Antarctica: interesting facts, findings, discoveries

Interesting facts about the mainland Antarctica - this is almost all information about it. Since the opening of the sixth continent in 1820, Russian seafarers Bellingshausen and Lazarev have passed almost two centuries. Year after year, something new is known about the ice continent, and more often than not it is so different from the habitual for the layman that he immediately gets on the lists with the heading "Antarctica: interesting facts, findings, discoveries." The list, below, provides information on the sixth continent of a variety of character, capable of showing how unique the southern land is.

International agreements

You can start with the fact that Antarctica is the only continent on the planet that does not belong fully or in part to any of the countries. In 1959, a corresponding agreement was concluded, which froze for a long time any territorial claims. A zone free from hostilities, designed for international scientific research - that's what Antarctica is. Interesting facts about its position in the world arena are also the existence of its own flag against the backdrop of the absence of statehood and any institutions of power and citizenship.

Today on the ice continent there are over forty year-round polar stations, of which five belong to Russia. In this case, expeditions and research are often of an international nature.

Antarctica: interesting facts about climatic conditions

In the summer months, the number of polar workers working on the sixth continent reaches 5,000. In winter, it is reduced to 1,000. All researchers face severe conditions of the Antarctic climate. The temperature in the vast part of the territory does not rise above -20 º. In Antarctica, there is the South Pole of Cold near the Russian station Vostok. Here in 1983 the temperature was fixed at -89.2 ºС.

In addition to the extreme cold, on the expanses of the sixth continent the polar explorers encounter the extraordinary dryness of the air, to which Antarctica is famous. Interesting facts are the ratio of the amount of water enclosed in the ice cap of the continent (70% of the planet's fresh water ) and low humidity in the atmosphere. In a year, only 10 cm of precipitation falls here. On the continent, the so-called dry valleys of McMurdo were discovered. They stretched over an area of 8 thousand kilometers. The peculiarity of the valleys is that they are almost completely free from ice due to very strong winds blowing here. Their speed is estimated at 320 km / h. In some of the valleys precipitation did not fall out for two million years.

Reservoirs

Antarctica is a place of contrasts. Despite such dry air and low temperatures, on its expanses one can find rivers. The name of one of them is Onyx. It flows for only two summer months, and then it freezes. Onyx directs its waters to Lake Wanda, which is in one of the dry valleys (and again the contrast!).

The lists with the title "10 interesting facts about Antarctica" often include reports of an under-ice reservoir discovered near the station "Vostok". Today this lake attracts the attention of many scientists, and the most diverse branches of knowledge. However, this is a topic for a separate article. In addition to this reservoir, more than 140 subglacial lakes were found on the territory of the sixth continent.

Interesting facts about animals of Antarctica: fish

The influence of climate is certainly felt not only by polar explorers, but also by all living organisms that exist in these conditions. An example of an amazing adaptation to the harsh climate is the fish-protein. Their blood does not contain erythrocytes and, accordingly, hemoglobin, therefore it does not have a characteristic red color. Assimilation of oxygen occurs according to a slightly different scheme than that of the relatives of "ice" fishes. The life-giving gas dissolves directly in the blood. On the sixth continent are other types of fish. All of them have a substance in their blood, similar to their properties with automotive antifreeze: it does not allow the liquid to freeze even at the most extreme temperatures.

And this is not all the miracles that Antarctica prepared for a man. Interesting facts for children often contain a reference to another species of fish. A relative of the cod that we are accustomed to has a unique ability to fall into a hibernation for a very long period. It can be in a state of suspended animation for up to six months, during the polar night.

Black and white sympathetic

What can not boast of Antarctica? Interesting facts, for children collected by teachers or parents, also often include this point: on the continent there are no polar bears. It's too cold for them. On the sixth continent, in general, there are no completely land animals.

The most popular representatives of the Antarctic fauna are penguins. Directly on the mainland there are only two species. These are Adelie penguins and the famous imperial ones. The latter are found only on the ice continent. They are distinguished from their brethren in large sizes and "habit" to reproduce during the polar night.

Two more species (Antarctic and subantarctic penguins) nest only on the Antarctic Peninsula, part of the continent, which is very prominent in the ocean, and therefore characterized by milder climatic conditions.

Insects

Interesting facts about animals of Antarctica include information not only about mammals and birds. Here there are insects. Winged representatives of the class on the sixth continent do not exist: it is hardly possible to fly in conditions of such hurricane winds. The largest insects, and at the same time land "inhabitants" of the continent, are mosquitoes-bells Belgica antarctica (they feed on microorganisms, they are indifferent to the blood). These midges are not found anywhere else on Earth. They live mainly on the Antarctic Peninsula.

Finds

The animal world of the sixth continent was interesting in all epochs. Few people today do not know that once Antarctica was covered with forests. In those distant times, it was inhabited by dinosaurs. The finds confirming this have repeatedly been found in various areas of the continent. In the 90s of the last century a group of American paleontologists found almost a whole skeleton of the dinosaur in the Transantarctic mountains. After his extraction and study, it turned out that the bones belong to a predatory lizard, later called a cryolophosaurus. Similar skeletons were not previously found in other parts of the world. Presumably, cryolophosaurus is the ancestor of an entire branch of the lizards, called tetanuras, whose remains were found on different continents. Apparently, according to the planet, they settled specifically from Antarctica.

Giant

Another large find was made on the island of James Ross. There were found the remains of a titanosaur, which was estimated by scientists 70 million years ago. This herbivorous lizard had a long tail and an equally impressive neck, as well as a massive body. The detected bones probably belonged to an individual, reaching thirty meters in length. This dinosaur lived not only in Antarctica, similar remains are found on all continents.

Meteor Rain

The bones of the ancient lizards are not the only interesting findings found on the ice continent. Meteorites are found in large numbers here. In some areas, the ice layer literally replete with impregnations of space "aliens". It should be noted that the frequency of meteorites falling to the Antarctic territory does not differ from the average for the planet as a whole (1 meteorite per year per square kilometer). The number of finds is explained by other reasons. Dark meteorites are better visible in the snow. In addition, the low temperatures of the continent contribute to their "conservation" and preservation in a virtually unchanged form. The slow movement of glaciers toward the coast and their destruction leads to the accumulation of meteorite fragments in certain areas of the continent, calculated by researchers and regularly surveyed by them.

Another mass of amazing finds hides Antarctica. Interesting facts about the continent are regularly updated with new information after the return of expeditions. The already available data can be built into a very long list. Therefore, today Antarctica: interesting facts, photo landscapes, data on research results, etc., attracts the attention not only of specialists, but also of people who are not related to science by occupation.