Antarctica
On this Expedition to Antarctica, the southernmost continent and the coldest place on Earth, you may be surprised at just how much wildlife you’ll encounter.
This story was created for the Google Expeditions project by ePublishing Partners and AirPano, now available on Google Arts & Culture
The harsh, isolated continent of Antarctica surrounds the South Pole. Only a relatively small number of living things can survive on this vast polar plateau, which is almost completely covered in ice.
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Antarctica’s Environment
On this coldest place on Earth, temperatures in winter can reach -70° C. On the coasts, temperatures can go as low as -30° C. Average summer temperatures are warmer but still frequently below freezing. This environment affects ocean currents, climate, and food webs around the world.
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Weather and Climate
Antarctica’s climate is extremely cold, especially around the South Pole. Along the coasts, there are fierce winds and frequent storms. The rest of Antarctica’s climate is very dry. The high polar plateau gets only about 50 mm of precipitation annually.
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Antarctic Ice
Thick ice gives Antarctica an average elevation of about 2,200 meters. The continent’s ice cover looks solid, but it’s constantly changing. Coastal ice partially thaws in summer and refreezes in winter, so the continent’s edges frequently expand and contract.
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Coastal Waters
The coastal waters around Antarctica are extra-rich in nutrients such as algae and krill (tiny crustaceans). Krill are so dense in Antarctic waters that whales and other animals can feed on them by the ton.
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The Antarctic Peninsula
The Antarctic Peninsula is a long finger of land that reaches north toward the southern tip of South America. It is the warmest part of Antarctica, and therefore the part most visited by scientists and tourists.
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Volcanic Peaks
The volcanoes on the Antarctic Peninsula are similar to those of the Andes Mountains of South America. Some of them are still active.
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Glaciers
Glaciers are large masses of ice that form on land. They look solid, but are always changing. Mountain glaciers flow down the slopes of mountains: their direction is guided by the mountain valleys. Ice shelves are glaciers that spread out over the ocean. About 75% of the freshwater on Earth is stored in glaciers. What happens to the glaciers of Antarctica is important to all the world’s living things.
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Fjords and Straits
The coastline of the Antarctic Peninsula is rugged. Steep mountains along its shores, with fjords—long, narrow inlets of the ocean—snaking between them. The geography is similar to the southwest coast of South America, Greenland and Norway.
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Islands
There are archipelagos (chains of islands) off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, separated from the mainland by narrow straits. Many of these islands appear only in the summer months, (the winter months in the Northern Hemisphere). In winter, the islands are connected to each other or to the mainland by shelves of solid ice.
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Port Lockroy
Port Lockroy is an outpost operated by the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT). It is located on Goudier Island, in the Antarctic Peninsula. The station was built during World War II, as a military base. Now scientists at the station monitor penguin populations and the impact of human activity on the environment. Thousands of tourists visit the station every summer.
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Summer Cruises
Port Lockroy is open to visitors during the Antarctic Summer. The number of visitors is carefully controlled, and there are strict guidelines for visitors’ behavior. Tourists arrive on ships that have to anchor offshore. They reach Port Lockroy in smaller landing craft.
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Phototourism
Most tourists come to Port Lockroy to take pictures of the Gentoo penguins. About half of the island is for penguins only. On the inhabited section of the island, the birds have grown accustomed to humans snapping, clicking, and flashing.
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Nissen Hut
These half-cylinder metal buildings were common during World War II. This hut has been rebuilt and serves as the dormitory for the station staff.
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Bransfield House
The main building at Port Lockroy serves as a museum and post office. The post office receives and sends mail from all over the world. Stamps from Port Lockroy help raise money to support the activities of UKAHT.
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Antarctica’s Penguins
Even though most of the world’s penguins do not live in Antarctica, penguins have become symbols of the frozen continent. These large birds cannot fly, but they are excellent swimmers. They live in large breeding colonies, some of which contain hundreds of thousands of birds. Penguins feed on fish, krill, and other animals that live in the ocean.
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Gentoo Penguins
Gentoo penguins, the species you see here, live in the northern part of the Antarctic Peninsula and on islands offshore. They can swim faster than any other underwater birds and can dive as far as 200 meters down. Gentoo penguins form colonies next to sandy beaches. They are identified by the white patches above the eyes and bright red-orange beaks.
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Penguin Social Behavior
Penguins often seem to act like humans. They form smaller social units within the colonies. At about a month old, chicks form protective groups with other newborns. This frees their parents to gather more food. Penguins also squabble with each other or exchange information. Each species makes a distinctive sound.
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Penguin Reproduction
Like other penguins, Gentoo penguins are mostly monogamous. They form pairs for breeding and stay with the same partners. Females lay their eggs in October and November, (spring in Antarctica). The parents take turns incubating the eggs and feeding the newborn chicks. This panorama was captured in November.
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Leopard Seals
Leopard seals, also called sea leopards, look cute, but to penguins they are deadly predators. Sea leopards and Gentoo penguins share the coasts of Antarctica.
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Habitat
Leopard seals live in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic regions. Although they prefer to live on ice packs out in the water, they sometimes come ashore on island or mainland beaches. Some species of seals live in herds, but leopard seals are solitary. Like all seals, they spend most of their time in the water.
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Food Sources
Like other seals, sea leopards eat fish and krill. They are the only seals that also eat warm-blooded animals, such as penguins and other species of seals. Leopard seals also steal food from each other.
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Physical Characteristics
Leopard seals get their name from their spotted coats. They have no ears, extra-long teeth, and elongated flippers. Like all seals, sea leopards have a streamlined shape that allows them to cut through the water efficiently. Females are larger than males. An adult female can be up to 3.5 meters long and weigh as much as 380 kilograms.
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Antarctica’s Future
The first known human contacts with Antarctica took place in 1820. Since then, explorers from many nations have visited Antarctica, set up study stations and military bases, and claimed large parts of Antarctica’s land. However, thanks to the Antarctic Treaty of 1961, the nations with interests in Antarctica now work together to ensure peaceful uses of Antarctica and its surrounding waters. They share the results of their scientific discoveries and together plan for the future of the continent.
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Atmospheric Pollution
Antarctica is physically isolated, but it still shares its atmosphere with the rest of Earth. Air pollution reaches Antarctica by means of the huge air currents that circulate around the globe. Scientists are studying the relationship between global air pollution and the reduction in ozone that happens every spring in Antarctica’s atmosphere.
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Global Currents
There are rapidly circulating currents of air and ocean water in the regions where the warm waters of the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans meet the cold waters off the Antarctic continent. This convergence of circulating currents helps create climate and weather patterns around the world.
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Disappearing Glaciers
On the Antarctic Peninsula, the warmest part of Antarctica, the ice is melting at a rate that alarms many scientists. Because glaciers are fresh water, their melting causes a decrease in the salinity, or amount of salt, in the surrounding ocean, affecting the habitats of sea leopards, penguins, and other marine creatures. Scientists are trying to predict the effects of this change on life in the ocean.
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Human Impact
As more people travel to Antarctica, the human impact on the environment is becoming more noticeable; local air and water pollution have increased. On some of the sub-Antarctic islands, alien species such as dogs, cats, rats, and mice have already appeared, causing havoc among local animal populations. New research stations and the electricity they require also increase the human impact on Antarctica.
Interested in Natural history?
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