Interesting facts about the mainland Antarctica arealmost all information about it. Since the opening of the sixth continent in 1820, Russian seafarers Bellingshausen and Lazarev 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.
You can start with the fact that Antarctica -The only continent on the planet that does not belong wholly 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 flag on the sixth continent against the background 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.
In the summer months, the number of polar workers working forthe sixth continent, reaches 5 thousand. 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 extreme cold, in the expanses of the sixthcontinents polar explorers face extraordinary dryness of air, which is famous for Antarctica. Interesting facts are the ratio of the amount of water enclosed in the ice cap of the continent (70% of the fresh water of the planet) 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 the precipitation did not fall out for two million years.
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!).
Lists with the title "10 interesting facts aboutAntarctica "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.
The impact of climate, of course, is not feltonly polar explorers, but also all living organisms existing 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 the "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 car antifreeze: it does not allow the liquid to freeze even at the most extreme temperatures.
And these are not all the miracles that have been prepared forman of Antarctica. Interesting facts for children often contain a reference to another species of fish. A relative of the cod that we are familiar with is distinguished by 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.
Чем не может похвастаться Антарктида?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 here. On the sixth continent, in general, there are no completely land animals.
The most popular representatives of the faunaThe Antarctic are penguins. Directly on the mainland they live only two species. These are Adelie penguins and famous imperial ones. The latter are found only on the icy continent. They differ from their fellows by their large size and “habit” to multiply during the polar night.
Two more species (Antarctic and Subantarcticpenguins) nest only on the Antarctic Peninsula, part of the continent, which is very prominent in the ocean, and therefore characterized by milder climatic conditions.
Interesting facts about animals of Antarctica includeinformation 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 the land inhabitants of the continent, are mosquitoes-bells Belgica antarctica (they feed on microorganisms, they are indifferent to the blood). These gnats do not occur anywhere else on Earth. They live mainly on the Antarctic Peninsula.
The animal world of the sixth continent was interesting inall epochs. Few people today do not know that once Antarctica was covered with forests. In those early 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.
Another big find was made on the islandJames 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.
Кости древних ящеров — не единственные интересные finds found on the ice continent. Meteorites are found in large numbers here. In some regions, the layer of ice is literally full of impregnations of space "aliens". It should be noted that the frequency of meteorite incidence in the Antarctic 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.
Even the mass of amazing finds hidesAntarctica. Interesting facts about the continent are regularly updated with new information after the return of the expeditions. Already available data can be built into a very long list. And so today, Antarctica: interesting facts, landscape photos, data on research results, etc., attracts the attention of not only specialists, but also people who are not related to science by occupation.
