What do we all know about Antarctica from the school curriculum? Not so much:
- Antarctica - the fifth largest continent on Earth;
- This is, in fact, a huge icy desert, where on July 21, 1983 (at the Soviet Vostok station) the lowest temperature on our planet in the entire history of weather observations was recorded - minus 89.2º С;
- Antarctica is the “owner” of 70% of the world's fresh water reserves, but at the same time it is the driest place (in some parts of this continent, precipitation last fell more than 2 million years ago!);
- There are active volcanoes in Antarctica, the largest of which is Erebus;
- The word "Antarctica" means "opposite to the Arctic";
- This mainland was discovered on January 28, 1820 by future Russian admirals F.F. Bellingshausen and M.P. Lazarev, who sailed here with a round-the-world expedition to the Vostok and Mirny sloops (until that time Antarctica was considered a group of separate islands), but they never landed on land;
- The first man to set foot on the land of Antarctica (January 24, 1895) was a member of the Norwegian expedition Karsten Egeberg Borchgrevink;
- And the first person to reach the South Pole was Roald Amundsen - also a Norwegian (in December 1911). And he was only a month ahead of the expedition of the Englishman Robert Scott, who died on the way back to the coast, etc.
In fact, Antarctica is full of "interesting things." And now, the 10 most interesting facts about this amazing continent.
10. It is forbidden to bring animals and plants to the mainland
Due to the constant terrible frost (on average, from -30 to -50º C), Antarctica, of course, cannot boast of a variety of flora and fauna. Yes, there are 2 types of flowers (Antarctic meadow and colobanthus quito), of the order 300 species of mosses and lichensbut this, perhaps, is all: bushes and trees are definitely not growing here.
Well, of the representatives of the animal world in these vast ice open spaces you can only find penguins (there are 6 species), and fur seals. (And yes, by the way, polar bears DO NOT live in Antarctica. Hmm ... For some, this will be a revelation).
So, in order not to harm these few living organisms, since 1994 animals and plants are strictly not allowed to enter Antarctica. So the days of sled dogs here are forever in the past. And even Christmas trees at polar stations are always artificial.
9. Ice “stains” impurities and freezing conditions
We are used to seeing on the Internet a photo of Antarctica either completely white or pleasantly blue transparent ice. In fact, ice is found here in the most seemingly unthinkable colors and shades. It all depends on how and where it was formed.
For example, fresh sea ice has a greenish or blue tint; old packed ice floes, from which all the air was squeezed out, are often deep blue; in areas where there are active volcanoes, you can often see black or even striped ice; Well, plankton is able to give it yellow, pink or bright red color.
By the way, in Antarctica there is the so-called Bloody Waterfall. Its water has a reddish-brown color, due to the fact that many iron oxides and a huge amount of salt are dissolved in it.
8. Offshore fish are found with “non-freezing” instead of blood
Every living creature is forced to adapt to the environment in which he happened to dwell. For example, penguins or seals do not freeze in Antarctica because they have a thick layer of subcutaneous fat.
Fishes have to get out of the situation differently. So, in the Antarctic waters there are the only fish on our planet (outwardly a bit like pikes) that have neither red blood cells nor hemoglobin in their blood.
This “blood” is practically colorless and transparent (therefore, the whitefish themselves are colorless), but there is some kind of substance in it that allows you to live quietly in ice water. And instead of the scales in whitefish, there is mucus, which also helps to prevent them from freezing.
7. Since 1995, marathons have been held
“Oh sport, you are the world!” - the full truthfulness of this well-known phrase can be felt with all responsibility when you decide to take part in a marathon, half marathon or ultramarathon, which take place in Antarctica not just anywhere!
Yes, yes, every year several dozen athletes run along the icy desert for 42 km at an average temperature of -20-25º C (well, for Antarctica this is very comfortable weather). The first such marathon took place in 1995 in the vicinity of McMurdo StationNow they are being organized at other stations.
Not only is this a serious test in itself for an ordinary person (even if he is an “experienced” athlete), it also costs a lot of money - you have to pay for participating in the Antarctic marathon 15 thousand euros (this, of course, includes the trip to Antarctica itself, and accommodation, etc.).
6. At the station “Amundsen-Scott” annually watch “Shine” and “Something”
If for some Eskimo “snow and snow all around” is quite a familiar and not a terrible phenomenon, then for many Europeans and Americans this is “terrible horror”.
Hence the quite numerous films about how a person finds himself in a snow or ice captivity, why slowly (or, conversely, too quickly) goes crazy. And if at the same time, somewhere there, behind icy hummocks, there was something terrible and bringing death (let us recall the very recent TV series “Terror”), then the will to resist the inevitable disappears just every minute.
On the other hand, it’s nice to sometimes tickle your nerves. And apparently, that’s why for the past 62 years, employees of the Amundsen-Scott polar station every winter must be reviewed the film "Shine" (with the inimitable Jack Nicholson) and all three versions of "Something" (1951, 1982 and 2011).
5. Metallica - the first group to give concerts on all continents, including Antarctica
The guys from the Metallica group have long ago proved that they are cool. But in 2013, Hatfield & Co excelled themselves - Metallica became the first team to perform on ALL continents (moreover, they did it in one year!).
Their session in Antarctica took place in a specially installed dome pavilion near the Karlini station (Argentina) on King George Island.
In order not to disturb the surrounding fauna, the musicians did not use amplifiers, and therefore the audience listened to them with headphones. By the way, about 120 people attended the concert: scientists from the station, as well as winners of a special contest from Coca-Cola.
However, still the very first group to organize a concert in Antarctica was not Metallica, but the British Nunatak band (in 2007).
4. There are no time zones, but at the same time, there are 24
The situation over time in Antarctica is truly unique: since the continent is located around the South Pole, the borders of all time zones converge on it at one point.
So, on the one hand, it is technically located immediately in 24 time zones, on the other hand, there is no single time here at all. How then do polar explorers working at Antarctic stations get out of this situation?
And like this: either they take the time of their home country, or they coordinate it with the employees of companies that deliver products, equipment and other necessary things to them.
3. You won’t get a job on the mainland unless you remove the wisdom teeth and appendix
Today in Antarctica is located 89 polar stations (of which 48 are permanent and 41 are seasonal). From 1 to 5 thousand people work there at a time (in a warmer season, this number is maximum, but in the most frosts, of course, it decreases significantly).
So, before these people arrived in Antarctica as employees of the stations, they had to remove wisdom teeth and appendix. What for? After all, there are still doctors there. Yes, but in the conditions of constant hellish cold, even the most experienced surgeon will not be able to perform even the simplest operation. Though…
In 1961, there was a case when the doctor Leonid Rogozov managed to remove appendicitis by himself (without anesthesia and observing the process in the mirror!), Because there was simply no other doctor nearby.
2. There is a “civilian” city belonging to Chile
In fact, no one lives permanently in Antarctica, there are only temporary “inhabitants” here - scientists from stations of different countries working here in shifts. And, I must say, most often they live together, despite the political conflicts unfolding on the "mainland".
On the ice continent, even several marriages were made (one pair from neighboring stations met through the Tinder application). But, in addition to scientific stations, there is also real city that belongs to chile. It is called Villa Las Estrellas and is located near McMurdo Station.
So, you can live in it with almost all amenities: there is a school for 15 students, a hospital, a post office, a church and even an ATM (as well as the Internet, television, mobile communications).
By the way, you are hardly aware that at the moment there are already 11 children born in Antarctica, and the first of them was Argentinean Emilio Marcos Palma (January 7, 1978).
1. You do not need a visa to travel
Since Antarctica, quite officially, is not the territory of any country in the world (according to the special convention of 1961), a visa is not needed for a trip there.
And if until 1980 it was possible to get to the icy continent only as part of a scientific expedition, now it is visited until 40 thousand tourists a year.
Pleasure is not cheap (from 10 thousand dollars per ticket), but there are still many who want it. And by the way, despite the fact that this icy continent does not have a single government, it still has its own flag (a white silhouette of the continent against a bright blue background), a telephone code (+682), an Internet domain (.aq) and even the currency (the Antarctic dollar), which is issued by the Financial Office of Antarctica (of course, unofficial).