ANTARCTICA

EDUCATIONAL GUIDE

1. How cold it really gets?

Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth, as well as the windiest. The lowest temperature ever
registered was of -89C in 1983, while in the warmest day of summer, it doesnt reach more than
15C near the coast.

2. The driest place on Earth

One of the most interesting facts about Antarctica is the contradiction between the dry climate
and the amount of water (70% of the water on Earth). This continent is the driest place on the
planet. Even the hottest desert in the world sees more rain than the Dry Valleys (photo), a region
in Antarctica. There was no rain there for 2 million years! Actually, the entire South Pole
receives an average 10 cm of precipitation per year.

3. Inhabitants

There are no human inhabitants in Antarctica. The only people who live there for longer periods
of time are part of the temporary scientific communities. A number of 5000 scientists and
auxiliary personnel can be found in Antarctica in summer while during winter, 1000 remain on
these lands to work.

4. Penguins

This is the only place on Earth where the emperor penguin (photo) can be found. It is the tallest
and the heaviest of all penguin species. Some interesting facts, the Emperor penguin Is the only
species to breed during the Antarctic winter, while the Adlie penguin breeds farther south than
any other species. There are a total of 6 penguin varieties in Antarctica (of the total number of 17
species).

5. Who owns Antarctica?

Antarctica has no government and no country owns this continent. While many countries tried to
gain the ownership of these lands over the time, a common agreement has been reached, that
grants Antarctica the privilege of remaining the only region on earth which is not ruled by any
nation.

6. The Meteorites

One of the most interesting facts about this continent is that it is the best place in the world to
find meteorites. Apparently, meteorites striking the Antarctic ice sheet are better preserved than
anywhere else on Earth. Meteorite fragments from Mars are among the most valuable and
unexpected discoveries. Apparently, the escape velocity from that planet would have to be about
18,000 kilometers per hour for this meteorite to be able to reach Earth. Moreover, they are
subject to controversies about possible indications related to the microbial life on early Mars.

7. No time zone

This is the only continent without a time zone. Scientist communities in Antarctica tend to keep
either the time relating to their home lands or the supply line that bring them food and other
essential goods. One can walk all the 24 time zones in few seconds.

8. Animals

While a variety of marine animals, such as blue whales, orcas, and fur seals find this continent
most welcoming, Antarctica is extremely poor in land animals. One of the biggest forms of life
living here is an insect, a wingless midge, Belgica antarctica, which is 1.3cm long. There are no
flying insects, because of the extremely windy conditions. However, black springtails that jump
like fleas may be found among penguin colonies. This is not surprisingly since these insects are
present everywhere on Earth. Another interesting piece of information, Antarctica is the only
continent not to have indigenous species of ants.

9. Global warming

If the entire ice in Antarctica would melt, sea level would rise about 60 meters everywhere! We
should pay more attention to the global warming which affects particularly this continent!

10 The Gigantic Iceberg

The last item on the list of interesting facts is the iceberg which broke free from the Ross Ice
Shelf in Antarctica, in 2000. It is the biggest iceberg in the known history, measuring 295 Km in
length and 37 km in width, same as the size of Connecticut or Qatar, for example.