Antarctica is the southern polar continent, occupying the central part of the southern polar region of Antarctica. Almost all of the mainland's land is located south of the Antarctic Circle. The coastline (more than 30,000 km long) is slightly indented, almost along its entire length it is glacial cliffs, up to several tens of meters high.
The area of Antarctica is twice the area of Australia and, including islands and ice shelves, is about 13.2 million km2. About 97% of its territory is covered with ice. This is the only continent located in the region of the Pole, within the Antarctic Circle. The area in the center of which is Antarctica, together with the adjacent sections of the Atlantic, Pacific and islands, is called Antarctica. The border of Antarctica passes within 50-60o S. sh.
According to scientists, in ice at a depth of more than 1000 m, conditions are created with increased temperature and enormous pressure, where ice melting is possible. This probably leads to the formation of subglacial, the accumulation of water in depressions of the relief. The consequence of its existence are also modern glacial lakes in the coastal zone of the mainland, which periodically descend instantly.
High pressure at the depth of the ice sheet, its movement, as well as the processes associated with melting at depth indicate its mobility and unstable state. These factors, according to scientists, can create conditions for the formation of deposits in the shelf of Antarctica. In Antarctica, large deposits of iron, copper, deposits of rare earth, radioactive and trace elements, as well as such non-metallic minerals as rock crystal, mica, phosphorus, etc.
According to geologists, the bowels of Antarctica contain oil, gas, coal, lead, zinc, gold, silver, molybdenum, etc. According to scientists, oil and gas deposits on a deserted continent are one and a half times greater than the volume of deposits. According to the US Geological Survey, the potential oil reserves of Antarctica are estimated at 6.5 billion tons, and - more than 4 trillion cubic meters.
Almost all of Antarctica lies within the Antarctic Circle. Due to the inaccessible position, Antarctica was discovered by Russian navigators F.F. Bellingshausen and M.P. Lazarev later than other continents.
Antarctica (Greek ἀνταρκτικός - the opposite of the Arctic) is a continent located in the very south of the Earth, the center of Antarctica approximately coincides with the geographic south pole. Antarctica is washed by the waters of the Southern Ocean.
The area of the continent is about 14,107,000 km² (of which ice shelves - 930,000 km², islands - 75,500 km²).
Antarctica is also called the part of the world, consisting of the mainland of Antarctica and adjacent islands.
Discovery of the continent Antarctica
Antarctica was discovered on January 16 (28), 1820 by a Russian expedition led by Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev, who approached it on the sloops Vostok and Mirny at the point 69°21′ S. sh. 2°14′ W (G) (O) (area of the modern Bellingshausen Ice Shelf). Previously, the existence of the southern continent (lat. Terra Australis) was hypothetically stated, often it was combined with South America (for example, on a map compiled by Piri Reis in 1513) and Australia. However, it was the expedition of Bellingshausen and Lazarev in the south polar seas, having circled the Antarctic ice around the world, confirmed the existence of the sixth continent.
The first to enter the continent were probably the crew of the USS Cecilia on February 7, 1821. The exact location of the landing is not known, but it is believed to have occurred in Hughes Bay (64°13'S 61°20'W (G) (O)). This claim of landing on the continent is among the earliest. The most accurate is the statement about the landing on the mainland (Davis Coast) from the Norwegian businessman Henrik Johann Bull, dated 1895.
Geographic division
The territory of Antarctica is divided into geographical areas and areas discovered years earlier by various travelers. The area explored and named after the discoverer (or others) is called "land".
The official list of lands of Antarctica:
- Queen Maud Land
- Wilkes Land
- Victoria Land
- Land Mary Byrd
- Ellsworth Land
- Land of Kots
- Land of Enderby
The northernmost point of the continent is Prime Head.
Antarctica is the highest continent on Earth, the average height of the surface of the continent above sea level is more than 2000 m, and in the center of the continent it reaches 4000 meters. Most of this height is the permanent ice cover of the continent, under which the continental relief is hidden, and only 0.3% (about 40 thousand km²) of its area is free of ice - mainly in West Antarctica and the Transantarctic Mountains: islands, coastal areas, etc. n. "dry valleys" and individual ridges and mountain peaks (nunataks) rising above the ice surface. The Transantarctic Mountains, crossing almost the entire continent, divide Antarctica into two parts - West Antarctica and East Antarctica, which have a different origin and geological structure. In the east there is a high (the highest elevation of the ice surface is ~4100 m above sea level) ice-covered plateau. The western part consists of a group of mountainous islands connected by ice. On the Pacific coast are the Antarctic Andes, whose height exceeds 4000 m; the highest point of the continent - 5140 m above sea level - the Vinson massif in the Ellsworth mountains. In West Antarctica there is also the deepest depression of the continent - the Bentley depression, probably of rift origin. The depth of the Bentley depression, filled with ice, reaches 2555 m below sea level.
The study using modern methods made it possible to learn more about the subglacial relief of the southern continent. As a result of the research, it turned out that about a third of the mainland lies below the level of the world ocean, the research also showed the presence of mountain ranges and massifs.
The western part of the continent has a complex relief and large elevation changes. Here are the highest mountain (Mount Vinson 5140 m) and the deepest depression (Bentley trough −2555 m) in Antarctica. The Antarctic Peninsula is a continuation of the South American Andes, which stretch towards the South Pole, slightly deviating from it to the western sector. 
East End mainland has a predominantly smooth relief, with separate plateaus and mountain ranges height up to 3-4 km. In contrast to the western part, composed of young Cenozoic rocks, the eastern part is a projection of the crystalline basement of the platform that was previously part of Gondwana.
The continent has relatively low volcanic activity. The largest volcano is Mount Erebus on Ross Island in the sea of the same name.
NASA's subglacial surveys have discovered a crater of asteroid origin in Antarctica. The diameter of the funnel is 482 km. The crater was formed when an asteroid with a diameter of about 48 kilometers (larger than Eros) fell to Earth, about 250 million years ago, in the Permian-Triassic time. The dust raised during the fall and explosion of the asteroid led to centuries of cooling and the death of most of the flora and fauna of that era. This crater is by far the largest on Earth.
In the event of complete melting of the glaciers, the area of Antarctica will be reduced by a third: western Antarctica will turn into an archipelago, while eastern Antarctica will remain the mainland. According to other sources, the whole of Antarctica will turn into an archipelago.
The Antarctic ice sheet is the largest on our planet and exceeds the nearest Greenland ice sheet in area by approximately 10 times. It contains ~30 million km³ of ice, that is, 90% of all land ice. Due to the gravity of the ice, as studies by geophysicists show, the continent sank by an average of 0.5 km, as evidenced by its relatively deep shelf. The ice sheet in Antarctica contains about 80% of all fresh water on the planet; if it melts completely, global sea levels would rise by almost 60 meters (for comparison: if the Greenland ice sheet melted, ocean levels would rise by only 8 meters).
The ice sheet is dome-shaped with an increase in the steepness of the surface towards the coast, where it is framed in many places by ice shelves. The average thickness of the ice layer is 2500-2800 m, reaching a maximum value in some areas of East Antarctica - 4800 m. The accumulation of ice on the ice sheet leads, as in the case of other glaciers, to the flow of ice into the ablation (destruction) zone, which coast of the continent; ice breaks off in the form of icebergs. The annual volume of ablation is estimated at 2500 km³.
A feature of Antarctica is a large area of ice shelves (low (blue) areas of West Antarctica), which is ~10% of the area rising above sea level; these glaciers are the source of icebergs of record size, much larger than those of the outlet glaciers of Greenland; for example, in 2000, the largest known on the ice broke away from the Ross Ice Shelf this moment(2005) iceberg B-15 with an area of over 10 thousand km². In winter (summer in the Northern Hemisphere), the area of sea ice around Antarctica increases to 18 million km², and in summer it decreases to 3-4 million km². 
The age of the ice sheet in the upper part can be determined from annual layers consisting of winter and summer deposits, as well as from marker horizons that carry information about global events (for example, volcanic eruptions). But at great depths, numerical modeling of ice spreading is used to determine the age, which is based on knowledge of the relief, temperature, snow accumulation rate, etc.
According to academician Vladimir Mikhailovich Kotlyakov, the ice sheet of the mainland was formed no later than 5 million years ago, but more likely, 30-35 million years ago. Apparently, this was facilitated by the rupture of the bridge connecting South America and the Antarctic Peninsula, which, in turn, led to the formation of the Antarctic circumpolar current (current West Winds) and the isolation of the Antarctic waters from the World Ocean - these waters make up the so-called Southern Ocean.
Geological structure
Geological structure of East Antarctica
East Antarctica is an ancient Precambrian continental platform (craton) similar to those of India, Brazil, Africa, and Australia. All these cratons were formed during the breakup of the Gondwana supercontinent. The age of the rocks of the crystalline basement is 2.5-2.8 billion years, the most ancient rocks of Enderby Earth are more than 3 billion years old.
The basement is covered by a younger sedimentary cover formed 350-190 Ma ago, mostly marine origin. The layers with an age of 320-280 Ma contain glacial deposits, but younger ones contain fossil remains of plants and animals, including ichthyosaurs, which indicates a strong difference between the climate of that time and the modern one. Findings of heat-loving reptiles and fern flora were made by the first explorers of Antarctica and served as one of the hardest evidence of large-scale horizontal plate movements, confirming the concept of plate tectonics.
seismic activity. Volcanism
Antarctica is a tectonically calm continent with low seismic activity, manifestations of volcanism are concentrated in West Antarctica and are associated with the Antarctic Peninsula, which arose during the Andean period of mountain building. Some of the volcanoes, especially island ones, have erupted in the last 200 years. The most active volcano in Antarctica is Erebus. It is called "the volcano guarding the way to the South Pole".
Climate
Antarctica has an extremely harsh cold climate. In East Antarctica, at the Soviet Antarctic station Vostok on July 21, 1983, the lowest air temperature on Earth in the entire history of meteorological measurements was recorded: 89.2 degrees below zero. The area is considered the cold pole of the Earth. Average temperatures winter months(June, July, August) from -60 to -75 °С, summer (December, January, February) from -30 to -50 °С; on the coast in winter from -8 to -35 °С, in summer 0-5 °С.
Another feature of the meteorology of East Antarctica is katabatic (katabatic) winds, due to its dome-shaped topography. These steady southerly winds occur on rather steep slopes of the ice sheet due to the cooling of the air layer near the ice surface, the density of the near-surface layer increases, and it flows down the slope under the action of gravity. The thickness of the air flow layer is usually 200-300 m; due to the large amount of ice dust carried by the wind, horizontal visibility in such winds is very low. The strength of the katabatic wind is proportional to the steepness of the slope and reaches its highest values in coastal areas with a high slope towards the sea. The katabatic winds reach their maximum strength in the Antarctic winter - from April to November they blow almost continuously around the clock, from November to March - at night or when the Sun is low above the horizon. In summer, during the daytime, due to the heating of the near-surface air layer by the sun, katabatic winds near the coast stop.
Data on temperature changes from 1981 to 2007 show that the temperature background in Antarctica has changed unevenly. For West Antarctica, as a whole, an increase in temperature is observed, while for East Antarctica, no warming has been detected, and even a slight decrease has been noted. It is unlikely that in the XXI century the process of melting of the glaciers of Antarctica will increase significantly. On the contrary, the amount of snow falling on the Antarctic ice sheet is expected to increase as temperatures rise. However, due to warming, a more intensive destruction of ice shelves and an acceleration of the movement of outlet glaciers of Antarctica, which throw ice into the World Ocean, are possible.
Due to the fact that not only average annual, but also in most areas even summer temperatures in Antarctica do not exceed zero degrees, precipitation there falls only in the form of snow (rain is an extremely rare occurrence). It forms an ice sheet (snow is compressed under its own weight) with a thickness of more than 1700 m, in some places reaching 4300 m. About 80% of the entire fresh water of the Earth is concentrated in the Antarctic ice. Nevertheless, there are lakes in Antarctica, and in the summer, rivers. The food of the rivers is glacial. Due to the intense solar radiation, due to the exceptional transparency of the air, the melting of glaciers occurs even at a slight negative air temperature. On the surface of the glacier, often at a considerable distance from the coast, streams of melt water are formed. The most intense melting occurs near oases, next to rocky ground heated by the sun. Since all streams are fed by the melting of the glacier, their water and level regime is completely determined by the course of air temperature and solar radiation. The highest flows in them are observed during the hours of the highest air temperatures, that is, in the second half of the day, and the lowest - at night, and often at this time the channels completely dry up. Glacial streams and rivers, as a rule, have very winding channels and connect numerous glacier lakes. Open channels usually end before reaching the sea or lake, and the watercourse makes its way further under the ice or in the thickness of the glacier, like underground rivers in karst areas. 
With the onset of autumn frosts, the flow stops, and deep channels with steep banks are covered with snow or blocked by snow bridges. Sometimes almost constant snow and frequent blizzards block the channels of the streams even before the runoff stops, and then the streams flow in ice tunnels, completely invisible from the surface. Like crevasses in glaciers, they are dangerous as heavy vehicles can fall through them. If the snow bridge is not strong enough, it can collapse under the weight of a person. The rivers of the Antarctic oases flowing through the ground usually do not exceed a few kilometers in length. The largest - r. Onyx, over 20 km long. The rivers exist only in the summer.
Antarctic lakes are no less peculiar. Sometimes they stand out in a special, Antarctic type. They are located in oases or dry valleys and are almost always covered with a thick layer of ice. However, in summer, a strip of open water several tens of meters wide is formed along the banks and at the mouths of temporary streams. Often, lakes are stratified. At the bottom there is a layer of water with increased temperature and salinity, as, for example, in Lake Vanda (English) Russian .. In some small closed lakes, the salt concentration is significantly increased and they can be completely ice-free. For example, oz. Don Juan, with a high concentration of calcium chloride in its waters, freezes only at very low temperatures. Antarctic lakes are small, only some of them are larger than 10 km² (Lake Vanda, Lake Figure). The largest of the Antarctic lakes is Figurnoye Lake in the Bunger oasis. Bizarrely meandering among the hills, it stretches for 20 kilometers. Its area is 14.7 km², and the depth exceeds 130 meters. The deepest is Lake Radok, its depth reaches 362 m.
There are lakes on the coast of Antarctica, formed as a result of water backwater by snowfields or small glaciers. Water in such lakes sometimes accumulates for several years until its level rises to the upper edge of the natural dam. Then excess water begins to flow out of the lake. A channel is formed, which quickly deepens, the flow of water increases. As the channel deepens, the water level in the lake falls and it shrinks in size. In winter, the dried-up channel is covered with snow, which is gradually compacted, and the natural dam is restored. In the next summer season, the lake begins to fill with melt water again. It takes several years until the lake is filled and its waters again break into the sea.
Comparing Antarctica with other continents, it can be noted that there are absolutely no wetlands on the South Polar continent. However, there are peculiar glacial "swamps" in the coastal strip. They form in summer in depressions filled with snow and firn. The melt water flowing into these depressions moistens the snow and firn, resulting in a snow-water porridge, viscous, like ordinary swamps. The depth of such "bogs" is most often insignificant - no more than a meter. From above they are covered with a thin ice crust. Like real swamps, they are sometimes impassable even for caterpillar vehicles: a tractor or all-terrain vehicle that has got into such a place, bogged down in a snow and water porridge, will not get out without outside help.
In the 1990s, Russian scientists discovered the subglacial non-freezing Lake Vostok - the largest of the Antarctic lakes, having a length of 250 km and a width of 50 km; the lake holds about 5400 thousand km³ of water.
In January 2006, geophysicists Robin Bell and Michael Studinger from the American Lamont-Doherty Geophysical Observatory discovered the second and third largest subglacial lakes, with an area of 2000 km² and 1600 km², respectively, located at a depth of about 3 km from the surface of the continent. They reported that this could have been done sooner if the data from the Soviet expedition of 1958-1959 had been analyzed more carefully. In addition to these data, satellite data, radar readings and measurements of the force of gravity on the surface of the continent were used.
In total, in 2007, more than 140 subglacial lakes were discovered in Antarctica.
As a result of global warming, tundra began to actively form on the Antarctic Peninsula. According to scientists, in 100 years the first trees may appear in Antarctica.
An oasis on the Antarctic Peninsula covers an area of 400 km², the total area of oases is 10 thousand km², and the area is not occupied by ice areas (including snowless rocks) is 30-40 thousand km². 
The biosphere in Antarctica is represented in four “arenas of life”: coastal islands and ice, coastal oases on the mainland (for example, the “Banger oasis”), the nunatak arena (Mount Amundsen near Mirny, Mount Nansen on Victoria Land, etc.) and the arena of the ice sheet .
From plants there are flowering, fern (on the Antarctic Peninsula), lichens, fungi, bacteria, algae (in oases). Seals and penguins live on the coast.
Plants and animals are most common in the coastal zone. Ground vegetation in ice-free areas exists mainly in the form of various types of mosses and lichens and does not form a continuous cover (Antarctic moss-lichen deserts).
Antarctic animals are completely dependent on the coastal ecosystem of the Southern Ocean: due to the scarcity of vegetation, all significant food chains of coastal ecosystems begin in the waters surrounding Antarctica. Antarctic waters are particularly rich in zooplankton, primarily krill. Krill directly or indirectly form the basis of the food chain for many species of fish, cetaceans, squid, seals, penguins and other animals; There are no completely land mammals in Antarctica, invertebrates are represented by about 70 species of arthropods (insects and arachnids) and nematodes living in soils.
Of the terrestrial animals, seals live (Weddell, crabeater seals, sea leopards, Ross, sea elephants) and birds (several species of petrels (antarctic, snowy), two species of skuas, arctic tern, Adélie penguins and emperor penguins).
In freshwater lakes of continental coastal oases - "dry valleys" - there are oligotrophic ecosystems inhabited by blue-green algae, roundworms, copepods (cyclops) and daphnia, while birds (petrels and skuas) fly here occasionally.
Nunataks are characterized only by bacteria, algae, lichens and heavily oppressed mosses; only skuas following people occasionally fly onto the ice sheet.
There is an assumption about the presence in the subglacial lakes of Antarctica, such as Lake Vostok, of extremely oligotrophic ecosystems, practically isolated from the outside world.
In 1994, scientists reported a rapid increase in the number of plants in the Antarctic, which seems to confirm the hypothesis of global warming on the planet. 
The Antarctic Peninsula with adjacent islands has the most favorable conditions on the mainland. climatic conditions. It is here that two species of flowering plants found in the region grow - antarctic meadow grass and kito colobanthus.
Man and Antarctica
In preparation for the International Geophysical Year, about 60 bases and stations belonging to 11 states were founded on the coast, ice sheet and islands (including Soviet ones - the Mirny Observatory, Oasis, Pionerskaya, Vostok-1, Komsomolskaya and Vostok stations, American ones - Amudsen -Scott at the South Pole, Byrd, Hulett, Wilkes and McMurdo).
Since the late 1950s in the seas surrounding the continent, oceanographic work is carried out, regular geophysical research is carried out at stationary continental stations; expeditions are also undertaken into the interior of the continent. Soviet scientists carried out a sledge-tractor trip to the Geomagnetic Pole (1957), the Pole of Relative Inaccessibility (1958), and the South Pole (1959). American explorers went on all-terrain vehicles from Little America station to Byrd station and further to Sentinel station (1957), in 1958-1959 from Ellsworth station through the Dufek massif to Byrd station; In 1957-1958, British and New Zealand scientists on tractors crossed Antarctica through the South Pole from the Wedell Sea to the Ross Sea. Australian, Belgian and French scientists also worked in the interior of Antarctica. In 1959, an international treaty on Antarctica was concluded, which promoted the development of cooperation in the exploration of the ice continent.
History of the study of the continent
The first ship to cross the Antarctic Circle belonged to the Dutch; it was commanded by Dirk Geeritz, who sailed in the squadron of Jacob Magyu. In 1559, in the Strait of Magellan, Geeritz's ship, after a storm, lost sight of the squadron and went south. When it descended to 64° S. sh., high land was discovered there. In 1675, La Rocher discovered South Georgia; Bouvet Island was discovered in 1739; In 1772, in the Indian Ocean, Yves-Joseph Kerglen, a French naval officer, discovered an island named after him.
Almost simultaneously with the sailing of Kerglen from England, James Cook set off on his first trip to the Southern Hemisphere, and already in January 1773, his ships Adventure and Resolution crossed the Antarctic Circle at meridian 37 ° 33 ′. e. After a hard struggle with the ice, he reached 67 ° 15′ S. sh., where he was forced to turn north. In December 1773, Cook again went to the southern ocean, on December 8 he crossed it and on the parallel of 67 ° 5′ S. sh. was covered in ice. Freed, Cook went further south and at the end of January 1774 reached 71 ° 15′ S. sh., SW from Tierra del Fuego. Here an impenetrable wall of ice prevented him from going further. Cook was one of the first to reach the south polar seas and, having met solid ice in several places, he announced that it was impossible to penetrate further. They believed him and for 45 years they did not undertake polar expeditions.
The first geographical discovery of land south of 60 ° S. (modern "political Antarctica", governed by the Antarctic Treaty system) was committed by the English merchant William Smith, who stumbled upon Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands, on February 19, 1819.
In 1819, the Russian sailors F.F. Bellingshausen and M.P. Lazarev on the military sloops "Vostok" and "Mirny" visited South Georgia and tried to penetrate into the depths of the Southern Arctic Ocean. The first time, on January 28, 1820, almost on the Greenwich meridian, they reached 69°21′ S. sh. and discovered the actual modern Antarctica; then, having gone beyond the polar circle, Bellingshausen passed along it to the east to 19 ° e. where he crossed it again and reached in February 1820 again almost the same latitude (69 ° 6 ′). Further to the east, it rose only to 62° parallel and continued on its way along the margin of the floating ice. Then, on the meridian of the Balleny Islands, Bellingshausen reached 64 ° 55 ′, in December 1820 reached 161 ° W. passed the Antarctic Circle and reached 67°15′ S. sh., and in January 1821 it reached 69 ° 53′ S. sh. Almost at the 81° meridian, he discovered the high coast of Peter I Island, and, having gone further east, inside the Antarctic Circle, he discovered the coast of Alexander I Land. Thus, Bellingshausen was the first to complete a full voyage around Antarctica at latitudes from 60° to 70°.
In 1838-1842, the American Charles Wilkes explored a part of Antarctica, named Wilkes Land after him. In 1839-1840 Frenchman Jules Dumont-Durville discovered Adélie Land, and in 1841-1842 Englishman James Ross discovered the Ross Sea and Victoria Land. The first landing on the coast of Antarctica and the first wintering was made by the Norwegian expedition of Carsten Borchgrevink in 1895.
After that, the study of the coast of the continent and its interior began. Numerous studies were done by English expeditions led by Ernest Shackleton (he wrote a book about them, In the Heart of Antarctica). In 1911-1912, a real race to conquer the South Pole unfolded between the expedition of the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and the expedition of the Englishman Robert Scott. Amundsen, Olaf Bjaland, Oskar Wisting, Helmer Hansen and Sverre Hassel were the first to reach the South Pole; a month after him, Scott's party arrived at the coveted point, which died on the way back.
From the middle of the 20th century, the study of Antarctica began on an industrial basis. On the Continent different countries established numerous permanent bases, all year round leading meteorological, glaciological and geological research. On December 14, 1958, the third Soviet Antarctic expedition, led by Evgeny Tolstikov, reached the South Pole of Inaccessibility and established the temporary Pole of Inaccessibility station there.
In the 19th century, several whaling bases existed on the Antarctic Peninsula and adjacent islands. Subsequently, they were all abandoned.
The harsh climate of Antarctica prevents its settlement. Currently, there is no permanent population in Antarctica, there are several dozen scientific stations where, depending on the season, from 4000 people (150 Russian citizens) live in summer and about 1000 in winter (Russian citizens approx. 100). 
In 1978, the first man of Antarctica, Emilio Marcos Palma, was born at the Esperanza station in Argentina.
Antarctica has been assigned the Internet top-level domain .aq and the telephone prefix +672.
Status of Antarctica
In accordance with the Antarctic Convention, signed on December 1, 1959 and entered into force on June 23, 1961, Antarctica does not belong to any state. Only scientific activities are allowed.
The deployment of military installations, as well as the entry of warships and armed vessels south of 60 degrees south latitude, are prohibited.
In the 1980s, Antarctica was also declared a nuclear-free zone, which excluded the appearance of nuclear-powered ships in its waters, and nuclear power units on the mainland.
Now the parties to the treaty are 28 states (with the right to vote) and dozens of observer countries.
Territorial claims
However, the existence of a treaty does not mean that the states that acceded to it have renounced their territorial claims to the continent and adjacent space. On the contrary, the territorial claims of some countries are formidable. For example, Norway claims a territory ten times larger than its own (including the island of Peter I, discovered by the Bellingshausen-Lazarev expedition). Great territories declared their Great Britain. The British intend to extract ore and hydrocarbon resources on the Antarctic shelf. Australia considers almost half of Antarctica to be its own, into which, however, the “French” Adélie Land is wedged. Presented territorial claims and New Zealand. Great Britain, Chile and Argentina claim practically the same territory, including the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands. None of the countries officially put forward territorial claims to the land of Mary Byrd. However, hints of US rights to this territory are contained in unofficial American sources.
The United States and Russia took a special position, declaring that they could, in principle, put forward their territorial claims in Antarctica, although so far they have not done so. Moreover, both states do not recognize the claims of other countries.
The continent of Antarctica is today the only uninhabited and undeveloped continent of the Earth. Antarctica has long attracted European powers and the United States, but it began to be of world interest at the end of the 20th century. Antarctica is the last resource reserve for humanity on Earth. After the exhaustion of raw materials on the five inhabited continents, people will develop its resources. However, since Antarctica will remain the only source of resources for countries, the struggle for its resources has already begun, which may result in a violent military conflict. Geologists have established that the bowels of Antarctica contain a significant amount of minerals - iron ore, hard coal; found traces of ores of copper, nickel, lead, zinc, molybdenum, rock crystal, mica, graphite. In addition, about 80% of the world's fresh water is located in Antarctica, the lack of which is already felt in many countries. 
Currently, observations are being made of climatic and meteorological processes on the continent, which, like the Gulf Stream in the Northern Hemisphere, is a climate-forming factor for the entire Earth. In Antarctica, the effects of outer space and the processes occurring in the earth's crust are also being studied.
The study of the ice sheet brings serious scientific results, informing us about the climate of the Earth hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands of years ago. In the ice sheet of Antarctica were "recorded" data on the climate and composition of the atmosphere over the past hundred thousand years. By chemical composition different layers of ice determine the level of solar activity over the past few centuries.
Microorganisms have been discovered in Antarctica that may be of value to science and allow a better study of these life forms.
Many Antarctic bases, especially Russian bases located around the entire perimeter of the continent, provide ideal opportunities for tracking seismological activity throughout the planet. The Antarctic bases are also testing technologies and equipment that are planned to be used in the future for the exploration, development and colonization of other planets of the solar system.
Russia in Antarctica
There are about 45 year-round scientific stations in Antarctica. Russia currently has seven operating stations and one field base in Antarctica.
Permanently operating:
- Bellingshausen
- Peaceful
- Novolazarevskaya
- East
- Progress
- Sea Squad
- Leningrad (Reactivated in 2008)
- Russian (Reactivated in 2008)
Canned:
- Youth
- Druzhnaya-4
No longer existing:
- Pioneer
- Komsomolskaya
- Soviet
- Vostok-1
- Lazarev
- Pole of inaccessibility
- Oasis (given to Poland in 1959)
Orthodox Church
The first Orthodox Church in Antarctica was built on the island of Waterloo (South Shetland Islands) near the Russian Bellingshausen station with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II. They collected it in Altai, and then transported it to the icy mainland on the scientific vessel Akademik Vavilov. The fifteen-meter temple was cut down from cedar and larch. It accommodates up to 30 people.
The temple was consecrated in the name of the Holy Trinity on February 15, 2004 by the vicar of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, Bishop Feognost of Sergiev Posad, in the presence of numerous clergy, pilgrims and sponsors, who arrived on a special flight from the nearest city, Chilean Punta Arenas. Now the temple is the Patriarchal Compound of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.
The Church of the Holy Trinity is considered the southernmost Orthodox church in the world. To the south, there is only the chapel of St. John of Rylsky at the Bulgarian station St. Kliment Ohridsky and the chapel of St. Vladimir Equal-to-the-Apostles at the Ukrainian station Academician Vernadsky.
On January 29, 2007, the first wedding in Antarctica took place in this temple (daughter of a polar explorer, Russian woman Angelina Zhuldybina and Chilean Eduardo Aliaga Ilabac, who works at the Chilean Antarctic base).
Interesting Facts
- The average surface elevation of Antarctica is the highest of all the continents.
- In addition to the cold pole, in Antarctica there are points of the lowest relative humidity of the air, the strongest and most prolonged wind, and the most intense solar radiation.
- Although Antarctica is not the territory of any state, enthusiasts from the United States issue the unofficial currency of the continent - the "Antarctic dollar".
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The geographical position of Antarctica is unique - there is no other continent on Earth that would be completely located in the polar region of the planet. This location led to the emergence on the mainland of a permanent ice cover and very difficult climatic conditions. The area of Antarctica is 14 million km2. Due to the peculiarities of the location, it is not necessary to talk about the length from north to south and from west to east, however, the maximum distance between two opposite points of the coast is about 5700 km. In the very north, the mainland is crossed by the Antarctic Circle in several places.
Of the extreme points of the mainland, only the northern one can be named: Cape Sifre (63 ° 12 "48" S, 57 ° 18 "8" E) on the Antarctic Peninsula.
The mainland is located in the subantarctic and antarctic climatic zones of the Earth.
Antarctica is bordered by the Southern Ocean. Otherwise, if this ocean is not considered, it is washed by the waters of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans.
The mainland occupies the extreme southern position, is not connected to any of the other continents, and is also the furthest removed from the rest.
Antarctica - a territory that includes the mainland Antarctica and adjacent Antarctic waters (the southern margins of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans) with islands up to 48-60 ° S. sh.
Antarctica is an icy, deserted and coldest continent. It is located in the southern polar region of the Earth, therefore all its shores are northern. Most of the territory lies in the Eastern Hemisphere. Antarctica is far removed from inhabited land. The distance to the nearest mainland - South America is more than 900 km (Drake Passage). The coastline of Antarctica is formed mainly by the edges of the glacier, which ends in a wall of several tens of meters into the ocean. Only one peninsula stands out - the Antarctic.
Natural conditions and resources. Relief and minerals. From space, Antarctica looks like a plain. But this is an unusual "plain" on Earth. Its average height above sea level is 2040 m, which is almost three times the average height of all continents. A feature of this "plain" is that its surface is covered with a thick layer of compressed ice, which reaches 4000 m in the central part, forming a kind of dome. Its ice spreads from the center of the mainland to the edges, forming icebergs. Antarctica's glaciers contain 80% of the Earth's fresh water.
The ice shell hides complex torus structures, plains and deep depressions. The mainland is based on the ancient Antarctic platform, which was part of Gondwana - this is the Eastern part of Antarctica; The western (folded region) includes the Transantarctic Mountains - a continuation of the Andes. In places they protrude to the surface. The highest point of the mainland is Mount Vinson (5140 m). On the coast of the Ross Sea there is an active volcano Erebus.
In the depths of Antarctica, deposits of coal and iron ore have been discovered, as well as signs of deposits of gold, uranium, copper, nickel, lead, and silver.
Climate. Features of the geographical location and ice cover led to the formation of a harsh climate, the coldest on Earth. The polar explorers of the station "Vostok" noted the lowest temperature -89.2°C. Cold and dry Antarctic air masses form over the mainland. Constant katabatic winds blow from the high ice dome, reaching hurricane speeds - up to 80 m/s. Winters are especially severe in Antarctica. average temperature in winter -70 ° C. Summer temperatures in the interior rarely rise above -36 ° C. Precipitation in the central part of the mainland is less than 100 mm, and it falls only in the solid state. The climate of the coastal part is different. Strong winds are frequent here, the amount of precipitation increases (up to 300 mm), summer temperatures are higher (-1.0 ° C), there are rains. There are two climatic zones on the mainland: Antarctic and subantarctic.
The organic world is poor compared to other continents. Vegetation of the mainland - mosses, lichens, algae, microscopic fungi.
The centers of life in the icy desert of the mainland are oases (places free from ice). The animal world is richer and more diverse than the vegetable world. The life of most animals is connected with the ocean, there are few land animals. There is a lot of plankton in coastal waters, which feed on fish, whales, and seals. The most typical birds of Antarctica are penguins. Even far from the coast, in the mountains, nesting birds (petrels, skuas, gray gulls) can be found.
Natural resources: iron ore, chromium, copper, gold, nickel, platinum and other minerals; small reserves of coal and hydrocarbons have been discovered (not currently being developed); krill, fish and crabs are industrial fisheries
Definition: This indicator contains information on natural resources, mineral resources, energy, fisheries and forestry resources.
The position of Antarctica is geographically unique, because it is located right on one of the poles of our planet. On old maps, the mainland was designated as “the unknown South Land”, but even after the discovery, it leaves us with many mysteries and questions. What do we know about Antarctica today? You will find a description of the geographical location of the mainland and its main features later in the article.
Antarctica is the southernmost, coldest and windiest continent on Earth.
Ice covers almost the entire surface of the continent. They contain 80% of the world's fresh water supply.
The average ice thickness of Antarctica is 2 kilometers.
By definition, the mainland is the largest desert in the world.
In some areas of the mainland, precipitation has not fallen for two million years.
Due to the peculiarities of the geographical position of Antarctica, it is absolutely not suitable for life. There is no permanent population here.
On the mainland is the largest crater on the planet with a diameter of 482 kilometers. It was formed from an asteroid that fell about 250 million years ago.
To date, the lands of Antarctica do not belong to anyone, but France, New Zealand, Argentina, Norway, Chile, Great Britain and Australia are fighting for possession of the continent.
Description of the geographical location of Antarctica
Antarctica is located in the south of our planet, its center almost coincides with the South Pole of the Earth. It is far removed from other continents. Closest to her is South America, the distance to which is about 1000 kilometers.
On all sides, the mainland is washed by the waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. Its outlines are predominantly smooth and most of the seas cut into coastline not deep. The largest of them: the sea of Rosa, Weddell, Amundsen, Bellingshausen.
The area of the mainland is 14,107,000 km 2, which is almost twice that of Australia. Due to the peculiar geographical position of Antarctica, approximately 98-99% of its territory is covered with ice. Free from them are only individual islets, mountain peaks and parts of the coast.
Ice significantly increases the size of the continent, both in height and in breadth. If they melt, then the area of Antarctica will decrease by about a third. Under them lies the most ordinary continent with ridges, depressions, river valleys and even volcanoes. So, between Cape Adare and Costa Land lie the Transantarctic Mountains. To the west of them is a group of islands and ridges of the Antarctic Andes with the highest point of the mainland, Mount Markham (4572 m).
Climate
Despite the southern geographical position of Antarctica, the climate of the mainland is very severe. Local weather conditions are much colder and more merciless than in the Arctic. Here were recorded the most low temperatures on the planet: -89.2 °C and -93.2 °C.
The interior of the mainland is characterized by a lack of precipitation, weak winds and severe cold. On average, temperatures range from -70°C in winter to -25°C in summer. On the coast, the climate is much warmer and more humid, summer temperatures can reach +5 °C. But in these areas there are strong katabatic winds descending from the steep icy slopes. Sometimes they pick up speed up to 320 kilometers per hour.
Spaces that are not covered by Antarctic ice are called oases. The largest of them - the Dry Valleys of McMerde - extend over 8 thousand km 2. The temperature here is usually higher than in the rest of the mainland, and in some areas there are unfrozen fresh and salt lakes.
Antarctica has a high level of solar radiation, so in summer temporary rivers appear on its territory. Usually they are only a couple of hundred meters long, but the Onyx River in the Wright Valley is 20 kilometers long. A sharp blizzard or a cold snap easily block watercourses with a snow crust. Then the rivers flow in a kind of tunnels and become dangerous, as they are completely invisible to cars and working equipment.
Nature of Antarctica
Once the mainland was a warm tropical island covered with ferns and other green plants. With the advent of the Ice Age, it turned into a tundra, and today only two flowering species grow on it - colobanthus kito and antarctic meadow grass. The remaining representatives of the flora are mosses, lichens, algae and microscopic fungi.
Various birds and about 70 species of invertebrates live on the mainland. Most of the local inhabitants lead a semi-aquatic lifestyle, spending considerable time in the ocean. The largest truly terrestrial animal is the wingless mosquito, 2-3 mm in size.
The waters of the oases of the mainland are filled with daphnia and copepods, various ticks, fleas, and lice live on the surface. Large inhabitants of Antarctica are penguins, crabeater seals, elephant seals and leopards, cruciform dolphins, finfalls, sei whales, blue, humpback and other whales.
First explorations of the South Earth
The geographical position of the mainland of Antarctica greatly delayed the moment of its discovery. The existence of a certain Terra Australis Incognita (“Unknown Southern Land”) was suspected by the ancient Greeks, but the mainland was officially discovered only in 1820.
The championship belongs to the expedition of Bellingshausen and Lazarev, whose ships circled the land of Antarctica. Shortly after them, the British and Americans went to study the waters near the icy continent. These expeditions were the first steps to explore the mysterious lands and opened the doors for hundreds of subsequent exploration journeys.
The first person to set foot on the coast of the mainland is the Norwegian Carsten Borchgrevink. In the 1890s, he managed to successfully land on Antarctica and spend the night there. At the beginning of the 20th century, expeditions of Robert Scott and Roald Amundsen repeatedly went to the mainland. In 1911-1912 they became famous as the conquerors of the South Pole.
Population of Antarctica
Interest in the mainland does not fade even after 200 years, however, difficult climatic conditions do not allow settling there for a long time. There is no permanent population in Antarctica, there are only about forty scientific stations and bases in which researchers and service personnel live. Every six months - a year there is a change of personnel, because it is not an easy task to live in such difficult conditions even for several months.
Due to its unique geographical location, Antarctica belongs to all time zones at once. The population of stations usually live according to the time that is relevant in their home country. Magnetologists, engineers, radar operators, biologists, geologists, meteorologists, hydrologists, as well as psychologists, doctors, cooks and programmers are constantly working here. In addition, thousands of tourists come to the mainland every year, so you can’t call it deserted.
