes rises to 0 degrees, and near the cold pole the air freezes to -30 degrees. The lowest temperature is from March to October, when the temperature drops to -75 degrees.
Flora
The flora of the mainland is very sparse. The specificity of the surrounding world of Antarctica is explained by its cold environment. Mostly aquatic plants grow here - about 700 forms. The lowlands and shores of land, independent of ice, are covered with mosses and lichens. There are only 2 types of color flora here - Quito colobanthus and Antarctic meadow grass.
Fauna
The individuality of the mainland's fauna is associated with harsh weather. The entire population of animals lives in areas where vegetation is located. The fauna of Antarctica is divided into aquatic and terrestrial; those living only on land do not live here. The surrounding waters are abundant in plankton, which is the main food source for pinnipeds, whales and penguins. The fresh waters of lakes are inhabited by roundworms, blue-green algae, and small crustaceans. There are 4 species of penguins living in Antarctica, the largest population being the emperor. Elephant seals and leopards live on the shores. There are especially many invertebrates on the continent: 67 forms of ticks, 4 types of lice were found here, there are fleas and mosquitoes, most of which were brought to these parts by birds.
Conclusion
In 1959, an agreement was concluded according to which Antarctica is an international zone. The territory may be used by any country exclusively for peaceful purposes. A special document does not allow any extraction of minerals from its depths until 2048.
Option 2
Among the seven continents in the world, Antarctica is the most unique continent covered with ice and snow. Since there is no rain in Antarctica, we can say that this continent is a desert. The area of Antarctica is more than 14 million sq. km. The central point of the South Pole of our planet practically coincides with the center of this continent.
Almost 90 percent of clean water is stored in the Antarctic ice sheet. The deepest ice in Antarctica reaches 3 to 4 kilometers.
In 1994, a very rare lake was discovered in Antarctica, which was located under the Antarctic ice sheet at a depth of more than 3 km. It was called “Lake Vostok”. All the water in the lake is in a liquid state. This can be observed using radar.
The size of Antarctica's ice sheets is so large that if they melt, water could easily flood London, New York and Hong Kong. The level of the World Ocean will reach almost 67 meters.
Emilio Palma, a citizen of Argentina, is the first person born in Antarctica. He was born on January 7, 1978.
In Antarctica, there is Don Juan Pond, where the salt level is so high that large, heavy things can easily float on the surface of the water. This pond is almost twenty times saltier than ocean waters.
Antarctica has no native inhabitants, making it the only uninhabited continent on the planet. During the summer season, about four thousand scientists conduct scientific research in Antarctica; about a thousand people remain for the winter season.
Emperor penguins live in Antarctica. They are the largest penguins in the world and reach a height of about 1 meter. Seals also live here. Ants live on almost every continent on earth except Antarctica.
Compared to the Arctic region, Antarctica has very few plants due to its extremely cold climate. In addition, on this continent there is not enough sunlight for plants to fully grow, the quality of the soil is not very good, there is also a lack of moisture and extremely low temperatures. As a result of such climatic conditions, plants grow in a very limited area of territory. There are about 100 different species of mosses that grow only for a few weeks or even days in the summer.
The largest mountain height in Antarctica measures about 4.9 km.
Antarctica is also the windiest continent on Earth.
2nd, 4th, 7th grade. The world
The Vatican State is sovereign, located in the west of Rome, but at the same time has complete independence from Italy
Algae are lower plants. Their role in human life is quite large. Like other plants, algae carry out the process of photosynthesis.
Antarctica is the coldest continent on Earth. Antarctica owes its unique natural features to its geographical location. Almost the entire continent is located beyond the Antarctic Circle. The sun never rises high above. In the summer, the polar day comes to Antarctica, and in the winter - the polar night, the duration of which reaches up to six months - only once a year can you observe the sunrise and sunset here. The slanting rays of the sun cannot warm this continent, and therefore it is in the grip of eternal cold. It is covered with a kilometer-long ice shell, only in some places black bare Antarctic rocks - nunataks - can be seen from under the ice. The natural world of the mainland is quite scarce. Plants here are dominated by mosses and lichens; there are several species of flowering plants. Fur seals set up their rookeries along the shores of Antarctica, and flocks of penguins settle. Due to its removal, Antarctica became the last discovered continent on Earth. Its discovery occurred only in the 19th century during the Russian Antarctic expedition led by F.F. Bellingshausen and M.P. . Antarctica was the only continent on the planet that could not be inhabited by humans. And today there is no permanent population in Antarctica; moreover, all territories south of the 60th parallel do not belong to any state in the world and are the property of all humanity. Here is the so-called pole of inaccessibility - the point furthest away from all populated areas on Earth. International research is actively underway in Antarctica; there are now 37 stations with a total staff of up to 3,000 people. At the Soviet Vostok station, now the only inland Russian polar station, the lowest temperature on Earth was recorded on July 21, 1983 - 89.2 ° C. Indeed, the climatic conditions of Antarctica are the harshest on the entire planet; at exceptionally low temperatures, very little precipitation falls here, and the strongest winds blow at speeds of up to 90 m/s. Antarctica's climate is very similar to Mars.
A list of geographical objects for 7th grade students that you need to know and mark on the contour map:
Coastline:
Seas: Wedell, Lazarev, Larsen, Cosmonauts, Commonwealth, D'Urville, Somov, Ross, Amundsen, Bellingshausen.
Peninsulas: Antarctic
Lands: Victoria, Wilkes, Queen Maud, Alexander I, Ellsworth, Mary Baird
Relief:
Mountains: Transantarctic, Gamburtseva, Vinson Massif
Plains: Baird, Eastern
Plateau: Soviet, Polar, Eastern
Highest point: g. (5140 m)
Volcanoes: Erebus, Terror
Climate:
Glaciers: Rossa, Ronne, Lambert
Cold Circum-Antarctic Western Wind Current
Other important objects
South Pole, Magnetic Pole, Pole of Inaccessibility, Vostok station (Pole of Cold), Russian stations: Mirny, Progress, Novolazarevskaya, Bellingshausen
Mark traveler routes
Antarctica(Antarctica) is one of the continents of planet Earth. Entirely located in the southern hemisphere.
Within Antarctica there is the southernmost point of the planet - the South Pole. The continent is washed by the waters of three oceans: the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific. Or, as is sometimes believed, the waters of one Great Southern Ocean (all seas located south of the 60th parallel).
Features of Antarctica
The largest (subglacial) lake in Antarctica is Lake Vostok. It is located under a layer of ice about 4 kilometers thick and measures 250 by 50 kilometers. The estimated area is 15,690 km2. The greatest depth is about 800 meters.
Interestingly, the water in the deep layers of the lake has a temperature of about +10 °C, and the oxygen content in this water is 50 (!) times higher than that in ordinary fresh water. Such conditions could well lead to the formation of unique (isolated from the Earth’s biosphere) forms of life.
- Drilling ice 3.5 km thick was successfully carried out by scientists from the Mining Institute of St. Petersburg (Russia). But, although they managed to reach the surface of the subglacial lake, no additional results of the experiment were reported
Climate
Ironically, the southernmost continent, Antarctica, is the coldest and windiest place on Earth.
Lowest recorded temperature: -89.2°C (Vostok station July 21, 1983). Winter temperatures in the core of the continent can reach -80-90 °C; summer temperatures, on the coast in the warmest month of the year (January), occasionally rise to +5-15 °C (on the Antarctic Peninsula). That is why the latter is most often visited by tourists...
Webb Island
The climate of Antarctica is incredibly dry: the average annual precipitation barely exceeds 150 mm, which corresponds to that of a desert. Although snow storms are rare, their power inspires respect: the record is 122 mm of snow cover in 48 hours.
In the east of the continent it is colder than in the west - due to the high altitudes.
Secrets of Antarctica
Many secrets and mysteries are associated with Antarctica. It is alleged that Hitler's Germany was extremely interested in Antarctica. Many historians attribute this to the occultist views of the highest echelons of the Nazi Party, among which were members of the so-called Thule Society.
Among other things, they seemed to believe in the existence of a high-tech civilization of Hyperboreans living under the earth's crust. And they tried to establish contacts with her, sending expeditions to Tibet, the Andes, Mato Grosso (Brazil), and Antarctica in the hope of finding entrances to this underground world.
During World War II, Nazi submarines frequently patrolled the waters surrounding Antarctica. And, as some researchers claim, they even brought people and equipment here to carry out some work. There is a version that the Nazis set up a base under the ice. And supposedly there are documents confirming the existence of a certain secret station B-211, where, in the event of failure in the war, the top leadership of Nazi Germany was supposed to hide.
In 1947, the Americans conducted a large-scale reconnaissance operation involving an entire navy. The expedition, whose goals have not yet been revealed, was allegedly attacked by some unknown flying objects and was abandoned ahead of schedule. It is believed that as a result, the US Navy lost a ship, several aircraft, and several sailors were killed.
One major tragedy in Antarctica is known for sure: 257 people died during an excursion flight from New Zealand. On November 28, 1979, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 crashed into the side of Erebus for an unknown reason.
A short message about Antarctica will help you prepare for the lesson and learn the features of this continent.
Brief message about Antarctica
And in the extreme south of our planet is the continent of Antarctica, the name of which is formed using the prefix “ant”, meaning opposite, i.e. opposite the Arctic.
Antarctica is an uninhabitable continent. Area - 14.1 million km2, according to this parameter, this deserted continent is ahead of only Australia.
Antarctica is the location of the Earth's south pole; the temperature in winter drops below -70°C, and in summer it does not rise above -25°C. Strong winds and high dry air complement the climate picture. Therefore, even a small open fire quickly turns into a huge flame.
There is a large ozone hole over Antarctica. It formed over the continent due to its climate. According to scientists, its size exceeds the area of the North American continent. Beyond the Antarctic Circle, the polar night begins, but it lasts from April to August.
Discovery and exploration of Antarctica
The mainland was discovered by Russian researchers F. Bellingshausen and M. Lazarev. In 1820, on the schooners Vostok and Mirny, overcoming unimaginable difficulties, they reached the steep icy shores of Antarctica. For almost two years they explored the coastal area, mapping new islands. Thus began the study and development of this harsh region. It was continued by researchers from many countries.
There is no permanent population in this deserted icy desert, only scientists live and work at wintering stations. There are 42 stations there. Their shift lasts from 12 months to one and a half years.
Why do scientists study Antarctica?
The polar regions of the Earth are called the kitchen of weather. It is here that air currents are born that influence the weather of the entire planet.
The ice cover of Antarctica is of great interest to science. It covers almost its entire territory, rising to a height of more than 2.5 km. If all this ice melts, the level of the world's oceans will rise by 60 m. In addition, the main reserves of fresh water are concentrated in it.
Subglacial lakes are of great scientific interest. The largest of them is Lake Vostok, located at a depth of about 4 km. Scientists managed to take ice samples from this lake. Groups of bacteria previously unknown to science were found in them.
Antarctica even has extinct and active volcanoes. According to scientists, this continent has reserves of coal, natural gas, oil and other raw materials.
Fauna and flora of Antarctica
Antarctica is often called a biological desert. Only on some of its outskirts can you see mosses, lichens and mushrooms. In coastal waters, plankton quickly multiplies to become food for whales, seals and fish.
Here you can meet the largest seals (elephant seals) and giant jellyfish weighing up to 150 kg.
Penguins walk on the ice, seagulls and albatrosses fly in. Many of the flora and fauna are found only on this continent, i.e. are endemic.
Who owns Antarctica?
Despite the climate of the continent, many countries lay claim to its territory. In 1959, an international agreement was concluded according to which Antarctica is considered an international territory. It can be used by any state only for scientific research for peaceful purposes. A special protocol banned any extraction of mineral resources from its depths until 2048.
You can supplement an interesting message about Antarctica with interesting facts.
- Square13 million 661 thousand km² (together with ice shelves)(1.4 times larger than the US, 58 times larger than the UK)
- Average altitude: 2300 m (highest continent)
- highest peak: Vinson, 5140 m. Coordinates of Vinson 78°35"S, 85°25"E.
- The closest state to Antarctica: Chile (Chilean part of the island of Tierra del Fuego
- Ice-free surface: (0.32% of total) - 44,890 km2
- Largest ice shelves:
Ross Ice Shelf (the size of France) - 510,680 km2
Filchner Ice Shelf (the size of Spain) - 439,920 km2 - Mountains: Transantartic mountain range: - 3,300 km.
- Tallest 3 mountains:
Mount Vinson - 4,892 m / 16,050 ft (sometimes called "Mount Vinson")
Mount Tyri - 4,852 m / 15,918 ft
Mount Shin - 4,661 m / 15,292 ft - Ice: Antarctica contains 70% of the world's fresh water in the form of ice and 90% of the ice on earth.
- Ice thickness:
average ice thickness of East Antarctica: 1,829 m.km3 / 6,000 ft
average ice thickness of West Antarctica: 1,306 m.km3 / 4,285 ft - Maximum Ice Thickness: 4,776 m km3 / 15,670 ft, the lowest point in Antarctica, at a depth below sea level: it is Bentley's subglacial trench -2,496 m km3 / 8,188 ft (m km3 - million cubic kilometers)
- Population: Approximately 4,000 scientific researchers live in the short summer and 1,000 researchers in the winter, about 25,000 tourists come in the summer. There are no permanent residents here and no residents born on this continent. The first discovery is supposed to have been made by the ancient Greeks, but scientific research was not carried out until 1820. The first human visit to Antarctica was in 1821. The first year-round survey was in 1898. In 1911 there was the first expedition to reach the South Pole.
- Climate: 3 factors control the climate in Antarctica - cold, wind and altitude. Antarctica holds the world record for each of these three factors. The temperature drops as you move closer to the coast as you go downhill and also drops as you move inland.
- Temperature: lowest temperature recorded at Vostok station -89.2°C/-128.6°F;
average summer temperature at the South Pole -27.5°C/-17.5°F;
average winter temperature at the South Pole -60°C/-76°F - Wind: Mawson Station in Antarctica is the windiest place on earth.
- Average wind speed: 37 km/h / 23 mph
- Maximum gust recorded: 248.4 km/h / 154 mph
- Landscape: Antarctica has a varied surface topography - it’s a whole continent. But below are the main land forms: glaciers, coral reefs, deserts, mountains, plains, plateaus, valleys.
Seals
Along with penguins, seals are considered the funniest and most attractive animals in Antarctica. Seals are mammals that spend most of their lives at sea, but unlike whales, they rest and breed on land or (most polar seals) on ice.
There are many more seals in Antarctica than in the Arctic. Crabeater seals are the most numerous and make up almost half of all seals in the world. Antarctica is the most favorable place for such animals, with large fish-rich habitats in the Southern Ocean, drifting pack ice for spawning grounds and the absence of land-based predators such as polar bears and humans. Therefore, the behavior of Antarctic seals differs from the behavior of northern ones. Arctic seals do not experience great fear of humans; they often do not show excitement when approaching them. However, these animals need to be observed from the side, since when a person approaches the spawning grounds, they can cause tense excitement in the female and she may abandon her puppy.
Whales
Whales are among the most mysterious and fascinating animals. The blue whale is considered the largest animal that ever lived on earth, weighing up to 100 tons. Even normal-sized whales are considered huge and impressive animals. Whales are huge, which adds to their mystery and charm. These are very intelligent animals with complex social lives.
Whales belong to a group of mammals called Cetaceans, and they are part of this group along with dolphins and porpoises. Whales are the same mammals as people, dogs, cats, elephants and others. Therefore, they cannot be called simply fish. They breathe air, so they need to rise to the surface of the water for another breath of air. These are live-born animals, the cub of which spends almost the entire year with its mother, feeding on her milk.
Whales are divided into two types, whales with teeth or without teeth.
Toothed whales - Odontoceti
This group includes dolphins, guinea pigs, and killer whales. They have teeth, consisting of a large number of identical teeth (but very sharp!), in order to be able to catch slippery prey. Odontocetes are predators of fish or other fast-swimming animals such as squid.
Baleen whales - Mysticeti
These whales have no teeth; they feed on plankton, krill, or even schools of small fish. They then hold their tongues and use it to push all the water through the baleen filters, which keep the small prey inside before they swallow it.
The most famous and striking representative of marine life
PENGUINS
Penguins are stocky birds with wings reduced to fins that help them move through the water. On land, they walk in an upright position with a funny waddling gait.
The body length of most penguins is 60-70 cm, but there are also more. The largest penguin is the Emperor penguin, which is approximately one meter long and weighs up to 41 kg. Penguins nest in numerous colonies consisting of 80,000 birds. The sight, smell and noise from these colonies remains unforgettable. Most birds build nests from stones in which they lay one or two eggs.
General features of penguins:
Since it is impossible to find food on the ice-covered Antarctica, penguins are forced to get food in the sea, searching for which they spend most of their time. All birds are excellent swimmers and can dive to great depths, for example, the Emperor penguin dives to a depth of 250 meters. Their legs and tail act as rudder and their fins act as propellers. They feed mainly on small fish and krill, each catching for themselves individually. A huge amount of food is consumed by the penguin colony during the mating season. In studies of Adelie penguins, it was found that adult birds make approximately 40 trips to the sea daily during the feeding period of the chicks, and each time they bring with them about half a kilogram of food. For example, at Cape Crozer, a colony of 175,000 penguins brought almost 3,500 tons of fish ashore for their chicks. And the largest rookery on Cape Adar consists of 250,000 birds.
Adélie penguins can swim very quickly, up to 15 kilometers per hour. This gives them the opportunity to jump out of the water directly onto ice floes or the shore. With such a jump, it seems that they are flying. Jumping up to two meters also helps them escape the claws of the predator leopard leopard. Other dangerous enemies of penguins are killer whales in the sea and skuas on land, which feed on their eggs.
Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri)
Emperor penguins are the largest of all penguins. They are approximately one meter long and weigh approximately 30-40 kilograms. They have a black head, a blue-gray neck with a bright orange patch near the ears, and a pale yellow chest that fades to white. They nurse their chicks much longer compared to Adélie penguins. They lay eggs much earlier so that by the summer, rich in variety of food, the chicks can already be independent. During the polar autumn (April-May), penguins gather in numerous colonies on the sea ice in protected bays. The only egg laid by the female in May or early June is incubated by the male during the two coldest months. It warms the egg with the brood pouch at the bottom of the belly between the legs; this place, consisting of skin and feathers, can warm the egg up to +50 °C. Males arrive at nesting sites well-fed, with a thick layer of fat, which is especially developed on the belly. But during incubation, all this fat reserve (about 5-6 kg) is consumed. Penguins lose up to 40% of their weight, lose a lot of weight, their plumage becomes dirty, completely losing its original shine and silkiness. Females fatten up at sea during these two months, then they return to the colony and change places with their partner. Afterwards, the already fattened males return to the female and both parents take part in feeding the chicks together. By the end of January, by the beginning of February, the chicks moult and are ready to try to plunge into the sea. They spend their first two years of life at sea or on pack ice.
The emperor penguin is unique among the birds of Antarctica. It breeds in winter, on the ice along the continent's coast and in one colony during Antarctica's worst season, in almost continuous darkness. During very cold periods, birds gather in dense clusters to keep warm against each other. Like great petrels, penguins can live 30-40 years.
Adelie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae)
Adélie is the most numerous of the penguins in Antarctica. Its body length is 60-70 cm, weight is approximately 5.5 kg. Females and males do not differ in color; they have a black head, neck and back, a white belly and a white rim around the eyes. They spend the winter on glaciers in the sea, and in early spring they come to land to breed.
They return to the same place every year and usually to the same colony. The males arrive first and establish nests, after mating in early November the female lays two eggs and returns to sea for 8-15 days while the males incubate the eggs. For four weeks, the males do not feed while incubating the eggs, and by the end of the period, when the females return, they have lost up to half their body weight.
In the subsequent months of the incubation period and after the chicks hatch, they take turns to go out to sea in search of prey. They return with fish or krill in their beaks and feed the chicks.
Freezing temperatures interfere with biological metabolic functions in Antarctica. The moisture trapped in the ice makes the continent the largest desert on the entire planet. For these reasons, Antarctica is rated as one of the most inhospitable environments in the solar system. Sometimes our Antarctica is compared to a place similar to the planet Mars.