Celebrating Antarctica Continent Day 2023

Antarctica, the southernmost continent and site of the South Pole, is a virtually uninhabited, ice-covered landmass. Most cruises to the continent visit the Antarctic Peninsula, which stretches toward South America. It’s known for the Lemaire Channel and Paradise Harbor, striking, iceberg-flanked passageways, and Port Lockroy, a former British research station turned museum. The peninsula’s isolated terrain also shelters rich wildlife, including many penguins.

 

Antarctica is a continent unto itself and is not a part of any country. The Great White Continent is governed under a series of recognized guidelines and agreements called the Antarctic Treaty System. Twelve countries signed the Antarctic Treaty in 1959 and the agreement currently has 54 signatories.

 

Why is it called Antarctica?

The name Antarctica is the romanized version of the Greek compound word ἀνταρκτική (antarktiké), feminine of ἀνταρκτικός (antarktikos), meaning "opposite to the Arctic", "opposite to the north".

 

 Does Antarctica have a flag?

As a condominium with no single governing body, it does not have an official flag of its own. However, several designs have been created for the purpose of representing the continent.

 

Who is the capital of Antarctica?

There is no capital of Antarctica because Antarctica is not a country but rather a collection of territorial claims for various other countries.

 

 

Who found Antarctica?

Admiral Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen was one of the first to spot the continent of Antarctica. The first land south of the parallel 60° south latitude was documented by Englishman William Smith, who sighted Livingston Island in the South Shetlands archipelago on 19 February 1819.

 

What are 3 countries from Antarctica?

Seven countries (Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom) maintain territorial claims in Antarctica, but the United States and most other countries do not recognize those claims. While the United States maintains a basis to claim territory in Antarctica, it has not made a claim.

 

What African country is closest to Antarctica?

The nearest countries to Antarctica are South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Chile and Argentina. On Antarctica there are no cities or villages, 98% of the continent is covered by ice. The map shows also the location of scientific research stations operated by various countries on the continent.

 

Does Antarctica have a airport?

There aren't actually any commercial airports in Antarctica, so to reach Antarctica, you'll have to take a flight to Antarctica's closest commercial airport in Punta Arenas, Chile, and then take a cruise or a fly & cruise from Punta Arenas to Antarctica.

 

What are some environmental challenges that Antarctica faces due to human activity?

Some of the environmental challenges that Antarctica faces due to human activity are:

·         Global warming and climate change: This is the greatest long-term threat to the region, as it results in a warming of the sea and loss of sea ice and land-based ice¹. This affects the habitats and populations of many Antarctic species, such as penguins, seals, and krill¹². It also causes oceanic acidification, which harms some marine organisms that play a significant role in the oceanic carbon cycle¹. Global warming also contributes to the depletion of the ozone layer, which exposes Antarctica to harmful ultraviolet radiation³.

·         Fishing and hunting: Some Antarctic species have been exploited for economic benefit, such as whales, seals, and fish². This has caused major declines in their numbers and threatened their survival. Some illegal fishing boats also ignore the current regulations and overfish the region². Fishing for krill, which are the base of many Antarctic food chains, could have serious consequences for the ecosystem².

·         Invasive species: Organisms that are not native to Antarctica are being introduced by various means, such as ships, boots, clothing, or food². Some of these organisms are now able to survive and reproduce in Antarctica due to climate change, and they may compete with or prey on the native species². They may also carry diseases or parasites that could affect the Antarctic wildlife².

·         Pollution and waste: Human activities in Antarctica generate various types of waste, such as sewage, rubbish, fuel, chemicals, and metals¹². Some of this waste is disposed of in the sea or on land, where it may contaminate the water, soil, or ice¹². Some of the waste may also thaw or leak as the climate warms, increasing the risk of environmental damage⁴. Pollution from other parts of the world, such as persistent organic pollutants or radioactive substances, may also reach Antarctica through the atmosphere or ocean currents¹².

·         Tourism and research: The increasing number of visitors to Antarctica, both tourists and scientists, may have negative impacts on the region. They may disturb the wildlife, damage the vegetation, create noise, or leave behind traces of their presence¹². They may also increase the risk of introducing invasive species or pathogens to Antarctica². Some research activities, such as drilling or sampling, may also affect the Antarctic environment³.

These are some of the main environmental challenges that Antarctica faces due to human activity. They pose a threat to the unique and fragile Antarctic ecosystem, which is of global importance for science and conservation. Therefore, it is essential to protect and manage Antarctica in a sustainable and responsible way.

 

 

Who are the natives of Antarctica?

The Antarctic continent was once a part of a larger land mass called Gondwana that settled over the south pole and split from Australasia and South America long before humans evolved. There haven't been any land bridges to Antarctica for around 35 million years, it has been an isolated island for all this time.

Humans are thought to have evolved in East Africa very recently in geological terms (no more than 5 million years at most). We then left the ancestral homeland and moved across all of the continents of the world.

Antarctica was already too isolated by distance, climate and the storminess of its seas for primitive peoples to discover. It wasn't until 1820 when human technology and navigation was sophisticated enough to allow anyone to sail far enough south to even see Antarctica for the first time. There are a number of poorly substantiated claims of setting foot upon the Antarctic mainland from 1820, though 1899 is the first date accepted by some historians as undisputable. When the first people did set foot on Antarctica there wasn't anyone already there.

Antarctica is therefore one of the few places in the world that can truly be described as having been discovered, rather than there being people already living there who had known about it for hundreds or thousands of years before its "discovery".

WHO LIVES IN ANTARCTICA ?

The people who travel to or live in Antarctica fall into two main groups, those who live and work on scientific research stations or bases, and tourists.

No-one lives in Antarctica indefinitely in the way that they do in the rest of the world. It has no commercial industries, no towns or cities, no permanent residents.

The only "settlements" with longer term residents (who stay for some months or a year, maybe two) are scientific bases. These vary in size, but typically have 50 people there in the summer and 15-20 in the winter (Antarctica is never really talked about as having spring or autumn/fall), summer lasts from October/November to March/April, the rest of the year is considered to be winter.

There are around 66 scientific bases in Antarctica, of which about 37 are occupied year round, the remainder are open during the summer and closed down for winter. There are about 4,000 people through the summer months and about 1,000 overwinter each year.

Most residents of scientific stations do a "summer only" this is anywhere from 3-6 months, with a smaller number staying over the Antarctic winter (when any chance of transport in or out is virtually impossible). A typical tour is one summer or one winter and the two summers either side, around 15 months in total (this time is continuous with no visits home or elsewhere in the meantime). It used to be quite common for some to stay for two winters and three summers, though this is rare now.

Some people have had an "enforced" winter, this is when ice conditions mean the ship that should have come to get them couldn't get through and had to go home without them until the following year. The result is a wait of another 6 months or more until a ship can get through again. This can mean three summers and three winters in a row or at least an extra Antarctic winter season that was not anticipated. Such events however were thankfully rare and did little for the mental state of the people involved, making fitting back into the world back home again more problematic.

The US base at McMurdo Sound has up to 1,000 personnel at the peak time, this is the nearest there is to a town. With such a rapid turn-over of people, Antarctic bases are more like oil-rigs or military bases than towns.

 

  Tourists

The figures for the 2018-19 season show that there were 55,489 visitors, the highest number ever. There was a previous peak of 47,225 in 2007-08 which fell to 26,509 in 2011-12. The drop was due to the fact that larger ships are no longer allowed to visit Antarctica due to fuel spillage dangers, as a tourist destination Antarctica is becoming more popular than ever.