Baby Emilio. Antarctica Conditions similar to Mars

Antarctica is the first thing that comes to our minds if we see the earth completely covered with ice. It is located in the Southern Hemisphere and is the southernmost continent.

Antarctica was officially discovered in 1820 during a Russian round-the-world expedition led by Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev.

Only 2% of the continent is visible land, the rest of the surface is covered with ice, which contains 70% of the entire reserves. fresh water on the planet.

Antarctica is home to animals that have been able to adapt to cold climate conditions, mainly penguins and seals.

Algae, bacteria, fungi and some types of plants coexist next to them. The height of the ice cover covering Antarctica reaches 2040 meters, which is more than 2.5 times greater medium height surfaces of all other continents. Near the South Pole, the thickness of the ice cover reaches almost 4000 meters.

Icebergs

The largest, tallest and largest icebergs in the world were found in Antarctica. In addition, B-15, which is the largest iceberg in the world and is 295 km long and 37 km wide, was also found in Antarctica.

Conditions similar to Mars

It has been announced that Antarctica is similar to Mars in climatic conditions and many other factors. Here, just like on Mars, there is prolonged darkness, no natural resources, and some of the dry valleys of Antarctica resemble the landscapes of Mars. The conditions are so similar that scientists from the National Science Foundation and NASA are using Antarctica as a model for Mars, testing technologies and models of equipment that will soon be sent to Mars.

Only 2 seasons

Antarctica is considered the driest, coldest and windiest place on Earth. The lowest recorded temperature is -89.4 C, and the average temperature is -34.4 C. Antarctica is considered the largest desert as it is practically devoid of precipitation. In addition, there are only two seasons here - winter and summer. During the 6 summer months, the sun shines in Antarctica; the 6 winter months are spent in darkness. It is in winter that the size of the continent increases, and in summer it decreases.

Unique biodiversity

Antarctica is home to many other animals that can only be found here. So, he lives only on this continent. The most famous inhabitants of Antarctica are penguins, fur seals and seals - the largest population of these animals is located here. The emperor penguin is the only species that breeds in winter. Blue whales living in the waters of Antarctica are larger in size than blue whales living in other seas.

No economy

There is tourism in Antarctica, but it is only possible on the very edge of the continent. In addition, fishermen also catch fish only near the shores. There are several research stations based in Antarctica, but they are exclusively concerned with scientific activities. There is an "Antarctic dollar", but it has no legal force and, therefore, cannot be used as a monetary unit.

No governments

Antarctica is considered a zone free of any type of property. Many countries tried to establish their rights to this continent, but did not receive any recognition. Antarctica is a politically neutral land and can only be used for scientific purposes.

Human life

Antarctica is a continent without a population, since the low temperature and harsh climatic conditions are not suitable for permanent residence. On the mainland you can only meet tourists and scientists. In 1978, the Argentine government sent seven families to the mainland to test the possibility of survival on this land. Emilio Marcos Palma is the first boy born on the very edge of the Antarctic Peninsula, and Solveig Jacobsen is the first girl born on the mainland. A Russian Orthodox Church was built on King George Island, near Bellingshausen station.

The best place for meteorites

Antarctica is the most best place for the study and research of meteorites. The first meteorite was discovered in 1912. Today, Antarctica is recognized as a natural gallery of various types of meteorites.

There is no standard time

It is impossible to establish standard time in Antarctica, so scientists living at the stations follow the clock rhythms of their country.

Global warming

Antarctica is facing serious impacts from global warming and ozone depletion. If the melting of the ice sheet continues at this rate, one day the water will flood the entire Earth. Global warming and ozone depletion are also causing the extinction of penguins and many other Antarctic species. Therefore, we must take measures that will help reduce the depletion of the ozone layer and prevent global warming.

Here are the Top 15 facts about the coldest and most southern continent on earth - about Antarctica.

1. The discovery of the sixth and final continent occurred on January 28, 1820. The sloops of war "Vostok" and "Mirny", led by Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev, approached the continent. However, they did not dare to land on it.

2. In 1911-1912, a real race began between the Norwegian and Australian Arctic expeditions for the right to be the first to reach the South Pole. Submitted South Pole Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. And the Australian expedition died on the way back.

3. Emilio Marcos Palma is the first person born on this continent. The Argentine government decided to use a trick. They sent a pregnant woman to Antarctica who gave birth to a child. Thus, the Argentines wanted to claim their rights to own the continent.

4. There are no permanent residents here. Only temporary ones are scientists. They work in Antarctica in shifts. Their total number is approximately five thousand people. And they live very friendly. There were even several marriages.

5. In 1961, doctor Leonid Rogozov performed probably the most unusual operation. Within two hours he operated on himself, removing his appendix. After this incident, scientists began to be accepted onto the continent only with a removed appendix, as well as with missing wisdom teeth.

6. The word "Antarctica" means "the opposite of the Arctic." The continent was officially named by Scottish cartographer John George Bartholomew in 1890. Before this, this land was called the “Ice Continent” and the “Arctic Continent.”

7. The mainland is the driest place on earth. In an ice-free area called McMurdo, there had been no rain for about two million years. Therefore, one of the most important troubles for the “residents” of Antarctica is open fire. It is simply impossible to extinguish it.

8. The coldest temperature on earth was recorded here - minus 91.2 degrees Celsius. The average temperature ranges from minus 30 to minus 50. And the maximum temperature for Antarctica is 15 degrees above zero.

9. There are no polar bears in Antarctica. It's very cold here for them. But penguins feel great here. Six species live here. The cold continent is the only place where the emperor penguin lives. The Arctic penguin can dive to a depth of 500 meters.

10. The continent has been open to tourists since 1980. To visit the southernmost continent, you need to shell out a tidy sum - 10 thousand dollars. But this does not stop those who want to admire the eternal ice. About 40 thousand people visit the continent every year. In 2013, the American rock band Metallica even performed a concert here. This was the first concert in Antarctica.

11. Due to the high iron content, rust forms in the waterfall, which is located in the Taylor Valley. It was nicknamed Bloody for its reddish color. By the way, the water in it never freezes. The amount of salt in Bloody Falls is four times that of seawater.

12. Antarctica is a great place to study meteorites. Thanks to eternal ice, they are here in their original form. One of them left a huge crater 500 kilometers in diameter. The most valuable are the broken pieces from the planet Mars.

13. While in Antarctica, you can visit all 24 time zones in a couple of minutes. Scientists living here usually adhere to the time zone of their country or the time associated with supplies from " big land».

14. Antarctica has its own flag (the outline of the continent is shown on a blue background), there is a telephone connection and the Internet. And even your own domain - .aq. It is issued for two years to organizations whose countries have signed the Arctic Treaty.

15. The only river flowing in the Wright Dry Valley is the Onyx. Its length is 40 kilometers. There are no fish in it, only algae and microorganisms.

What to do with an entire continent, the question of sovereignty and ownership of its territories is unresolved? It's simple: you need to send a pregnant woman there, let her give birth there, and then use the child as a justification for your territorial claims.

Argentina resorted to this tactic in 1977, when the country's government decided to settle Silvia Morello de Palma, who was seven months pregnant, at Esperanzo, a research station located in the far north of the Antarctic Peninsula.

On January 7, 1978, newborn Emilio Palma became the first person in history to be born on the cold, unforgiving continent.

Argentine research station "Esperanzo", where Emilio Palma was born.

The plan was put into effect after Chilean President Augusto Pinochet visited Antarctica in early 1977 to assert his country's dominance in the region. This visit forced Argentina to take the most extreme measures that have ever been taken in this regard in many decades of disputes over the territory of Antarctica.

Perhaps the funniest thing is that the Chileans sent newlyweds to their research station in Antarctica in order to subsequently claim the role of the first country in the world whose citizens not only gave birth, but also conceived a child on this continent.

The birth of baby Emilio was linked to a large regional trend. In 1979, Argentina issued a postage stamp featuring two children studying a new map of the country that included part of Antarctica, and the inscription "Argentines, we must move to the borders."

In fact, Argentina takes its unrecognized territorial claims so seriously that it is illegal for the country to show a map of the country that does not include the Falkland Islands, the South Atlantic Islands and the portion of Antarctica it claims.

A tasty piece of the pie.

In 1821, American sealer John Davis supposedly became the first person to land on the coast of Antarctica (followed by British navigator James Waddell in 1823). Since there was no indigenous population on the continent, after some time one of the politicians decided that the registration of a child born on the continent would be equivalent to an act of sovereignty.

“All the countries involved in the Antarctic sovereignty dispute came up with their own rules,” said Dr Adrian Hawkins, associate professor at State University Colorado, who wrote his doctoral dissertation on the history of territorial disputes around Antarctica. “In terms of international law, at that time, and in the 1940s and 1950s, it was an emotional rather than a legal argument.”

The grievances were characterized by imperialism and nationalism. Hawkins, who was himself originally from Britain, discovered that the problem was largely an unwritten piece of history and decided to look at it through the lens of decolonization.

“Unsupported claims have a lot to do with national pride,” explains Dr. Hawkins. At the moment, giving up the territory of Antarctica for Chile or Argentina is equivalent to losing their own land. “Everyone would be very surprised if the Argentine or Chilean government announced that they no longer lay claim to Antarctica. This is firmly rooted in the consciousness of the two countries.”

It's not clear what all this fuss is about.

According to Article IV of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, any territorial claims made before the ratification of this agreement are neither refuted nor recognized. Moreover, while the contract is in force, no new claims can be made. The treaty was signed by 53 countries. Previously, Antarctica was claimed by seven states - Australia, Argentina, Great Britain, New Zealand, Norway, France and Chile.

According to Hawkins, France, Norway, Australia, New Zealand and the UK are "a kind of club within a club about mutual recognition of territorial claims." Argentina and Chile, in turn, recognize each other's rights to claims, but not the claims themselves, since they share most of the territories they claim. What about the rest? "I don't think any country in the world recognizes these claims," ​​Dr Hawkins said.

This is a unique legal situation, or lack thereof. Argentina and Chile - and to a lesser extent the UK - were by far the quickest signatories. They took advantage of the small room for maneuver left by the treaty. These countries claim that Antarctica already belongs to them; they simply must articulate claims, define limits, and set boundaries. The legitimacy of their claims is associated with who is able to carry out the most important Scientific research. Be that as it may, formally Antarctica belongs to the public domain.

Cemetery near the Argentine research station "Esperanzo"

Decades of territorial spats have been childish in nature. Cases of planting, stealing and replacing flags have occurred repeatedly. For example, in November 1942, members of the Argentine expedition planted the flag of their country on Deception Island. Two months later, the crew of the British ship destroyed all the “evidence” and planted the British flag on the island, notifying Argentina. A couple of months later, the Argentine ship returned its flag to its original place.

Argentina, Chile, Great Britain, France and New Zealand have even developed special flags for their territories in Antarctica. Moreover, disputes do not subside regarding different names. So, for example, in Argentina the Antarctic Peninsula is called Tierra de San Martin, in Chile - O'Higgins Land, in Britain - Graham Land, in the USA - Palmer Land.

Not the most welcoming landscape.

However, the treaty does not prevent Argentina from presenting various justifications for its never-ending territorial claims. They include Argentina's Orcadas Research Station, which was founded in 1904 and is believed to be the first permanently inhabited base on the continent and the only one in 40 years; construction of the first airport in Antarctica in 1969; and the fact that Argentina has sent more people to the region than any other country.

One of Argentina's and Chile's strong justifications for their territorial claims to Antarctica is that the Antarctic Peninsula, from a geological point of view, is an extension of the Andes mountain range, which stretches along the borders of the two countries. Argentina and Chile even stated that they legal rights date back to the time when Antarctica was claimed by the Spanish Empire (1493).

As for the possible increase in tensions between countries claiming Antarctica, people disagree on this issue. Dr. Hawkins believes that conflict could arise if any valuable resources are discovered in Antarctica.

What happened to baby Emilio? He is now thirty-eight years old, and everything seems to be fine with him.

Antarctica is the coldest and harshest continent on Earth. Many people paid with their lives for its conquest. And today, exploration of the Antarctic is not easy for humanity - the conditions in which scientists have to work are too difficult. Therefore, many facts about Antarctica still remain unknown. And simple people and they know very little about these regions, which are absolutely not suitable for excursion trips.

Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth
The climate of Antarctica is completely unsuitable for human habitation. Even in October, which is warm by local standards, when the sun shines over Antarctica around the clock, the temperature is about -50, and at the height of summer, in December, it does not rise above -27. But in the winter months things get even worse. The average temperature reaches -60 - -62 below zero, and the temperature record recorded on the coldest continent on Earth is -89.2 degrees Celsius.

Driest part of the world
The cold has turned Antarctica into the driest continent on Earth. There is a chain of valleys, sheltered from snow by mountains, which have a telling name - the McMurdo Dry Valleys. They are considered the harshest desert on the planet, since the extremely cold temperatures here are complemented by dry, hard air and a complete lack of water.

The largest ice mass on Earth
Ice covers 98% of Antarctica, or 14 million sq. km. Its average thickness is about 1.5 kilometers. Scientists believe that if Antarctica had not been covered by ice fields, it would not have been awarded the title of continent, but would have been called an island. But, since there is ice in Antarctica, it is still considered the fifth largest continent on the planet.

Storage of 70% of the earth's fresh water reserves
Paradoxical but true: Antarctica is both the driest continent on Earth and the largest reservoir of water on the planet. 90% of the ice and 70% of the fresh water on the planet are stored here. The pure ice of Antarctica can be turned into an almost inexhaustible source of drinking water - of course, by spending the appropriate amount of energy. But while there are much simpler and cheaper ways to get water, Antarctic reserves remain in reserve.

There are mountains in Antarctica
There are mountains in Antarctica, and quite big ones. Thus, the highest of them, the Gamburtsev Mountains, reach 2500 meters in height and are comparable to such famous mountain ranges as the Alps and the Rocky Mountains. But scientists cannot study them, since the Gamburtsev Mountains are covered with a three-kilometer-thick ice armor of the so-called Argus Ice Dome, which is considered the coldest place in Antarctica.

There is an active volcano in Antarctica
The only active volcano in Antarctica is named Erebus. This is the second highest volcano in Antarctica. However, the highest volcano on the continent, Mount Sidley, has long been dormant. People first conquered the Erebus volcano in 1908; since then, several more successful expeditions have been organized to this harsh and dangerous place.

There are no permanent residents in Antarctica
The population of Antarctica is several thousand people, but there is not a single permanent resident among them. All of them are researchers coming to the cold continent to conduct scientific works. Having finished them, the scientists leave for their warm homeland. During the summer season, about 4,000 people live at research stations in Antarctica, but in the harsh winter their number drops to about 1,000.

The first child was born in Antarctica in 1978
Emilio Marcos Palma became the first person born in Antarctica. He was born in 1978 at the year-round Argentine research station Esperanza, where his father worked. Emilio's mother arrived at the base in the seventh month of pregnancy, and gave birth to a son on time. It is believed that in this way Argentina declared its claims to Antarctic territories. One way or another, Emilio was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the first person born in Antarctica. Since then, 10 more children have been born at Antarctic research stations.

There is complete darkness in Antarctica for six months
In Antarctic summer there is a polar day over the coldest continent, and in winter (April - August) there is a polar night. At this time, the sun does not even rise above the horizon, and complete darkness reigns in Antarctica for several months.

In summer, the sun never sets over Antarctica for a minute.
Living for almost six months in the polar night without seeing the sun is very difficult. But it is no easier for scientists working at Antarctic polar stations during the Antarctic summer - from October to February. During these months, the sun does not go beyond the horizon and shines around the clock, which disrupts the circadian rhythms of sleep in the same way as complete darkness for many days.

Penguins are the main population of Antarctica
There are seven species of penguins in Antarctica. In conditions of constant icy cold, they feel just fine and actively reproduce. According to ecologists, there are up to 400 thousand penguins in Antarctica.

Antarctica is a continent with a minimum number of species of living beings
Antarctica is the least inhabited continent on Earth, and this applies not only to people, but also to plants and animals. In addition to penguins, several species of seals and whales live here, and plants include mosses and lichens, mainly concentrated on the western coast of the continent. However, all these species live on the coast. The central part of the continent is practically uninhabited, with the exception of the kings of survival - the nematode worms.

The leopard seal is the main predator of Antarctica
The leopard seal is a type of seal that lives in Antarctic waters. The size of this animal ranges from 2 to 3 meters, it is the second largest of the seals. Leopard seals live mainly in the waters around the continent, but sometimes migrate further north, mainly during the local harsh winter. The main component of the leopard seal's diet is penguins. Being hungry, they can eat smaller seals, but this does not happen too often.

Killer whales are vagrant killers
Killer whales are one of the fiercest marine predators. They do not live permanently in Antarctic waters, but periodically swim here in family flocks of up to 40 individuals. Killer whales are excellent at hunting in groups and pose a danger to all species of Antarctic animals. From time to time they become the saviors of penguins, since they attack leopard seals with great pleasure.

Antarctica - a disappearing continent
Since 1959, due to global warming, temperatures in Antarctica have increased by an average of 0.5 degrees. In this regard, scientists have been observing the process of melting glaciers on the coast of Antarctica for several years now. Huge ice blocks break off from the coast, and the continent gradually decreases in size. Fortunately, he is still very far from disappearing.

1. The territory of Antarctica does not belong to anyone - not to any country in the world.

2. Antarctica is the southernmost continent.

3. The area of ​​Antarctica is 14 million 107 thousand square kilometers.

4. Antarctica has been depicted on maps since ancient times even before its official discovery. It was then called the “Unknown Southern Land” (or “Australis Incognita”).

5. The warmest time in Antarctica is February. This same month is the time for scientists to “change shifts” at research stations.

6. The area of ​​the continent of Antarctica is about 52 million km.

7. Antarctica is the second largest in area after Australia.

8. Antarctica has no government or official population.

9. Antarctica has a telephone code and its own flag. The outline of the continent of Antarctica itself is drawn on the blue background of the flag.

10. It is generally accepted that the first human scientist in Antarctica was the Norwegian Karsten Borchgrevink. But here historians disagree, because there is documentary evidence that Lazarev and Bellingshausen were the first to set foot on the continent of Antarctica with their expedition.

12. Antarctica has its own currency, valid only on the continent.

13. Antarctica officially recorded the lowest temperature in the world – 91.2°C below zero.

14. The maximum temperature above zero in Antarctica is 15°C.

15. The average temperature in summer is minus 30-50°C.

16. No more than 6 cm of precipitation falls per year.

17. Antarctica is the only continent uninhabitable.

18. In 1999, an iceberg the size of London broke off from the continent of Antarctica.

19. The mandatory diet for workers at research stations in Antarctica includes beer.

20. Since 1980, Antarctica has been accessible to tourists.

21. Antarctica is the driest continent on the planet. In one of its areas - the Dry Valley - there has been no rain for about two million years. Oddly enough, there is no ice at all in this area.

22. Antarctica is the only habitat on the planet for emperor penguins.

23. Antarctica is an ideal place for those who study meteorites. Meteorites falling on the continent were preserved in their original form thanks to ice.

24. The continent of Antarctica does not have a time zone.

25. All time zones (and there are 24 of them) can be bypassed here in a few seconds.

26. The most common life form in Antarctica is the wingless midge BelgicaAntarctida. It is no more than one and a half centimeters long.

27. If the ice of Antarctica ever melts, the level of the world's oceans will rise by 60 meters.

28. In addition to the above, a global flood cannot be expected; the temperature on the continent will never rise above zero.

29. In Antarctica there are fish whose blood does not contain hemoglobin and red blood cells, so their blood is colorless. Moreover, the blood contains a special substance that allows it not to freeze even at the lowest temperatures.

30. No more than 4 thousand people live in Antarctica.

31. There are two active volcanoes on the continent.

32. In 1961, on April 29, in less than two hours, Leonid Rogozov - doctor Soviet expedition in Antarctica - he performed an operation on himself to remove appendicitis. The operation was successful.

33. Polar bears do not live here - this is a general misconception. It's too cold for bears here.

34.Only two types of plants grow here, flowering ones. True, they grow in the warmest zones of the mainland. These are: Antarctic meadow and Kolobantusquito.

35. The name of the continent comes from the ancient word “Arktikos”, which literally translates as “opposite the bear”. The continent received this name in honor of the constellation Ursa Major.

36. Antarctica has the most powerful winds and the most high level solar radiation.

37. The cleanest sea in the world is in Antarctica: the transparency of the water allows you to see objects at a depth of 80 meters.

38. The first person born on the continent is Emilio Marcos Palma, Argentinean. Born in 1978.

39. In winter, Antarctica doubles in area.

40. In 1999, doctor Jerry Nielsen had to self-administer chemotherapy after being diagnosed with breast cancer. The problem is that Antarctica is a deserted place and isolated from the outside world.

41. Oddly enough, there are rivers in Antarctica. The most famous is the Onyx River. It flows only during the summer – that’s two months. The length of the river is 40 kilometers. There are no fish in the river.

42. Bloody Falls - located in Taylor Valley. The water in the waterfall has a bloody hue due to the high iron content, which forms rust. The water in the waterfall never freezes because it is four times saltier than ordinary sea water.

43. Bones of herbivorous dinosaurs were found on the continent, which are already about 190 million years old. They lived there when the climate was warm, and Antarctica was part of the same continent, Gondwana.

44. If Antarctica were not covered with ice, the height of the continent would be only 410 meters.

45. The maximum ice thickness is 3800 meters.

46. ​​There are many subglacial lakes in Antarctica. The most famous of them is Lake Vostok. Its length is 250 kilometers, width is 50 kilometers.

47. Lake Vostok was hidden from humanity for 14,000,000 years.

48. Antarctica is the sixth and last discovered continent.

49. About 270 people have died since the discovery of Antarctica, including a cat named Chippy.

50. There are more than forty permanently operating scientific stations on the continent.

51. There are a huge number of abandoned places in Antarctica. The most famous is the camp founded by Robert Scott from Britain in 1911. Today, such camps have become a tourist attraction.

52. Wrecked ships were often found off the coast of Antarctica - mainly Spanish galleons of the 16th and 17th centuries.

53. In the area of ​​​​one of the regions of Antarctica (Wilkis Land) there is a giant crater from a meteorite fall (500 kilometers in diameter).

54. Antarctica is the highest continent on planet Earth.

55. If global warming continues, trees will grow in Antarctica.

56. Antarctica has huge reserves of natural resources.

57. The biggest danger for scientists on the continent is open fire. The dry atmosphere makes it very difficult to extinguish.

58. 90% of ice reserves are in Antarctica.

59. Above Antarctica, the largest ozone hole in the world is 27 million square meters. km.

60. 80 percent of the world's fresh water is concentrated in Antarctica.

61. There is a famous ice sculpture in Antarctica natural origin, called "Frozen Wave".

62. No one lives in Antarctica permanently - only in shifts.

63. Antarctica is the only continent in the world where ants do not live.

64. The largest iceberg on the planet is located in the waters of Antarctica - it weighs approximately three billion tons, and its area exceeds the area of ​​the island of Jamaica.

65. Pyramids similar in size to the Pyramids of Giza have been discovered in Antarctica.

66. Antarctica is surrounded by legends about Hitler’s underground bases - after all, it was he who closely explored this area during the Second World War

67. The highest point of Antarctica is 5140 meters (Sentinel Ridge).

68. Only 2% of the land “peeks out” from under the ice of Antarctica.

69. Due to the gravity of the Antarctic ice, it is deformed southern zone earth, which makes our planet oval.

70. Currently, seven countries of the world (Australia, New Zealand, Chile, France, Argentina, Great Britain and Norway) are trying to divide the territory of Antarctica among themselves.

71. The only two countries that have never claimed the territory of Antarctica are the USA and Russia.

72. Above Antarctica there is the clearest part of the sky, best suited for space exploration and observing the birth of new stars.

73. Every year in Antarctica, a hundred-kilometer ice marathon is held - a race in the area of ​​​​Mount Ellsworth.

74. Mining has been banned in Antarctica since 1991.

75. The word “Antarctica” is translated from Greek as “the opposite of the Arctic.”

76. A special breed of tick lives on the surface of Antarctica. This mite can secrete a substance similar in composition to car antifreeze.

77. The famous Hell's Gate Canyon is also located in Antarctica. The temperature there drops to 95 degrees, and the wind speed reaches 200 kilometers per hour - these are unsuitable conditions for humans.

78. Before ice age Antarctica had a hot, tropical climate.

79. Antarctica influences the climate of the entire planet.

80. The installation of military facilities and the installation of nuclear power plants is strictly prohibited on the continent.

81. Antarctica even has its own Internet domain - .aq (which stands for AQUA).

82. The first regular passenger plane arrived in Antarctica in 2007.

83. Antarctica is an international protected area.

84. The surface of the McMurdo Dry Valley in Antarctica and its climate are very similar to the surface of the planet Mars, so NASA occasionally conduct test launches of their space rockets here.

85. 4-10% of polar scientists in Antarctica are Russian.

86. A monument to Lenin was erected in Antarctica (1958).

87. New, unknown things were discovered in the ice of Antarctica modern science bacteria.

88. Scientists at Antarctic bases live so friendly that as a result, many interethnic marriages have been concluded.

89. There is an assumption that Antarctica is the lost Atlantis. 12,000 years ago, the climate on this continent was hot, but after an asteroid hit the Earth, the axis shifted, and the continent along with it.

90. An Antarctic blue whale eats about 4 million shrimp in one day - that's about 3,600 kilograms.

91. There is a Russian Orthodox Church in Antarctica (on Waterloo Island). This is the Church of the Holy Trinity near the Arctic station of Bellingshausen.

92. Apart from penguins, there are no land animals in Antarctica.

93. In Antarctica you can observe such a phenomenon as pearlescent clouds. This happens when the temperature drops to 73 degrees Celsius below zero.

94. Chinstrap penguins are capable of reaching a depth of 500 meters and staying there for 15 minutes.