That there, inside the circle, is the rough area of the Antarctic region. What country is Antarctica in? Read more about possible landing sites in the Antarctic. Click here to read more Antarctica FAQs. Home Antarctica Where is Antarctica? Wait, so what's the difference between Antarctica and the Antarctic? Capture the essence of the Antarctic Peninsula and its incredible islands aboard the View Trip.
Antarctic Whale Journey. Follow the whales of Antarctica as they migrate south on this day expedition cruise, Take an adventure of a lifetime to the Antarctic and beyond. Cross the Antarctic Circle Journey to the Antarctic Circle. Christmas in Antarctica. Large populations of penguins, whales, fish and invertebrates thrive along Antarctica's coasts and frigid seas, especially in the summer. The male emperor penguin is the only warm-blooded animal to remain on the continent through the freezing winter while nesting on the single egg laid by its mate.
The female spends nine weeks at sea and returns in time for the egg to hatch. A lot of people who go down early in their careers become dedicated to the Antarctic science for the rest of their lives," Kennicutt said.
There are no indigenous people on the frozen continent. Today, human habitation exists at a variety of scientific research stations managed by more than 20 countries, including the United States, China, Russia, Japan, France and Germany. The harsh weather and remote location does little to keep scientists away from the southern continent.
As many as 4, visiting scientists, spread out across 70 research stations, inhabit the continent during the summer, according to the Norwegian Polar Institute. The number of people drops to 1, during winter. Although Antarctica is largely a hub for climatologists, oceanographers and marine biologists, the frozen desert also attracts astronomers from across the globe. Thanks to its dry climate and the absence of light pollution, Antarctica is one of the best places on Earth to observe space.
A small number of telescopes and stellar observatories, such as the South Pole Telescope and IceCube Neutrino Observatory, sit atop the white continent. Built in , the IceCube is the first observatory of its kind. The facility houses a detector designed to identify high-energy neutrinos subatomic particles as small as electrons that originate within our galaxy and beyond.
This ultra-sensitive device, which is buried about a mile into the Antarctic ice sheet, is the first gigaton neutrino detector ever built. Studying these subglacial lakes, some of which are as large as North America's Great Lakes, will help scientists refine their predictions of future, long-term ice sheet changes, according to a press release published by the National Science Foundation in The vast, mostly vegetation-free expanse makes an excellent place to search for meteorites ; the dark rocks stand out easily against the white backdrop, with few growing plants to obscure them.
In , a team of Belgian and Japanese scientists found a pound 18 kilogram meteorite on the East Antarctic plateau. Antarctica's freezing weather also makes it an ideal location to study how plants and animals adapt to extreme environmental conditions.
For example, in , scientists discovered that emperor penguins keep their feet from freezing using a handy adaptation known as countercurrent heat exchange. The blood vessels in their webbed, unprotected feet are wrapped around one another to minimize the amount of heat that is lost to the ground.
Penguins also have the ability to adjust blood flow to their feet in response to changes in foot temperature — allowing just enough warm blood in to keep their feet from freezing.
Finding microbial life in some of the most desolate regions of Antarctica has given scientists hope of finding life on relatively inhospitable planets. In , scientists identified Antarctic microbes capable of sustaining themselves on air alone.
In , 12 countries with scientists stationed in and around Antarctica signed a agreement that "Antarctica shall continue forever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and shall not become the scene or object of international discord. Catherine Mikkelson, the wife of a Norwegian whaling captain, became the first woman to visit Antarctica in As part of its effort to claim a portion of Antarctica, Argentina sent a pregnant woman to the continent.
In January , Emile Marco Palma became the first child born on the southernmost continent. Scientists and policymakers are focusing on changes in this environmentally sensitive region to push for its protection and the sustainable use of its scientific resources. Not until was it established that Antarctica was a continent and not just a group of islands.
Also called an alpha predator or top predator. The two sides never confronted each other directly. The Earth is the only place in the known universe that supports life.
Also called East Antarctica. Also called the energy balance. Also called West Antarctica. National Aeronautics and Space Administration the U. Also called thermohaline circulation. Sea level is determined by measurements taken over a year cycle. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit.
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Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives. The cryosphere contains the frozen parts of the planet. It includes snow and ice on land, ice caps, glaciers, permafrost, and sea ice. As the world warms due to increasing greenhouse gases being added to the atmosphere by humans, the snow and ice are melting. At sea, this exposes more of the dark ocean below the ice, and on land, the dark vegetation below. These dark surfaces then absorb the solar radiation causing more melting.
This creates a positive feedback loop, which exacerbates the impacts of climate change. Learn more about this vulnerable sphere with this collection of resources. A political boundary is an imaginary line separating one political unit, such as a country or state, from another. Sometimes these align with a natural geographic feature like a river to form a border or barrier between nations.
Occasionally, two countries may contest where a particular border is drawn. These disputes might arise due to a natural resource both groups want, like in the case of Sudan and South Sudan, or in an attempt to gain more political power, as in the case of Pakistan and India in the Kashmir region. Use these resources to explore more about political boundaries.
The northern hemisphere experiences summer during the months of June, July, and August because it is tilted toward the sun and receives the most direct sunlight. Inversely, summer for the southern hemisphere takes place during the months of December, January, and February because that is when it receives the most direct sunlight.
Did you know that the earth is approximately 3. Learn more about the relationship between the earth and the sun with these resources.
Join our community of educators and receive the latest information on National Geographic's resources for you and your students. Skip to content. Twitter Facebook Pinterest Google Classroom. Encyclopedic Entry Vocabulary. Map by the National Geographic Society. Population Density 0. Earth's fifth-largest continental landmass. Antarctic Bottom Water. Antarctic Convergence. Antarctic Ice Sheet.
Antarctic Treaty. Cold War. Also called a dog sledge. Ernest Shackleton. Also called a fire station. Fossil fuels formed from the remains of ancient plants and animals. Greater Antarctica. Heroic Age. Also called a lab. Lesser Antarctica. McMurdo Station. American research facility in Antarctica. Midwinter Dinner. Race for the Antarctic. Ring of Fire. Roald Amundsen. Robert Falcon Scott.
Southern Hemisphere. South Pole.
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