Antarctic

The Antarctic is the polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is directly opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. This area includes the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau, and other island territories located on the Antarctic Plate or south of the Antarctic Convergence.

The Antarctic covers about 20 percent of the Southern Hemisphere, with the continent of Antarctica itself making up 5.5 percent of that area, or about 14 million km². All land and ice shelves south of 60°S latitude are managed under the Antarctic Treaty System.

The environment of the Antarctic is very important for the whole planet. As climate change in Antarctica causes ice to melt, it can raise global sea level rise. This melting also affects ocean currents and the marine ecosystem in the area. There are no permanent countries living in Antarctica.

Geography

An October 2006 NASA satellite image of the Antarctic without its periphery of unattached sea ice

The Antarctic region includes everything south of the 60°S latitude. This area covers Antarctica and several island groups like the Balleny Islands, Peter I Island, Scott Island, the South Orkney Islands, and the South Shetland Islands.

Some islands between 60°S latitude and the Antarctic Convergence are governed by the countries that own them. These include South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (United Kingdom), Bouvet Island (Norway), and Heard and McDonald Islands (Australia). Other islands, like the Kerguelen Islands (France), are located in the area of the Antarctic Convergence.

Ecology

Antarctic krill.

Many animals make their home in Antarctica at least part of the year. Some of these include:

Seals
Penguins
South Georgia pipits
Albatrosses
Antarctic petrels
Whales
Fish, such as Antarctic icefish and Antarctic toothfish
Squid, including the colossal squid
Antarctic krill

Chinstrap penguin.

Most of Antarctica is covered in ice and snow, with very little land visible. Only two types of flowering plants grow there, Antarctic hair grass and Antarctic pearlwort. However, there are many types of mosses, liverworts, lichens, and macrofungi.

The islands near Antarctica also have wildlife, but due to the tough climate, there are fewer types of plants and animals. For example, there are not many insects because there are not many plants for them to eat. Birds on these islands often depend on insects for food.

Some of these islands include:

Conservation

Moubray Bay and Mount Herschel in Eastern Antarctica

The Antarctic has the world's largest protected area, covering 1.07 million square kilometers. This area includes the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Marine Protection Area, created in 2012. Another big protected area is the Greenland National Park, which is a bit smaller. Ships traveling in the Antarctic that weigh more than 500 tonnes must follow special rules to keep the area safe. These rules are part of the Polar Code, which started on January 1, 2017.

Climate change

Since the 1970s, the upper cell of the Southern Ocean overturning circulation has strengthened, while the lower cell weakened. These changes have been linked to the melting of the Antarctic ice sheet.

Society

People

The first recorded sighting of Antarctica is credited to the Spaniard Gabriel de Castilla, who reported seeing distant southern snow-capped mountains in 1603. The first Antarctic land discovered was the island of South Georgia, visited by the English merchant Anthony de la Roché in 1675.

Although myths and speculation about a Terra Australis ("Southern Land") date back to ancient times, the first confirmed sighting of the continent of Antarctica happened in 1820 by the Russian expedition of Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev on Vostok and Mirny.

The Antarctic region had no original people when first discovered, and today it has only a few thousand visitors who work temporarily at research stations. However, over 40,000 tourists visit every year, especially the Antarctic Peninsula area and South Georgia Island.

Ushuaia in Argentina is the most active gateway to Antarctica.

Emilio Marcos Palma, born in 1978, is the first documented person born on the continent of Antarctica at the Esperanza Base. His parents were both Argentine citizens, and he was born in the area claimed by Argentine Antarctica. Since then, ten more people have been born in Antarctica, but Palma's birthplace remains the southernmost.

The Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, the geographic South Pole, with its signpost in the background

Time zones

Main article: Time in Antarctica

Because Antarctica surrounds the South Pole, it is theoretically located in all time zones. For practical reasons, time zones are usually based on territorial claims or the time zone of a station's owner country or supply base.