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The Antarctic Continent

The ice shelf during the time of swells in the sea , rotates about this region. Such rotations are said to be responsible for the formation of cracks in the ice shelf as well as in the formation of small and big icebergs.
             Climate: .
             The climatic characteristics of the Antarctic continent are determined by its polar position and its isolation . The Amundsen-Scott station of the USA , located at the geographic pole at 90 degree S experiences a polar day & a polar night of six months each. The duration gradually reduces in the lower latitudes in coastal regions. Although the South Pole receives a continuos sunshine for six months it does not result into heating up the continent because most of the sunshine is reflected back into space by the snow-covered ice sheet.
             Antarctica is the coldest continent. The world's lowest temperature of -89.6 degree Celsius was recorded in July 1983 at Vostok, which is the Russian Base in the interior in East Antarctica at the South Geomagnetic pole. It has a very short summer from November to February, and a very long winter from March to October . The temperature in the interior always remains much below the freezing point , whereas in the coastal region ,during peak summer , short spells of an hour or two of above 0 degree Celsius are also experienced. .
             Antarctica is also the windiest continent. Cold, heavy air tends to drain the slopes of ice & snow surfaces, blowing coastward from the interior. Cyclonic storms form over the southern ocean and move clockwise around the continental coast. Because of the great strength of this circulation system , the ocean area from about 40 degrees to near the Antarctic circle at 66 degrees S has the strongest sustained winds found anywhere on the earth.
             In the coastal areas of the continent , high velocity winds turn into severe blizzards which are frequent throughout the year especially during winter months.


Essays Related to The Antarctic Continent

1. The Ownership of Antarctica

... with interest met in 1959 to draft the Antarctic Treaty. The Antarctic Treaty was specifically made to "regulate international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earth's only continent without a native human population. From 1961, when the treaty was enforced, till 2014 the number of nations apart of the treaty has rose to 50 from 7. The treaty set up the agreement to keep Antarctica open for scientific ... research and exchange of information between the researchers from all of the nations. The Antarctic Treaty also was in place to prohibit nuclear testing and any military activitie...

  • Word Count: 1690
  • Approx Pages: 7
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2. The Endurance: Shackletons Legendary Antarctic Expedition

... his voyage to cross the Antarctic continent, he had already been on two previously failed expeditions. The first one was the "Discovery" under Robert Falcon Scott in an attempt to be the first to reach the still unclaimed South Pole. During this mission Scott's crew endured many hardships, mainly because of Scott's incompetence and lack of leadership. One of the main reasons for the missions" failure was that ... supplies and all five men died in their tent. Since the South Pole had now already been reached, Shackleton decided to attempt the only thing that hadn't been done, which was t...

  • Word Count: 2236
  • Approx Pages: 9
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3. The Ozone Layer

... to two years, so the life span of them is very short-lived compared to those of CFC's. Effects of the ozone hole in Antarctica have already been seen in some of the organisms. Most of the Antarctic organisms have a low tolerance for UV radiation since for most of the year, hardly any direct sunlight reaches the southern-most continent. With the reduced ozone, UV-B ... radiation has been able to penetrate the atmosphere with a higher intensity. Already, on the base of the Antarctica food chain, an impact has been felt. ... UV-B radiation has already reduced the plankton populations by be...

  • Word Count: 2476
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

4. The Definition of Heroism

... him by hiding under the rams, and escaped the island. This encounter was another test of Odysseus' heroism. Once again, he was victorious and further proved himself as a hero. Ernest Shackleton shares many common qualities with Odysseus. Shackleton's epic tale of courage and survival began with his dream of leading the first expedition to cross the Antarctic continent. At the age of 34, his ... dream was realized. En route to Antarctica, his ship, the Endurance, became trapped in the ice deep within the Weddell Sea and drifted for ten months before finally being crushed, sinking in Nove...

  • Word Count: 594
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5. The Dilemma of the Arctic

... animal species but it can also bring very serious inundations to more than half of each continent (UNEP, 2007,p.22). According to Watts (2012) "The ice at the top of the world reflects much of the sun's heat back into space and keeps our whole planet cool, stabilizing the weather systems that we depend on to grow our food" (Watts,2012, n.p). This is one ... warm water. These actions will melt ice more rapidly than if we do nothing or try to preserve it. Moreover, it will nearly deforest all the aquatic and terrestrial fauna and flora in this vulnerable zone. Similarly, according to stud...

  • Word Count: 2691
  • Approx Pages: 11
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6. Mining in Antarctia

... hard to work in a mine located in Antarctica because of the many layers of clothing that the miners would have to wear. Another problem of mining in Antarctica is that the seven nations of Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway and United Kingdom have laid political claims to the Antarctic continent. The parts that they have claimed are overlapping, so if minerals were ... found in an area claimed by more that two countries, there would be major dispute of who would get to mine in the places of overlapped claim. Socially by mining in Antarctica there would not ... ener...

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7. A Comparison of Australia and New Zealand

... is any skier/snowboarders dream. There are also many New Zealanders that come to Australia for the great surf. Information on the countries: Stats/Other Info Australia: Geography Location: Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean Geographic coordinates: 27 00 S, 133 00 E Map references: Oceania Area: ... Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropic...

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8. Herpetology

... , which looks like a lizard but has two front legs, and gills and/or lungs (WNYHS). Page 5 Lizards make up the largest group of reptiles with over 3000 species and can be found on every continent except for Antarctica. Lizards are very closely related to snakes and they are usually grouped together. Lizards usually have two pairs of legs, but there are some ... while a predator is close (WNYHS). Snakes are the other half of the reptile family. There are over 2500 different types of species in the world, and only about 300 are venomous. Snakes are very widespread throughout the world and ...

  • Word Count: 2710
  • Approx Pages: 11
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Antarctica

... different to other continents. The total area of Antarctica is 14 million sq km, which is almost 1.5 times the size of the US makes it the 5th largest continent in the world. About 280000 sq km of the land is ice-free and rest is under ice. The coordinates of Antarctica are 90 00 S, 0 00 E. the coastline of Antarctica is around 17968 km long. The temperature of Antarctica varies due ... to elevation and where the place is on the lines of latitude. East Antarctica ... include southern Victoria Land, Wilkes Land, the Antarctic Peninsula area, and parts of Ross Island on McMurdo Sound. Th...

  • Word Count: 1030
  • Approx Pages: 4
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