Have you ever been to the South Pole? Tell us about what the Antarctic has brought us.

Antarctica, also known as the seventh continent, is the last continent to be discovered on earth and the only continent where there are no aborigines. The Antarctic continent is surrounded by the so-called Southern Ocean (the southern waters of the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean). Its nearest distance to South America is 965 kilometers, 2000 kilometers from New Zealand, 2500 kilometers from Australia, 3800 kilometers from South Africa and about 12000 kilometers from China. The Antarctic continent has a total area of 6,543.8+0.39 million square kilometers, equivalent to the total area of China and India-Pakistan subcontinent, ranking fifth among all continents in the world. The entire Antarctic continent is covered by a huge ice sheet, with an average elevation of 2350 meters. Antarctica is the highest continent in the world, which was separated from Gondwana. The Hengduan Mountains in Antarctica divide the Antarctic continent into two parts. These two parts are quite different in geography and geology. East Antarctica is a very old continent with a history of hundreds of millions of years. Its center is located in the lonely spot, and any seaside is far from the lonely spot. East Antarctica has an average elevation of 2,500 meters and a maximum elevation of 4,800 meters. In East Antarctica, there is the largest active volcano in the Antarctic continent, namely Mount Erebus on Ross Island, with an altitude of 3,795 meters and four vents. West Antarctica is only half the size of East Antarctica. It is an archipelago, some of which are below sea level. But all the islands are covered by continental ice sheets. The older part (including southern Mary Bird Land, Ellsworth Land, Ross Ice Shelf and Queen Maud Land) has a mountain system composed of granite and sedimentary rocks. The mountain system extends southward to the central part of the Antarctic Peninsula and protrudes northward. The northern part of West Antarctica, that is, the higher part, was caused by volcanic movement during the Tertiary geological period. Mount Vincent (5 140m), the highest point in Antarctica, is located in the west of Antarctica. 98% of the Antarctic continent is covered by a permanent ice sheet with a diameter of 4,500 kilometers, with an average thickness of 2,000 meters and a maximum thickness of 4,750 meters. The Antarctic ice shelf covers an area of 2.65 million square kilometers in summer and can extend to 55 degrees south latitude in winter, reaching 6.5438+0.88 million square kilometers. The total ice storage capacity is 29.3 million cubic kilometers, accounting for 90% of the total ice in the world. If it melts, global sea level will rise by about 60 meters. The Antarctic ice sheet has pushed the area of Antarctic continent 1/3 below the sea level, and even pushed it below 1 1,000 meters in some places. The Antarctic ice sheet extends outward from the center. Under the condition of valley topography, the movement of ice is flowing, so glaciers are formed, and the speed of glacier movement varies from 100 m to 1000 m. Every year, huge ice cubes discharged into the ocean due to fracture form icebergs. Coastal touchdown icebergs can exist for many years, while untouched icebergs drift northward and gradually melt under the action of tides and currents. Antarctica is called the "cold pole". The fundamental reason for the low temperature in Antarctica is that the Antarctic ice sheet reflects 80% of the solar radiation, which leads to the shortage of Antarctic heat and becomes a permanently frozen and ice-covered continent. There are only two seasons in Antarctica: winter and summer. April ~ 10 is winter, and June 1 10 is summer. The average monthly temperature in the Antarctic coastal area in summer is about 0℃, and it is-15℃ ~-35℃ in the inland area. In winter, the average monthly temperature in coastal areas is-15℃ ~-30℃, and in inland areas it is -40℃ ~-70℃. The lowest Antarctic temperature recorded at the "Oriental" station of the former Soviet Union is -88.3℃? . Antarctic temperature decreases with the increase of latitude and altitude. Although Antarctica stores 75% of the world's fresh water resources, it exists in a permanent solid state, so it is an extremely dry continent, known as the "white desert". The average annual rainfall in Antarctica is 1.20 mm ~ 1.50 mm, which is 900 mm in coastal areas and only 50 mm in inland areas. Some areas are only 20 mm to 30 mm, and the Antarctic "westerly belt" is the most dangerous area for maritime navigation. Between 50 ~ 70 degrees south latitude, there are many low-pressure cyclones from west to east, sometimes as high as 6 ~ 7, and the wind speed can reach 85 kilometers per hour. Catabatic winds moving from the polar regions with higher altitude in the Antarctic continent to the coastal regions with lower terrain are particularly strong, with the maximum wind speed reaching 300 km/h, sometimes blowing for several days. Antarctica is the farthest and loneliest continent on earth. Its cold and perennial ice and snow have long shut people out. For hundreds of years, in order to conquer Antarctica and uncover its mystery, thousands of explorers have rushed to Antarctica, showing their indomitable spirit and creating epic achievements, which have made great contributions to our understanding of the mysterious Antarctic today. While enjoying the beautiful scenery of Antarctica, we will not forget to pay high tribute to them.

Antarctica is the southernmost point determined by the way the earth rotates. It usually represents the geographical Antarctic region and has a fixed position. According to the internationally accepted concept, the area south of 66.5 degrees south latitude (Antarctic Circle) is called Antarctica, which is the floorboard of the Southern Ocean, its islands and the Antarctic continent, with a total area of about 65 million square kilometers.