what does antarctica mean

[184] Argentine–UK relations had previously been damaged throughout 2012 due to disputes over the sovereignty of the nearby Falkland Islands, and the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War. In the interior, wind speeds are typically moderate. [105], Some of Antarctica has been warming up; particularly strong warming has been noted on the Antarctic Peninsula. Recent decades have witnessed several dramatic collapses of large ice shelves around the coast of Antarctica, especially along the Antarctic Peninsula. Most of these attributes are characteristics of the interior. A possible explanation for the difference between the Antarctic and the Arctic, which has seen rapid sea ice loss, is that thermohaline circulation transports warmed water to deeper layers in the ocean. Learn the meaning of Antarctican. Many of the stations are staffed year-round, the winter-over personnel typically arriving from their home countries for a one-year assignment. In 1983 the Antarctic Treaty Parties began negotiations on a convention to regulate mining in Antarctica. The number of people conducting and supporting scientific research and other work on the continent and its nearby islands varies from about 1,000 in winter to about 5,000 in the summer, giving it a population density between 70 and 350 inhabitants per million square kilometres (180 and 900 per million square miles) at these times. The biggest eruption in Antarctica in the last 10,000 years, the volcanic ash was found deposited on the ice surface under the Hudson Mountains, close to Pine Island Glacier. AudioEnglish Definitions... Just One Click Away! Antarctica (/ænˈtɑːrktɪkə/ or /æntˈɑːrtɪkə/ (listen))[note 1] is Earth's southernmost continent. The frozen surface of the lake shares similarities with Jupiter's moon Europa. [101] Temperatures reach a minimum of between −80 °C (−112 °F) and −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F) in the interior in winter and reach a maximum of between 5 °C (41 °F) and 15 °C (59 °F) near the coast in summer. There is also evidence of volcanic activity, even after the ice sheet had formed, in Marie Byrd Land and Alexander Island. What Does the Antarctic Mean? (Antarctic detector offers first look at how Earth stops high-energy neutrinos in their tracks, National Science Foundation). Travel is largely by small or medium ship, focusing on specific scenic locations with accessible concentrations of iconic wildlife. As a result, the diversity of plant life is very low and limited in distribution. Before the discovery of the Hiawatha impact crater, scientists generally assumed that most evidence of past impacts in Greenland and Antarctica would have been wiped away by unrelenting erosion by the overlying ice. [154] Bacteria have been found living in the cold and dark as deep as 800 m (0.50 mi; 2,600 ft) under the ice. [1], Antarctica is colder than the Arctic for three reasons. [159][160], The first semi-permanent inhabitants of regions near Antarctica (areas situated south of the Antarctic Convergence) were British and American sealers who used to spend a year or more on South Georgia, from 1786 onward. Currently, the Polar Geospatial Center can image all of Antarctica at 500 mm (20 in) resolution every 45 days. She was a daughter of Fridthjof Jacobsen, the assistant manager of the whaling station, and Klara Olette Jacobsen. Those features can also be observed in algae and cyanobacteria, suggesting that these are adaptations to the conditions prevailing in Antarctica. The proposed sanctuary would cover the ocean waters between South America and Africa, reaching close to Antarctica. The flora of the continent largely consists of bryophytes. [185], Other countries participating as members of the Antarctic Treaty have a territorial interest in Antarctica, but the provisions of the Treaty do not allow them to make their claims while it is in force. [1] Despite these new acts, unregulated and illegal fishing, particularly of Patagonian toothfish (marketed as Chilean Sea Bass in the U.S.), remains a serious problem. B. [1], The ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 "AQ" is assigned to the entire continent regardless of jurisdiction. Jobs feature everything from marine biologists to janitors (someone has to clean up). [73], As a result of continued warming, the polar ice caps melted and much of Gondwana became a desert. This cooling has the effect of intensifying the westerly winds which flow around the continent (the polar vortex) and thus prevents outflow of the cold air near the South Pole. Familiarity information: ANTARCTICA used as a noun is very rare. The Roman authors Hyginus and Apuleius (1–2 centuries CE) used for the South Pole the romanised Greek name polus antarcticus,[12][13] from which derived the Old French pole antartike (modern pôle antarctique) attested in 1270, and from there the Middle English pol antartik in a 1391 technical treatise by Geoffrey Chaucer (modern Antarctic Pole). Since about 15 Ma, the continent has been mostly covered with ice. Winter ice on the surface of Antarctica's Weddell Sea sometimes has an enormous hole called a polynya. (Asteroid Tracking Network Observes Close Approach, NASA). At 14,200,000 square kilometres (5,500,000 square miles), it is the fifth-largest continent and nearly twice the size of Australia. [141] Some species of marine animals exist and rely, directly or indirectly, on the phytoplankton. The treaty prohibits military activities and mineral mining, prohibits nuclear explosions and nuclear waste disposal, supports scientific research, and protects the continent's ecology. Antarctic definition, of, at, or near the South Pole. Among them was the founder of Grytviken, Captain Carl Anton Larsen, a prominent Norwegian whaler and explorer who, along with his family, adopted British citizenship in 1910. In Eastern Antarctica, seed ferns or pteridosperms became abundant and large amounts of sandstone and shale were laid down at this time. Robertson Land, Wilkes Land, and Victoria Land. [77] In West Antarctica, coniferous forests dominated through the entire Cretaceous period (146–66 Ma), though southern beech became more prominent towards the end of this period. Antarctica is one of the coldest places on Earth with ninety-nine percent of it covered by an ice sheet. ", "Protocol on Environmental Protection To The Antarctic Treaty (The Madrid Protocol)", Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, "The Foreign Secretary has announced that the southern part of British Antarctic Territory has been named Queen Elizabeth Land", "Argentina angry after Antarctic territory named after Queen", "Final Report, 30th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting", "2015–2016 Tourists by Nationality Total", "The World's Loneliest ATM is in Antarctica", "Private Issues – The Antarctica Issues and the NORFED Issues", "A history of McMurdo Station through its architecture", "Adelie Penguins thriving amid Antarctica's melting ice", "Polar Geospatial Center Releases New Application with High-Res Satellite Imagery", "Explorers of a Different Kind: A History of Antarctic Tourism 1966–2016", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Antarctica&oldid=1010187747, Articles with French-language sources (fr), CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2021, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia pages semi-protected against vandalism, Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages, Articles lacking reliable references from February 2021, Wikipedia articles in need of updating from February 2021, All Wikipedia articles in need of updating, Wikipedia articles with SELIBR identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with multiple identifiers, Geographical articles missing image alternative text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Ice stream/outlet glacier (ice front or ice wall), 044°38′E to 136°11′E, and 142°02′E to 160°00′E, 80°00′W to 74°00′W claimed by Chile (1940), 74°00′W to 53°00′W claimed by Chile (1940) and Argentina (1943), 53°00′W to 25°00′W claimed by Argentina (1943), 90°00′W to 74°00′W claimed by the United Kingdom (1908), 74°00′W to 53°00′W claimed by the United Kingdom (1908) and Argentina (1943), 74°00′W to 53°00′W claimed by the United Kingdom (1908) and Chile (1940), 53°00′W to 25°00′W claimed by the United Kingdom (1908), This page was last edited on 4 March 2021, at 06:29. * It is home to loads of cool creatures. [197] Qantas resumed commercial overflights to Antarctica from Australia in the mid-1990s. Antarctica is a desert. The illegal fishing of toothfish has been increasing, with estimates of 32,000 tonnes (35,000 short tons) in 2000. A study by Eric Steig published in 2009 noted for the first time that the continent-wide average surface temperature trend of Antarctica was slightly positive from 1957 to 2006. Today is the beginning of a very special voyage, albeit a virtual one, as we in Team HB5 were due to embark on our voyage to Antarctica today. Find out below. English. [121], Melting of floating ice shelves (ice that originated on the land) does not in itself contribute much to sea-level rise, since the ice displaces only its own mass of water. [155], The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (also known as the Environmental Protocol or Madrid Protocol) came into force in 1998, and is the main instrument concerned with conservation and management of biodiversity in Antarctica. Most of the whalers were Norwegian, with an increasing proportion of Britons. [140][better source needed], Few terrestrial vertebrates live in Antarctica, and those that do are limited to the sub-Antarctic islands. Antarctica is governed by parties to the Antarctic Treaty System. If life is discovered in Lake Vostok, it would strengthen the argument for the possibility of life on Europa. [205], In 2007, The Polar Geospatial Center was founded. 43%. Managers and other senior officers of the whaling stations often lived together with their families. [54] East Antarctica is a cold region with a ground base above sea level and occupies most of the continent. [20], European maps continued to show this hypothetical land until Captain James Cook's ships, HMS Resolution and Adventure, crossed the Antarctic Circle on 17 January 1773, in December 1773 and again in January 1774. Submit the origin and/or meaning of Antarctica to us below. Models of the changes suggest that declining CO2 levels became more important. About 98% of Antarctica is covered by icethat averages 1.9 … [203], Since the 1970s an important focus of study has been the ozone layer in the atmosphere above Antarctica. [131] Models suggest that ozone depletion and the enhanced polar vortex effect also account for the period of increased sea ice just offshore of the continent. On top of this base are coal and various modern rocks, such as sandstones, limestones and shales laid down during the Devonian and Jurassic periods to form the Transantarctic Mountains. The collapse of Larsen C itself will not lead to significant sea-level rise, but it could be a signal that other major changes are on the way. (an extensive forest may have flourished about 3 million years ago)", "East Antarctic deglaciation and the link to global cooling during the Quaternary: evidence from glacial geomorphology and 10Be surface exposure dating of the Sør Rondane Mountains, Dronning Maud Land", "Chapter 2: The Geology and Geomorphology of Antarctica", "Uplift and tilting of the Shackleton Range in East Antarctica driven by glacial erosion and normal faulting", "Cenozoic geodynamics of the Ross Sea region, Antarctica: Crustal extension, intraplate strike‐slip faulting, and tectonic inheritance", "In 30 years the Antarctic Treaty becomes modifiable, and the fate of a continent could hang in the balance", "Antarctica records unofficial coldest temperature ever", "Antarctica temperature exceeds 20C for first time", "Antarctic temperature rises above 20C for first time on record", The Earth's Elliptical Orbit Around the Sun – Aphelion and Perihelion, "Warming of the Antarctic ice-sheet surface since the 1957 International Geophysical Year", "Record warming at the South Pole during the past three decades", "Antarctica appears to have broken a heat record", "Attribution of polar warming to human influence", "Antarctic Ice Shelf Collapse Blamed on More Than Climate Change", "Ice Bridge Holding Antarctic Shelf in Place Shatters", "Understanding climate: Antarctic sea ice extent", "Accelerated ice discharge from the Antarctic Peninsula following the collapse of Larsen B ice shelf", "Chapter 4: Sea Level Rise and Implications for Low Lying Islands, Coasts and Communities", "Facts / Vital signs / Ice Sheets / Antarctica Mass Variation Since 2002", "History, mass loss, structure, and dynamic behavior of the Antarctic Ice Sheet", "Mass balance of the Antarctic Ice Sheet from 1992 to 2017", "Four decades of Antarctic Ice Sheet mass balance from 1979–2017", "Constraining the mass balance of East Antarctica", "The uncertain future of the Antarctic Ice Sheet", "Large, Deep Antarctic Ozone Hole Persisting into November", "Non-annular atmospheric circulation change induced by stratospheric ozone depletion and its role in the recent increase of Antarctic sea ice extent", "Stratospheric Ozone-induced Cloud Radiative Effects on Antarctic Sea Ice", Antarctic volcanoes help preserve life in the freezer – The Conversation, "Antarctic Bestiary – Terrestrial Animals", "Genome sequencing of the winged midge, Parochlus steinenii, from the Antarctic Peninsula", "The different breeding strategies of penguins: A review", "Non-lichenized fungi from the Antarctic region", "Fungi at the edge of life: cryptoendolithic black fungi from Antarctic desert", "Survival of Black Fungi in Space, Preliminary Results", "Bacteria Found Deep Under Antarctic Ice, Scientists Say", "Conservation issues for Antarctic fungi", "Flock of Antarctica's Orthodox temple celebrates Holy Trinity Day", "The power games that threaten world's last pristine wilderness", "Questions to the Sun for the 2002–03 season", "Norge utvider Dronning Maud Land helt frem til Sydpolen", "Greenpeace applauds Antarctic protection victory", "Antarctica: exploration or exploitation? Antarctica has no official flag as the condominium that governs the continent has not yet formally selected one. The Antarctic Treaty of 1959 designated Antarctica as a military-free zone, banning nuclear tests and radioactive waste disposal, and setting aside disputes over territorial sovereignty. [57], East Antarctica lies on the Indian Ocean side of the Transantarctic Mountains and comprises Coats Land, Queen Maud Land, Enderby Land, Mac. As a result, the continental mass of the East Antarctic ice sheet is held at lower temperatures, and the peripheral areas of Antarctica, especially the Antarctic Peninsula, are subject to higher temperatures, which promote accelerated melting. [98], Antarctica is the coldest of Earth's continents. All attempted crossings, with no kites or resupplies, that have tried to go from the true continental edges, where the ice meets the sea, have failed due to the great distance that needs to be covered. [85], Around 25 Ma, the Drake Passage opened between Antarctica and South America, resulting in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that completely isolated the continent. At a number of points in its history, it was farther north, experienced a tropical or temperate climate, and was covered in forests. The name Antarctica is the romanised version of the Greek compound word ἀνταρκτική (antarktiké), feminine of ἀνταρκτικός (antarktikós),[9] meaning "opposite to the Arctic", "opposite to the north". * It holds most of the world's fresh water suuply. Antarctica: definition, what does it mean? [14], The long-imagined (but undiscovered) south polar continent was originally called Terra Australis, sometimes shortened to Australia as seen in a woodcut illustration titled "Sphere of the winds", contained in an astrological textbook published in Frankfurt in 1545. This means that it is a very cold continent where water is mostly in the form of ice. It contains the geographic South Pole and is situated in the Antarctic region of the Southern Hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. For instance, in the 16th century, the colony that was built … The Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), a treaty that came into force in 1980, requires that regulations managing all Southern Ocean fisheries consider potential effects on the entire Antarctic ecosystem. Sand and silts were laid down in what is now the Ellsworth, Horlick and Pensacola Mountains. The name is mythologized by ancient Greek navigators. The settlements included Grytviken, Leith Harbour, King Edward Point, Stromness, Husvik, Prince Olav Harbour, Ocean Harbour and Godthul. [17], Antarctica has no indigenous population. The areas shown as Australia's and New Zealand's claims were British territory until they were handed over following the countries' independence. The claims of Britain, Australia, New Zealand, France and Norway are all recognised by each other. The research is part of the global Census of Marine Life and has disclosed some remarkable findings. [10], Aristotle wrote in his book Meteorology about an Antarctic region in c. 350 BC. [54] In most of the interior of the continent, precipitation is very low, down to 20 mm (0.8 in) per year; in a few "blue ice" areas precipitation is lower than mass loss by sublimation, and so the local mass balance is negative. I will spend most of my time on the coast where it could still be windy and cold but low altitude and likely wet. [1], Although coal, hydrocarbons, iron ore, platinum, copper, chromium, nickel, gold and other minerals have been found, they have not been in large enough quantities to exploit. Other dormant volcanoes may potentially be active. This was the first arms control agreement established during the Cold War. [104], East Antarctica is colder than its western counterpart because of its higher elevation. [108] In February 2020, the continent recorded its highest temperature of 18.3 °C (64.9 °F), which was a degree higher than the previous record of 17.5 °C (63.5 °F) in March 2015. a piece of flavoured ice or ice cream on a stick; a rope with a suspended handle or pulley enabling a person to slide between two points; a dance move popular in the sixties [172] A coalition of international organisations[173] launched a public pressure campaign to prevent any minerals development in the region, led largely by Greenpeace International,[174] which operated its own scientific station—World Park Base—in the Ross Sea region from 1987 until 1991[175] and conducted annual expeditions to document environmental effects of humans on Antarctica. [107] Conversely, the South Pole in East Antarctica barely warmed last century, but temperatures shall have three times the global average in the last three decades. These are floating extensions of outflowing glaciers from the continental ice mass. It is composed of a metamorphic and igneous platform which is the basis of the continental shield. In 1984, Juan Pablo Camacho was born at the Frei Montalva Station, becoming the first Chilean born in Antarctica. The project includes research in climatology, glaciology and microbiology. This is Part 1 of Homeward Bound's 5th cohort - Team HB5 - answering the question "What does Antarctica mean to you?" Opposite to Arctic. [72] During the Permian period, the land became dominated by seed plants such as Glossopteris, a pteridosperm which grew in swamps. A. [91], The geological study of Antarctica has been greatly hindered by nearly all of the continent being permanently covered with a thick layer of ice. He sailed along a huge wall of ice that was later named the Ross Ice Shelf. This happened three days before Bransfield sighted the land of the Trinity Peninsula of Antarctica, as opposed to the ice of an ice shelf, and ten months before Palmer did so in November 1820. [42] The first women to set foot on Antarctica did so in the 1930s with Caroline Mikkelsen landing on an island of Antarctica in 1935,[43] and Ingrid Christensen stepping onto the mainland in 1937. Dictionary entry overview: What does Antarctica mean? Princeton's WordNet (0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition: Antarctic, Antarctic Zone, South Frigid Zone (adj) the region around the south pole: Antarctica and surrounding waters south-polar, Antarctic (adj) at or near the south pole [198], About thirty countries maintain about seventy research stations (40-year-round or permanent, and 30 summer-only) in Antarctica, with an approximate population of 4000 in summer and 1000 in winter. This ice is formed from the ocean water and floats in the same water and thus does not contribute to rise in sea level. [157][158][needs update], Several governments maintain permanent staffed research stations on the continent. [6] Most of Antarctica is a polar desert, with annual precipitation of 200 mm (7.9 in) along the coast and far less inland; yet 80% of the world freshwater reserves are stored there, enough to raise global sea levels by about 60 metres (200 ft) if all of it were to melt. [58], Vinson Massif, the highest peak in Antarctica at 4,892 m (16,050 ft), is located in the Ellsworth Mountains. That is, even when temperatures come down again, the ice will not immediately regrow. The Antarctic covers approximately 20 percent of the Southern Hemisphere. Everything name meaning, origin, pronunciation, numerology, popularity and more information about Antarctica at NAMEANING.NET [131] Ozone absorbs large amounts of ultraviolet radiation in the stratosphere. [112], In 2002 the Antarctic Peninsula's Larsen-B ice shelf collapsed. [127], Future projections of ice loss depend on the speed of climate change mitigation and are uncertain. [128][127] Increased ice outflow has been observed in some regions. [190] The 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty also restricts a struggle for resources. [147][148] Some of these species are cryptoendoliths as a result of evolution under extreme conditions, and have significantly contributed to shaping the impressive rock formations of the McMurdo Dry Valleys and surrounding mountain ridges. Northern Antarctica recorded a temperature of 20.8 °C (69.4 °F) on 9 February 2020, the highest recorded temperature on the continent. Most of these meteorites have fallen onto the ice sheet in the last million years. A - factor - The Antarctic factor, unexpected extra difficulties presented by Antarctica.Aus. [120] The extent of sea ice around Antarctica, in terms of square kilometres of coverage, has seen no significant trend in the satellite era (1978–2018), with initial growth being reversed in the last years of the record. Antarctica, on average, is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent, and has the highest average elevation of all the continents. [125][127], On the continent itself, the large volume of ice present stores around 70% of the world's fresh water. The orbital distance contributes to a colder Antarctic winter (and a warmer Antarctic summer) but the first two effects have more impact. [163] He was born in 1978 at Esperanza Base, on the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula;[164][165] his parents were sent there along with seven other families by the Argentine government to determine if the continent was suitable for family life. Double-click any word on the page to look it up in the dictionary. In 1895, the first confirmed landing was conducted by a team of Norwegians. A place where all the major countries have bases. About 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice that averages 1.9 km (1.2 mi; 6,200 ft) in thickness,[5] which extends to all but the northernmost reaches of the Antarctic Peninsula. A. a wild or half-domesticated dog with a sandy-coloured coat; used to refer to something one cannot or does not wish to name specifically; a wrinkle or crease on the surface of something Ozone depletion over Antarctica can cause a cooling of around 6 °C in the local stratosphere. It generally forms under otherwise clear or nearly clear skies, so people sometimes also refer to it as clear-sky precipitation. [166] As of 2009, eleven children were born in Antarctica (south of the 60th parallel south): eight at the Argentine Esperanza Base[167] and three at the Chilean Frei Montalva Station. [37] Mercator Cooper landed in East Antarctica on 26 January 1853. East Antarctica was at the equator, where seafloor invertebrates and trilobites flourished in the tropical seas. (Data from robotic drifters explain mysterious holes in Antarctic sea ice, National Science Foundation). [51], Roald Amundsen and his crew looking at the Norwegian flag at the South Pole, 1911, The French Dumont d'Urville Station, an example of modern human settlement in Antarctica. [206] In 2007 Belgian-based International Polar Foundation unveiled the Princess Elisabeth station, the world's first zero-emissions polar science station in Antarctica to research climate change. [204] With the ban of CFCs in the Montreal Protocol of 1989, climate projections indicate that the ozone layer will return to 1980 levels between 2050 and 2070. [191], Small-scale "expedition tourism" has existed since 1957 and is currently subject to Antarctic Treaty and Environmental Protocol provisions, but in effect self-regulated by the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO). Other gods, envious of their love, turned the nymph into a bear. Antarctic Treaty members used the emblem for at least 30 years … Antarctic 10- A person of the opposite sex who might be considered a "5" elsewhere. [151], About 300 million years ago Permian forests started to cover the continent, and tundra vegetation survived as late as 15 million years ago,[152] but the climate of present-day Antarctica does not allow extensive vegetation to form. The cooling of Antarctica occurred stepwise, as the continental spread changed the oceanic currents from longitudinal equator-to-pole temperature-equalising currents to latitudinal currents that preserved and accentuated latitude temperature differences. The primary economic activity is the capture and offshore trading of fish. Antarctica - slang. These specimens, particularly ALH84001 discovered by ANSMET, are at the centre of the controversy about possible evidence of microbial life on Mars. [62], There is some evidence, in the form of ice cores drilled to about 400 m (1,300 ft) above the water line, that Lake Vostok's waters may contain microbial life. Another unique spectacle is diamond dust, a ground-level cloud composed of tiny ice crystals. Africa separated from Antarctica in the Jurassic, around 160 Ma, followed by the Indian subcontinent in the early Cretaceous (about 125 Ma). Many astronomical observations are better made from the interior of Antarctica than from most surface locations because of the high elevation, which results in a thin atmosphere; low temperature, which minimises the amount of water vapour in the atmosphere; and absence of light pollution, thus allowing for a view of space clearer than anywhere else on Earth. Antarctica definition, the continent surrounding the South Pole: almost entirely covered by an ice sheet. Antarctica is made up of lots of ice in the form of glaciers, ice shelves and icebergs. At 0.00008 people per square kilometre, it is by far the least densely populated continent. Because meteorites in space absorb and record cosmic radiation, the time elapsed since the meteorite hit the Earth can be determined from laboratory studies. [192][193][194] As of 2015, there are two Wells Fargo ATMs in Antarctica, both located at McMurdo Station. [100] A lower air temperature of −94.7 °C (−138.5 °F) was recorded in 2010 by satellite—however, it may have been influenced by ground temperatures and was not recorded at a height of 2 metres (7 ft) above the surface as required for official air temperature records.

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