Maximum ice thickness in Antarctica: features and interesting facts

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:47

Many imagine Antarctica to be a huge continent completely covered in ice. But all this is not so simple. Scientists have found that in Antarctica earlier, about 52 million years ago, palm trees, baobabs, araucaria, macadamia and other types of heat-loving plants grew. Then the mainland had a tropical climate. Today the continent is a polar desert.

Before we dwell on the question of how thick the ice is in Antarctica, here are some interesting facts about this distant, mysterious and coldest continent on Earth.

Who owns Antarctica?

Before we proceed directly to the question of how thick the ice is in Antarctica, we should decide who owns this unique little-studied continent.

He doesn't really have any government. Many countries at one time tried to take ownership of these deserted, far from civilization lands, but on December 1, 1959A convention was signed (entered into force on June 23, 1961), according to which Antarctica does not belong to any state. Currently, 50 states (with the right to vote) and dozens of observer countries are parties to the treaty. However, the existence of an agreement does not mean that the countries that signed the document have abandoned their territorial claims to the continent and the adjacent space.

Relief

Many imagine Antarctica as an endless icy desert, where, apart from snow and ice, there is absolutely nothing. And to a large extent this is true, but there are some interesting points here that should be considered. Therefore, we will discuss not only the thickness of ice in Antarctica.

On this continent there are quite extensive valleys without ice cover, and even sand dunes. There is no snow in such places, not because it is warmer there, on the contrary, the climate is much harsher there than in other regions of the mainland.

The McMurdo Valleys are open to terrifying katabatic winds that reach speeds of 320 km per hour. They cause a strong evaporation of moisture, which is the reason for the absence of ice and snow. Life conditions here are very similar to those on Mars, so NASA tested the Viking (spacecraft) in the McMurdo Valleys.

There is also a huge mountain range in Antarctica comparable in size to the Alps. His name is the Gamburtsev Mountains, named after the famous Soviet geophysicist Georgy Gamburtsev. In 1958, his expedition discovered them.

The length of its mountainThe massif is 1,300 km long and 200 to 500 km wide. Its highest point reaches 3390 meters. The most interesting thing is that this huge mountain rests under powerful thicknesses (up to 600 meters on average) of ice. There are even areas where the thickness of the ice sheet exceeds 4 kilometers.

About climate

Antarctica has a surprising contrast between the amount of water (70 percent fresh water) and the rather dry climate. This is the driest part of the entire planet Earth.

Even in the most sultry and hot deserts of the whole world, more rain falls than in the arid valleys of the mainland Antarctica. In total, only 10 centimeters of precipitation falls at the South Pole a year.

Most of the continent is covered with eternal ice. What is the thickness of the ice on the mainland of Antarctica, we will find out a little lower.

About the rivers of Antarctica

One of the rivers that carry meltwater in an easterly direction is the Onyx. It flows to Lake Vanda, which is located in the arid Wright Valley. Due to such extreme climatic conditions, Onyx carries its waters for only two months a year, during the short Antarctic summer.

The length of the river is 40 kilometers. There are no fish here, but a variety of algae and microorganisms live.

Global warming

Antarctica is the largest piece of land covered with ice. Here, as noted above, 90% of the total mass of ice in the world is concentrated. The average ice thickness in Antarctica is approximately 2133meters.

If all the ice on Antarctica melts, global sea levels could rise by 61 meters. However, at the moment, the average air temperature on the continent is -37 degrees Celsius, so there is no real danger of such a natural disaster yet. Temperatures never rise above freezing in most of the continent.

About animals

The fauna of the Antarctic is represented by certain species of invertebrates, birds, and mammals. Currently, at least 70 species of invertebrates have been found in Antarctica, and four species of penguins nest. The remains of several species of dinosaurs were found on the territory of the polar region.

Polar bears, as you know, do not live in Antarctica, they live in the Arctic. Most of the continent is inhabited by penguins. It is unlikely that these two species of animals will ever meet in natural conditions.

This place is the only place on the planet where unique emperor penguins live, being the tallest and largest among all their relatives. In addition, it is the only species that breeds during the Antarctic winter. Compared to other species, the Adélie penguin breeds in the very south of the mainland.

The mainland is not very rich in land animals, but in coastal waters you can meet killer whales, blue whales and fur seals. An unusual insect also lives here - a wingless midge, the length of which is 1.3 cm. Due to extreme windy conditions, flying insects do not exist here at all.missing.

Among the numerous colonies of penguins, there are black springtails jumping like fleas. Antarctica is also the only continent where it is impossible to meet ants.

Area of ice cover around Antarctica

Before we find out what is the greatest thickness of ice in Antarctica, consider the areas of sea ice around Antarctica. They increase in some areas and simultaneously decrease in others. Again, the wind is the cause of these changes.

For example, northerly winds drive huge blocks of ice away from the mainland, in connection with which the land partially loses its ice cover. As a result, there is an increase in the mass of ice around Antarctica, and the number of glaciers that form its ice sheet is decreasing.

The total area of the mainland is approximately 14 million square kilometers. In summer, it is surrounded by 2.9 million square meters. km of ice, and in winter this area increases almost 2.5 times.

Underglacial lakes

Although the maximum thickness of ice in Antarctica is impressive, there are underground lakes on this continent, in which, perhaps, life also exists, evolving completely separately for millions of years.

In total, more than 140 such reservoirs are known, among which the most famous is Lake. Vostok, located near the Soviet (Russian) station "Vostok", which gave the lake its name. A four-kilometer thickness of ice covers this natural object. The lake does not freeze thanks to the undergroundgeothermal springs. The water temperature in the depths of the reservoir is about +10 °C.

According to scientists, it was the ice massif that served as a natural insulator, which contributed to the preservation of the most unique living organisms that developed and evolved for millions of years completely apart from the rest of the world of the icy desert.

The thickness of ice in Antarctica

Antarctica's ice sheet is the largest on the planet. In terms of area, it exceeds the Greenland ice mass by about 10 times. It contains 30 million cubic kilometers of ice. It has the shape of a dome, the steepness of the surface of which increases towards the coast, where in many places it is framed by ice shelves. The greatest thickness of ice in Antarctica reaches in some areas (in the east) 4800 m.

In the west there is also the deepest continental depression - the Bentley depression (presumably of rift origin), filled with ice. Its depth is 2555 meters below sea level.

What is the average ice thickness in Antarctica? Approximately 2500 to 2800 meters.

A few more interesting facts

In Antarctica there is a natural body of water with the cleanest water on Earth. The Weddell Sea is considered the most transparent in the world. Of course, there is nothing surprising in this, since there is no one on this mainland to pollute it. Here, the maximum value of the relative transparency of water (79 m) is noted, which almost corresponds to the transparency of distilled water.

In the McMurdo Valleys there is an unusual bloody waterfall. It flows out of the Taylor Glacier and flows into West Bonnie Lake, which is covered with ice. The source of the waterfall is a s alt lake, located under a thick ice sheet (400 meters). Thanks to s alt, water does not freeze even at the lowest temperatures. It was formed about 2 million years ago.

The unusualness of the waterfall lies in the color of its water - blood red. Its source is not exposed to sunlight. The high content of iron oxide in water, along with microorganisms that receive vital energy through the reduction of sulfates dissolved in water, is the reason for this color.

There are no permanent residents in Antarctica. There are only people living on the mainland for a certain period of time. These are representatives of temporary scientific communities. In summer, the number of scientists, together with support staff, is approximately 5,000, and in winter, 1,000.

The largest iceberg

The thickness of the ice in Antarctica, as noted above, is very different. And among the sea ice, there are also huge icebergs, among which B-15, which was one of the largest.

It is about 295 kilometers long, 37 kilometers wide, and the entire surface area is 11,000 square meters. kilometers (more than the area of Jamaica). Its approximate mass is 3 billion tons. And even today, after almost 10 years of measurements, some parts of this giant have not melted.

Conclusion

Antarctica is a place of marvelous secrets and miracles. Fromof seven continents, it was the last one ever discovered by explorers-travelers. Antarctica is the least studied, populated and hospitable continent on the entire planet, but it is also truly the most fabulously beautiful and amazing.