Scientists have discovered remnants of a swampy temperate rainforest that thrived in Antarctica about 90 million years ago. Ninety million years ago, this West Antarctic forest was just 560 miles (900 km) from the then-South Pole. Yet its climate was surprisingly mild.
It may be hard to believe, but Antarctica was once covered in towering forests. One hundred million years ago, the Earth was in the grip of an extreme Greenhouse Effect. The polar ice caps had all but melted; in the south, rainforests inhabited by dinosaurs existed in their place.
Antarctica has experienced air temperature increases of 3°C in the Antarctic Peninsula. Although that might not seem very much, it is 5 times the mean rate of global warming as reported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
If all the ice on Earth melted overnight, the planet would be sent into chaos. There would be mass flooding from sea level rise, severe weather changes, deadly chemical release, and mass greenhouse gasses that will leak into the atmosphere.
Both the Arctic (North Pole) and the Antarctic (South Pole) are cold because they don't get any direct sunlight. The Sun is always low on the horizon, even in the middle of summer. In winter, the Sun is so far below the horizon that it doesn't come up at all for months at a time.
Antarctica is the coldest of Earth's continents. It was ice-free until about 34 million years ago, when it became covered with ice. Antarctica is a frozen desert with little precipitation; the South Pole receives less than 10 mm (0.4 in) per year, on average.
Antarctica has six months of daylight in its summer and six months of darkness in its winter. During summer, Antarctica is on the side of Earth tilted toward the sun and is in constant sunlight. In the winter, Antarctica is on the side of Earth tilted away from the sun, causing the continent to be dark.
The best time to travel to Antarctica is during the Antarctic summer from November to March, when you'll see Antarctica's wildlife at its busiest and benefit from up to 24 hours of daylight.
Dealing with the Drake Passage
- Staying hydrated is key, as is avoiding drinking alcohol.
- Stay active by going for a walk around the ship or venturing up to the deck.
- Getting fresh air can help.
- If you are feeling queasy, lie down flat in your bed or bunk with your eyes closed.
Antarctica is the world's southernmost continent resting in the
Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean. With 14 million square kilometers (5.4 million square miles) of area, it's the 5th largest continent.
So, how many people live in Antarctica today?
| Country of Origin | Population |
|---|
| Total | 4,490 |
How much does a trip to Antarctica cost? The average cost is around USD$10,000 per person. The most economical cruises to Antarctica start at under USD$5000 per person for a 6 to 10 day voyage.
Whales can be seen on Antarctic expeditions right through the season from December to April, but February and March are the peak months for sightings.
December is a popular month for Antarctic travel as the warmer temperatures and increasingly long days breathe life back into the region. Wildlife numbers are increasing and hungry humpback whales start arriving. Look out for the first penguin chicks which start to hatch.
No travelers visit Antarctica during the winter when polar ice blocks ship traffic and temperatures plunge into the negative degrees, even along the relatively warmer coasts. Most vessels offer tours from November to March.
Geologists taking sediment cores from the seafloor beneath the giant Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf on the southern edge of Antarctica's Weddell Sea discovered what biologists believe are types of sponge. The finding was published Monday in Frontiers in Marine Science.
People from all over the world undertake research in Antarctica, but Antarctica is not owned by any one nation. Antarctica is governed internationally through the Antarctic Treaty system. The Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1959 by 12 countries who had scientists in and around Antarctica at the time.
About 400 million years ago, Gondwana moved dramatically and Antarctica took its place over the South Pole. The carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere was much higher than it is now. As the oxygen content grew, it reached the stratosphere and was converted to ozone.
Because much of the landmass is blanketed in a permanent layer of ice and snow, there is very little exposed ground for Antarctica's plants to take root. In fact, a mere 1 percent of the continent is currently home to any form of plant life, but this is changing.
Roughly 90 million years ago, a rainforest grew near the South Pole.
about 34 million years ago
The largest land animal in Antarctica is a wingless midge, Belgica antarctica, which is less than 1.3 cm long. All the other, larger, animals in Antarctica are considered marine animals, meaning that they feed and live largely in the ocean. This includes seals and penguins, Antarctica's most famous residents.
Tropical climate in the Antarctic: Palm trees once thrived on today's icy coasts 52 million years ago. Summary: The study published in the journal Nature shows that tropical vegetation, including palms and relatives of today's tropical Baobab trees, was growing on the coast of Antarctica 52 million years ago.
Scientists believe that the Earth's continents—Africa, Eurasia, Australia, North and South America, and Antarctica—were once part of a single, giant continent called Pangaea. According to the theory, the chunk of Pangaea this is now Antarctica was once at a much balmier latitude.
Nearby polar regions got up to Florida-level temperaturesModern-day Antarctica hardly brings beaches and sunshine to mind. But according to new research, the continent and its surroundings used to be a much balmier place. Parts of the surrounding ocean got even warmer, reaching a pleasant bathwater temperature of 72F.
But the continent as a whole is getting colder, and the ice is getting thicker." And climate models created since our paper was published have suggested a link between the lack of significant warming in Antarctica and the ozone hole over that continent.
Antarctica is coldMillions of years ago, as glaciers spread across Antarctica, local mammals could have evolved into a species like the polar bear, or returned to the ocean, as seals and whales have done in the past.
Antarctica is southern continent of the earth. It is the driest, coldest and windiest continent. It is different from talking about Antarctica from the comfort zones of our warm countries and therefore being in Antarctica is a shocking realization.
Antarctica is important for science because of its profound effect on the Earth's climate and ocean systems. Locked in its four kilometre-thick ice sheet is a unique record of what our planet's climate was like over the past one million years. However, Antarctica is fragile and increasingly vulnerable.
