ABOUT ANTAR CTICA
Only two of the world’s seven continents lie entirely within the
Southern Hemisphere: Australia and Antarctica. Australia lies
relatively close to the equator, while Antarctica, the fifth largest
continent lies almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle
(Lat.66o 33’ 44” S).
The Ice Continent
Antarctica is almost entirely covered by an ice sheet. At its thickest the ice is over
4 km deep, and beneath it there is a hidden landscape of mountains, valleys and
plains. This dome-shaped ice sheet has been formed by the accumulation of snow
over hundreds of thousands of years. The ice generally flows from the centre of
the continent towards the surrounding ocean, and the Antarctic has thousands of
glaciers extending into the sea. Great pieces of ice break away at the coast and drift
away as icebergs. Huge icebergs, some larger than the Australian Capital Territory,
have been observed, although normally they are several hundred metres to several
kilometres in dimensions.
During the winter months it becomes so cold that the sea surrounding Antarctica
freezes for hundreds of kilometres off-shore. This ice breaks up to form pack-ice,
which under the action of winds and currents, is constantly changing form
and distribution.
While the ice comprises about 98% of Antarctica’s surface, there are areas of
bare rock, the greatest rock exposures being in the Antarctic Peninsula and the
Transantarctic Mountains. The most significant ice-free areas of the Australian
Antarctic Territory (AAT) are the Bunger Hills and the Vestfold
Hills near Davis.
Except for coastal peaks, only the highest Antarctic mountains
show above the ice cap, some by only a few hundred metres.
The highest point is the Vinson Massif at 5,140m above
sea-level. The extensive Prince Charles Mountains inland of
Mawson and the Transantarctic Mountains in the Eastern
Sector contain the highest peaks in the AAT. The AAT also
contains the world’s largest glacier, the Lambert Glacier.
The Southern Ocean, which surrounds Antarctica,
consists of the southernmost parts of the Atlantic,
Indian and Pacific Oceans. In the sub-Antarctic,
between 50 and 60 degrees, there are many small
islands. Some of them, like Australia’s Heard Island,
are almost completely capped by glaciers, while
others, such as Macquarie Island, are ice-free and
have no permanent snow cover.
Fa c t s
■ Due to its ice cap Antarctica is
the highest continent, averaging
2300m above sea level.
■ At Antarctica’s thickest point
the ice sheet is 4776m deep and
averages 2160m thick.
■ If Antarctica’s ice sheets melted,
the world’s oceans would rise by
60 to 65m everywhere.
■ Antarctica has no government
and no country owns this
continent, however, it is ‘governed’
by the Antarctic Treaty.
WEATHER
The average annual temperature ranges from about -10°C on
the Antarctic coast to -60°C at the highest parts of the interior.
Near the coast the temperature can exceed +10°C at times in
summer and fall to below -40°C in winter. Over the elevated
inland, it can rise to about -30°C in summer but fall below
-80°C in winter. The lowest temperature yet recorded on the
Earth’s surface was - 89.2°C at Vostok station on 21 July 1983.
A Harsh Environment
Surrounding Antarctica there is normally a belt of low pressure, the circumpolar
trough, containing multiple low centres. The continent itself is dominated by high
pressure but meaningful analysis of surface pressure data is difficult because of the
elevated nature of much of Antarctica.
Radiation cooling over the Antarctic ice sheet produces very cold, dense air that
flows away from elevated areas and is replaced by subsiding air from above. The
resulting katabatic winds accelerate downhill, enhanced by the confluence of glacial
valleys. Katabatic winds blow with great consistency over large areas. At the coast
they lose their driving force and soon dissipate offshore.
Low-pressure systems near the Antarctic coast can interact with katabatic winds to
increase their strength. Resulting wind speeds can exceed 100 km/h for days at a
time. Wind gusts well over 200 km/h have been measured.
Under windy conditions loose snow can be picked up and carried along. When the
snow is still below eye level it is called drifting snow but when raised above eye level
it is called blowing snow. In the latter case visibility is generally very poor. Wind
speeds of over 30 km/h can lead to drifting snow, while wind speeds over 60 km/h
are more likely to produce blowing snow.
Blizzards are said to occur when wind speeds are gale force or stronger for at
least an hour, the temperature is less that 0°C and visibility is reduced to 100m
or less. Such conditions are very dangerous and disruptive for outdoor activities.
Sometimes blizzards persist for days.
Whiteout is an optical phenomenon in which uniform light conditions effectively
make it impossible to distinguish shadows, landmarks or the horizon. This can
occur when the snow cover is unbroken and the sky is overcast. Whiteout is a
serious hazard as it causes a loss of perspective and direction.
Fa c t s
■ Antarctica is the coldest,
windiest and driest continent
on Earth.
■ Only 2% of the land is not
covered in ice.
■ Antarctica is the least known
of the earth’s land masses; fewer
than 200,000 people have ever
been there.
ROSS ICE SHELF
Scott Base (NZ)
McMurdo (USA)
nce
nsa
Pri
Ross
Island
Tr a
McMurdo
D r y Va l l e y s
McMurdo
Sound
Mt Erebus
(3795m)
nta
rt
Glacier
vid
Da
nta
la cie r
s
Pri
est
ly
Antactica Bases
Mt Melbourne
(2733m) ci
G
Cape
Washington
VICTORIA
LAND
ntains
es G
in
Ree
v
Terra Nova
Bay (Italy)
Mou
Mou
Franklin
Island Drygalski
Ice Tounge
rctic
Albe
r
n Glacie
wso
Ma
la
er
b
mp
Ca
ell
la
G
Coulman
Island
Av
ia
t
or
G la
Mt Murchison
cie
A n t
r
cier
OATES
LAND
a
er
sM
ou
nt
r
Mt Ford
(2850m)
h
vic
se
atu
Leningradskaya
Russia (closed)
Christchurch
3060km
Balleny
Island
300km
r
ie
ac
Gl
er
laci
vG
oro
v
Su
M
Sputnik
Island
tns
rg M
Cape
Hooker
ie
er
Be
Cape
Moore
E
ac
R
A
Gl
N
A
s
Mtn
G la c
ie r
Ki
rk
by
G
l
Cape
Adare
a
l ie
Lil
Ebb
e
s
in
s
Mt Sabine
(3720m)
Mt Minto
(4163m)
Ha
rlin
Gl
ac
i
nt
Gressitt
r
Glacier
cie
a
Gl
ick
s
nn
Re
in
ou
n
tai
oun
P M
M
ow
lac
ier
B
Cape
Hallett
ry
AR
to
Tuc
ker
G
r
ie
ac
Vic
US
Marin
er G
Bo
laci (3500m)
rch
er
gr
ev
in
k
G
l
A
N
T
A
R
C
TI
C
CI
RC
AN
BRUNT
ICE SHELF
R
TA
WEDDELL
SEA
C
TI
C
LARSEN PEN
INS
ICE SHELF
UL
A
Halley
(UK)
SOUTHERN
OCEAN
LE
DRONNING MAUD
LAND
ENDERBY
LAND
FILCHNER
ICE SHELF Shackelton
Range
RONNIE
ICE SHELF
MACROBERTSON
Tr a
EAST ANTARCTICA
South Pole
sa
n
ELLSWORTH LAND
WEST
ANTARCTICA
nt
Queen
ar
Elizabeth
c t Range
ic
M
ROSS ICE SHELF
McMurdo
(USA)
SOUTHERN
OCEAN
ROSS SEA
1000
ains
Queen
Alexandra Range
nt
MARIE
BYRD
LAND
PRINCESS
ELIZABETH
LAND
WILHELM II
Davis
LAND
Sea
Subglacial
Lake Vostok
QUEEN MARY SHACKELTON
LAND
ICE SHELF
ou
AMUNDSEN
SEA
AMERY
ICE SHELF
Prydz Bay
LAND
ANTAR CTICA
BELLINGSHAUSEN
SEA
0
KEMP
LAND
COATS LAND
WILKES
LAND
VICTORIA
LAND
TERRE
GEORGE V ADELIE
LAND
OATES LAND
Mt Erebus
SOUTHERN
OCEAN
2000
Km
a r c t ic a
TERRE
ADELIE
GEORGE V
LAND
Ninnis Glacier
Scar
Bluffs
Cape
Freshfield
Cape Denison
Australia
Mawson’s Hut
Penguin
Point
Cape
Bage
Mertz Glacier
Organ Pipe
Bluffs
Horn
Bluffs
Dumont D’urville
(France)
Commonwealth
Bay
Cape
Hudson
Hobart
2700km
South
Magnetic
Pole
250km
E XPLORERS
Antarctica was first sighted by explorers in the 1820’s but
it was not until the 1840’s that this last frontier began to
be mapped .
At the turn of the century the race to reach the South Pole became a race between
two teams of explorers: a Norwegian expedition led by Roald Amundsen onboard
the Fram which had been purpose built for the trip and another led by Robert
Falcon Scott on the Terra Nova, also purpose built, who hoped to claim the
victory for the British Empire. The race was won by Amundsen who arrived at the
South Pole on 14th December 1911 followed by Scott one month later. This was
an extreme disappointment to Scott who had failed to reach the Pole during the
Discovery Expedition 1901 – 1904.
At the same time a Japanese Expedition led by Nobu Shirase, in
an old whaling ship, was attempting to stake a claim in this
inhospitable region but rough seas prohibited them from
venturing further than the Ross Sea.
Douglas Mawson, an Australian geologist, first
went to Antarctica as a member of Earnest
Shackleton’s Nimrod Expedition 1907–1909
and was a member of the party, which made
the first ascent of Mount Erebus and the
first party to locate the South Magnetic Pole
involving an epic 2000km sledging journey. In
1911 he led an Australasian Antarctic Expedition
onboard the Aurora – an old reinforced whaling
ship, not to reach the South Pole but to explore
the part of Antarctica directly south of Australia. In
January of 1912 they set up camp in Commonwealth Bay
in an area that Mawson named Cape Denison. He remained
in Antarctica until the 13th December 1913, almost two years, and
during this time he undertook a couple of long
expeditions during which he recorded much
scientific data. Mawson was highly regarded but
unfortunately lost a couple of his party and came
close to losing his own life too.
These men achieved much with
so little when one considers the
challenges that this inhospitable
land still gives today’s explorers
with the advantages that
technology brings them.
Fa c t s
■ The first time anyone set foot on
Antarctica was in 1821.
The Heroic
Age Expedition
Timeline
1901 – 1904
Scott’s Discovery Expedition
1901 – 1903
Drygalski’s German Expedition
1901 – 1904
Nordenskjold’s Swedish Expedition
1902 – 1904
Bruce’s Scottish National
Expedition
1903 – 04, 1909 – 1910
Charcot’s French Expedition
1907 – 1909
Shackleton’s Nimrod Expedition
1910 – 1911
Amundsen’s South Pole Expedition
1910 – 1913
Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition
1910 – 1912
Japanese Shirase Expedition
1911 – 1914
Mawson’s Australasian Antarctic
Expedition
1914 – 1917
Shackleton’s Transantarctic
Expedition
WILDLIFE
Antarctica is home to an amazing range of wildlife,
considering the cold, dry and windy conditions that
persist all year.
Penguins
There are no mammals or birds that spend all year living on Antarctica. Penguins
are the closest to permanent residents and emperor penguins are the only animal on
Earth that can survive temperatures as low as –50°C. The Emperor Penguin is the
tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica. The
male and female are similar in plumage and size, reaching 122 cm (48 in) in height
and weighing anywhere from 22 to 45 kg (49 to 99 lb).
Like all penguins it is flightless, with a streamlined body and wings stiffened and
flattened into flippers for a marine habitat. Its diet consists primarily of fish, but
can also include crustaceans, such as krill and cephalopods, such as squid.
Seals
Seals and sea lions are one of the few groups of marine mammals that live in the
Antarctic. There are six different species of seal live in Antarctic waters: Ross,
Weddell, crabeater, leopard, fur and elephant seals. Fur seals are the smallest, with
adult females weighing only 150 kg, while male elephant seals can weigh 4000 kg.
The smallest of the Southern Ocean seals are fur seals, while the largest are elephant
seals. Seals are carnivorous and, depending on species, eat fish, squid or krill. The
leopard seal will also eat penguins and other seals.
Summer Visitors
In addition to bird life, whales represent the major visitors to summer Antarctica.
These aquatically specialised mammals called Cetaceans, range in size from
porpoises that are a little over a metre long, right through to the largest animal that
lives on earth, the magnificent blue whale which can grow up to 24m and
can weigh 84 tonnes.
Six species of baleen whales are found in
Antarctica, including the huge blue whale.
Other baleen species are the fin, southern
right whale, sei, minke
and humpback.
Fa c t s
■ There are about 120 fish species
known to live in Antarctica waters.
■ Birdlife is abundant from tiny
storm petrels with a wing span of
40cm to albatrosses with a wing
span of over 3m.
■ Albatross lives between 60–80
years and spend almost all of its
time at sea and only coming to
shore to lay eggs and raise young.
■ Humpback whales fully grown
can weigh up to 40 tonnes and
grow as long as 16m. They also
have a layer of blubber under their
skin that is 15cm thick that doubles
as food store and insulation from
the cold.
A n ta r c t i ca S I G H T S E E IN G F L I G H T S
Level 1, 35 Seymour Street
Ringwood, VIC 3134 Australia
Freecall (Aust. only): 1800 633 449
Tel: (03) 8814 5701 Fax: (03) 8814 5799
Email: [email protected]
www.antarcticaflights.com.au
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The text in this brochure has been prepared for non-commercial educational
purposes using material from the Australian Antarctic Division website.
Readers are invited to explore this comprehensive authoritative website at
www.aad.gov.au for further information.
We thank John Silver and Aaron Gawlinski for their photographs of Antarctica.