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Antarctica
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.
Antarctica was discovered in late January 1820. For more details see the article on the 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.
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Antarctic Climate
Main article: Climate of Antarctica. See-also: sea level rise.
Geography
Main article: Geography 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.
- Argentina: 25°W to 74°W; overlaps Chilean and British claims; claimed 1943 as part of the Tierra del Fuego - Antarctica & South Atlantic Isles province
- Australia: 160°E to 142°E and 136°E to 45°E; claimed 1933 as the Australian Antarctic Territory
- Brazil: 28°W to 53°W; overlaps Argentine, British and Chilean claims; Zone of Interest designated 1986
- Chile: 53°W to 90°W; Overlaps Argentine and British Claims; claimed 1940, see Chilean Antarctic Territory
- France: 142°E to 136°E; claimed 1924 as part of the French Southern Territories. It is called Terre Adélie
- New Zealand: 150°W to 160°E; claimed 1923, see Ross Dependency
- Norway: 45°E to 20°E; claimed 1938 as Dronning Maud Land, and including Peter I Island
- United Kingdom: 20°W to 80°W; overlaps Argentine and Chilean claims; claimed 1908, see British Antarctic Territory and the lists of its Administrators , Commissioners, and High Commissioners
No formal claims have been made in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west.
Former claims
- Germany: 20°E to 10°W; overlapped Norwegian claim; claimed 1939–1945 as New Schwabenland
- South Africa: claimed 1963–1994
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)
- 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.
- Georg von Neumayer Station , (70°39'S, 08°15'W) (Atka-Bay ) (Alfred Wegener Institute , Germany)
- 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, Seymour-Marambio Island (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)
- 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
- 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, his mother having been sent there by the Argentinian government to give birth.
Literature set in Antarctica
- Beryl Bainbridge's The Birthday Boys (1991) (a fictionalised account of the expedition of Robert Falcon Scott)
- H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness (1936)
- Edgar Allan Poe's The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838) (though Poe's imagined Antarctica has little in common with the real one)
- Matthew Reilly's Ice Station (1997)
- Kim Stanley Robinson's Antarctica (1997)
- Elizabeth Arthur 's "Antarctic Navigation" (1995)
- John Calvin Batchelor 's "The Birth of the People's Republic of Antarctica" (1983)
- John W. Campbell Jr. 's Who Goes There? (1938) (the basis for The Thing From Another World (1951) and The Thing (1982))
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.
See also
- Ecology of Antarctica
- Climate of Antarctica
- Communications in Antarctica
- Demographics of Antarctica
- Economy of Antarctica
- History of Antarctica
- Government of Antarctica
- Transportation in Antarctica
- Sub-antarctic islands
- Life in the Freezer, a BBC television series on life on and around Antarctica
- Diamond dust, an Antarctic optical phenomenon
- Air New Zealand Flight 901
External links
- Council Of Managers Of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) http://www.comnap.aq/ , official homepage.
- Portals on the World - Antarctica http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/frd/antarctica/antarctica.html from the Library of Congress
- Australian Antartic Division http://www.aad.gov.au/
- British Antarctic Survey http://www.antarctica.ac.uk
- ANetStation http://www.anetstation.com
- The World Factbook – Antarctica http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ay.html from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency
- The Antarctic Digital Database - a source of digital topographic map data for Antarctica http://www.add.scar.org
- The Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research - coordinating body for Antarctic Science http://www.scar.org
Continents of the World |
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Africa | Antarctica | Asia | Australia | Europe | North America | South America (The Pacific Islands in Oceania are not part of any continent.) |
Regions of the World |
Antarctica | East Asia | Central Asia | Southeast Asia | South Asia | North Asia | Middle East | Levant | Arabia | North Africa | Central Africa | Great Lakes | Congo | Guinea | Sahel | Sudan | West Africa | East Africa | Southern Africa | Great Plains | Central America | Caribbean | Andean States | Eastern South America | Northern South America | Western Europe | Eastern Europe | Northern Europe | Scandinavia | Southern Europe | Central Europe | Balkans | Australasia or Australia | Micronesia | Melanesia | Polynesia |
Categories: Continents | Antarctica | Overview of Antarctica | Special territories | Wonders of the World