Unique Facts and Shocking, The Secrets of the Antarctic Continent

Antarctica, a continent located in the southern part of the Earth does have many mysteries that make scientists interested in researching it.i was very interested in this one continent because it certainly has many secrets, it has many surprising secrets of the Antarctic Continent and make people curious about the continent that does not have this native population



Antarctica is the 5th Largest Continent 
Antarctica is the fifth largest continent with an area of 14 million km2 after Continental Eurasia (Europe-Asia), Africa, North America and South America, by comparison, the Antarctic Continent has twice the continent of Australia. The entire Antarctic plateau is 98% covered with ice which on average has a thickness of 19 Km.
The difference with the North Pole is, the North Pole is a sea that frozen, while the South Pole Antarctic is a plain covered with ice.

Not Included Into Any Country Region
Antarctica is the only area not included in any State, in 1959 an Antarctic Treaty (Agreement) was signed by 12 States, where the Continent was a site of anti-military activity and only used for peace research.
In this International agreement Antarctica is categorized as an area belonging to latitude 60 ° S. Until now there are 49 countries that signed the agreement, although there are still some countries that seek to claim ownership of the region on the Antarctic Continent.


Lowest Temperature Reached -89.2 ° Celsius
Antarctica has the lowest moisture, the lowest temperature in the Earth's surface, the barrenest, windswept continent and the region with the highest average elevation among the other Continents.
The average temperatures in the Antarctic field are at -50 ° C, while the hottest temperatures ever recorded are 15 ° C on January 5, 1974. While the lowest temperatures ever recorded were up to -89 ° C recorded in 21 Jui 1983 at the Station Vostok belongs to Russia.

McMurdo Dry Valleys, The Dryest Place On Planet Earth

McMurdo Dry Valleys is a dry valley, is the only region on the Antarctic Continent that is not covered by a layer of ice, this place was crowned as the driest place on Earth. The valley has very low humidity and surrounding mountains prevent glaciers from entering.
The existing rocks in this area are new granite and gneiss stones, the species that live here are endolitic bacteria that photosynthesized in moist and protected from dry air.

a Baby was Born on the Antarctic Continent In 1977
In 1977, Argentina deliberately sent a pregnant woman who would give birth to the Antarctic Continent and give birth there, an attempt to claim the ownership of the Antarctic Continent. The born child was also crowned as the first human born in Antarctica.

The First Man Who Landing On The Antarctic Continent
It remains unclear who first landed his feet on the Antarctic Continent, but historically and generally recognized, a Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen was the first man to land at the South Pole on December 14, 1911.
But in ancient history, a Turkish explorer, Admiral Piri Reis, was allegedly the first man to land in Antarctica in 1513, based on a Piri Reis-made map containing the Southern Continent that allegedly was an Antarctic coast.

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Ireland Threatened by the worst Atlantic storm in 60 years

(ESA via The Independent)

Ireland is preparing for an Ophelia storm coming from the Atlantic Ocean, touted as the worst storm in nearly 60 years.
The Independent daily , Sunday (15/10/2017), reported, the storm that has strengthened into Category 1 is moving towards the islands in the UK.

However, a storm that began to strengthen since offshore near the Azores Islands was declared a Category 3 hurricane by the US National Hurricane Center (USA).
According to Met Eireann, Ireland's national meteorological agency, the region is being threatened by what is thought to be the worst storm since 1961.

the storm of ophelia is still in the southwest of the Azores, near Portugal or about 2,500 km from Ireland, is expected to reach the country's west coast on Monday (16/10/2017).

Hurricane Ophelia, a rare North Atlantic storm, is expected to bring strong winds and high waves to Ireland's five western regions of Cork, Kerry, Clare, Galway and Mayo.
The maximum wind speed is estimated at 130 kilometers per hour and is expected to result in rain with accumulated rainfall of up to 10 centimeters in the south of Azores.
A press secretary for Met Éireann said Ophelia could bring a catastrophe worse than a 1961 Debbie storm that killed 16 people in the Republic of Ireland and two in Northern Ireland.

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A group of Lost Continent Investigator Scientists and Here's the Result

Around 60-85 million years ago, the land called Zealandia was separated from Australia. The landscape then formed New Zealand.

But not all Zealandian lands can be seen today. Much of the land has sunk beneath the Pacific Ocean. However, scientists believe that the land is a different continent.

To find out what happened along with its characteristics, more than 30 researchers from 12 countries came to learn it. They conduct research using high-tech research vessels.

For two months, they begin drilling the seabed or 4,000 feet below the surface. The result? The researchers collected an 8,000-foot-high sediment core to reveal geological processes over the last 70 years.

"The core (sediment) acts as a time machine to enable us to go further and further into the past, first to look at an ancient underwater landslide and then evidence of rocks forged from its flaming source," wrote Stephen Pekar, one of the scientists involved. from Futurism, Friday (29/09/2017).

"You can imagine somewhere near Zealandia there are mountains that spew volcanoes and rolls of smoke," he added.

Not Just there, Pekar and colleagues also managed to get more than 8,000 fossils. Thus, the diversity of species that inhabit Zealandia before drowning can be described.

It is estimated that land animals once settled in Zealandia. This land is also a liaison between continents.

"The discovery of microscopic skeletons of organisms that live in warm shallow waters, and the spores and pollen from terrestrial plants, reveals that Zealandia's geography and climate is much different in the past," said a statement from Gerald Dickens, expedition leader.

The expedition is expected to bring a new understanding of life that is going on around the South Pacific. Before that, 30 researchers had to publish their analysis and tested by experts. The research ships are also ready to dig in New Zealand, Australia and Antarctica by 2018.

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A Hidden World Revealed After Antarctic Ice Mountain Breaks

A giant iceberg broke away from the ice sheet on the Antartic Peninsula in July. The opening of the iceberg reveals hidden underwater ecosystems for thousands of years.

The iceberg, known as A-68, moves away from the Larsen C ice sheet and enters the Weddell Sea.

This initially covered area of ​​ice eventually disclosed the 5,800 square kilometer seabed which has been buried under the ice for up to 120,000 years without any light.

Surely this event makes scientists very enthusiastic to immediately explore the new area.

"This is a fantastic place and area that has never been known for scientific research," said Susan Grant, marine biologist British Antarctic Survey (BAS).

"We know very little about what might live there, especially how they change from time to time," he said, quoted by Livescience, Wednesday (4/10/2017).

"There is a large area covered for thousands of years, we know the physical changes that are likely to occur as the ice moves away," Grant added.

Scientific knowledge of ecosystems under the Antarctic ice sheet is still limited from the results of two German expeditions to the areas of Larsen A and Larsen B, located north of Larsen C.


Each section of this ice sheet broke out in 1995 and 2002.

It takes about 5 years to 12 years for scientists to reach the area. And at that time already formed a lot of colonization of living things.

So scientists have to chase with time if you want to see how an ecosystem is formed or developed.

Meanwhile, scientists already have hypotheses about life under the ice sheet.

"Our hypothesis is that it resembles a very deep ocean, no sunlight, phytoplankton and zooplankton droppings are important food, but it still needs to be tested," said Phil Trathan, head of BAS ecology conservation.

In addition scientists suspect that there is a rapid change to the ecosystem of the new area.

"If exposed to sunlight there will be phytoplankton and zooplankton, maybe we will soon find seabirds and marine mammals that will start looking for food in the area," he said.

"So this will be a kind of chain reaction that triggers significant changes in a relatively short time scale," Grant added.

If lucky, scientists will witness the earliest changes, namely the development of phytoplankton in open water.

After that, zooplankton and small crustaceans may appear.

Unfortunately this rare opportunity has funding constraints.

Fortunately, there has been news that if South Korea will make an expedition in early 2018 in the area, as well as expedition from Germany in 2019. While BAS itself is also considering to ship research vessels next year.

"This is very meaningful for science because we can assess how quickly living things can respond to environmental changes, including climate change and anthropogenic changes.We can also learn how marine systems thrive under the pressure of environmental change," said Julian Gutt, a marine biologist who led the expedition to Larsen A and B.

May they arrive there on time.

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