Antarctica, the world’s southernmost continent, is almost wholly covered by an ice sheet and is about 5.5 million square miles (14.2 million square km) in size. Learn how antarctica plays an important role in regulating the earth's temperature and oceans, storing carbon and a vital habitat for countless species in the southern ocean. Cool australian antarctic program news about wildlife, scientific research, stations (bases), expeditioners, ships, the environment and jobs in antarctica.
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Without any ice, antarctica would emerge as a giant peninsula and archipelago of mountainous islands, known as lesser antarctica, and a single large landmass about the size of australia, known as greater antarctica.
Antarctica explained—fast facts, record cold, ice trends, wildlife, and how the antarctic treaty protects a continent devoted to peace and science.
It is almost completely covered in ice Antarctica covers the earth’s south pole Antarctica is the coldest place on earth The average temperature in the winter is minus 34.4 celsius (minus 30 degrees fahrenheit).
Antarctica is, on average, the coldest, driest, and windiest of the continents, and it has the highest average elevation It is mainly a polar desert, with annual precipitation of over 200 mm (8 in) along the coast and far less inland. Antarctica, a continent of unparalleled ice and stark beauty, is earth’s southernmost landmass, representing a vital frontier for scientific research and a testament to nature’s formidable power.
