Polar scientists and weather forecasters jokingly call Antarctica the “weather kitchen” for the entire planet. Experts know exactly when conditions are more or less favorable for traveling to the vicinity of the South Geographic Pole. Ordinary people are often at a loss: “What is the warmest month beyond the Antarctic Circle? Are there above-zero temperatures in Antarctica?” It’s not easy to figure out what’s going on in the “weather kitchen”; everything is different here, not like on other continents.

The white continent becomes more accessible

Until the 20s of the 19th century, scientists and travelers argued about the existence of land near the South Pole. Many believed the famous navigator J. Cook, who declared that the territory south of 71° S was inaccessible. w. The Russian expedition to Antarctica on the ships “Vostok” and “Mirny” on January 20, 1820 discovered unknown lands, despite many insurmountable obstacles. After 120 years, the first excursions to Antarctic waters began, and it took another 50 years to develop a new tourist destination.

Hundreds of adventurers travel to the white continent every year. Expeditions and tours are conducted during the most favorable period of the year in the Southern Hemisphere. “What is the warmest month in Antarctica?” - the townsfolk ask in bewilderment. Of course, at school everyone was taught the climate of the southern continents, where our winter is summer. Many find it difficult to say exactly which month is best for a tour to the South Pole.

Antarctica and the Arctic - two opposites

Let's briefly look at geographic terminology. The land in the south owes its name to the Arctic. This word, denoting the northern polar latitudes of the Earth, is of Greek origin, given according to the position of the weather for a long time remained a mystery, because the path of the researchers of the 18th-19th centuries to the treasured point with the coordinate 90° N. w. blocked by the cold waters of the ocean, ice and snow.

The territory in the south, opposite the northern polar region, was called "Ant(i)arctic", the mainland - Antarctica. The South Pole is located almost in the center of the continent. The geographic coordinate of this point is 90° S. w.

The southernmost and coldest continent

Harsh climate south of latitude 70°S. w. received the names “subantarctic” and “antarctic”. During the year, surface areas free from snow and ice on the coast and in oases warm up better. In winter, on the coast and in the northern part of the Antarctic Peninsula, the temperature is comparable to the Arctic zone (from −10 to −40 °C). In the summer in Antarctica you can find many islands of land among the icy silence, where the thermometer rises above 0 ° C.

Features of the climate of Antarctica:

• Winter lasts from June to August, this is the coldest period.
• The average temperature in July is between -65° and -75°C.
• Summer begins in December and lasts until February.
• Temperatures in the continental part rise from −50 to −30 °C.
• The warmest month in Antarctica is January.
• The polar day lasts from September to March. The sun remains above the horizon, heating the surface more.
• The night lasts almost half a year, illuminated by bright flashes of the aurora.

Inland climate

Antarctica is a continent where regular weather observations began later than on inhabited continents. In the last 50-60 years, weather forecasters have received special attention from data obtained at stations on the mainland and coastal parts of the white continent. The coldest regions are the southeast, where the average annual temperature is about −60 °C. The temperature maximum in the area of ​​the Vostok station is −13.6 ° C (December 16, 1957). The average monthly temperature from April to September is below −70 °C.

The weather at the South Pole is a little milder; this part of the continent is closer to the coast. Meteorological information at a point with coordinates 90° S. w. collected by employees of the American Amundsen-Scott station, named after the “Napoleon of the Polar Countries”, the Norwegian Roald Amundsen and another discoverer of the South Pole, an Englishman. The station was founded in 1956 at the South Pole and is gradually “drifting” towards the coast. Antarctica has the shape of a dome, the glacier slowly slides from the center to the edges, where its pieces break under their own weight and fall into the ocean. In winter, in the area of ​​the Amundsen-Scott station, the thermometer shows −60 °C; in January it does not drop below −30 °C.

Weather on the coast of Antarctica

In summer, on the shores of the oceans and seas washing the southernmost continent, it is much warmer than in continental regions. Over the Antarctic Peninsula, the air warms up to +10 °C in December-February. The average January temperature is +1.5 °C. In winter in July, the average monthly temperature drops to −8° on the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, to −35 °C in the area of ​​the edge of the Ross Glacier. One of the climatic anomalies of the continent is cold katabatic winds, the speed of which reaches 12-90 m/sec on the coast (hurricanes). Rain, like high temperatures, is a rare occurrence in Antarctica. Mostly moisture enters the continent in the form of snow.

Antarctica is a “multipolar” continent

“Pole of Inaccessibility” is the name Russian polar explorers came up with for their station. The Soviet expedition to Antarctica carried out scientific research beyond the 82nd parallel in the most difficult highland region of the continent for movement.

On the mainland there is the “Pole of Cold” - this is the area of ​​​​the Vostok Antarctic research station, created in Soviet times. Here, the lowest air temperature in the entire history of meteorological observations was recorded using ground-based measuring equipment: -89.2 °C (1983).

Researchers from the United States, armed with satellite data, tried to challenge the “record” of the Russian station. The Americans reported in December 2013 that it was located in the area of ​​the Fuji Dome station, which belongs to Japan. The absolute minimum temperature for Antarctica was -91.2 °C, which was determined using a satellite.

Antarctica is the prototype of a “multipolar” world without borders and an arms race. The international legal regime was introduced here in 1961. The continent and the adjacent parts of the oceans do not belong to the states parties to the treaty and observer countries; they can only conduct scientific research.

What to do during the warmest month in Antarctica and the Arctic

Exploration of the North and South Poles, the white continent in the south and the ice of the Arctic has always been the lot of the brave and patient. Today there are many people on the planet who have visited Antarctica more than 100 times. Some conduct scientific research, others ensure transport accessibility, safety, and provide medical care.

More and more people are going beyond the Antarctic Circle in search of fantastic experiences. Tours to Antarctica at first glance seem like pure adventurism. In fact, all flights, sailings and excursions are prepared at the highest level. Polar scientists act as consultants, icebreakers and research vessels are used.

Peak "tourist season" in the polar regions

The high cost of a flight or sea cruise to the North and South Poles and the high costs of organizing expeditions do not stop modern adventurers. Let’s paraphrase the famous statement of the foreman from the film “Operation “Y” and other adventures of Shurik.” Now dozens of ships with tourists are “cruising the expanses” of the Arctic and Antarctic. The day is not far when there will be many more of them. The “high season” at the South Pole begins in December and lasts until January. At this time, the hemisphere is better illuminated by the Sun, and the height of summer begins.

The weather at the North Pole is warmer than at the South Pole. The climate also depends on the low angle of the Sun above the horizon and the strong reflectivity of snow and ice. Temperatures in winter in December-February and summer in June-August are much higher than in Antarctica. The average winter temperature at the North Pole is −30 °C. Thaws (−26 °C) and cold snaps (−43 °C) often occur. The average temperature in summer is about 0°C.

Are there any “white spots” left in Antarctica?

The era of great geographical discoveries was completed in the 20s of the last century by S. V. Obruchev, the son of the scientist, traveler and writer V. A. Obruchev (“Geology of Siberia”, “Sannikov’s Land”). Sergey Obruchev explored the last “white spots” in Eastern Siberia and Chukotka. By that time, a significant part of Antarctica was still little studied.

Gradually, researchers found out the thickness of the glacier and the features of the subglacial relief, and collected detailed meteorological information. Many “white spots” on the sixth continent are closed, but the south polar continent still holds many mysteries and secrets. For avid travelers, a warm month in Antarctica means new experiences, an opportunity to see rare representatives of the animal world and take unique photographs.

Are expeditions to the Antarctic Circle dangerous?

There are reports of any unforeseen situations with tourists in Antarctica, but they are rare. For example, in November 2009, the Russian ship Kapitan Khlebnikov got stuck in the ice off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. Among its passengers were tourists and a film crew from the UK. The reason for the stop was weather conditions, but as soon as the tide began to ebb, the ship managed to free itself from the “white captivity.” A Russian icebreaker with English tourists and television crews on board was cruising in the area (West Antarctica).

A map of the mainland and the Antarctic Peninsula gives an idea of ​​the location of the sea, but only experienced pilots can navigate ships between the icebergs. In December 2013, drifting ice stopped the Russian ship Akademik Shokalsky. Passengers were evacuated aboard the Australian icebreaker in early January 2014.

Tour to Antarctica - a high dose of adrenaline is guaranteed

According to Antarctic researchers, the continent is suitable for organizing cruises, dog sledding and other types of outdoor activities. The history of sea cruises in Antarctica goes back more than 90 years. In 1920, enterprising ship owners began taking on board the first tourists who wanted to see the white continent with their own eyes. The cost of modern cruises and other types of travel to the shores of Antarctica and the South Pole ranges from $5,000 to $40,000. The price of the tour depends on many factors, not least the complexity of the route and excursion support.

Conversation with a participant in the Antarctic expedition, Doctor of Geographical Sciences G.A. Avsyuk

"White spot" on the map

In the 136 years since the discovery of Antarctica, about 600 people have visited this continent. When trying to penetrate deep into the unknown country, many of them paid with their lives. Almost the entire continent is covered with a giant shell of ice, the thickness of which is on average one and a half kilometers. The ice mass of Antarctica makes up the vast majority of modern glaciation on the globe. If it were possible to melt this ice, the level of the World Ocean would rise by 50 meters.

The icy continent is washed by the relatively warm waters of the oceans, resulting in a great contrast in natural phenomena. And the struggle of these two opposing elements affects not only the climate of the southern hemisphere, but also the circulation of the atmosphere of the entire Earth.

Studying the “earthly mechanism” is beyond the power of one country. In order to better understand and conquer nature, scientists from different countries are striving to join forces.

By decision of the International Council of Scientific Unions, a simultaneous study of geophysical phenomena on the entire earth's surface will be carried out every 25 years. And in the next International Geophysical Year, scheduled for 1957-58, a lot of research work will be carried out in Antarctica: this is the study of ocean waters, glaciation, seismic phenomena, geomagnetism, climate, atmosphere.

Scientists from eleven countries wished to cooperate in the study of Antarctica: the USSR, the USA, France, England, Australia, Japan, Norway, Argentina, Chile, New Zealand and Germany.

Soviet scientists will work in an area lying approximately between 82° and 105° east longitude, and the so-called Queen Mary Land. This area, located between the Western Shelf (A glacier that descended into the sea, but did not break away from the shore) glacier and Shackleton Ice Shelf, one of the least explored on the continent.

To prepare and carry out work under the program of the International Geophysical Year, the Complex Antarctic Expedition of the USSR Academy of Sciences was organized; In addition to scientists, it included sailors, polar pilots, signalmen, builders - about 400 people in total. “Ice specialists” glaciologists Professor K.K. Markov, professor P.A. Shumsky and I, along with carrying out our scientific programs, had to find a convenient place for unloading and, most importantly, a site suitable for the construction of the main Mirny observatory, named after the ship of the discoverers of Antarctica Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev.

On January 4, 1956, we approached the shores of Antarctica. But it was not possible to see the mainland: a strong fog covered the mysterious land. Being among a cluster of icebergs, the Ob began to drift. Overnight the weather changed for the better, and January 5th is a memorable day for the entire crew! we saw Antarctica. The first impression was stunning: behind a strip of blue sea water, obscuring the horizon, a gigantic ice barrier sparkled, gradually rising to the south.

The navigators determined by the sun; It turned out that they had arrived exactly at the “junction angle,” where the western side of the Shackleton Glacier meets the shore.

More than 40 years ago, somewhere here, not far from six huge boulders, the Australian expedition of Mauson visited. And indeed, even without binoculars we saw a pile of dark stones.

We couldn't wait to get to the mainland. But it turned out that the ship could not approach the shore, from which we were separated by a wide icy strip of fast ice. Its thickness at the outer, sea edge reached up to six meters.

On the same day, January 5, a small group went on a ski reconnaissance mission. We managed to find snow drifts: along these bridges, thrown by nature itself from the cliffs of coastal ice to the fast ice, we reached the mainland.

Radiogram from Mirny
The work has been completed on the creation of the observatory peaceful end wintering 92 people left end the four-hundred-kilometer tractor-sleigh trek deep into the mainland in the direction of the future station east end the hike took place in extremely difficult conditions temperatures of about fifty degrees below zero hurricane winds reaching the goal participants of the hike at an altitude of 3,000 meters created Temporary research station Pioneer point 6 people led by Professor Gusev will conduct research in polar night conditions to study the nature of Antarctica point
Soviet Antarctic Expedition

Construction of Mirny

We “ice specialists” were pleased to note that the continental ice in this place flows very slowly: the large boulders described by Mauson have hardly moved in 40 years. But still this place was not suitable for construction. The area on which it would seem possible to place a village was too small for our observatory, and the construction on ice of such structures as the building of a power plant with heavy machinery is fraught with dangerous consequences. In addition, the place was inconvenient for unloading: the fast ice began to melt and became very thin, wide tidal cracks formed along the coastline, the outlines of which changed before our eyes. And we had to deliver 9 thousand tons of equipment to the mainland!

It was difficult to move by ship along the mainland in search of a better place. We decided right there, on the fast ice, to assemble the planes to use them for reconnaissance. People eagerly set to work, but the weather spoiled the job: a storm broke out, the wind speed exceeded 30 meters per second, the ice began to break, and it was necessary to lift the planes onto the ship in order to start all over again after the blizzard.

Finally, on January 12, the first aircraft were assembled. The next day, 80 kilometers to the west from the Obi site, in the area of ​​the Haswell Islands, we managed to find rocky outcrops in the coastal part of the continental ice and around them an area of ​​stationary ice covered with rocky debris and moraine. Nearby there was a flat ice field suitable for an airfield.

After that, we made three more flights to survey the site. In the evening, the technical council met on the Ob. The final decision was made: to unload and build here. There is no better place for an observatory. And the ship could come close to the shore here: the fast ice was not wide, only 100-120 meters. It retained many snow blows, which were convenient to use for transporting goods with tractors.

On January 14, the Ob moved to the site of the future observatory. We had to go around the floating tongue of the Elena glacier, which had split into many icebergs. Captain of the vessel I.A. Man skillfully and fearlessly guided the Ob through this icy labyrinth. During the passage, having gathered on the deck early in the morning, we had a rare opportunity to admire the play of the emerging sunlight on the edges of the floating ice mountains: they fancifully changed color - from bright green and deep blue to deep pink and purple tones.

As soon as the first batch of cargo was delivered ashore, construction began. On January 20, the Ob was joined by the Lena, and then by refrigerator No. 7. We had to hurry: the sun and the work of tractors quickly destroyed the fast ice. Sometimes there was a snowstorm. Sometimes large pieces of fast ice broke off from the mainland, and some members of the expedition, in groups and alone, became “Chelyuskinites”: they had to balance on an ice floe while waiting for a rescue rope.

Time passed, and the fast ice disappeared. Now the ships moored directly to the ice cliffs, reaching the upper bridge 14 meters. This was fraught with great danger: the ice could break off and fall on the ship. The booms of the ship's cranes only reached the edge of the cliffs; they had to work at the risk of falling down from a great height. At first people tied themselves, but the ropes got tangled and got in the way; I had to work without them.

Unloading continued at night, in any weather. In eight days, the entire cargo was transferred to the mainland.

A month after we reached this shore, by February 13, nine houses had been built, and some people had already moved from the ship to the mainland. The houses turned out to be very comfortable and warm. A gas car was running busily around the camp. The radio station started working. Weather observations were started and the first weather reports were transmitted to Moscow.

On this day, on the eve of the opening of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, members of the Antarctic expedition raised the state flag of the USSR. This is how Mirny was born.

Stone oasis

In 1947, American pilots discovered an ice break near the eastern coastal edge of the Shackleton Ice Shelf: an area of ​​about 600 square kilometers stretched out ice-free land, dotted with lakes of different sizes and shades. This place, like an oasis in the desert, stood out against the backdrop of endless and monotonous icy spaces.

The find has led to much speculation about what caused the ice to clear from this area. Maybe there are seams of coal burning underground or there is a volcanic center there? Or is there an increased decay of radioactive substances in this part of the earth’s crust?

To get to know the oasis, we spent a week here. It is a desert, dry and cold.

The blowing processes here are so strong that the rocks look like giant niches or honeycombs.

We counted more than a hundred different lakes here. Those with drainage are fresh, but those without drainage - the majority of them - are saline and lifeless.

And yet, the climate of the desert oasis is somewhat milder than in the surrounding icy areas. From the sun's rays, the surface of the stones heats up to +25 degrees. The snow melts, and at midday you can see cumulus clouds, which do not occur anywhere else in Antarctica.

Assumptions about the existence of additional heat sources were not confirmed. How did this oasis come about?

It owes its origin to the terrain features of this area.

On the eastern and western sides of the oasis in the bedrock of the continent
there are depressions along which the main flow of ice flows; there is little local precipitation, and the oasis simply does not have enough “material” for icing.

The fauna and flora of the oasis are very scarce. Of course, in a week we could not study this most interesting phenomenon in detail - we only carried out reconnaissance. In the oasis, which is located just 400 kilometers from Mirny, a remote research station is being organized.

Storm region
The Australian expedition is based in Antarctica in a valley whose slopes are free of snow. In the center of this oasis is a round lake.
Australian scientists are busy researching the causes of this oasis in the icy desert. They study the composition of rocks, note changes in water temperatures, air, and atmospheric conditions.
Scientists were especially interested in the changeable weather and strong storms in this area of ​​Antarctica. Storms, sweeping away everything in their path, break out here suddenly and just as suddenly stop. The “weather kitchen” of Antarctica has a great influence on the climate and meteorological conditions of the entire globe, so it is important to establish why the weather in this area changes so dramatically.
Scientists hope to find out, in particular, where rain comes from in Australia.

Source of life ocean

The nature of Antarctica is harsh: snowstorms, crazy winds, very low temperatures. After all, even on rare sunny summer days, the temperature on the surface of glaciers does not rise above zero. Life in Antarctica is concentrated near the coastline, since only in the sea is there food.

The continent's vegetation is very poor: only a few dozen species of lichens and up to ten species of mosses are known.

The fauna is also monotonous, but the “local residents” - penguins, seals - are very numerous.

Entire colonies of penguins nest on the Haswell Islands. Little Adelie penguins are very curious and sociable; sometimes they interfere with builders, trying to peck at inattentive “interlocutors.” Even the dogs that we brought to Antarctica were not afraid of the Adeles, for which they had to pay. The company of these penguins did not bother us much. But, admittedly, we were afraid of their “titled” relatives, the emperor penguins: what if you were pecked by a bird weighing forty kilograms!.. But the emperor penguins turned out to be lazy and melancholy, like seals.

Skuas, storm petrels and snow petrels are also found here. They love to nest in rocks, and therefore there are especially many of them in the stone oasis.

There are no polar bears or walruses in the high latitudes of the southern hemisphere. But we very often had to meet seals. There are three species of them here: the Ross seal, the Weddell seal and, the most interesting of all, the spotted leopard seal, a predator that does not disdain the meat of seals of other species. A leopard seal weighs about a ton.

Unlike northern seals, the local ones are not at all afraid of humans, since no one attacked them on uninhabited land. The equanimity of these animals is amazing. You can even sit on a resting seal. He will just look at you with his big naive eyes and fall asleep again.

In order to photograph the leopard seal in all its glory - with its gaping mouth, we teased it with a ski pole for about ten minutes. However, one day we overdid it and had to run away. We saw whales and killer whales, which sometimes come to the shores of Antarctica, causing terrible panic among the penguins. But beyond the coastline life comes to a standstill...

In the region of the geomagnetic pole, at an altitude of three and a half thousand meters, in the very heart of Antarctica, a site has been explored for the next Soviet station, Vostok, named after the second ship of Thaddeus Bellingshausen. The third station, Sovetsky, is being designed in the area of ​​the Pole of relative inaccessibility. Vostok and Sovetsky will be built next Antarctic summer.

A large group of people was left for the winter and carried out scientific observations.

A little time will pass, and the last “blank spot” on the geographical map of the Earth will disappear, and science will be enriched with new knowledge necessary for the conquest of nature by man.

"Corridor of the Winds"
In Antarctica, Adelie Land, a strong wind almost constantly blows from south to north. At the same time, in neighboring areas the wind is relatively weak or non-existent.

English meteorologists Lamb and Britton suggested that there should be a basin elongated to the north, through which cold air from the central part of the continent flows to the sea coast, where the air is warmer.

Recently, one of the participants in the American Antarctic expedition, Paul Siple, confirmed the correctness of this guess. During an aerial reconnaissance, he discovered that between Victoria Land and Wilkes Land there was indeed a long, deep “corridor” surrounded by mountains up to 4,900 meters high. In all likelihood, this “corridor of winds” extends towards the center of Antarctica.

Part four. "WHITE SPOTES" OF ANTARCTICA

So, we have examined the main stages of the unknown war for Antarctica. Did everything succeed or not? Time will show! In the meantime, let's talk about the blind spots of that very undeclared war, which no one has ever talked about before. We can get to know them today thanks to individual brave polar explorers who voiced the events in which they took a direct part. And only in a number of cases did they ask for one thing: not to mention their names. Participants in those events can easily recognize their friends, but for others, let them remain nameless.

From the book Issues of 2004 (Tactile Saga) author Golubitsky Sergey Mikhailovich

From the book Achilles' Heel of Intelligence author Boltunov Mikhail Efimovich

PART FOUR

From the book From the notes of the district opera author Kuzemko V

Part four AREA

From the book The Lost City of Z. A Tale of a Deadly Obsession with the Amazon by Grann David

Part Four SUSPECTED 1. WHO IS THE FIRST SUSPECTED? All people are imperfect, so everyone is potentially capable of breaking the law. (This is even if we do not take into account the fact that our laws are imperfect, and often provoke their violation). On

From the book The Destruction of Dresden. The largest scale bombing of World War II. 1944-1945 by Irving David

Chapter 5 Blank spots on the map “Here’s your Royal Geographical Society, here we come,” said the taxi driver, dropping me off on a February morning in 2005 in front of the building located opposite Hyde Park. The structure looked like an extravagant private

From the book The Barbarossa Plan. The collapse of the Third Reich. 1941–1945 by Clark Alan

Part four CONSEQUENCES

From the book Archeology of Weapons. From the Bronze Age to the Renaissance by Oakeshott Ewart

From the book Bolsheviks. Causes and consequences of the 1917 coup by Ulam Adam B

Part Four THE CENTURY OF CHIVALITY

From the book Total Espionage by Riss Kurt

Part four Leader

From the book Air Supremacy. Collection of works on issues of air warfare by Due Giulio

Part four. Destruction

From the book History of the Jews of the Soviet Union (1917-1939) author Kandel Felix Solomonovich

Part four. Organization tt

From the book "Limbo" - author's walkthrough

PART FOUR Terror of 1934–1939. Jewish victims. Jews in the NKVD. Beginning of World War II

From the book by Marilyn Monroe. The mystery of death. Unique investigation by Ramon William

Part four We see a fallen tree. After you jump on it, you need to immediately jump back, as a huge piece of rock will roll down the trunk. After waiting for it to fall, we continue walking. Having passed, we see a small pond, after swimming in which you can

From the book Passenger without a ticket author Aronov Alexander Borisovich

Part thirty-four Underground - when you are near the elevator, do not launch it, but simply jump down, there will be an egg. You can climb back using the chain hanging from the cabin. We call the elevator, launch it and immediately jump into it. We leave on the second level, we

From the author's book

From the author's book

Part Four Return Chapter I Tsvetnoy Boulevard, 13 The sanitary train arrived at the Savelovsky station early in the morning. Osinsky got to the circus on foot. He was in no hurry, walked measuredly, thin, unshaven, with sunken eyes. Here is Tsvetnoy Boulevard. Everything is the same here as before.

Antarctica is not just a blank spot. She is full of mysteries.
Only 2% of Antarctica's surface is ice-free.

Ice barrier


Antarctica is the highest continent. The average height is 2330 m above sea level.

Vinson Massif is the highest mountains in Antarctica. The existence of the mountain range became known only in 1957, it was discovered by American aircraft. It was subsequently named Vinson Massif, in honor of Carl Vinson, the famous American politician. The highest point, Vinson Peak (4892 m), is part of the Seven Summits mountaineering project. 1,400 climbers tried to conquer it. This year, deputies A. Sidyakin and O. Savchenko succeeded in this as part of the American group. The deputies hoisted the flags of Russia and the regions they represent: Tatarstan and Volgograd.


Among the mountains there are many extinct or dormant volcanoes. But there are also active ones. The most famous is Mount Erebus on the island. Rossa.


On the slopes there are many outlandish towers from which steam comes out.


Crater of Mount Erebus.


There is even a river in Antarctica - Onyx. True, it flows only 60 days a year.


There are numerous inhabitants of Antarctica. But they all live near the edge of the sea.

The most numerous are penguins. In total, 18 species of these flightless birds are known. Only two species nest on the mainland itself - imperial and adélie.

Emperor penguins





Gentoo penguins

Pinnipeds: seals, sea lions, elephants, leopards...

Whales are often found in the waters of Antarctica: blue whales (the largest, in the photo), striped whales, humpback whales, killer whales, etc.
Many birds nest in Antartis. We saw flightless ones. Now they are flight record holders.


Giant Antarctic petrel (wingspan more than 2 m)


Albatross (wingspan up to 4 m)
Many (about 150) subglacial lakes have been discovered in Antarctica.


The color of the triangles indicates the country of exploration. Russian ones are red.
The most famous is Lake Vostok, located under a huge layer of ice near Vostok station. In total, there are over 40 scientific stations on the continent, including 5 Russian ones.

Vostok station is located at the south magnetic pole. Here in 1983, Soviet polar explorer V.S. Sidorov recorded a record of negative temperatures on Earth: minus 89.2 degrees Celsius. (The photo of the Hero of the Soviet Union was posted in one of my posts). Later, a lot of noise was made about a new record for minus temperatures. Here, for example, is a quote from the publication of the Russian newspaper on 12/09/2013

The sub-zero temperature record set in 1983 has been broken on Earth. Scientists recorded a temperature of minus 91.2 degrees Celsius in Antarctica, in the area of ​​the Japanese Fuji Dome research station, ITAR-TASS reports citing the British newspaper The Sunday Times.

Please note: the record was set by unknown scientists, the official government newspaper refers to TASS, and then in turn to the publication of the British newspapers. In such cases, it is still customary to refer either to a publication in scientific magazine, or for a report on scientific conference.
Similar publications took place in many Russian, Belarusian, Kazakh, and Azerbaijani media. And all with a link to the newspaper!
In fact, the measurements were carried out by Americans from a satellite. They thus measured the “brightness”, i.e. most likely the temperature of the underlying surface, not the air. Therefore, talking about breaking a record is at least incorrect. Doubts about the record low temperature recorded by the Americans were immediately expressed by Russian scientists: Deputy. Director for Science of the AARI Alexander Danilov, Director of the Hydrometeorological Center Roman Vilfand. They were broadcast on NTV. Standard meteorological observations are carried out at a height of 2 m, in special meteorological booths, i.e. at the height at which a person feels this temperature. The weather booth eliminates the influence of the underlying surface on measurements. With a clear sky and no solar heating, the underlying surface is always colder than the air. Remember frost, frost.
It is completely unclear why the noise was made in 2013, while back in 2010 NASA recorded a lower temperature of -94.7C (-135.8F) from a satellite.
At the same time, the American glaciologist Ted Scambos (photo) at the American Geophysical Union symposium in San Francisco on October 9, 2010 directly said: “This record will not be included in the Guinness Book of Records, since the measurements were carried out from a satellite, and not at a weather site thermometer, as is customary." The Associated Press immediately reported this. And now the minimum recorded in 1983 is considered a record for air temperature in the near-ground layer.

In 1989, ice drilling began at Vostok station in order to study ice cores and compile paleoclimatic reconstructions. Subglacial Lake Vostok was discovered. Drilling was suspended. For eight years, scientists have been pondering the topic of “opening up or not opening up” the lake. They were afraid of unforeseen consequences: the release of unprecedented strains of viruses, a powerful release of water (after all, in the lake it is under enormous pressure from the overlying almost 4 km layer of ice. As a result, drilling was continued. February 5, 2012, at 20.25 Moscow time, the drilling rig is at a depth 3769.3 meters entered the water layer of the subglacial lake. In general, the sensational discoveries that were discussed before the drill entered the water of the lake did not happen. The water in the lake turned out to be saturated with oxygen much more than is required to support life. brought by the drill, no other signs of life were found. The relatively high water temperature is apparently explained by the presence of thermal springs. For three years of research (2012-29015), the result is more than modest. For the 2015 season, a study of the entire thickness of the lake is planned. the season may be the last - funding for the project is being reduced.
And in conclusion - a few words about the “bloody waterfall”.


This waterfall is formed by a water stream flowing periodically from a subglacial lake located several kilometers away under the Taylor Glacier. Its color is due to the content of ferrous compounds.

We will return to the mysteries of Antarctica later.

Antarctica is not much different from Mars. Just more oxygen. And the cold is the same. In some places the temperature drops to minus 90 degrees Celsius. There is only one fundamental difference - there are people in Antarctica, but not yet on Mars. But this does not mean that the ice continent has been explored much better than the Red Planet. There are plenty of mysteries here and there...

We don't know if there is life on Mars. We do not know what is hidden under the many kilometers of Antarctic ice. And there is only a vague idea of ​​what is happening on its surface.

Surprisingly, there are more high-resolution images of Mars than Antarctica. You can examine the details of its relief in detail only on a narrow strip in the area of ​​Queen Mary Land, where surprises were found. It wouldn't be a bad idea to look at other places. Especially those that have long been legendary.

THREE RIDDLES

The discovery belongs to Joseph Skipper, a famous virtual archaeologist from the USA. He usually “digs” on Mars and the Moon, looking at photographs transmitted from there by spacecraft and posted on the official websites of NASA and other space agencies. He finds a lot of surprising things - things that sharply fall out of traditional ideas.

The researcher's collection contains objects similar to bones and skulls of humanoids. And those that (with a stretch, of course) can be mistaken for the remains of their - humanoids - civilized activity.

This time the archaeologist became interested in the Earth - specifically Antarctica. And I found three oddities there at once - a hole, a “plate” and lakes.

I followed Skipper's footsteps and found all the objects he discovered. Their coordinates are known, they are clearly visible on satellite images of the ice continent posted on the Google Earth website.

Coordinates:
“Stroke”: 99o43’11, 28’’E; 66o36’12, 36’’S
“Lake”: 100o47’51.16’’E; 66o18’07.15’’S
“Flying Saucer” 99o58’54.44’’E; 66o30’02.22’’S

The "Hole" discovered by Joseph Skipper

According to Skipper, there is an entire underground city on the ice continent. And proof of this are lakes with liquid water among the ice of Antarctica, as well as the huge “Hod” located on the ice continent. But who could build all this in conditions of terrible cold? The answer to this question, according to Skipper, is given by his third find - a huge “plate”, which may belong to aliens.

HITLER WAS HIDDEN THERE

It is known that the Nazis were very interested in Antarctica. A number of expeditions were sent there. And they even staked out a vast territory in the area of ​​Queen Maud Land, calling it New Swabia.

There, in 1939, on the coast, the Germans discovered a striking area of ​​about 40 square kilometers, free of ice. With a relatively mild climate, with numerous ice-free lakes. It was called the Schirmacher oasis - after the German pioneer pilot. Subsequently, the Soviet polar station Novolazarevskaya was located here.

According to the official version, the Third Reich went to Antarctica to build bases there to guard its whaling fleets. But there are much more interesting assumptions. Although it’s difficult to even call them science fiction. A bunch of mysticism.

In short, the story is this. Allegedly, during expeditions to Tibet, the Nazis learned that there was something inside Antarctica. Some vast and warm cavities. And in them there is something left either from aliens, or from an ancient highly developed civilization that once lived there. At the same time, a separate story claimed that Antarctica was once Atlantis.

As a result, already at the end of the 30s of the last century, German submarines found a secret passage in the ice. And they got inside - into these same cavities.
Then the legends diverge. According to one version, the Nazis built their cities under the ice, according to another, they conspired with the local inhabitants and settled in a free housing stock.

There - inside the ice continent - in 1945, a living Hitler was delivered along with a living Eva Braun. Allegedly, he sailed in a submarine, accompanied by a large escort - a whole squadron of huge submarines (8 pieces) called the “Fuhrer's Convoy”. And he lived until 1971. And according to some sources, right up to 1985.

The authors of Antarctic myths also place the “flying saucers” of the Third Reich under the ice, rumors about which are permeated in numerous books, films, television shows and the Internet. They say that the Nazis also hid these devices inside. Then they improved and are still in operation, starting from mines in Antarctica. And UFOs are those very “plates”.

"Plate" - either alien or German

It’s difficult to take stories about polar aliens and Germans any seriously. But... What to do with the hole, the “plate” and the lakes discovered by Joseph Skipper? One fits very well with the other. Unless, of course, the objects are what they look like.

UFOs can fly out of a hole in the mountains. The “plate” is real. Maybe even alien. Looks icy. And as if exposed as a result of either global warming or weathering. It belongs to those guys who lived or are living in the warm inner cavities of Antarctica.

Lake on the surface of Antarctica

Well, lakes are just evidence that they - cavities - exist. And they warm up the oases. Like the Schirmacher oasis, which is far from the only one.

Antarctica is generally a strange place...

By the way, Lake Vostok is not free from tales. A strong magnetic anomaly was discovered on its western side. This is a scientific fact. But the nature of the anomaly has not yet been determined. Which gives ufologists the right, at least temporarily, to claim that there lies a massive metal object. Specifically, a huge alien ship. Maybe crashed. Maybe it was abandoned millions of years ago, when there was no ice over the lake. Maybe it was operational and just parked.

This is what the ice looks like over Lake Vostok. On the left edge there is a magnetic anomaly and strange dunes. On the right bank - Vostok station

Unfortunately, the magnetic anomaly is located far from the well - at the opposite end of the lake. And it is unlikely that it will be solved soon. If it ever works out.

At Vostok station in Antarctica, our scientists completed drilling at a depth of 3,768 thousand meters and reached the surface of a subglacial lake

It is already known that Lake Vostok is far from the only one in Antarctica. There are more than a hundred of these. The East is simply the largest of the open ones. Now researchers suggest that all these lakes, hidden under a layer of ice, communicate with each other.

The existence of an extensive network of subglacial rivers and canals was recently reported by British scientists - Duncan Wingham from University College London and colleagues - by publishing a corresponding article in the authoritative scientific journal Nature. Their conclusions are based on data obtained from satellites.

Wingham assures that the subglacial channels are as deep as the Thames.

The mystery of Lake Vanda. This is a salt lake and is covered with ice all year round. But what’s amazing: a thermometer lowered into water to a depth of 60 m shows... 25 degrees Celsius! Why? Scientists don't know this yet. Antarctica will probably present many more similar mysteries.

Laugh and laugh, but the discovery of British scientists does not at all contradict the most delusional versions of hidden Antarctic life. On the contrary, it reinforces them. After all, a network of channels located at a depth of about 4 kilometers under thin ice can connect one cavity to another. Serve as a kind of roads that in some place may have access to the ocean. Or entrance.

Dronning Maud Land is a vast area on the Atlantic coast of Antarctica, lying between 20° west and 44° 38" east longitude. The area is about 2,500,000 square kilometers. The territory is subject to the Antarctic Treaty.

This treaty prohibits the use of Antarctic territories for any purpose other than scientific research. There are several scientific stations operating on the territory of Dronning Maud Land, including the Russian Novolazarevskaya station and the German Neumayer station.

Antarctica was discovered back in 1820. However, its first systematic and in-depth study began only a century later. Moreover, the most interested researchers of the ice continent were representatives of Nazi Germany. In 1938–1939, the Germans sent two powerful expeditions to the continent.

Luftwaffe planes photographed vast areas in detail and dropped several thousand metal swastika pennants onto the mainland. Captain Ritscher, who was responsible for the operation, reported personally to Field Marshal Goering, who was at that time the head of the Ministry of Aviation and the first person in the Air Force:

"Our planes dropped pennants every 25 kilometers. We covered an area of ​​approximately 8,600 thousand square meters. Of this, 350 thousand square meters were photographed."

The surveyed territory was called New Swabia and declared part of the future thousand-year Reich. Actually, the name was not chosen by chance. Swabia is a medieval duchy, which later became part of a unified German state.

Nazi activity in this area, naturally, did not escape Soviet intelligence, as evidenced by a unique document classified “Top Secret.” On January 10, 1939, he lay on the table of the first deputy people's commissar of the NKVD, head of the Main Directorate of State Security, Vsevolod Merkulov.

In it, an unknown intelligence officer reported the following about his business trip to the Reich: “...Currently, according to Gunther, a party of German researchers is working in Tibet. The result of the work of one of the groups... made it possible to equip a German scientific expedition to Antarctica in December 1938 The goal of this expedition is to discover by the Germans the so-called city of the gods, hidden under the ice of Antarctica in the area of ​​Dronning Maud Land..."

“Lake”: 66o18’07.15’’S; 100o47’51.16’’E. 1. Queen Maud Land and Schirmacher Oasis. 2. Anomalies on Queen Mary Land - a “pass”, a “plate” and a “lake” were discovered here.

There is a lot of evidence that there are places in the central region of the Antarctic ice sheet where there appears to be water at the lower surface. Igor Zotikov, a researcher at the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, talked about how back in 1961 he analyzed data on the ice cover of the central part of Antarctica obtained during the first four Soviet expeditions.

The results of this analysis showed that the central regions are in conditions where the heat removal from the lower surface of the glacier upward due to its large thickness is very small. In this regard, the entire heat flow from the bowels of the earth cannot be completely removed from the boundaries of the “ice - solid bed” interface; part of it must be constantly spent on continuous melting at this boundary.

The following conclusion was made: melt water in the form of a relatively thin film is squeezed out into places where the thickness of the glacier is less. In individual recesses of the subglacial bed, this water can accumulate in the form of lakes of melt water.

In May 1962, the Izvestia newspaper wrote: “...It can be assumed that under the ice of Antarctica, over an area almost equal to the area of ​​Europe, a sea of ​​fresh water spreads. It should be rich in oxygen, which is delivered by the upper layers of ice gradually descending into the depths.” and snow. And it may very well be that this subglacial sea has its own, exceptionally unique life..."

There are still unexplored areas in Antarctica, says Sergei Bulat, senior researcher at the Department of Molecular and Radiation Biophysics at the St. Petersburg Institute of Nuclear Physics. - The subglacial structure is very diverse; it is an ordinary continental topography, where there are mountains, lakes, etc. There are niches between the continent and the ice, but they are not empty, they are all filled with either water or ice.

However, in my opinion, the existence of a separate civilization under the ice cap is impossible. After all, the ice thickness in Central Antarctica is over three kilometers. It's easy for anything to survive there. Don't forget that the average temperature on the surface of the continent is minus 55 degrees. Although it is, of course, warm under the ice - about 5-6 degrees below zero, life there is nevertheless unlikely.

The area of ​​Antarctica is about 14 million square kilometers. Almost the entire continent is covered with ice. In some places its thickness reaches 5 kilometers. And what is underneath is known only about an insignificant part of the surface.

A team of scientists from China, Japan and the UK recently published the results of their 4-year research in the journal Nature. From 2004 to 2008, they rode powerful all-terrain vehicles through the harshest region of Antarctica - over the Gamburtsev Mountains. And they scanned it with radars. The result was a surface relief map covering an area of ​​about 900 square kilometers.

And it turned out that the continent was once free of ice. Just 34 million years ago, there were mountains and plains with flowering meadows here. Just like in the European Alps now.

But something happened. Researchers have found a place from which a small glacier, located on the highest peak (about 2400 meters), began to grow. Gradually it covered the entire Antarctica. Hid several lakes under a layer of ice.

Martin Seigert from the University of Edinburgh, who took part in the expedition, is sure that frozen plants are still preserved in the valleys of the Antarctic Alps. Even small trees. But it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to reach them. But you can try, for example, through drilling.

Some facts

Antarctica has at least four poles. In addition to the geographic South and Magnetic, there are also the Cold Pole and the Wind Pole.

In Antarctica there are frosts that are not found anywhere else on earth. On August 25, 1958, a temperature of 87.4 degrees below zero was recorded at the Vostok station.
What about the pole of the winds? It is located on Antarctic Victoria Land. Fierce winds rage there all year round. Often the speed of air currents exceeds 80 meters per second, which leaves the strongest tropical cyclones behind...

A plane frozen in ice in Antarctica near the Russian Novolazarevskaya station

What is under the ice of this continent? As a result of deep drilling at a depth of one and a half kilometers, scientists discovered clear traces of volcanic eruptions and iron ore deposits. Diamonds and uranium, gold and rock crystal have already been found here. Every year brings new mysteries to researchers of the Antarctic continent.

There are fewer and fewer “white” spots on the white continent. However, while experts were working on drawing up the map, they saw a lot of unexpected things. And they racked their brains to explain what they saw.

Volcanoes in ice

This place in the west of Antarctica is well known to polar explorers - expeditions have visited here several times.

But if you stand on the surface, no “circles in the ice” are visible - an ordinary snow-covered plain. However, satellite images revealed such a convex anomaly. It turned out that it was an extinct volcano. There are many of them in Antarctica. And this once again proves that the sixth continent of our planet was not always bound by ice.

Noah frozen in the ice?

And this photo was liked by lovers of everything anomalous. The picture is unusually similar to the remains of Noah’s Ark, which is said to have been petrified on the slope of Ararat (see photo below). In fact, this is the Dry Valleys region - the only place in the region free of snow.

How icy rivers flow

Similar photographs can often be seen among archaeologists. Using aerial photography, they determine the contours of ancient cities covered with sand or earth.

And something similar was discovered in Antarctica. Alas, these are not ruins left by a mysterious civilization. And the “river” is an ice stream that moves at a speed of several hundred meters per year. And if there are any obstacles at the bottom of the river or two rivers collide, then whirlpools begin, as in this photo.

Currently, there are 50 polar research stations from 20 countries operating in Antarctica. Russia contains 6 permanent stations and two seasonal ones.