Antarctica

Article

Talk

Read

View source

View history

Tools

Coordinates: 90°S 0°E

Featured article

Page semi-protected

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the continent. For the region, see Antarctic. For other uses, see Antarctica
(disambiguation).

"Antipodea" redirects here. For Australia and New Zealand, see Australasia.

AntarcticaThis map uses an orthographic projection, near-polar aspect. The South Pole is near the
center, where longitudinal lines converge.

Area 14,200,000 km2

5,500,000 sq mi[1]

Population 1,000 to 5,000 (seasonal)

Population density <0.01/km2

<0.03/sq mi

Internet TLD .aq

Largest settlements

McMurdo Station

Other research stations

UN M49 code 010

Composite satellite image of Antarctica (2002)

Antarctica (/ænˈtɑːrktɪkə/ (listen))[note 1] is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent.

Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also
known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest
continent, being about 40% larger than Europe, and has an area of 14,200,000 km2 (5,500,000 sq mi).
Most of Antarctica is covered by the Antarctic ice sheet, with an average thickness of 1.9 km (1.2 mi).

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. About 70% of the world's freshwater reserves are frozen in Antarctica,
which, if melted, would raise global sea levels by almost 60 metres (200 ft). Antarctica holds the
record for the lowest measured temperature on Earth, −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F). The coastal regions can
reach temperatures over 10 °C (50 °F) in summer. Native species of animals include mites,
nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades. Where vegetation occurs, it is mostly in the form of
lichen or moss.

The ice shelves of Antarctica were probably first seen in 1820, during a Russian expedition led by
Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev. The decades that followed saw further
exploration in French, American, and British expeditions. The first confirmed landing was by a
Norwegian team in 1895. In the early 20th century, there were a few expeditions into the interior of
the continent. British explorers were the first to reach the magnetic South Pole in 1909, and the
geographic South Pole was first reached in 1911 by Norwegian explorers.

Antarctica is governed by about 30 countries, all of which are parties of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty
System. According to the terms of the treaty, military activity, mining, nuclear explosions, and nuclear
waste disposal are all prohibited in Antarctica. Tourism, fishing and research are the main human
activities in and around Antarctica. During the summer months, about 5,000 people reside at
research stations, a figure that drops to around 1,000 in the winter. Despite its remoteness, human
activity has a significant impact on the continent via pollution, ozone depletion, and climate change.

Etymology

17th century map of the Antarctic region

A speculative representation of Antarctica labelled as 'Terra Australis Incognita' on Jan Janssonius's

Zeekaart van het Zuidpoolgebied (1657), Het Scheepvaartmuseum

The name given to the continent originates from the word antarctic, which comes from Middle
French antartique or antarctique ('opposite to the Arctic') and, in turn, the Latin antarcticus ('opposite
to the north'). Antarcticus is derived from the Greek ἀντι- ('anti-') and ἀρκτικός ('of the Bear',
'northern').[4] The Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote in Meteorology about an "Antarctic region" in
c. 350 BCE.[5] The Greek geographer Marinus of Tyre reportedly used the name in his world map
from the second century CE, now lost. The Roman authors Gaius Julius Hyginus and Apuleius used for
the South Pole the romanised Greek name polus antarcticus,[6] from which derived the Old French
pole antartike (modern pôle antarctique) attested in 1270, and from there the Middle English pol
antartik, found first in a treatise written by the English author Geoffrey Chaucer.[4]

Belief by Europeans in the existence of a Terra Australis—a vast continent in the far south of the
globe to balance the northern lands of Europe, Asia, and North Africa—had existed as an intellectual
concept since classical antiquity. The belief of such a land lasted until the discovery of Australia.[7]

During the early 19th century, explorer Matthew Flinders doubted the existence of a detached
continent south of Australia (then called New Holland) and thus advocated for the "Terra Australis"
name to be used for Australia instead.[8][9] In 1824, the colonial authorities in Sydney officially
renamed the continent of New Holland to Australia, leaving the term "Terra Australis" unavailable as
a reference to Antarctica. Over the following decades, geographers used phrases such as "the
Antarctic Continent". They searched for a more poetic replacement, suggesting names such as Ultima
and Antipodea.[10] Antarctica was adopted in the 1890s, with the first use of the name being
attributed to the Scottish cartographer John George Bartholomew.[11]

Geography

Main article: Geography of Antarctica

See also: Extreme points of Antarctica and List of mountains in Antarctica

map of Antarctica

Eastern Antarctica is to the right of the Transantarctic Mountains and Western Antarctica is to the left.

Positioned asymmetrically around the South Pole and largely south of the Antarctic Circle (one of the
five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the world), Antarctica is surrounded by the Southern
Ocean.[note 2] Rivers exist in Antarctica, the longest being the Onyx. Antarctica covers more than
14.2 million km2 (5,500,000 sq mi), making it the fifth-largest continent, slightly less than 1.5 times
the area of the United States. Its coastline is almost 18,000 km (11,200 mi) long:[1] as of 1983, of the
four coastal types, 44% of the coast is floating ice in the form of an ice shelf, 38% consists of ice walls
that rest on rock, 13% is ice streams or the edge of glaciers, and the remaining 5% is exposed rock.
[13]

The lakes that lie at the base of the continental ice sheet occur mainly in the McMurdo Dry Valleys or
various oases.[14] Lake Vostok, discovered beneath Russia's Vostok Station, is the largest subglacial
lake globally and one of the largest lakes in the world. It was once believed that the lake had been
sealed off for millions of years, but scientists now estimate its water is replaced by the slow melting
and freezing of ice caps every 13,000 years.[15] During the summer, the ice at the edges of the lakes
can melt, and liquid moats temporarily form. Antarctica has both saline and freshwater lakes.[14]

Antarctica is divided into West Antarctica and East Antarctica by the Transantarctic Mountains, which
stretch from Victoria Land to the Ross Sea.[16][17] The vast majority of Antarctica is covered by the
Antarctic ice sheet, which averages 1.9 km (1.2 mi) in thickness.[18] The ice sheet extends to all but a
few oases, which, with the exception of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, are located in coastal areas.[19]
Several Antarctic ice streams flow to one of the many Antarctic ice shelves, a process described by
ice-sheet dynamics.[20]

photograph of Vinson Massif

Vinson Massif from the northwest, the highest peak in Antarctica

East Antarctica comprises Coats Land, Queen Maud Land, Enderby Land, Mac. Robertson Land, Wilkes
Land, and Victoria Land. All but a small portion of the region lies within the Eastern Hemisphere. East
Antarctica is largely covered by the East Antarctic Ice Sheet.[21] There are numerous islands
surrounding Antarctica, most of which are volcanic and very young by geological standards.[22] The
most prominent exceptions to this are the islands of the Kerguelen Plateau, the earliest of which
formed around 40 Ma.[22][23]

Vinson Massif, in the Ellsworth Mountains, is the highest peak in Antarctica at 4,892 m (16,050 ft).
[24] Mount Erebus on Ross Island is the world's southernmost active volcano and erupts around 10
times each day. Ash from eruptions has been found 300 kilometres (190 mi) from the volcanic crater.
[25] There is evidence of a large number of volcanoes under the ice, which could pose a risk to the ice
sheet if activity levels were to rise.[26] The ice dome known as Dome Argus in East Antarctica is the
highest Antarctic ice feature, at 4,091 metres (13,422 ft). It is one of the world's coldest and driest
places—temperatures there may reach as low as −90 °C (−130 °F), and the annual precipitation is 1–3
cm (0.39–1.18 in).[27]

Geologic history

Main article: Geology of Antarctica

Further information: Geology of the Antarctic Peninsula

From the end of the Neoproterozoic era to the Cretaceous, Antarctica was part of the supercontinent
Gondwana.[28] Modern Antarctica was formed as Gondwana gradually broke apart beginning around
183 Ma.[29] For a large proportion of the Phanerozoic, Antarctica had a tropical or temperate
climate, and it was covered in forests.[30]

Palaeozoic era (540–250 Ma)

Glossopteris sp. leaf from the Permian of Antarctica

During the Cambrian period, Gondwana had a mild climate.[31] West Antarctica was partially in the
Northern Hemisphere, and during the time, large amounts of sandstones, limestones, and shales
were deposited. East Antarctica was at the equator, where seafloor invertebrates and trilobites
flourished in the tropical seas. By the start of the Devonian period (416 Ma), Gondwana was in more
southern latitudes, and the climate was cooler, though fossils of land plants are known from then.
Sand and silts were laid down in what is now the Ellsworth, Horlick and Pensacola Mountains.
Antarctica became glaciated during the Late Paleozoic icehouse beginning at the end of the Devonian
period (360 Ma), though glaciation would substantially increase during the late Carboniferous. It
drifted closer to the South Pole, and the climate cooled, though flora remained.[32] After deglaciation
during the latter half of the Early Permian, the land became dominated by glossopterids (an extinct
group of seed plants with no close living relatives), most prominently Glossopteris, a tree interpreted
as growing in waterlogged soils, which formed extensive coal deposits. Other plants found in
Antarctica during the Permian include Cordaitales, sphenopsids, ferns, and lycophytes.[33] At the end
of the Permian, the climate became drier and hotter over much of Gondwana, and the glossopterid
forest ecosystems collapsed, as part of the End-Permian mass extinction.[33][34] There is no evidence
of any tetrapods having lived in Antarctica during the Paleozoic.[35]

Mesozoic era (250–66 Ma)

The continued warming dried out much of Gondwana. During the Triassic, Antarctica was dominated
by seed ferns (pteridosperms) belonging to the genus Dicroidium, which grew as trees. Other
associated Triassic flora included ginkgophytes, cycadophytes, conifers, and sphenopsids.[36]
Tetrapods first appeared in Antarctica during the early Triassic, with the earliest known fossils found
in the Fremouw Formation of the Transantarctic Mountains.[35] Synapsids (also known as "mammal-
like reptiles") included species such as Lystrosaurus, and were common during the Early Triassic.[37]

The Antarctic Peninsula began to form during the Jurassic period (206–146 Ma).[38] Ginkgo trees,
conifers, Bennettitales, horsetails, ferns and cycads were plentiful during the time.[39] In West
Antarctica, coniferous forests dominated throughout the Cretaceous period (146–66 Ma), though
southern beech trees (Nothofagus) became prominent towards the end of the Cretaceous.[40][41]
Ammonites were common in the seas around Antarctica, and dinosaurs were also present, though
only a few Antarctic dinosaur genera (Cryolophosaurus and Glacialisaurus, from the Early Jurassic
Hanson Formation of the Transantarctic Mountains,[42] and Antarctopelta, Trinisaura, Morrosaurus
and Imperobator from Late Cretaceous of the Antarctic Peninsula) have been described.[43][44][45]
[46]

Gondwana breakup (160–15 Ma)

Breakup of Gondwana at c. 150 Ma (left), c. 126 Ma (centre) and at c. 83 Ma (right)[note 3]

Africa separated from Antarctica in the Jurassic around 160 Ma, followed by the Indian subcontinent
in the early Cretaceous (about 125 Ma).[47] During the early Paleogene, Antarctica remained
connected to South America via the Isthmus of Scotia as well as to southeastern Australia. Fauna
from the La Meseta Formation in the Antarctic Peninsula, dating to the Eocene, is very similar to
equivalent South American faunas; with marsupials, xenarthrans, litoptern, and astrapotherian
ungulates, as well as gondwanatheres and possibly meridiolestidans.[48][49] Marsupials are thought
to have dispersed into Australia via Antarctica by the early Eocene.[50]

Around 53 Ma, Australia-New Guinea separated from Antarctica, opening the Tasmanian Passage.[51]
The Drake Passage opened between Antarctica and South America around 30 Ma, resulting in the
creation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that completely isolated the continent.[52] Models of
Antarctic geography suggest that this current, as well as a feedback loop caused by lowering CO2
levels, caused the creation of small yet permanent polar ice caps. As CO2 levels declined further the
ice began to spread rapidly, replacing the forests that until then had covered Antarctica.[53] Tundra
ecosystems continued to exist on Antarctica until around 14-10 million years ago, when further
cooling lead to their extermination.[54]

Present day

map of the tectonic plates of the southern hemisphere

The Antarctic Plate

The geology of Antarctica, largely obscured by the continental ice sheet,[55] is being revealed by
techniques such as remote sensing, ground-penetrating radar, and satellite imagery.[56] Geologically,
West Antarctica closely resembles the South American Andes.[57] The Antarctic Peninsula was
formed by geologic uplift and the transformation of sea bed sediments into metamorphic rocks.[58]

West Antarctica was formed by the merging of several continental plates, which created a number of
mountain ranges in the region, the most prominent being the Ellsworth Mountains. The presence of
the West Antarctic Rift System has resulted in volcanism along the border between West and East
Antarctica, as well as the creation of the Transantarctic Mountains.[59]

East Antarctica is geologically varied. Its formation began during the Archean Eon (4,000 Ma–2,500
Ma), and stopped during the Cambrian Period.[60] It is built on a craton of rock, which is the basis of
the Precambrian Shield.[61] On top of the base are coal and sandstones, limestones, and shales that
were laid down during the Devonian and Jurassic periods to form the Transantarctic Mountains.[62]
In coastal areas such as the Shackleton Range and Victoria Land, some faulting has occurred.[63][64]

Coal was first recorded in Antarctica near the Beardmore Glacier by Frank Wild on the Nimrod
Expedition in 1907, and low-grade coal is known to exist across many parts of the Transantarctic
Mountains.[65] The Prince Charles Mountains contain deposits of iron ore.[66] There are oil and
natural gas fields in the Ross Sea.[67]

Climate

Main article: Climate of Antarctica

photograph of blue ice

Blue ice covering Lake Fryxell, in the Transantarctic Mountains

Two men looking at a penguin on a sunny day

Temperate conditions near the coast in December

Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, and driest of Earth's continents.[1] The lowest natural air
temperature ever recorded on Earth was −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F) at the Russian Vostok Station in
Antarctica on 21 July 1983.[68] A lower air temperature of −94.7 °C (−138.5 °F) was recorded in 2010
by satellite—however, it may have been influenced by ground temperatures and was not recorded at
a height of 2 m (7 ft) above the surface as required for official air temperature records.[69] Average
temperatures can reach a minimum of between −80 °C (−112 °F) in the interior of the continent
during winter and a maximum of over 10 °C (50 °F) near the coast in summer.[70]

Antarctica is a polar desert with little precipitation; the continent receives an average equivalent to
about 150 mm (6 in) of water per year, mostly in the form of snow. The interior is dryer and receives
less than 50 mm (2 in) per year, whereas the coastal regions typically receive more than 200 mm (8
in).[71] In a few blue-ice areas, the wind and sublimation remove more snow than is accumulated by
precipitation.[72] In the dry valleys, the same effect occurs over a rock base, leading to a barren and
desiccated landscape.[73] Antarctica is colder than the Arctic region, as much of Antarctica is over
3,000 m (9,800 ft) above sea level, where air temperatures are colder. The relative warmth of the
Arctic Ocean is transferred through the Arctic sea ice and moderates temperatures in the Arctic
region.[74]

Regional differences

East Antarctica is colder than its western counterpart because of its higher elevation. Weather fronts
rarely penetrate far into the continent, leaving the centre cold and dry, with moderate wind speeds.
Heavy snowfalls are common on the coastal portion of Antarctica, where snowfalls of up to 1.22 m
(48 in) in 48 hours have been recorded. At the continent's edge, strong katabatic winds off of the
polar plateau often blow at storm force. During the summer, more solar radiation reaches the surface
at the South Pole than at the equator because of the 24 hours of sunlight received there each day.[1]

Climate change

Main article: Climate change in Antarctica

Warming in West Antarctica was up to 0.25 degrees Celsius, whereas East Antarctica saw a more
minor temperature rise

The warming trend for Antarctica from 1957 to 2006, based on the analysis of weather station and
satellite data; dark tints over West Antarctica indicate that the region warmed most per decade.

Legend

Over the second half of the 20th century, the Antarctic Peninsula was the fastest-warming place on
Earth, closely followed by West Antarctica, but temperatures rose less rapidly during the early 21st
century.[75] Conversely, the South Pole, located in East Antarctica, barely warmed during much of the
20th century, but temperatures rose three times the global average between 1990 and 2020.[76] In
February 2020, the continent recorded its highest temperature of 18.3 °C (64.9 °F), which was 0.8 °C
(1.4 °F) higher than the previous record attained in March 2015.[77]
There is some evidence that surface warming in Antarctica is due to human greenhouse gas
emissions,[78] but it is difficult to determine due to internal variability.[79] A main component of
climate variability in Antarctica is the Southern Annular Mode (a low-frequency mode of atmospheric
variability of the Southern Hemisphere), which showed strengthened winds around Antarctica in the
summer of the later decades of the 20th century, associated with cooler temperatures over the
continent. The trend was at a scale unprecedented over the last 600 years; the most dominant driver
of the mode of variability is likely the depletion of ozone above the continent.[80]

Glaciers and floating ice

See also: Sea level rise and Antarctic sea ice

photograph of a glacier ice shelf

Pine Island Glacier, photographed in November 2011

Precipitation in Antarctica occurs in the form of snow, which accumulates and forms the giant ice
sheet that covers the continent.[81] Under the force of gravity, the ice flows towards the coast. The
ice then moves into the ocean, often forming vast floating ice shelves. These shelves can melt or form
icebergs that eventually disintegrate when they reach warmer ocean waters.[82]

Sea ice and ice shelves

Sea ice extent expands annually during the Antarctic winter, but most of it melts in the summer.[83]
The ice is formed from the ocean, and does not contribute to changes in sea level.[84] The average
extent of sea ice around Antarctica has changed little since satellites began to observe the Earth's
surface in 1978; which is in contrast with the Arctic, where there has been rapid sea ice loss. A
possible explanation is that thermohaline circulation transports warmed water to deeper layers in the
Southern Ocean so that the surface remains relatively cool.[85]

The melting of the ice shelves does not contribute much to sea level rise, as the floating ice displaces
its own mass of water, but the ice shelves act to stabilize the land ice. They are vulnerable to warming
water, which has caused large ice shelves to collapse into the ocean.[86] The loss of ice shelf
"buttressing" has been identified as the major cause of ice loss on the West Antarctic ice sheet, but
has also been observed around the East Antarctic ice sheet.[87]

In 2002 the Antarctic Peninsula's Larsen-B ice shelf collapsed.[88] In early 2008, about 570 km2 (220
sq mi) of ice from the Wilkins Ice Shelf on the southwest part of the peninsula collapsed, putting the
remaining 15,000 km2 (5,800 sq mi) of the ice shelf at risk. The ice was being held back by a "thread"
of ice about 6 km (4 mi) wide,[89][90] prior to its collapse in 2009.[91] As of 2022, the two most
rapidly thinning ice shelves are those in front of the Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers. Both ice
shelves act to stabilise the glaciers that feed into them.[92]

Ice sheet loss and sea level rise

Main article: Climate change in Antarctica

Ice loss accelerated between 2002 and 2021

Ice mass loss since 2002

Antarctica contains about 90% of the world's ice. If all of this ice were melted, global sea levels would
rise about 58 m (190 ft).[93] In addition, Antarctica stores around 70% of global freshwater as ice.[94]
The continent is losing mass due to the increased flow of its glaciers toward the ocean.[95] The loss
of mass from Antarctica's ice sheets is partially offset by additional snow falling back onto it.[96] A
2018 systematic review study estimated that ice loss across the entire continent was 43 gigatonnes
(Gt) per year on average during the period from 1992 to 2002, but accelerated to an average of 220
Gt per year during the five years from 2012 to 2017.[97] Antarctica's total contribution to sea level
rise has been estimated to be 8 to 14 mm (0.31 to 0.55 in).[96][95]

Most of the ice loss has taken place on the Antarctic Peninsula and West Antarctica.[98] Estimates of
the mass balance of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet as a whole range from slightly positive to slightly
negative.[95][99] Increased ice outflow has been observed in some regions of East Antarctica,
particularly at Wilkes Land.[95]

Future projections of ice loss depend on the speed of climate change mitigation and are uncertain.
Tipping points have been identified in some regions; when a certain threshold warming is reached,
these regions may start melting at a significantly faster rate. If average temperatures were to begin to
fall, the ice would not immediately be restored.[100] A tipping point for the West Antarctic ice sheet
is estimated to be between 1.5 and 2.0 °C (2.7 and 3.6 °F) of global warming. A full collapse would
likely not take place unless warming reaches between 2 and 3 °C (3.6 and 5.4 °F), and may occur
within centuries under pessimistic assumptions. This full collapse would lead to 2 to 5 meters (6.6 to
16.4 feet) of sea level rise. At 3 °C, parts of the East Antarctic ice sheet are also projected to be fully
lost, and total ice loss would lead to around 6 to 12 meters (20 to 39 feet) or more of sea level rise.
[101]

Ozone depletion

Main article: Ozone hole

Image of the ozone hole spanning almost all of Antarctica

Image of the largest hole in the ozone layer recorded, in September 2006

Scientists have studied the ozone layer in the atmosphere above Antarctica since the 1970s. In 1985,
British scientists, working on data they had gathered at Halley Research Station on the Brunt Ice Shelf,
discovered a large area of low ozone concentration over Antarctica.[102][103] The 'ozone hole' covers
almost the whole continent and was at its largest in September 2006;[104] the longest-lasting event
occurred in 2020.[105] The depletion is caused by the emission of chlorofluorocarbons and halons
into the atmosphere, which causes ozone to break down into other gases.[106] The extreme cold
conditions of Antarctica allow polar stratospheric clouds to form. The clouds act as catalysts for
chemical reactions, which eventually lead to the destruction of ozone.[107] The 1987 Montreal
Protocol has restricted the emissions of ozone-depleting substances. The ozone hole above Antarctica
is predicted to slowly disappear; by the 2060s, levels of ozone are expected to have returned to
values last recorded in the 1980s.[108]

The ozone depletion can cause a cooling of around 6 °C (11 °F) in the stratosphere. The cooling
strengthens the polar vortex and so prevents the outflow of the cold air near the South Pole, which in
turn cools the continental mass of the East Antarctic ice sheet. The peripheral areas of Antarctica,
especially the Antarctic Peninsula, are then subjected to higher temperatures, which accelerate the
melting of the ice.[103] Models suggest that ozone depletion and the enhanced polar vortex effect
may also account for the period of increasing sea ice extent, lasting from when observation started in
the late 1970s until 2014. Since then, the coverage of Antarctic sea ice has decreased rapidly.[109]
[110]

Biodiversity

See also: Antarctic realm, Antarctic microorganism, and Wildlife of Antarctica

Most species in Antarctica seem to be the descendants of species that lived there millions of years
ago. As such, they must have survived multiple glacial cycles. The species survived the periods of
extremely cold climate in isolated warmer areas, such as those with geothermal heat or areas that
remained ice-free throughout the colder climate.[111]

Animals

penguins with young

Emperor penguins with juveniles

Invertebrate life of Antarctica includes species of microscopic mites such as Alaskozetes antarcticus,
lice, nematodes, tardigrades, rotifers, krill and springtails. The few terrestrial vertebrates are limited
to the sub-Antarctic islands.[112] The flightless midge Belgica antarctica, the largest purely terrestrial
animal in Antarctica, reaches 6 mm (1⁄4 in) in size.[113]

Antarctic krill, which congregates in large schools, is the keystone species of the ecosystem of the
Southern Ocean, being an important food organism for whales, seals, leopard seals, fur seals, squid,
icefish, and many bird species, such as penguins and albatrosses.[114] Some species of marine
animals exist and rely, directly or indirectly, on phytoplankton. Antarctic sea life includes penguins,
blue whales, orcas, colossal squids and fur seals.[115] The Antarctic fur seal was very heavily hunted
in the 18th and 19th centuries for its pelt by seal hunters from the United States and the United
Kingdom.[116] Leopard seals are apex predators in the Antarctic ecosystem and migrate across the
Southern Ocean in search of food.[117]

There are approximately 40 bird species that breed on or close to Antarctica, including species of
petrels, penguins, cormorants, and gulls. Various other bird species visit the ocean around Antarctica,
including some that normally reside in the Arctic.[118] The emperor penguin is the only penguin that
breeds during the winter in Antarctica; it and the Adélie penguin breed farther south than any other
penguin.[115]

A Census of Marine Life by some 500 researchers during the International Polar Year was released in
2010. The research found that more than 235 marine organisms live in both polar regions, having
bridged the gap of 12,000 km (7,456 mi). Large animals such as some cetaceans and birds make the
round trip annually. Smaller forms of life, such as sea cucumbers and free-swimming snails also found
in both polar oceans. Factors that may aid in their distribution include temperature differences
between the deep ocean at the poles and the equator of no more than 5 °C (9 °F) and the major
current systems or marine conveyor belts which are able to transport eggs and larva.[119]

Fungi

lichen photographed in Antarctica

Orange lichen (Caloplaca) growing on the Yalour Islands, Wilhelm Archipelago

About 1,150 species of fungi have been recorded in the Antarctic region, of which about 750 are non-
lichen-forming.[120][121] Some of the species, having evolved under extreme conditions, have
colonized structural cavities within porous rocks and have contributed to shaping the rock formations
of the McMurdo Dry Valleys and surrounding mountain ridges.[122]

The simplified morphology of such fungi, along with their similar biological structures, metabolism
systems capable of remaining active at very low temperatures, and reduced life cycles, make them
well suited to such environments. Their thick-walled and strongly melanised cells make them resistant
to UV radiation.[122]

The same features can be observed in algae and cyanobacteria, suggesting that they are adaptations
to the conditions prevailing in Antarctica. This has led to speculation that life on Mars might have
been similar to Antarctic fungi, such as Cryomyces antarcticus and Cryomyces minteri.[122] Some of
the species of fungi, which are apparently endemic to Antarctica, live in bird dung, and have evolved
so they can grow inside extremely cold dung, but can also pass through the intestines of warm-
blooded animals.[123][124]

Plants

Main article: Flora of Antarctica

Further information: Flora Antarctica

Throughout its history, Antarctica has seen a wide variety of plant life. In the Cretaceous, it was
dominated by a fern-conifer ecosystem, which changed into a temperate rainforest by the end of that
period. During the colder Neogene (17–2.5 Ma), a tundra ecosystem replaced the rainforests. The
climate of present-day Antarctica does not allow extensive vegetation to form.[125] A combination of
freezing temperatures, poor soil quality, and a lack of moisture and sunlight inhibit plant growth,
causing low species diversity and limited distribution. The flora largely consists of bryophytes (25
species of liverworts and 100 species of mosses). There are three species of flowering plants, all of
which are found in the Antarctic Peninsula: Deschampsia antarctica (Antarctic hair grass),
Colobanthus quitensis (Antarctic pearlwort) and the non-native Poa annua (annual bluegrass).[126]

Other organisms

Of the 700 species of algae in Antarctica, around half are marine phytoplankton. Multicoloured snow
algae are especially abundant in the coastal regions during the summer.[127] Bacteria have been
found as deep as 800 m (0.50 mi) under the ice.[128] It is thought to be likely that there exists a
native bacterial community within the subterranean water body of Lake Vostok.[129] The existence of
life there is thought to strengthen the argument for the possibility of life on Jupiter's moon Europa,
which may have water beneath its water-ice crust.[130] There exists a community of extremophile
bacteria in the highly alkaline waters of Lake Untersee.[131][132] The prevalence of highly resilient
creatures in such inhospitable areas could further bolster the argument for extraterrestrial life in cold,
methane-rich environments.[133]

Conservation and environmental protection

photograph of refuse on an island in Antarctica

Refuse littering the shoreline at Bellingshausen Station on King George Island, photographed in 1992

photograph of a whale in the Southern Ocean

A whale in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary

The first international agreement to protect Antarctica's biodiversity was adopted in 1964.[134] The
overfishing of krill (an animal that plays a large role in the Antarctic ecosystem) led officials to enact
regulations on fishing. The Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, an
international treaty that came into force in 1980, regulates fisheries, aiming to preserve ecological
relationships.[1] Despite these regulations, illegal fishing—particularly of the highly prized Patagonian
toothfish which is marketed as Chilean sea bass in the U.S.—remains a problem.[135]

In analogy to the 1980 treaty on sustainable fishing, countries led by New Zealand and the United
States negotiated a treaty on mining. This Convention on the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral
Resource Activities was adopted in 1988. After a strong campaign from environmental organisations,
first Australia and then France decided not to ratify the treaty.[136] Instead, countries adopted the
Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (the Madrid Protocol), which entered
into force in 1998.[137] The Madrid Protocol bans all mining, designating the continent as a "natural
reserve devoted to peace and science".[138]

The pressure group Greenpeace established a base on Ross Island from 1987 to 1992 as part of its
attempt to establish the continent as a World Park.[139] The Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary was
established in 1994 by the International Whaling Commission. It covers 50 million km2 (19 million sq
mi) and completely surrounds the Antarctic continent. All commercial whaling is banned in the zone,
though Japan has continued to hunt whales in the area, ostensibly for research purposes.[140]
Despite these protections, the biodiversity in Antarctica is still at risk from human activities. Specially
protected areas cover less than 2% of the area and provide better protection for animals with popular
appeal than for less visible animals.[134] There are more terrestrial protected areas than marine
protected areas.[141] Ecosystems are impacted by local and global threats, notably pollution, the
invasion of non-native species, and the various effects of climate change.[134]

History of exploration

Main article: History of Antarctica

See also: List of Antarctic expeditions, Women in Antarctica, and List of polar explorers

Captain James Cook's ships, HMS Resolution and Adventure, crossed the Antarctic Circle on 17
January 1773, in December 1773, and again in January 1774.[142] Cook came within about 120 km
(75 mi) of the Antarctic coast before retreating in the face of field ice in January 1773.[143] In 1775,
he called the existence of a polar continent "probable," and in another copy of his journal he wrote:
"[I] firmly believe it and it's more than probable that we have seen a part of it".[144]

19th century

picture of Adélie Land in 1840

Adélie Land, depicted by Jules Dumont d'Urville in his Voyage au Pôle Sud (1846)

Sealers were among the earliest to go closer to the Antarctic landmass, perhaps in the earlier part of
the 19th century. The oldest known human remains in the Antarctic region was a skull, dated from
1819 to 1825, that belonged to a young woman on Yamana Beach at the South Shetland Islands. The
woman, who was likely to have been part of a sealing expedition, was found in 1985.[145]

The first person to see Antarctica or its ice shelf was long thought to have been the British sailor
Edward Bransfield, a captain in the Royal Navy, who discovered the tip of the Antarctic peninsula on
30 January 1820. However, a captain in the Imperial Russian Navy, Fabian Gottlieb von
Bellingshausen, recorded seeing an ice shelf on 27 January.[146] The American sealer Nathaniel
Palmer, whose sealing ship was in the region at this time, may also have been the first to sight the
Antarctic Peninsula.[147]

The First Russian Antarctic Expedition, led by Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev on the 985-ton
sloop-of-war Vostok and the 530-ton support vessel Mirny, reached a point within 32 km (20 mi) of
Queen Maud Land and recorded sighting an ice shelf at 69°21′28″S 2°14′50″W,[148] on 27 January
1820.[149][note 4] The sighting happened three days before Bransfield sighted the land of the Trinity
Peninsula of Antarctica, as opposed to the ice of an ice shelf, and 10 months before Palmer did so in
November 1820. The first documented landing on Antarctica was by the American sealer John Davis,
apparently at Hughes Bay on 7 February 1821, although some historians dispute this claim, as there is
no evidence Davis landed on the Antarctic continent rather than an offshore island.[150][151]
On 22 January 1840, two days after the discovery of the coast west of the Balleny Islands, some
members of the crew of the 1837–1840 expedition of the French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville
disembarked on the Dumoulin Islands, off the coast of Adélie Land, where they took some mineral,
algae, and animal samples erected the French flag and claimed French sovereignty over the territory.
[152] The American captain Charles Wilkes led an expedition in 1838–1839 and was the first to claim
he had discovered the continent.[153] The British naval officer James Clark Ross failed to realise that
what he referred to as "the various patches of land recently discovered by the American, French and
English navigators on the verge of the Antarctic Circle" were connected to form a single continent.
[154][155][156][note 5] The American explorer Mercator Cooper landed on East Antarctica on 26
January 1853.[159]

The first confirmed landing on the continental mass of Antarctica occurred in 1895 when the
Norwegian-Swedish whaling ship Antarctic reached Cape Adare.[160]

20th century

Shackleton and other explorers in Antarctica

The Nimrod Expedition of 1907–1909 (left to right): Frank Wild, Ernest Shackleton, Eric Marshall and
Jameson Adams

During the Nimrod Expedition led by the British explorer Ernest Shackleton in 1907, parties led by
Edgeworth David became the first to climb Mount Erebus and to reach the south magnetic pole.
Douglas Mawson, who assumed the leadership of the Magnetic Pole party on their perilous return,
retired in 1931.[161] Between December 1908 and February 1909: Shackleton and three members of
his expedition became the first humans to traverse the Ross Ice Shelf, the first to cross the
Transantarctic Mountains (via the Beardmore Glacier), and the first to set foot on the south Polar
Plateau. On 14 December 1911, an expedition led by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen from the
ship Fram became the first to reach the geographic South Pole, using a route from the Bay of Whales
and up the Axel Heiberg Glacier.[162] One month later, the doomed Terra Nova Expedition reached
the pole.[163]

The American explorer Richard E. Byrd led four expeditions to Antarctica during the 1920s, 1930s, and
1940s, using the first mechanised tractors. His expeditions conducted extensive geographical and
scientific research, and he is credited with surveying a larger region of the continent than any other
explorer.[164] In 1937, Ingrid Christensen became the first woman to step onto the Antarctic
mainland.[165] Caroline Mikkelsen had landed on an island of Antarctica, earlier in 1935.[166]

The South Pole was next reached on 31 October 1956, when a U.S. Navy group led by Rear Admiral
George J. Dufek successfully landed an aircraft there.[167] Six women were flown to the South Pole as
a publicity stunt in 1969.[168][note 6] In the summer of 1996–1997, Norwegian explorer Børge
Ousland became the first person to cross Antarctica alone from coast to coast, helped by a kite on
parts of the journey.[169] Ousland holds the record for the fastest unsupported journey to the South
Pole, taking 34 days.[170]
Population

The first semi-permanent inhabitants of regions near Antarctica (areas situated south of the Antarctic
Convergence) were British and American sealers who used to spend a year or more on South Georgia,
from 1786 onward. During the whaling era, which lasted until 1966, the population of the island
varied from over 1,000 in the summer (over 2,000 in some years) to some 200 in the winter. Most of
the whalers were Norwegian, with an increasing proportion from Britain.[171][note 7]

photograph of the South Pole research station

The "ceremonial" South Pole, at Amundsen–Scott Station

The continent of Antarctica has never had a permanent resident population, although staffed
research stations are continuously maintained.[172] The number of people conducting and
supporting scientific research and other work on the continent and its nearby islands varies from
about 1,000 in winter to about 5,000 in the summer. Some of the research stations are staffed year-
round, the winter-over personnel typically arriving from their home countries for a one-year
assignment. The Russian Orthodox Holy Trinity Church at the Bellingshausen Station on King George
Island opened in 2004; it is manned year-round by one or two priests, who are similarly rotated every
year.[173][174]

The first child born in the southern polar region was a Norwegian girl, Solveig Gunbjørg Jacobsen,
born in Grytviken on 8 October 1913.[175] Emilio Marcos Palma was the first person born south of
the 60th parallel south and the first to be born on the Antarctic mainland at the Esperanza Base of
the Argentine Army.[176]

The Antarctic Treaty prohibits any military activity in Antarctica, including the establishment of
military bases and fortifications, military manoeuvres, and weapons testing. Military personnel or
equipment are permitted only for scientific research or other peaceful purposes.[177] Operation 90
by the Argentine military in 1965 was conducted to strengthen Argentina's claim in Antarctica.[178]
[better source needed]

Politics

photograph of the US signing the Antarctic Treaty

The U.S. delegate Herman Phleger signs the Antarctic Treaty in December 1959.

Antarctica's status is regulated by the 1959 Antarctic Treaty and other related agreements,
collectively called the Antarctic Treaty System. Antarctica is defined as all land and ice shelves south
of 60° S for the purposes of the Treaty System.[1] The treaty was signed by twelve countries,
including the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Chile, Australia, and the United States.
Since 1959, a further 42 countries have acceeded to the treaty. Countries can participate in decision-
making if they can demonstrate that they do significant research on Antarctica; as of 2022, 29
countries have this 'consultative status'.[179] Decisions are based on consensus, instead of a vote.
The treaty set aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and established freedom of scientific
investigation and environmental protection.[180]

Territorial claims

Main article: Territorial claims in Antarctica

Map of the Spanish Governorate of Terra Australis (1539–1555), the first territorial claim over the
lands near the South Pole; later it was incorporated into the Governorate of Chile.

In 1539, the King of Spain, Charles V, created the Governorate of Terra Australis, which encompassed
lands south of the Strait of Magellan and thus theoretically Antarctica,[181] granting this Governorate
to Pedro Sancho de la Hoz,[182][183] who in 1540 transferred the title to the conquistador Pedro de
Valdivia.[184] Spain claimed all the territories to the south of the Strait of Magellan until the South
Pole, with eastern and western borders to these claims specified in the Treaty of Tordesillas and
Zaragoza respectively. In 1555 the claim was incorporated to Chile.[185]

In the present, sovereignty over regions of Antarctica is claimed by seven countries.[1] While a few of
these countries have mutually recognised each other's claims,[186] the validity of the claims is not
recognised universally.[1] New claims on Antarctica have been suspended since 1959, although in
2015, Norway formally defined Queen Maud Land as including the unclaimed area between it and
the South Pole.[187]

The Argentine, British, and Chilean claims overlap and have caused friction. In 2012, after the British
Foreign & Commonwealth Office designated a previously unnamed area Queen Elizabeth Land in
tribute to Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee,[188] the Argentine government formally protested
against the claim.[189] The UK passed some of the areas it claimed to Australia and New Zealand
after they achieved independence. The claims by Britain, Australia, New Zealand, France, and Norway
do not overlap and are recognised by each other.[186] Other member nations of the Antarctic Treaty
do not recognize any claim, yet have shown some form of territorial interest in the past.[190]

Brazil has a designated 'zone of interest' that is not an actual claim.[191]

Peru has formally reserved its right to make a claim.[190]

Russia has inherited the Soviet Union's right to claim territory under the original Antarctic Treaty.
[192]

South Africa has formally reserved its right to make a claim.[190]

The United States reserved its right to make a claim in the original Antarctic Treaty.[192]

Date Claimant Territory Claim limits Map

1840 France Adélie Land 142°02′E to 136°11′E Antarctica, France territorial claim.svg
1908 United Kingdom United Kingdom British Antarctic Territory 080°00′W to
020°00′W

80°00′W to 74°00′W claimed by Chile (1940)

74°00′W to 53°00′W claimed by Chile (1940) and Argentina (1943)

53°00′W to 25°00′W claimed by Argentina (1943)

Antarctica, United Kingdom territorial claim.svg

1923 New Zealand New Zealand Flag of the Ross Dependency (unofficial).svg Ross Dependency
160°00′E to 150°00′W Antarctica, New Zealand territorial claim.svg

1931 Norway Peter I Island 68°50′S 90°35′W Antarctica, Norway territorial claim
(Peter I Island).svg

1933 Australia Australian Antarctic Territory 044°38′E to 136°11′E, and 142°02′E to

160°00′E Antarctica, Australia territorial claim.svg

1939 Norway Queen Maud Land 020°00′W to 044°38′E Antarctica, Norway territorial
claim (Queen Maud Land, 2015).svg

1940 Chile Chilean Antarctic Territory 090°00′W to 053°00′W

80°00′W to 74°00′W claimed by the United Kingdom (1908)

74°00′W to 53°00′W claimed by the United Kingdom (1908) and Argentina (1943)

Antarctica, Chile territorial claim.svg

1943 Argentina Argentine Antarctica 074°00′W to 025°00′W

74°00′W to 53°00′W claimed by the United Kingdom (1908) and Chile (1940)

53°00′W to 25°00′W claimed by the United Kingdom (1908)

Antarctica, Argentina territorial claim.svg

– (Unclaimed territory) Marie Byrd Land 150°00′W to 090°00′W

(except Peter I Island) Antarctica, unclaimed.svg

Human activity

See also: Tourism in Antarctica and Research stations in Antarctica

Economic activity and tourism

Photograph of a cruise ship off the Antarctic coast

The cruise ship Silver Cloud in Wilhelmina Bay

Deposits of coal, hydrocarbons, iron ore, platinum, copper, chromium, nickel, gold, and other
minerals have been found in Antarctica, but not in large enough quantities to extract.[193] The
Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, which came into effect in 1998 and is
due to be reviewed in 2048, restricts the exploitation of Antarctic resources, including minerals.[194]

Tourists have been visiting Antarctica since 1957.[195] Tourism is subject to the provisions of the
Antarctic Treaty and Environmental Protocol;[196] the self-regulatory body for the industry is the
International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators.[197] Tourists arrive by small or medium ship
at specific scenic locations with accessible concentrations of iconic wildlife.[195] Over 74,000 tourists
visited the region during the 2019/2020 season, of which 18,500 travelled on cruise ships but did not
leave them to explore on land.[198] The numbers of tourists fell rapidly after the start of the COVID-
19 pandemic. Some nature conservation groups have expressed concern over the potential adverse
effects caused by the influx of visitors and have called for limits on the size of visiting cruise ships and
a tourism quota.[199] The primary response by Antarctic Treaty parties has been to develop
guidelines that set landing limits and closed or restricted zones on the more frequently visited sites.
[200]

Overland sightseeing flights operated out of Australia and New Zealand until the Mount Erebus
disaster in 1979, when an Air New Zealand plane crashed into Mount Erebus, killing all of the 257
people on board. Qantas resumed commercial overflights to Antarctica from Australia in the mid-
1990s.[201]

Research

aerial photograph of McMurdo station

An aerial view of McMurdo Station, the largest research station in Antarctica

In 2017, there were more than 4,400 scientists undertaking research in Antarctica, a number that fell
to just over 1,100 in the winter.[1] There are over 70 permanent and seasonal research stations on
the continent; the largest, United States McMurdo Station, is capable of housing more than 1,000
people.[202][203] The British Antarctic Survey has five major research stations on Antarctica, one of
which is completely portable. The Belgian Princess Elisabeth station is one of the most modern
stations and the first to be carbon-neutral.[204] Argentina, Australia, Chile, and Russia also have a
large scientific presence on Antarctica.[1]

Geologists primarily study plate tectonics, meteorites, and the breakup of Gondwana. Glaciologists
study the history and dynamics of floating ice, seasonal snow, glaciers, and ice sheets. Biologists, in
addition to researching wildlife, are interested in how low temperatures and the presence of humans
affect adaptation and survival strategies in organisms.[205] Biomedical scientists have made
discoveries concerning the spreading of viruses and the body's response to extreme seasonal
temperatures.[206]

Photograph of a meteorite found in Antarctica

An Antarctic meteorite, Allan Hills 84001 on display at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

The high elevation of the interior, the low temperatures, and the length of polar nights during the
winter months all allow for better astronomical observations at Antarctica than anywhere else on
Earth. The view of space from Earth is improved by a thinner atmosphere at higher elevations and a
lack of water vapour in the atmosphere caused by freezing temperatures.[207] Astrophysicists at the
Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station study cosmic microwave background radiation and neutrinos
from space.[208] The largest neutrino detector in the world, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, is at
the Amundsen-Scott Station. It consists of around 5,500 digital optical modules, some of which reach
a depth of 2,450 m (8,040 ft), that are held in 1 km3 (0.24 cu mi) of ice.[209]

Antarctica provides a unique environment for the study of meteorites: the dry polar desert preserves
them well, and meteorites older than a million years have been found. They are relatively easy to
find, as the dark stone meteorites stand out in a landscape of ice and snow, and the flow of ice
accumulates them in certain areas. The Adelie Land meteorite, discovered in 1912, was the first to be
found. Meteorites contain clues about the composition of the Solar System and its early
development.[210] Most meteorites come from asteroids, but a few meteorites found in Antarctica
came from the Moon and Mars.[211][note 8]

Notes

The word was originally pronounced with the first c silent in English, but the spelling pronunciation
has become common and is often considered more correct. However, the pronunciation with a silent
c, and even with the first t silent as well, is widespread and typical of many similar English words.[2]
The c had ceased to be pronounced in Medieval Latin and was dropped from the spelling in Old
French, but it was added back for etymological reasons in English in the 17th century and thereafter
began to be pronounced, but (as with other spelling pronunciations) at first only by less educated
people.[3] For those who pronounce the first t, there is also variation between the pronunciations
Ant-ar(c)tica and An-tar(c)tica.

Before the Southern Ocean was recognised as a separate ocean, it was considered to be surrounded
by the southern Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans.[12]

Geographical features, such as ice caps, are shown as they are today for identification purposes, not
as how they appeared at these times.

The feature discovered by the Russians was the Fimbul ice shelf.

Ross passed through what is now known as the Ross Sea and discovered Ross Island (both of which
were named after him) in 1841. He sailed along a huge wall of ice that was later named the Ross Ice
Shelf.[157] Mount Erebus and Mount Terror are named after two ships from his expedition: HMS
Erebus and Terror.[158]
The women were Pam Young, Jean Pearson, Lois Jones, Eileen McSaveney, Kay Lindsay and Terry
Tickhill.[168]

The first settlements included Grytviken, Leith Harbour, King Edward Point, Stromness, Husvik, Prince
Olav Harbour, Ocean Harbour and Godthul. Managers and other senior officers of the whaling
stations often lived together with their families. Among them was the founder of Grytviken, Captain
Carl Anton Larsen, a prominent Norwegian whaler and explorer who, along with his family, adopted
British citizenship in 1910.[171]

Antarctician meteorites, particularly ALH84001 discovered by ANSMET, were at the centre of the
controversy about possible evidence of life on Mars. Because meteorites in space absorb and record
cosmic radiation, the time elapsed since the meteorite hit the Earth can be calculated.[212]

References

"Antarctica". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 3 May 2022. Archived from the
original on 9 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.

Antarctica Archived 8 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine. American Heritage Dictionary.

Crystal 2006, p. 172

"Antarctic". Oxford English Dictionary (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. December 2021. Retrieved
17 January 2022. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)

Lettinck 2021, p. 158.

Hyginus 1992, p. 176.

Scott, Hiatt & McIlroy 2012, pp. 2–3.

Cawley 2015, p. 130.

McCrone & McPherson 2009, p. 75.

Cameron-Ash 2018, p. 20.

"Highlights from the Bartholomew Archive: The naming of Antarctica". The Bartholomew Archive.
National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 23 February 2022.

"How many oceans are there?". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 11 May
2022.

Drewry 1983.

Trewby 2002, p. 115.

Day 2019, Is all of Antarctica snow-covered?.

Carroll & Lopes 2019, p. 99.

Ji, Fei; Gao, Jinyao; Li, Fei; Shen, Zhongyan; Zhang, Qiao; Li, Yongdong (2017). "Variations of the
effective elastic thickness over the Ross Sea and Transantarctic Mountains and implications for their
structure and tectonics". Tectonophysics. 717: 127–138. Bibcode:2017Tectp.717..127J.
doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2017.07.011.

Fretwell, P.; et al. (28 February 2013). "Bedmap2: improved ice bed, surface and thickness datasets
for Antarctica" (PDF). The Cryosphere. 7 (1): 390. Bibcode:2013TCry....7..375F. doi:10.5194/tc-7-375-
2013. S2CID 13129041. Retrieved 6 January 2014.

Lucibella, Michael (21 October 2015). "The Lost Dry Valleys of the Polar Plateau". The Antarctic Sun.
United States Antarctic Program. Retrieved 16 January 2022.

Hallberg, Robert; Sergienko, Olga (2019). "Ice Sheet Dynamics". Geophysical Fluid Dynamics
Laboratory. Retrieved 7 February 2021.

Siegert & Florindo 2008, p. 532.

Quilty, Patrick G. (2007). "Origin and Evolution of the Sub-Antarctic Islands" (PDF). Papers and
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania. Hobart, Tasmania: University of Tasmania. 141 (1): 35.
doi:10.26749/rstpp.141.1.35. ISSN 0080-4703.

Olierook, Hugo K.H.; Jourdan, Fred; Merle, Renaud E.; Timms, Nicholas E.; et al. (15 April 2016).
"Bunbury Basalt: Gondwana breakup products or earliest vestiges of the Kerguelen mantle plume?".
Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 440: 20–32. Bibcode:2016E&PSL.440...20O.
doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2016.02.008. ISSN 0012-821X.

Monteath 1997, p. 135.

Trewby 2002, p. 75.

Carroll & Lopes 2019, p. 38.

Hund 2014, pp. 362–363.

Browne, Malcolm W.; et al. (1995). Antarctic News Clips. National Science Foundation. p. 109.
Retrieved 2 February 2021.

Trewby 2002, p. 92.

Klages, Johann P.; et al. (April 2020). "Temperate rainforests near the South Pole during peak
Cretaceous warmth". Nature. 580 (7801): 81–86. Bibcode:2020Natur.580...81K. doi:10.1038/s41586-
020-2148-5. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 32238944. S2CID 214736648.

Cantrill & Poole 2012, p. 31.

Rolland, Yann; et al. (15 January 2019). "Late Paleozoic Ice Age glaciers shaped East Antarctica
landscape". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. Elsevier. 506: 125–126.
Bibcode:2019E&PSL.506..123R. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2018.10.044. S2CID 134360219.

Cantrill & Poole 2012, pp. 57–104, "Collapsing ice sheets and evolving polar forests of the middle to
late Paleozoic". doi:10.1017/cbo9781139024990.003

Vega, Greta; Ángel Olalla-Tárraga, Miguel (2020). "Past changes on fauna and flora distribution". In
Oliva, Marc; Ruiz Fernandez, Jesus (eds.). Past Antarctica : paleoclimatology and climate change.
London. p. 170. ISBN 978-0-12-817925-3.

Collinson, James; William R., Hammer (2007). "Migration of Triassic tetrapods to Antarctica". United
States Geological Survey. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
Cantrill & Poole 2012, pp. 105–160, "Icehouse to hothouse: floral turnover, the Permian–Triassic crisis
and Triassic vegetation". doi:10.1017/cbo9781139024990.004

Jasinoski 2013, p. 139.

Birkenmajer, Krzysztof (1994). "Evolution of the Pacific margin of the northern Antarctic Peninsula: An
overview". International Journal of Earth Sciences. 83 (2): 309–321. Bibcode:1994GeoRu..83..309B.
doi:10.1007/BF00210547. S2CID 129700054.

Cantrill & Poole 2012, pp. 9, 35, 56, 71, 185, 314.

Crame, James Alistair (1989). "Origins and Evolution of the Antarctic Biota". Special Publications.
Geological Society of London. 47: 90. doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1989.047.01.01. S2CID 131433262.

Riffenburgh 2007, p. 413.

Smith, Nathan D.; Pol, Diego (2007). "Anatomy of a basal sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Early
Jurassic Hanson Formation of Antarctica" (PDF). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 52 (4): 657–674.

Coria, R. A.; Moly, J. J.; Reguero, M.; Santillana, S.; Marenssi, S. (2013). "A new ornithopod
(Dinosauria; Ornithischia) from Antarctica". Cretaceous Research. 41: 186–193.
Bibcode:2013CrRes..41..186C. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2012.12.004. hdl:11336/76749.

Rozadilla, Sebastián; Agnolin, Federico L.; Novas, Novas; Rolando, Alexis M. Aranciaga; et al. (2016).
"A new ornithopod (Dinosauria, Ornithischia) from the Upper Cretaceous of Antarctica and its
palaeobiogeographical implications". Cretaceous Research. 57: 311–324.
Bibcode:2016CrRes..57..311R. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2015.09.009.

Ely, Ricardo C.; Case, Judd A. (April 2019). "Phylogeny of A New Gigantic Paravian (Theropoda;
Coelurosauria; Maniraptora) From The Upper Cretaceous Of James Ross Island, Antarctica".
Cretaceous Research. 101: 1–16. Bibcode:2019CrRes.101....1E. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2019.04.003.
S2CID 146325060.

Leslie, Mitch (December 2007). "The Strange Lives of Polar Dinosaurs". Smithsonian Magazine.
Archived from the original on 30 January 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2008.

Gaina, Carmen; Müller, R. Dietmar; Brown, Belinda; Ishihara, Takemi; Ivanov, Sergey (July 2007).
"Breakup and early seafloor spreading between India and Antarctica". Geophysical Journal
International. 170 (1): 151–169. Bibcode:2007GeoJI.170..151G. doi:10.1111/j.1365-
246X.2007.03450.x.

Defler 2019, pp. 185–198

Gelfo, Javier N.; Goin, Francisco J.; Bauzá, Nicolás; Reguero, Marcelo (30 September 2019). "The fossil
record of Antarctic land mammals: Commented review and hypotheses for future research".
Advances in Polar Science: 274–292. doi:10.13679/j.advps.2019.0021. Archived from the original on 6
January 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2022.

Eldridge, Mark D B; Beck, Robin M D; Croft, Darin A; Travouillon, Kenny J; Fox, Barry J (23 May 2019).
"An emerging consensus in the evolution, phylogeny, and systematics of marsupials and their fossil
relatives (Metatheria)". Journal of Mammalogy. 100 (3): 802–837. doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyz018.
ISSN 0022-2372.

Ball, Philip; Eagles, Graeme; Ebinger, Cynthia; McClay, Ken; Totterdell, Jennifer (2013). "The spatial
and temporal evolution of strain during the separation of Australia and Antarctica". Geochemistry,
Geophysics, Geosystems. 14 (8): 2771–2799. Bibcode:2013GGG....14.2771B. doi:10.1002/ggge.20160.
ISSN 1525-2027. S2CID 11271131.

England, Matthew H.; Hutchinson, David K.; Santoso, Agus; Sijp, Willem P. (1 August 2017). "Ice–
Atmosphere Feedbacks Dominate the Response of the Climate System to Drake Passage Closure".
Journal of Climate. American Meteorological Society. 30 (15): 5775. Bibcode:2017JCli...30.5775E.
doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-15-0554.1. JSTOR 26388506. S2CID 133542067. Retrieved 30 January 2022.

DeConto, Robert M.; Pollard, David (16 January 2003). "Rapid Cenozoic glaciation of Antarctica
induced by declining atmospheric CO2" (PDF). Nature. 421 (6920): 245–9.
Bibcode:2003Natur.421..245D. doi:10.1038/nature01290. PMID 12529638. S2CID 4326971.

Ashworth, Allan C.; Erwin, Terry L. (2016). "Antarctotrechus balli sp. n. (Carabidae, Trechini): the first
ground beetle from Antarctica". ZooKeys (635): 109–122. doi:10.3897/zookeys.635.10535. PMC
5126512. PMID 27917060.

Trewby 2002, p. 88.

Poura, Amin Beiranvand; et al. (2018). "Regional geology mapping using satellite-based remote
sensing approach in Northern Victoria Land, Antarctica". Polar Science. 16: 23–46.
Bibcode:2018PolSc..16...23P. doi:10.1016/j.polar.2018.02.004. ISSN 1873-9652. OCLC 655039871 –
via ScienceDirect.

Stonehouse 2002, p. 116.

Feldmann, Michael O.; Woodburne, Rodney M., eds. (1988). "Geology and Paleontology of Seymour
Island, Antarctic Peninsula". Geological Society of America Bulletin. Boulder, Colorado: Geological
Society of America (169): 551. ISBN 9780813711690. ISSN 0016-7606.

Trewby 2002, pp. 144, 197–198.

Anderson 2010, p. 28.

Trewby 2002, p. 71.

Campbell & Claridge 1987.

Paxman, Guy J. G.; et al. (27 February 2017). "Uplift and tilting of the Shackleton Range in East
Antarctica driven by glacial erosion and normal faulting". Solid Earth. Journal of Geophysical
Research. 122 (3): 2390–2408. Bibcode:2017JGRB..122.2390P. doi:10.1002/2016JB013841. S2CID
56243069. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2021.

Salvini, Francesco; et al. (10 November 1997). "Cenozoic geodynamics of the Ross Sea region,
Antarctica: Crustal extension, intraplate strike‐slip faulting, and tectonic inheritance". Journal of
Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 102 (B11): 24669–24696. Bibcode:1997JGR...10224669S.
doi:10.1029/97JB01643. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2021.

Trewby 2002, p. 124.

Sullivan, Walter (19 December 1976). "Soviet Team Finds a 'Mountain of Iron' in Antarctica". New
York Times. Retrieved 14 March 2022.

Kingston, John (1991). "The Undiscovered Oil and Gas of Antarctica" (PDF). United States
Geographical Survey. Santa Barbara, California: United States Department of the Interior. p. 12.
Retrieved 5 March 2022.
Turner, John; et al. (2009). "Record low surface air temperature at Vostok station, Antarctica". Journal
of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 114 (D24): D24102. Bibcode:2009JGRD..11424102T.
doi:10.1029/2009JD012104. ISSN 2156-2202.

Rice, Doyle (10 December 2013). "Antarctica records unofficial coldest temperature ever". USA Today.
Gannett. Retrieved 20 February 2022.

"Antarctic Weather". Australian Antarctic Program. Government of Australia. 18 February 2019.

Retrieved 13 January 2021.

"Antarctic weather". Australian Antarctic Program. 18 February 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2022.

Hui, Fengming; Ci, Tianyu; Cheng, Xiao; Scambo, Ted A.; Liu, Yan; Zhang, Yanmei; Chi, Zhaohui; Huang,
Huabing; Wang, Xianwei; Wang, Fang; Zhao, Chen (2014). "Mapping blue-ice areas in Antarctica using
ETM+ and MODIS data". Annals of Glaciology. 55 (66): 129–137. Bibcode:2014AnGla..55..129H.
doi:10.3189/2014AoG66A069. ISSN 0260-3055. S2CID 22195720.

Fountain, Andrew G.; Nylen, Thomas H.; Monaghan, Andrew; Basagic, Hassan J.; Bromwich, David (7
May 2009). "Snow in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica". International Journal of Climatology.
Royal Meteorological Society. 30 (5): 633–642. doi:10.1002/joc.1933. S2CID 13190037. Archived from
the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2020 – via Wiley Online Library.

Rohli & Vega 2018, p. 241.

Stammerjohn, Sharon E.; Scambos, Ted A. (2020). "Warming reaches the South Pole". Nature Climate
Change. 10 (8): 710–711. Bibcode:2020NatCC..10..710S. doi:10.1038/s41558-020-0827-8. ISSN 1758-
6798. S2CID 220260051.

Clem, Kyle R.; Fogt, Ryan L.; Turner, John; Lintner, Benjamin R.; Marshall, Gareth J.; Miller, James R.;
Renwick, James A. (2020). "Record warming at the South Pole during the past three decades". Nature
Climate Change. 10 (8): 762–770. Bibcode:2020NatCC..10..762C. doi:10.1038/s41558-020-0815-z.
ISSN 1758-6798. S2CID 220261150.

"Antarctica logs highest temperature on record of 18.3C". BBC News. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 20
February 2022.

Gillett, N. P.; Stone, D.I.A.; Stott, P.A.; Nozawa, T.; Karpechko, A.Y.; Hegerl, G.C.; Wehner, M.F.; Jones,
P.D. (2008). "Attribution of polar warming to human influence". Nature Geoscience. 1 (11): 750.
Bibcode:2008NatGe...1..750G. doi:10.1038/ngeo338. S2CID 129243936.

Steig, E.J.; et al. (2013). "Recent climate and ice-sheet changes in West Antarctica compared with the
past 2,000 years". Nature Geoscience. 6 (5): 372–375. Bibcode:2013NatGe...6..372S.
doi:10.1038/ngeo1778. hdl:2060/20150001452. S2CID 49324916.

Meredith, M.; et al. (2019). "Chapter 3: Polar Regions" (PDF). IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and
Cryosphere in a Changing Climate. p. 212.

Thomas 2007, p. 24.

Thomas 2007, p. 26.

Vaughan, D. G.; Comiso, J. C.; Allison, I.; Carrasco, J.; et al. (2013). "Chapter 4: Observations:
Cryosphere" (PDF). Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report; Working
Group 1. p. 330.
Scott, Michon (28 April 2020). "Understanding climate: Antarctic sea ice extent". NOAA Climate.gov.
Retrieved 1 February 2021.

Meredith, M.; Sommerkorn, M.; Cassotta, S.; Derksen, C.; et al. (2019). "Chapter 3: Polar Regions"
(PDF). IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate. p. 214.

Rignot, E.; Casassa, G.; Gogineni, P.; Krabill, W.; Rivera, A.; Thomas, R. (2004). "Accelerated ice
discharge from the Antarctic Peninsula following the collapse of Larsen B ice shelf" (PDF). Geophysical
Research Letters. 31 (18): L18401. Bibcode:2004GeoRL..3118401R. doi:10.1029/2004GL020697.
S2CID 12081378. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 November 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2011.

Oppenheimer, M.; et al. (2019). "Chapter 4: Sea Level Rise and Implications for Low Lying Islands,
Coasts and Communities" (PDF). IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing
Climate. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. pp. 346–347.

Jones, Nicola (19 March 2002). "Giant Antarctic ice sheet breaks off". New Scientist. Retrieved 20
February 2022.

"Huge Antarctic ice chunk collapses". CNN. Associated Press. 25 March 2008. Archived from the
original on 29 March 2008. Retrieved 25 March 2008.

Walton, Marsha (25 March 2008). "Massive ice shelf on verge of breakup". CNN. Archived from the
original on 29 March 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2008.

"Ice bridge ruptures in Antarctic". BBC News. 5 April 2009. Archived from the original on 6 April 2009.
Retrieved 5 April 2009.

Larter, Robert D. (28 February 2022). "Basal Melting, Roughness and Structural Integrity of Ice
Shelves". Geophysical Research Letters. 49 (4). Bibcode:2022GeoRL..4997421L.
doi:10.1029/2021GL097421. ISSN 0094-8276. S2CID 247660520.

Slater, Thomas; Hogg, Anna E.; Mottram, Ruth (October 2020). "Ice-sheet losses track high-end sea-
level rise projections". Nature Climate Change. 10 (10): 879–881. Bibcode:2020NatCC..10..879S.
doi:10.1038/s41558-020-0893-y. ISSN 1758-6798. S2CID 221381924.

Riffenburgh 2007, p. 128.

Rignot, Eric; Mouginot, Jérémie; Scheuchl, Bernd; van den Broeke, Michiel; van Wessem, Melchior J.;
Morlighem, Mathieu (2019). "Four decades of Antarctic Ice Sheet mass balance from 1979–2017".
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 116 (4): 1095–1103.
Bibcode:2019PNAS..116.1095R. doi:10.1073/pnas.1812883116. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 6347714.
PMID 30642972.

Bell, Robin E.; Seroussi, Helene (20 March 2020). "History, mass loss, structure, and dynamic behavior
of the Antarctic Ice Sheet". Science. 367 (6484): 1321–1325. Bibcode:2020Sci...367.1321B.
doi:10.1126/science.aaz5489. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 32193319. S2CID 213191762.

Shepherd, Andrew; Ivins, Erik; et al. (IMBIE team) (13 June 2018). "Mass balance of the Antarctic Ice
Sheet from 1992 to 2017" (PDF). Nature. 558 (7709): 219–222. Bibcode:2018Natur.558..219I.
doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0179-y. hdl:2268/225208. PMID 29899482. S2CID 49188002. Archived from
the original (PDF) on 27 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.

Fox-Kemper, Baylor; Hewitt, Helene T.; Xiao, Cunde; et al. (2021). "Chapter 9: Ocean, Cryosphere, and
Sea Level Change" (PDF). Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working
Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate. Cambridge
University Press. Section 9.4.2.1.

Martin‐Español, Alba; Bamber, Jonathan L.; Zammit‐Mangion, Andrew (2017). "Constraining the mass
balance of East Antarctica". Geophysical Research Letters. 44 (9): 4168–4175.
Bibcode:2017GeoRL..44.4168M. doi:10.1002/2017GL072937. ISSN 1944-8007. S2CID 55221083.
Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2021.

Pattyn, Frank; Morlighem, Mathieu (20 March 2020). "The uncertain future of the Antarctic Ice
Sheet". Science. 367 (6484): 1331–1335. Bibcode:2020Sci...367.1331P. doi:10.1126/science.aaz5487.
ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 32193321. S2CID 213191697.

Fox-Kemper, Baylor; Hewitt, Helene T.; Xiao, Cunde; Aðalgeirsdóttir, Guðfinna; et al. (2021). "Chapter
9: Ocean, cryosphere, and sea level change" (PDF). Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis.
Section 9.4.2.6.

Douglass, Anne R.; Newman, Paul A.; Solomon, Susan (1 July 2014). "The Antarctic ozone hole: An
update". Physics Today. American Institute of Physics. 67 (7): 42–48. Bibcode:2014PhT....67g..42D.
doi:10.1063/PT.3.2449. hdl:1721.1/99159 – via MIT Open Access Articles.

Schiermeier, Quirin (12 August 2009). "Atmospheric science: Fixing the sky". Nature. 460 (7257): 792–
795. doi:10.1038/460792a. PMID 19675624.

Bates, Sofie (30 October 2020). "Large, Deep Antarctic Ozone Hole Persisting into November". NASA.
Retrieved 6 February 2021.

"Record-breaking 2020 ozone hole closes". World Meteorological Organization. 6 January 2021.
Retrieved 6 February 2021.

"The Ozone Hole". British Antarctic Survey. 1 April 2017. Archived from the original on 4 March 2022.
Retrieved 7 May 2022.

"Q10: Why has an "ozone hole" appeared over Antarctica when ozone-depleting substances are
present throughout the stratosphere?" (PDF). 20 Questions: 2010 Update. NOAA. 2010. Retrieved 2
April 2022.

"World Meteorological Organization Global Ozone Research and Monitoring Project—Report No. 58:
Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion 2018" (PDF). Scientific Assessment Panel (SAP). ES.3: World
Meteorological Organization. Retrieved 20 February 2022.

Parkinson, Claire L. (2019). "A 40-y record reveals gradual Antarctic sea ice increases followed by
decreases at rates far exceeding the rates seen in the Arctic". Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences of the United States of America. 116 (29): 14414–14423. Bibcode:2019PNAS..11614414P.
doi:10.1073/pnas.1906556116. PMC 6642375. PMID 31262810.

Chung, Eui-Seok; Kim, Seong-Joong; Timmermann, Axel; Ha, Kyung-Ja; et al. (2022). "Antarctic sea-ice
expansion and Southern Ocean cooling linked to tropical variability". Nature Climate Change. 12 (5):
461–468. Bibcode:2022NatCC..12..461C. doi:10.1038/s41558-022-01339-z. ISSN 1758-6798. S2CID
248151959.

Convey, Peter; Biersma, Elisabeth; Casanova-Katny, Angelica; Maturana, Claudia S. (2020). "Refuges of
Antarctic diversity". In Oliva, Marc; Ruiz Fernandez, Jesus (eds.). Past Antarctica : paleoclimatology
and climate change. London. pp. 182, 187–188. ISBN 978-0-12-817925-3.
"Land Animals of Antarctica". British Antarctic Survey. Natural Environment Research Council.
Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 25 April 2017.

Sandro, Luke; Constible, Juanita. "Antarctic Bestiary – Terrestrial Animals". Laboratory for
Ecophysiological Cryobiology. Miami University. Retrieved 22 October 2011.

Trewby 2002, p. 114.

Ancel, André; Beaulieu, Michaël; Gilbert, Caroline (2013). "The different breeding strategies of
penguins: a review". Comptes rendus de l'Académie des Sciences. 336 (1): 1–12.
doi:10.1016/j.crvi.2013.02.002. ISSN 0001-4036. PMID 23537764. Retrieved 12 October 2020 – via
Elsevier Science Direct.

Stromberg 1991, p. 247

Staniland, Iain J.; Ratcliffe, Norman; Trathan, Philip N.; Forcada, Jaume (2018). "Long term movements
and activity patterns of an Antarctic marine apex predator: The leopard seal". PLOS ONE. 13 (6):
e0197767. Bibcode:2018PLoSO..1397767S. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0197767. PMC 5988266. PMID
29870541.

Woods, R.; Jones, H. I.; Watts, J.; Miller, G. D.; Shellam, G. R. (2009). "Diseases of Antarctic Seabirds".
Health of Antarctic Wildlife: A Challenge for Science and Policy. Springer. pp. 35–55. doi:10.1007/978-
3-540-93923-8_3. ISBN 978-3-540-93922-1.

Kinver, Mark (15 February 2009). "Ice oceans 'are not poles apart'". BBC News. Retrieved 22 October
2011.

"Plants of Antarctica". British Antarctic Survey. Natural Environment Research Council. Archived from
the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2011.

Bridge, Paul D.; Spooner, Brian M.; Roberts, Peter J. (2008). "Non-lichenized fungi from the Antarctic
region". Mycotaxon. 106: 485–490. Archived from the original on 11 August 2013. Retrieved 22
October 2011.

Selbmann, L; de Hoog, G S; Mazzaglia, A; Friedmann, E. I.; Onofri, S (2005). "Fungi at the edge of life:
cryptoendolithic black fungi from Antarctic desert" (PDF). Studies in Mycology. 51: 1–32.

de Hoog 2005, p. vii.

Godinho, Valeria M. (July 2013). "Diversity and bioprospecting of fungal communities associated with
endemic and cold-adapted macroalgae in Antarctica". The ISME Journal. Nature Publishing Group. 7
(7): 1434–1451. doi:10.1038/ismej.2013.77. PMC 3695302. PMID 23702515.

Rees-Owen, Rhian L.; Gill, Fiona L.; Newton, Robert J.; Ivanović, Ruza F.; Francis, Jane E.; Riding, James
B.; Vane, Christopher H.; Lopes dos Santos, Raquel A. (2018). "The last forests on Antarctica:
Reconstructing flora and temperature from the Neogene Sirius Group, Transantarctic Mountains".
Organic Geochemistry. 118: 4–14. Bibcode:2018OrGeo.118....4R.
doi:10.1016/j.orggeochem.2018.01.001. ISSN 0146-6380. S2CID 46651929.

Chwedorzewska, K.J. (2015). "Poa annua L. in the maritime Antarctic: an overview". Polar Record. 51
(6): 637–643. doi:10.1017/S0032247414000916. S2CID 84747627.

"Algae". Australian Antarctic Program. Government of Australia. Retrieved 24 April 2022.

Gorman, James (6 February 2013). "Bacteria Found Deep Under Antarctic Ice, Scientists Say". The
New York Times. Retrieved 6 February 2013.

Bulat, Sergey A. (28 January 2016). "Microbiology of the subglacial Lake Vostok: first results of
borehole-frozen lake water analysis and prospects for searching for lake inhabitants". Philosophical
Transactions of the Royal Society. Abstract: The Royal Society. 374 (2059).
Bibcode:2016RSPTA.37440292B. doi:10.1098/rsta.2014.0292. PMID 26667905. S2CID 8399775.

Raha, Bipasa (2013). "The Search for Earth-Like Habitable Planet: Antarctica Lake Vostok May be
Jupiter's Europa". Science and Culture (79): 120–122. ISSN 0036-8156.

Weisleitner, Klemens; et al. (10 May 2019). Pierre Amato (ed.). "Source Environments of the
Microbiome in Perennially Ice-Covered Lake Untersee, Antarctica". Frontiers in Microbiology. 10:
1019. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2019.01019. PMC 6524460. PMID 31134036.

Hoover, Richard Brice; Pikuta, Elena V. (January 2010). "Psychrophilic and Psychrotolerant Microbial
Extremophiles in Polar Environments" (PDF). National Space Science and Technology Center.
Microbial Extremophiles from Lake Untersee: NASA: 25–26. Retrieved 30 January 2022.

Coulter, Dana. Tony Phillips (ed.). "Extremophile Hunt Begins". Science News. NASA. Archived from
the original on 23 March 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2011.

Wauchope, Hannah S.; Shaw, Justine D.; Terauds, Aleks (2019). "A snapshot of biodiversity protection
in Antarctica". Nature Communications. 10 (1): 946. Bibcode:2019NatCo..10..946W.
doi:10.1038/s41467-019-08915-6. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 6391489. PMID 30808907.

"Toothfish fisheries". Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. 2 July
2021. Retrieved 13 January 2021.

Day 2019, The Antarctic Treaty of 1959.

"The Madrid Protocol". Australian Antarctic Division. Retrieved 20 February 2022.

"Protocol on Environmental Protection To The Antarctic Treaty (The Madrid Protocol)". Australian
Antarctic Programme. 17 May 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2021.

"Now you see it now you don't!" (PDF). ECO. Vol. 82, no. 3. November 1992. p. 5. Archived from the
original (PDF) on 20 February 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2022.

"Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary". Antarctic and Southern Coalition. Archived from the original on
13 January 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2022.

Coetzee, Bernard W.T.; Convey, Peter; Chown, Steven L. (2017). "Expanding the Protected Area
Network in Antarctica is Urgent and Readily Achievable: Expanding Antarctica's protected areas".
Conservation Letters. 10 (6): 670–680. doi:10.1111/conl.12342. S2CID 89943276.

Riffenburgh 2007, p. 296.

Edwards 1999, p. 250.

Beaglehole 1968, p. 643.

Henriques, Martha (22 October 2018). "The bones that could shape Antarctica's fate". BBC Future.
Retrieved 22 July 2021.

Trewby 2002, p. 39.

Trewby 2002, p. 139.

Tammiksaar, Erki (14 December 2013). "Punane Bellingshausen" [Red Bellingshausen]. Postimees (in
Estonian).

Armstrong, Terence E. (September 1971). "Bellingshausen and the discovery of Antarctica". Polar
Record. 15 (99): 887–889. doi:10.1017/S0032247400062112. S2CID 129664580.

Baughmann 1994, p. 133

Joyner 1992, p. 5.

Trewby 2002, p. 67.

Tammiksaar, E. (2016). "The Russian Antarctic Expedition under the command of Fabian Gottlieb von
Bellingshausen and its reception in Russia and the world". Polar Record. 52 (5): 578–600.
doi:10.1017/S0032247416000449. ISSN 0032-2474. S2CID 132425113.

Cawley 2015, p. 131.

Ainsworth 1847, p. 479.

Hobbs, William H. (October 1932). "Wilkes Land Rediscovered". Geographical Review. 22 (4): 640.
doi:10.2307/208819. JSTOR 208819 – via JSTOR.

Trewby 2002, p. 154.

Trewby 2002, pp. 154, 185.

Day 2013, p. 88.

Pyne 2017, p. 85

"Tannatt William Edgeworth David". Australian Antarctic Division. Archived from the original on 29
September 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2010.

Riffenburgh 2007, pp. 30–32.

Trewby 2002, p. 159.

Trewby 2002, p. 44.

Blackadder, Jesse (December 2012). "The first woman in Antarctica". Australian Antarctic Program.
Australian Antarctic Division. Retrieved 27 June 2016.

Norman, F. I.; Gibson, J. A. E.; Burgess, J. S. (1998). "Klarius Mikkelsen's 1935 landing in the Vestfold
Hills, East Antarctica: some fiction and some facts". Polar Record. Cambridge University Press. 34
(191): 293–304. doi:10.1017/S0032247400025985. S2CID 131433193. Retrieved 21 February 2022.

"Dates in American Naval History: October". Naval History and Heritage Command. United States
Navy. Archived from the original on 26 June 2004. Retrieved 12 February 2006.

"Pamela Young". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 21 February 2022.

Ousland, Børge (13 December 2013). "Børge Ousland: How I crossed Antarctica alone". The Guardian.
ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 December 2018.

"Fastest unsupported (kite assisted) journey to the South Pole taking just 34 days". Guinness World
Records.
Headland 1984, p. 238.

"Antarctica". Resource Library. National Geographic. 4 January 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2020.

"Flock of Antarctica's Orthodox temple celebrates Holy Trinity Day". Serbian Orthodox Church. 24
May 2004. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2009.

Владимир Петраков: 'Антарктика – это особая атмосфера, где живут очень интересные люди'
[Vladimir Petrakov: "Antarctic is a special world, full of very interesting people"]. Pravoslavye (in
Russian). 28 April 2021.

Headland 1984, pp. 12, 130.

Russell 1986, p. 17

"Antarctic Treaty". Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research. Archived from the original on 6
February 2006. Retrieved 9 February 2006.

"Argentina in Antarctica". Antarctica Institute of Argentina. Archived from the original on 6 March
2006. Retrieved 9 February 2006.

"Parties". Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022.
Retrieved 2 April 2022.

Yermakova, Yelena (3 July 2021). "Legitimacy of the Antarctic Treaty System: is it time for a reform?".
The Polar Journal. 11 (2): 342–359. doi:10.1080/2154896X.2021.1977048. ISSN 2154-896X. S2CID
239218549.

Pinochet de la Barra, Óscar (November 1944). La Antártica Chilena. Editorial Andrés Bello.

Calamari, Andrea (June 2022). "El conjurado que gobernó la Antártida" (in Spanish). Jot Down.

"Pedro Sancho de la Hoz" (in Spanish). Real Academia de la Historia. Retrieved 25 August 2022.

"1544" (in Spanish). Biografía de Chile.

Francisco Orrego Vicuña; Augusto Salinas Araya (1977). Desarrollo de la Antártica (in Spanish).
Santiago de Chile: Instituto de Estudios Internacionales, Universidad de Chile; Editorial Universitaria.

Von Tigerstrom & Leane 2005, p. 204.

Rapp, Ole Magnus (21 September 2015). "Norge utvider Dronning Maud Land helt frem til Sydpolen".
Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Oslo. Retrieved 21 February 2022.

"The Foreign Secretary has announced that the southern part of British Antarctic Territory has been
named Queen Elizabeth Land". Foreign & Commonwealth Office. HM Government. 18 December
2012. Retrieved 22 December 2012.

"Argentina angry after Antarctic territory named after Queen". BBC News. 22 December 2012.
Retrieved 22 December 2012.

Ribadeneira, Diego (1988). "La Antartida" (PDF). AFESE (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF)
on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.

Morris 1988, p. 219

"Disputes – international". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 2011. Archived from the
original on 15 September 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2011. "... the US and Russia reserve the right to
make claims ..."

"Natural Resources". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on
3 April 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.

Press, Tony (5 October 2016). "Antarctica: The Madrid Protocol 25 Years On". Australian Institute of
International Affairs. Retrieved 19 January 2022.

Trewby 2002, pp. 187–188.

"During Your Visit". International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators. Retrieved 14 February
2022.

Trewby 2002, p. 107.

"IAATO Antarctic visitor figures 2019–2020". Data & Statistics. International Association of Antarctica
Tour Operators. July 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2022.

Rowe, Mark (11 February 2006). "Tourism threatens the Antarctic". The Daily Telegraph. Archived
from the original on 24 February 2008. Retrieved 5 February 2006.

"Tourism and Non-Governmental Activities". Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty. Retrieved 7 February
2022.

Day 2013, pp. 507–509.

Hund 2014, p. 41.

Davis, Georgina (30 January 2017). "A history of McMurdo Station through its architecture". Polar
Record. Cambridge University Press. 53 (2): 167–185. doi:10.1017/S0032247416000747. S2CID
132258248 – via Cambridge Core.

Carroll & Lopes 2019, p. 160.

Stoddart, Michael (August 2010). "'Antarctic biology in the 21st century – Advances in, and beyond
the international polar year 2007–2008'". Polar Science. 4 (2): 97–101. Bibcode:2010PolSc...4...97S.
doi:10.1016/j.polar.2010.04.004 – via Elsevier Science Direct.

"Human Biology and Medicine". Australian Antarctic Programme. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 8
February 2021.

Burton, Michael G. (2010). "Astronomy in Antarctica". The Astronomy & Astrophysics Review. 18 (4):
417–469. arXiv:1007.2225. Bibcode:2010A&ARv..18..417B. doi:10.1007/s00159-010-0032-2. ISSN
0935-4956. S2CID 16843819.

"Science Goals: Celebrating a Century of Science and Exploration". National Science Foundation.
2011. Retrieved 19 January 2022.

"IceCube Quick Facts". IceCube Neutrino Observatory. Retrieved 6 February 2022.

"Finding Meteorite Hotspots in Antarctica". Earth Observatory. NASA. 9 March 2022. Retrieved 2 April
2022.

Talbert, Tricia (14 November 2016). "Science from the Sky: NASA Renews Search for Antarctic
Meteorites". NASA. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
 "Meteorites from Antarctica". NASA. Archived from the original on 6 March 2006. Retrieved 9
February 2006.

Bibliography

Ainsworth, William Harrison, ed. (1847). "The Antarctic Voyage of Discovery". The New Monthly
Magazine and Humourist. London: Chapman & Hall.

Anderson, John B. (2010). Antarctic Marine Geology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN
978-05211-3-168-1.

Baughmann, T. H. (1994). Before the Heroes Came. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press.
ISBN 978-0-8032-1228-2.

Beaglehole, John C. (1968). The Journals of Captain James Cook on his Voyages of Discovery. Vol. 2.
Cambridge: Hakluyt Society. ISBN 978-1-4724-5324-2.

Cameron-Ash, Margaret (2018). Lying for the Admiralty. Sydney: Rosenberg Publishing. ISBN 978-
06480-4-396-6.

Campbell, I.B.; Claridge, G.G.C., eds. (1987). "2: The Geology and Geomorphology of Antarctica".
Antarctica: Soils, Weathering Processes and Environment. Developments in Soil Science. Vol. 16.
Amsterdam: Elsevier. doi:10.1016/S0166-2481(08)70150-8. ISBN 978-0-444-42784-7. ISSN 0166-
2481.

Cantrill, David J.; Poole, Imogen (2012). The Vegetation of Antarctica through Geological Time.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-56028-3.

Carroll, Michael; Lopes, Rosaly (2019). Antarctica : Earth's Own Ice World. Cham, Switzerland:
Springer Praxis Books. ISBN 978-3-319-74623-4.

Cawley, Charles (2015). Colonies in Conflict: The History of the British Overseas Territories.
Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 978-14438-8-128-9.

Crystal, David (2006). The Fight for English. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-920764-
0.

Day, David (2013). Antarctica: A Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-967055-
0.

Day, David (2019). Antarctica: What Everyone Needs to know. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN
978-0-19-064132-0.

Defler, Thomas (2019). History of Terrestrial Mammals in South America. Topics in Geobiology.
Cham: Springer International Publishing. ISBN 978-3-319-98448-3.

Drewry, D.J., ed. (1983). Antarctica: Glaciological and Geophysical Folio. Cambridge: Scott Polar
Research Institute, University of Cambridge. ISBN 978-0-901021-04-5.

Edwards, Philip, ed. (1999). The Journals of James Cook. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-
192808-1.
 Headland, Robert (1984). The Island of South Georgia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 978-0-521-25274-4.

de Hoog, G.S. (2005). "Fungi of the Antarctic: evolution under extreme conditions" (PDF). Studies in
Mycology. Elsevier. 51. ISBN 9789070351557.

Hund, Andrew J., ed. (2014). Antarctica And The Arctic Circle: A Geographic Encyclopedia of the
Earth's Polar Regions. Vol. 1. ABC-CLIO, LLC. ISBN 978-1-61069-392-9.

Hyginus, Caius Julius (1992) [1482]. Viré, Ghislaine (ed.). Hygini de astronomia (in Latin). Stuttgart:
Bibliotheca Teubneriana. ISBN 978-35190-1-438-6.

Jasinoski, Sandra C.; et al. (2013). "Anatomical Plasticity in the Snout of Lystrosaurus". In Kammerer,
Christian F.; Frobisch, Jörg; Angielczyk, Kenneth D. (eds.). Early Evolutionary History of the Synapsida.
Springer Netherlands. ISBN 978-94-007-6841-3.

Joyner, Christopher C. (1992). Antarctica and the Law of the Sea. Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff
Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7923-1823-1.

Lettinck, Paul (2021). Aristotle's Meteorology and Its Reception in the Arab World. Leiden; Boston
(Massachusetts): Brill Publishers. ISBN 978-90-04-44917-6.

McCrone, David; McPherson, Gayle, eds. (2009). National Days: Constructing and Mobilising
National Identity. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-02302-5-117-5.

Monteath, Colin (1997). Hall & Ball Kiwi Mountaineers: from Mount Cook to Everest. Christchurch:
Cloudcap. ISBN 978-0-938567-42-4.

Morris, Michael (1988). The Strait of Magellan. Dordrecht; London: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
ISBN 978-0-7923-0181-3.

Pyne, Stephen J. (2017). The Ice: A Journey to Antarctica. University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-
0-295-80523-8.

Riffenburgh, Beau, ed. (2007). Encyclopedia of the Antarctic. Vol. 1. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-
1-1358-7866-5.

Rohli, Robert V.; Vega, Anthony J. (2018). Climatology (4th ed.). Burlington, Massachusetts: Jones &
Bartlett Learning. ISBN 978-1-284-12656-3.

Russell, Alan (1986). McWhirter, Norris (ed.). 1986 Guinness Book of Records. Sterling Publishing.
ISBN 978-0-8069-4768-6.

Scott, Anne W.; Hiatt, Alfred; McIlroy, Claire, eds. (2012). European Perceptions of Terra Australis.
Farnham, UK: Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4094-3941-7.

Siegert, Martin; Florindo, Fabio, eds. (2008). Antarctic Climate Evolution. Amsterdam: Elsevier
Science. ISBN 978-0-08-093161-6.

Stromberg, O.; et al. (1991). Nemoto, Takahisa; Mauchline, John (eds.). Marine Biology: Its
Accomplishment and Future Prospect. Elsevier Science. ISBN 978-0-444-98696-2.

Stonehouse, Bernard, ed. (2002). Encyclopedia of Antarctica and the Southern Oceans. Chichester:
John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-471-98665-2.
 Thomas, David Neville (2007). Surviving Antarctica. London: Natural History Museum. ISBN 978-0-
565-09217-7.

Von Tigerstrom, Barbara; Leane, Geoffrey W. G., eds. (2005). International Law Issues in the South
Pacific. Aldershot, UK; Burlington, Vermont: Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7546-4419-4.

Trewby, Mary, ed. (2002). Antarctica: An Encyclopedia from Abbott Ice Shelf to Zooplankton.
Buffalo, New York: Firefly Books. ISBN 978-1-55297-590-9.

Further reading

Kleinschmidt, Georg (2021). The geology of the Antarctic continent. Stuttgart: Bornträger Science
Publisher. ISBN 978-3-443-11034-5.

Lucas, Mike (1996). Antarctica. New Holland Publishers. ISBN 978-1-85368-743-3.

Mardon, Austin Albert; Mardon, Catherine (2009). The use of geographic remote sensing, mapping
and aerial photography to aid in the recovery of blue ice surficial meteorites in Antarctica. Edmonton:
Golden Meteorite Press. ISBN 978-18974-7-235-4 – via Internet Archive.

Stewart, John (2011). Antarctica: An Encyclopedia. Jefferson, N.C. and London: McFarland. ISBN
978-0-7864-3590-6.

Ivanov, Lyubomir; Ivanova, Nusha (2022). The World of Antarctica. Generis Publishing. 241 pp. ISBN
979-8-88676-403-1