Antarctica is the most mysterious, mysterious and little studied continent. Its eternal ice has not melted for millennia. What secrets do not hide the snow and ice. The effects of climate warming on Earth lead to periodically exposing very interesting artifacts for people. One of the latest finds was 250 meteorites at the South Pole. Traveling to Antarctica is the dream of many adventure lovers. If earlier it was possible to get to the continent only as part of the expedition, now with a great desire to admire the endless ice of Antarctica personally anyone can.
Ancient pyramids
The mysteries and secrets of Antarctica attract many people. A more interesting place on earth is hard to find. Many travelers who visited the mainland invariably returned to it again. She herself was not aware of the fact how much they were attracted by eternal ice and snow. A few years ago, an international expedition consisting of researchers from Europe and America found three large objects on the head of the planet that looked very much like the ancient pyramids of Egypt. The scientific community immediately began to panic. Scientists have put forward a number of hypotheses, each of which is incredible. The most common were two:
- Pyramids are the traces of ancient civilizations.
- Creations of aliens.
The third hypothesis was even more incredible. Its adherents suggested that the Germans erected the pyramids during the expeditions of the Third Reich in the last century. Hitler, of course, was interested in Antarctica, as evidenced by documentary evidence, but the construction of such large-scale objects was hardly possible for him. In total, there were several trips to Antarctica made by representatives of the Third Reich. However, there is no evidence of the construction of facilities here.
Scientists believe that in ancient times the dome of the planet was not covered with ice. Lush vegetation reigned here in a tropical climate. An impenetrable jungle extended at the place of the pole. Now we can only assume how diverse the flora and fauna of the region was. To this day, scientists find the remains of unprecedented animals in glaciers. 250 million years ago, a sharp change in climate occurred, presumably due to the impact of a giant asteroid. This led to the death of almost all life on earth. Snow fell over Antarctica, the entire mainland was covered with ice, it was frozen for many kilometers and never thawed again.
As for the pyramids, their origin is a big mystery. It is likely that soon a new expedition will be organized that will shed light on this issue. While there are no intelligible explanations regarding the appearance of buildings, while all scientists agree that the pyramids were created artificially. There are many such mysteries and secrets in Antarctica, the explanation of which has not yet been found.
Mainland climate
Antarctica has an area of 13 million 661 thousand square kilometers. The geographic South Pole passes through the mainland. Local lands do not belong to any country. In Antarctica, mining is prohibited. Here you can only engage in scientific activities. At the polar stations in Antarctica, only bold, well-trained people live. Harsh conditions and extreme climate, not everyone can withstand.
The period from November to February is the warmest time on the mainland. These are the so-called spring and summer. In Antarctica during this period, the temperature can reach 0 degrees on the coast. At the pole, the temperature rises to -30 degrees. Summer here is so sunny that you can’t do without glasses, otherwise your eyesight could be damaged. But most of the light energy is simply reflected from the surface of the glaciers.
It is coldest on the mainland from March to October. At this time in Antarctica, winter and autumn. The air temperature drops to -75 degrees. For the cold season, severe storms are characteristic. Even planes do not fly here from the mainland. In fact, polar explorers remain eight months cut off from the outside world.
Polar night and polar day
In Antarctica there are polar days and nights that last for days. Their change occurs in spring and autumn.
In summer, a polar day reigns on the mainland, and a polar night in winter.
And now we proceed directly to the consideration of the most interesting objects.
Mainland volcanoes
A lot has been written about the melting of ice on the mainland and the possible consequences. As a rule, such serious changes are associated precisely with global warming, which in real life ... is not. It turns out that it is necessary to be afraid not of global temperature increases, but of volcanoes. In Antarctica, 35 volcanoes were discovered. An interesting fact is that most of them are ready to start the eruption at any moment. It is worth noting that it is still unknown how many such fire-breathing monsters are hidden in the bowels of the ice. Heat flows from the volcanoes of Antarctica pass through the earth's crust and lead to instability of the ice cover.
Scientists have modeled a new map of the planet after the possible melting of the mainland glaciers. It does not have London, the Netherlands, Venice and Denmark. The coastal areas of North America and India will be under water. How many volcanoes in Antarctica are unknown.
The first two were found by the Ross expedition. They were given names in honor of the ships on which the brave travelers arrived. Erebus remains to this day, and the Terror has gone out. The last fire-breathing object was found in Antarctica in 2008. However, a few years later, the discovery of a whole dozen underwater volcanoes became a real sensation, seven of them were active. An interesting fact is that some of the fire-breathing monsters are real giants. Their height reaches three kilometers. And one of the volcanoes has a crater with a diameter of about five kilometers! It’s even hard to imagine the lava flow that can flow from it.
The most famous volcanoes
The volcano Erebus is the most famous on the continent. Its height reaches 4 km, depth - 274 m, and diameter - 805 m. A huge lava lake is stored in the bowels of the fire-breathing monster. The last volcanic eruption occurred in 1972. Then the lava flew to a height of 25 meters.
Another famous mainland site is Deception Volcano. Its eruption in the sixties of the last century led to the destruction of the polar stations in Antarctica that belonged to Chile and Great Britain. The volcano is located under a huge thickness of ice (more than a hundred meters). Lava flows out of it very slowly, squeezing tons of dirt onto the ice surface.
Bloody waterfall
Any trip to Antarctica is an incredible adventure. There are many amazingly interesting objects on the mainland, including Bloody Waterfall. Griffith Taylor, an Australian geologist who discovered it in 1911, gave him such an eerie name. The waterfall is a unique natural object, since there is no second such thing on earth. What is its uniqueness? The fact is that the water in the waterfall is red. In addition, it has a minus temperature, but it does not freeze. An explanation of this phenomenon was found quite quickly.
It turns out that bivalent iron gives ordinary shade to water - ordinary rust. The sources of water flows are in a salt lake, which is located at a depth of 400-500 meters under the ice. According to experts, the reservoir formed about two million years ago, when the mainland was not yet covered with ice. Later, the ocean level dropped, the lake was isolated and covered with tons of ice along with all the inhabitants. The water gradually evaporated, making the pond more and more salty. Now the salt level is such that water masses do not freeze.
Is there life in the lake?
The inhabitants of the underground lake, being under the thickness of ice without sunlight, became extinct, but not all. Experts have discovered 17 species of microbes that live in incredible conditions. It is amazing what conditions living organisms do not adapt to. Millions of years, these microbes breathe iron contained in the surrounding rocks. I wonder what will happen to living organisms after running out of organic resources? Surely they will find new sources for existence.
Not everyone succeeds in observing Taylor Falls. The fact is that red streams appear during those periods when glaciers in Antarctica begin to thaw. Icy masses press on the lake and red streams appear on the surface from cracks.
Caves and tunnels
Antarctica is fraught with a lot of interesting and unknown. Members of the Australian University expedition who visited the mainland discovered caves and tunnels under the ice on Ross Island, on which Erebus volcano is located. According to one of the participants, the caves are very warm, the temperature reaches 25 degrees.
The tunnels are light enough as sunlight penetrates ice and cracks. In the samples taken, experts discovered the DNA of unique organisms and plants. According to travelers, unknown forms of life may be hidden in the bowels of the continent.
Mainland polar stations
Travel to Antarctica can only withstand strong spirit and strong people. It is very difficult to resist such harsh conditions in real life. The polar stations in Antarctica are real oases of heat in endless ice. The mainland is exploring 12 countries. Each of them has its own stations. Some work year-round, others seasonally. Some stations carry out exclusively scientific activities. And some are developing tourism in Antarctica, taking the polar tourists. Getting to the station, travelers have the opportunity to get acquainted with the lifestyle of polar explorers and their way of life. Tourists are given the opportunity to admire the nearest expanses of the mainland.
Antarctica currently has about 90 stations. In addition to Russia and the USA, Australia, China, Brazil, Argentina, India and many other countries have their objects here. It is worth noting that absolutely any state can place its stations on the continent. Some facilities are shared by several countries. 41 stations operate seasonally, since in such harsh conditions it is very expensive to maintain facilities year-round.
The largest number of stations on the mainland are Chile (12) and Argentina (14). Russia has nine polar objects. Among them is the most famous station "Vostok".
Russians in Antarctica appeared back in 1820. Mikhail Lazarev and Thaddeus Bellingshausen discovered the last of the continents. Much later, in 1956, the first Soviet station, Mirny, began operating on the continent. She laid the foundation for the development of the continent. The station was founded during the first Antarctic expedition. She became the main object from which the leadership of the entire region came. In the best years, from 150 to 200 people lived at the station. Unfortunately, in recent years, its population does not exceed 15-20 people. The management of Russian Antarctica has now passed into the hands of a more modern station called Progress. In 1957, another polar object was founded - "East". There was a new station 620 km from Mirny. However, in the same year, the facility was closed, and all equipment was transported deep into the mainland. The new station was later called the “East”.
It became most famous because it recorded a record of low temperature (-89.2 degrees). At the station, geophysical, meteorological and medical studies were carried out, now they are studying ozone holes, the properties of materials at low temperatures. Under the "East" was found a lake, which received the same name.
Lakes in Antarctica
Scientists still do not know how many ponds are hidden under the icy shell of the continent. The largest lake that was discovered is the East. Its length reaches 250 km, and its width is 50 km, and its depth is no more than a kilometer. There is a reservoir under the eponymous polar station. The pond is hidden by an ice mass reaching a height of four kilometers.
According to some researchers, the lake was open millions of years ago. And under the ice, it disappeared only 15 million years ago. Unfortunately, due to a lack of funding in 2015, the research of Russian polar explorers on well drilling was frozen. Very little remained to the surface of the lake, about 240 meters, when the work was stopped. But the solution to some of the secrets of the mainland was so close.
There are several hypotheses regarding the deep world of the mainland. American experts believe that the underground lake is teeming with unknown multicellular organisms.
Russian scientists are more restrained in forecasts. They believe that only samples of water from a reservoir under ice can clarify the situation. If it were possible to conduct analyzes, then one could understand how life develops on other planets. Indeed, on many cosmic bodies on the surface are ice strata. But it is too early to make assumptions.
Studies conducted by American experts showed the presence of 1,623 genes in water, 6% of them belong to complex creatures, whose life at such a depth is very difficult to imagine. But St. Petersburg scientists found in the DNA samples of bacteria that are unknown to people.
After that, the scientific world was divided into two camps. Some believe that unknown forms of life that need to be studied can live in the bowels of the mainland. Others, on the contrary, believe that it is not worth bothering those inhabitants who are in the depths. They can be fatal to people. It is possible that there are bacteria or viruses that we are not familiar with, and therefore do not have the appropriate immunity.
Inhabitants of Antarctica
In the harsh climate of the mainland, it is very difficult to survive. Therefore, there are not so many inhabitants on the continent. Many readers are always interested in: “Are there polar bears in Antarctica?” No, there are no bears here. But there are other representatives of the polar fauna
The southern ocean surrounding the continent has become home to many animals. Most of them migrate, but there are those who settled here forever. In the local waters live the real giants - blue whales. Sea leopards, which are considered the most formidable predators in Antarctica, are very dangerous. An adult weighs up to 300 kg and reaches a length of three meters. A leopard attacks any animal that gets in the way, and he is not afraid of a person.
The inhabitant of the ice continent is the crabeater seal. It is not very clear who called him that, because an animal does not eat crabs. Seals love fish and squid. They weigh up to 300 kg.
Of the birds on the continent live: Antarctic blue-eyed cormorants, Antarctic terns, white plovers, Cape doves, snow petrels, wandering albatrosses.
Also on the territory of glaciers in Antarctica live royal and subantarctic penguins.
but perhaps the most famous inhabitants are the emperor penguins. The weight of animals reaches 30 kg. Biped creatures are good divers because they can hold their breath for 20 minutes.
How to get to Antarctica?
A couple of years ago, traveling to the continent was a real dream. But now tours to Antarctica are quite a common occurrence. Everyone can get to the snowy continent. If you are in the mood for extreme relaxation, then you can look for suitable options.
How to get to Antarctica? There are only two ways to get to the continent: through the sky and by sea. Planes, liners and icebreakers are sent here from different parts of the world.
Tours to Antarctica are offered by many companies. However, it should be understood that they are only engaged in the collection of Russian-speaking groups. You can go on a trip only from several countries: Chile, Argentina, New Zealand. Most often, tourists choose sea cruises, since they allow you to fully enjoy the exotic, as well as take a walk deep into the continent, see penguins and glaciers. The level of comfort depends on the type of vessel.
Many research vessels, without funding, have been converted for tourist trips. Icebreakers have many advantages. They can get to secluded fjords. But the level of comfort on them leaves much to be desired. You can get to Antarctica on such vessels as Academician Sergey Vavilov, Clipper Adventurer, and Plantsius. The capacity of each of them reaches 107-122 people. On ships there are cabins with and without amenities, internet, satellite, restaurant.
In addition, tourists to Antarctica are delivered by the atomic icebreakers “Captain Dranitsyn”, “50 years of Victory”, “Captain Khlebnikov”. The advantage of such vessels is that they have helicopters, with the help of which they land on the coast. Icebreakers can move under any navigational conditions, traveling to remote regions of Antarctica.
Another type of transport is sailing ships. Usually, expedition members work for them, and tourists are accepted on board only as guests.