Life in Antarctica

Abstract

Antarctica covers the Earth’s south pole and represents 10% of the world’s landmass. That is larger than the United States and Europe combined, but there is no indigenous human presence. The area surrounding the actual South Pole (90° South) contains no life because of the extremely harsh conditions. Antarctica is the coldest and least accessible of all the Earth’s continents. Antarctica is covered by an ice sheet that can be up to 3 km thick and surrounded by an annual ice pack. Surprisingly, the ice sheet represents 97% of the Earth’s ice and 70% of its fresh water. The mountains and ice sheet that cover 98% of Antarctica make it the highest continent on Earth. As you can see, one tends to use superlatives in describing Antarctica. The high altitude, lack of humidity, and extreme cold make the conditions very harsh. The largest indigenous land animal is a mite that is the size of a pea and lives in the relatively warm Palmer Peninsula. The Antarctic plateau is a desert but, ironically, experiences almost constant blizzards. The humidity is extremely low, and the temperature ranges from -25° C to -80° C. There is no sunlight at the pole for almost 6 months a year. No country owns the continent. A 30-year-old treaty sets aside the continent for science and peaceful purposes. The Antarctic Treaty is about to expire and must be ratified again, soon.