About Antarctica Map
Map showing southernmost continent, Antarctica, with its polar configuration and entirely ice capped surface. The map also includes areas of importance to scientists, such as field stations and other geographical features. This Antarctica map is in a polar projection with the center point at the South Pole showing the continent as a perfect circle within the Southern Ocean. The map also shows the Antarctic Ice Sheet which covers 98% of the continent and comprises 70% of the world’s fresh water in the form of ice, the largest ice mass on Earth.
Antarctica's map provides an overview of the continent's major physical features, including the Transantarctic Mountains, which divide East Antarctica from West Antarctica. The ice shelves, which cover about 10 million square kilometres of Antarctica, are shown. These include the Ross Ice Shelf and the Ronne Ice Shelf. The coastal seas shown include the Weddell Sea, Ross Sea, Amundsen Sea and Bellingshausen Sea, surrounded by the Southern Ocean.
A more detailed section outlines the locations of all country run research stations worldwide including all those at the USA's McMurdo Station and the science center at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, as well as the remote Vostok Station Russia and many more. We also briefly touch on their scientific pursuits including climate change, glaciology, atmospheric studies and much more. We also discuss how certain national claims on territory in Antarctica are prohibited under the Antarctic Treaty System.
Points of interest such as the South Pole, active glaciers, and ice covered plateau are included. The latitude and longitude lines clearly show the unique southern location of the continent.
About Antarctica
Antarctica is the southernmost continent on Earth, located circumcentral to the geographic North/South Pole and completely encircled by the Antarctic Circle. It has an area of 14 million km² (5,400,000 sq mi); it is the world’s 2nd-smallest continent, known as “The World’s Coldest, Driest, and Windiest Continent”. There are no native inhabitants on the continent, it has high scientific value due to its singular geographical position.
Geographic Features and Landscape
Antarctica is mostly covered by an ice sheet containing around 70% of the world’s freshwater. The ice sheet has an average thickness of 1.9 km (1.2 miles) and is divided by the large Transantarctic Mountains, the world’s longest mountain range, into East Antarctica and West Antarctica. Yet, beneath the ice sheet many hidden mountain ranges, valleys, and even subglacial lakes are trapped. The largest of these lakes is Lake Vostok, which is approximately as big as Lake Ontario.
Climate and Weather Conditions
Antarctica is the most inhospitable place on Earth. Even in winter it is rarely much below −60°C (−76°F) and in summer temperatures reach 0°C (32°F) on the coast. For this reason many would consider Antarctica to be a desert and certainly its coastal regions receive an average of less than 200 millimetre (8 in) of rain a year. Inland the situation is far drier. But it is not all quiet at the bottom of the world. As the cold air slips over the edge of the ice sheet it is swept down hill as a fast katabatic wind that can reach speeds of over 200 kilometres per hour (124 mph).
Biodiversity and Wildlife
Antarctica seems an inhospitable place for life, but there is more to it than first meets the eye. In addition to its surface of ice and snow, Antarctica is surrounded by the Southern Ocean, which brims with marine life. Most of this revolves around tiny krill that form the base of the complex food web that exists in Antarctica. Iconic species that can be found here include penguins, seals and whales, which are perfectly adapted to the conditions that exist in Antarctica. On land, only the hardiest microorganisms, mosses and lichens can survive Antarctica’s freezing environment and low moisture levels.
Human Presence and Scientific Research
There are no native populations in Antarctica, but during the summer months there is a transient population of scientists and support staff from all over the world. Depending on the definition of summer-winter transition, there are about 4,000 or 1,000 people living in Antarctica at any given time. These people reside at scientific research stations which are maintained by individual countries and governed by the rules laid out in the Antarctic Treaty System. These rules cover conduct on the continent, environmental protections, and land use. The three main elements of the ATS are 1) prohibition of military activity, 2) use of the continent for peaceful purposes, and 3) prohibition of mineral mining.
Importance and Environmental Significance
Antarctica is important for our planet's climate. Ice sheets on the continent have the potential to increase sea level by several metres to tens of metres. Much of the Earth's solar energy is either absorbed or reflected by the sea ice covering the oceans around Antarctica and the climate system affecting the continent has planet-wide influence on weather patterns. Changes to the ice sheets of Antarctica and to its non-serial environmental systems can provide insights to our broader environment and indicate ongoing changes to the global climate system.