Antarctica is called a deserted place. Due to natural conditions and climatic features, the mainland is not suitable for permanent human habitation. Only occasionally do scientists from all over the world visit Antarctica and live there for a short time for research purposes. While on the mainland, researchers are obliged to take good care of the earth's resources, not to harm resources, and to use the continent's gifts for good. Why is Antarctica the coldest continent on earth? Is there really no warming there? What is permafrost related to?
As you know from a school geography course, planet Earth has two of the coldest places: the Arctic and Antarctica. The first refers to the North Pole, the latter to the South Pole. Logically, it should be colder in the Arctic. But in reality the situation is different. Let's look into this issue.
The sun's rays warm the earth, falling perpendicularly. Solar radiation reaches the poles, but in small quantities. The fact is that the rays of the sun do not hit the surface at right angles, but pass through them casually. As a result, the earth does not warm up. That is why the Arctic and Antarctica are continents with harsh climatic conditions. But why is it colder at the South Pole than at the North Pole? After all, the South is always warmer.
The average winter temperature in the Arctic is – 34*C; in the summer the temperature reaches higher numbers. In Antarctica, the average air temperature in winter ranges from -49*C. Despite the fact that in the summer the South Pole receives 7% more heat than the North Pole, the climate in Antarctica is harsher than in the Arctic. The lowest air temperature was almost -87*C and was recorded near the South Geomagnetic Pole at Vostok station.
Features of the continents
What are the Arctic and Antarctica? Let's consider each of them separately. Antarctica is a continent whose area is 2 times larger than Australia. Its territory reaches 14 million square kilometers and is covered with ice. The icy mirror surface reflects 95% of sunlight and only 5% is absorbed by the surface.
The Arctic is an icy ocean. The climate of the Arctic is softened due to the transfer of heat from the Arctic and Atlantic oceans to the Arctic ice. This happens due to the message. The North Pole - the Arctic - receives heat from large rivers flowing into the Arctic Ocean, which cannot be said about Antarctica.
Well, the most important reason for the cold climate of the South Pole is that Antarctica is the highest continent of the six existing continents. The ice thickness in Antarctica is 1800 meters. The snow cover of the mainland practically does not melt. Fresh water reserves in Antarctica account for ¾ of the entire globe. About 90% of the ice reserves are located here. You can imagine what will happen if the glaciers start to melt. There is no low atmospheric pressure in Antarctica. This fact leads to the fact that
Everyone knows very well that the coldest continent on Earth is Antarctica. This article will discuss the natural and climatic features of this unusual continent, as well as the history of its study and research.
Antarctica is the coldest continent on our planet
A harsh and inhospitable white desert, a prickly frosty wind, eternal snow and ice - this is how Antarctica greets its rare guests. However, some find such landscapes the most enchanting on the planet and stay here for long periods to conduct detailed geographical studies of the continent.
The coldest continent is located in the Southern Hemisphere. A vast territory (an area of almost 14 million square kilometers) is directly adjacent to the South Pole of the planet. It is curious that up to 90% of the world's ice is concentrated here.
The entire territory of Antarctica today is divided into so-called lands. There are more than twenty of them (Victoria land, Wilkes land, etc.).
Most of the continent is covered by an ice sheet, the thickness of which in some places reaches several kilometers. Thanks to this glacial cover, Antarctica is often called the highest continent on the planet.
In Antarctica, only the so-called oases (places where even a slight vegetation cover develops) are not covered with snow, as well as nunataks - rocky mountain peaks sticking out from under the thickness of ice and snow. Significant reserves of various minerals (coal, iron ores, copper, lead and others) have been discovered in the bowels of the continent, but they are not mined (according to international agreements).
The organic world of Antarctica is unusually poor. The continent's flora is represented by mosses, lichens, and no more than a dozen flower plants that can only be found on the outskirts of the continent, as well as in oases. The fauna is confined to the coastal parts of Antarctica. Typical representatives of the Antarctic fauna live here: penguins, seals, skuas, petrels, albatrosses and some other species of birds.
Climate and weather in Antarctica
Now it’s worth talking a little about the weather and climatic features of this continent. The answer to the question of why Antarctica is the coldest continent is quite obvious. There is only one reason: the continent is almost entirely located in the polar and subpolar regions, which receive a minimum of solar energy. There are other reasons too. For example, the fact that most of the continent is covered with a snow-ice shield, which reflects up to 95% of all sunlight. However, reasons of this kind are already secondary, which are directly related to the first (and main) reason - this is the geographical location of Antarctica.
The climate of the continent is characterized by extraordinary severity, especially in its central, inland part. Thus, the lowest temperature on the planet (-91 degrees Celsius) was recorded here, at the Japanese Fuji Dome station. However, on the ocean coast of the mainland in summer the air temperature can approach zero. Sometimes there is even a positive temperature. Thus, in March 2015, a previously unprecedented temperature for the cold continent was recorded here: +17 degrees!
Generally speaking, typical weather in Antarctica is strong (often hurricane) cold winds blowing from the center of the continent, low air temperatures and a minimum of precipitation (from 100 to 500 mm).
History of continental exploration
The coldest continent on the planet was first discovered at the beginning of the 19th century. Almost a century later, in 1912, the South Pole was conquered by the team of the Norwegian R. Amundsen. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, Antarctica has been carefully studied by expeditions from around the world.
Today Antarctica is a territory for science and research. No other economic activity is carried out here. The permanent population of the mainland is 3-4 thousand people. All of them are scientists living at 40 international Antarctic stations.
Finally...
The coldest continent on Earth was discovered later than all the others - only in 1820. Today, Antarctica surprises and amazes with its landscapes and natural features. Today, this place is “run” exclusively by scientists from different countries who are engaged in a detailed study of the nature, climate and organic world of Antarctica.
The coldest areas on Earth are the poles. It is cold at the poles of the earth because the sun's rays do not fall there vertically, but obliquely. And the more vertically it falls on the Earth, the more intensely a sunbeam heats. At the poles, the sun's rays seem to glide across the Earth, and therefore do not warm.
Where is it colder - at the north pole (in the Arctic) or at the south (Antarctica)? The first thing that comes to mind is that it is colder in the north. And this is wrong! The lowest temperature recorded on our planet was recorded at Vostok station near the South Geomagnetic Pole and amounted to -86.9°C. The average temperature of the southern continent is -49°C, which is the coldest climate on Earth. In the Arctic, the average winter temperature approaches only -34°C, and in the summer it is even warmer there.
And all because the Arctic is just a frozen cover of the ocean, and Antarctica is a huge continent. In terms of territory, Antarctica covers an area of about 14 million km 2, which is almost twice the area of Australia and one and a half times the area of Europe! Therefore, the climate in the Antarctic Circle is more severe than in the Arctic. In addition, Antarctica is completely covered with ice, and the ice reflects 95% of solar radiation. Finally, the cold climate of Antarctica is due to an area of high atmospheric pressure with downward air currents that do not form clouds. For the same reason, there is no precipitation in Antarctica.
Antarctica is so cold that the snow in some parts of the continent never melts. This continent contains almost 90% of the world's ice reserves, containing approximately ¾ of our planet's fresh water.
Did you know that...
Antarctica is the only continent that does not belong to anyone, but is a continent of international cooperation. The real masters of the continent are scientists from different parts of the world. Antarctica has no indigenous history and is under the jurisdiction of the Antarctic Treaty, which requires respect for the land and resources and their use only for peaceful and scientific purposes.
The coldest continent on Earth is Antarctica. It does not belong to anyone and is a place of international cooperation. The world's scientists are the real masters of this continent. According to the jurisdiction of the Antarctic Agreement, all scientists must respect the land and resources, and use all the resources of the continent only for peaceful purposes.
The coldest places on earth are considered to be the North Pole - the Arctic and the south Pole - Antarctica. All this is due to the fact that the sun's ray really warms when it reaches the ground at right angles from top to bottom. The sun's rays hit the poles of the earth obliquely and therefore the earth does not heat up from them, since the rays seem to slide across the surface.
And yet, where is it colder?
Logically, it should be colder in the north. But as it turned out, this is not so. In the Arctic, the average temperature in winter is -34°C, and higher in summer. The average temperature in Antarctica reaches -49°C, which is the coldest climate on Earth. The record low temperature on our planet was -86.9°C, and it was recorded near the South Geomagnetic Pole at Vostok station. The Arctic receives 7% less heat in the summer than Antarctica, but the climate in the Arctic is much warmer than Antarctica.
This phenomenon is explained by several factors. One of them is that in the vast area between the northern part of Europe and between Greenland, the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans freely communicate. The warm waters of the Arctic give off a huge amount of heat to the Arctic ice, which they freely reach, and thereby soften the local climate.
In addition, the Arctic, together with the fresh water of the largest northern rivers flowing into the Arctic Ocean, receives additional heat, all of which Antarctica is deprived of. But the main reason for the Antarctic cold is that the southern continent has the highest level among the six continents existing on Earth.
Eurasia, the next highest in height after Antarctica, has an average height of 900 m, and the average height of Antarctica is 2,000 m. This is explained by the fact that the thick layer of ice covering the continental rocks of Antarctica has an average thickness of 1,800 m, while the surface height of the ice fields in Central The Arctic is only a few meters above sea level. Due to the difference in altitude between Antarctica and the Arctic, the first continent is colder by about 13°C, and at the tops of the ice domes it is colder by 25-28°C. After all, the air temperature decreases by 6.5° in the atmosphere with every kilometer of altitude.
Ice-covered Antarctica reflects 95% of solar radiation. In such a cold climate, the snow never melts there. But this continent contains 90% of the world's ice reserves. Are they around here? fresh water reserves of our planet. That is why Antarctica is the coldest continent on Earth, which is interesting to humanity for new discoveries and achievements.
October 07, 2014
Cold Antarctica
In order to accurately state that the coldest continent on Earth is Antarctica, it should be clarified that there is a tectonic plate only at the North Pole. In the South there is not only a continent, but even an island.
When the question arises about the coldest continent on the planet, any person with even minimal knowledge of geography will say that it is Antarctica. This statement is completely true. The fact is that a continent or continent can be called a part of land located on a tectonic plate. Some ignorant students may say that it is colder in the Arctic, that is, at the North Pole, which means that the coldest continent is located there, but this is not so. Firstly, at the northernmost point of the Earth there is no land, not even islands, and secondly, the average annual temperature at the South Pole is much lower.
12 degrees - record heat
A continent is a part of land located on a continental plate and located above water. This is exactly what Antarctica looks like, although it is constantly covered with ice. It is known that the lowest temperature recorded here was -83 degrees below zero. It is not clear how anyone can exist in such conditions, but the Russian polar station “Vostok” was built and operates in this place. In 2002, the highest temperature recorded in Antarctica was 12 degrees below zero. It has never been so warm in these places before. Probably, rumors about global warming are still not without meaning.
Oddly enough, there is also wildlife in Antarctica. These are mainly penguins - non-flying birds. Yes, they cannot fly, but they swim well and fish in the coastal seas. They never encountered polar bears only because these animals live on the opposite side of the globe. One of the differences of the Southern continent is that it is completely covered with ice, in some places reaching a height of 4 kilometers. Here are the largest reserves of fresh water. They make up 80% of the world's. In the center of the continent the weather is constantly sunny and dry. This is where winds and hurricanes originate, which rage in coastal areas.
During the summer, the ice sometimes melts at the ends of Antarctica and plant life appears there in the form of mosses and lichens. No other plants grow here. The seas around Antarctica are home to whales, sperm whales and some pinnipeds, which are the natural enemies of penguins. It is known that there were never local inhabitants on the southern continent; civilization simply could not have arisen in such terrible conditions. But sailors from other places on the globe were still able to get here in 1820. These were Russian travelers Lazarev and Bellingshausen. The cold continent has been systematically studied since 1950.
What's under the ice?
As a result of the study, it turned out that mountains, depressions and plains are hidden under many meters of ice. Some researchers believe that once upon a time, a very long time ago, perhaps many millions of years ago, there was a thriving continent with a diverse flora and fauna, of which little remains today. Antarctica is also considered a source of icebergs, which break off from the continental ice and drift in the ocean, greatly complicating navigation.
The Earth's North Pole is not a continent and therefore cannot a priori claim to be the coldest continent. And the temperature here is not as invigorating as in the south. The lowest in winter is -43, and in summer it generally rises to zero. There is no vegetation in these places at all, since there is no soil, and among the animals you can find polar bears. Various species of fish live in the water, which the bears actually feed on.
Antarctica is rightfully considered the coldest continent on Earth. The lowest temperatures are recorded here in both winter and summer. The continent has centuries-old ice that melts only in coastal areas.