Tom B
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Antarctica
The lowest temperature ever recorded on earth was -129F recorded in 1983 at the Russian Base Vostok in Antarctica. Antarctica, a continent owned by no one, covers the southern end of our globe. In addition to being the coldest place on earth, Anarctica is also the wettest and the driest place on earth. How is this possible? |
Federick008
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Itâs the season for freezinâ, but just be glad we donât live on the frigid continent of Antarctica
http://www.courier-journal.com/foryourinfo/012405/012405.html
By PATTI SMITH
For The Courier-Journal
Itâs been another winter of snow and ice in Kentucky and Indiana. Sometimes, when the north wind hits, it feels like weâre at the South Pole.
But cheer up. Our coldest weather is like a sunny day at the beach in Antarctica, the land of the penguins and the coldest place on earth.
Antarctica is a continent almost entirely covered with ice, with the South Pole at its center. Near the center of Antarctica, summer temperatures donât normally get above zero. Winter temperatures typically hover around 70 below. The lowest temperature ever recorded on earth, 126.9 degrees below zero, was in Antarctica.
But since Antarctica is in the southern hemisphere, its winters come when we in the northern half of the globe are enjoying summer. Now that itâs winter in the North, itâs summer in Antarctica.
âSo July is the hottest month and the coldest month,â says Gerald Ruth, a professor who teaches climatology at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, Ind.
Ruth says Antarctica is the land of extremes â extreme cold, wind and height â making it the worldâs only continent without permanent human inhabitants.
Why is the continent so cold? Its latitude takes much of the blame. The sunâs rays strike the polar areas low in the sky, delivering less energy than they do in areas closer to the equator.
Altitude also comes into play. Antarctica is three miles above sea level. For every 1,000 feet above sea level, the temperature drops 3.5 degrees.
The East Antarctic Ice Sheet is the thickest, largest piece of ice anywhere on earth. Scientists have compared its thickness to the height of the Alps Mountains, which also are 3 miles high.
Dr. Keith Mountain, climatologist at the University of Louisville, says the continent stays frozen because 90 percent of the sunlight hitting the continent is reflected off of the snow and ice, and âmelting snow takes an incredible amount of energy.â
Although it hardly ever snows there â about 6 inches per year â Antarctica is covered with miles of ice and snow, enough to account for 90 percent of the worldâs ice.
Water temperature in the surrounding seas averages 29 to 33 degrees.
Not much lives on land in Antarctica. Seals and birds, including penguins, spend part of their time on land, but get their food from the oceans.
Because of its extremely cold environment, living in Antarctica isnât practical. Food and housing materials are practically nonexistent. To set up camps, scientific teams bring their supplies by boat.
For six months every year, the sun shines 24 hours a day on Antarctica. But with winds reaching 200 miles per hour along the coast, temperatures donât ever get warm.
The other six months, which make up spring and summer in America, the South Pole remains in the dark. Ruth says six weeks of that darkness is actually dusk and six weeks is dawn.
Regards,
rico
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