FACTS ABOUT ANTARCTICA
1.
A record set :While the coldest temperature ever measured by thermometer on Earth's surface was made at Vostok Station (see slide 1), the coldest ever recorded was minus 136 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 93.2 Celsius), measured in pockets scattered near a high ice ridge between Dome Argus and Dome Fuji, two summits on the East Antarctic Plateau. The satellite measurement, made on Aug. 10, 2010, was announced in December 2013, and, if confirmed on the ground, could beat out the Vostok record. The World Meteorological Organization only recognizes temperature measurements made a few meters above the ground as eligible for records.
2.
Hunters' paradise: Antarctica is considered the premier hunting ground for meteorites on Earth, in part because the dark rocks stand out against the white ice, but also because the meteorites are largely undisturbed by natural processes.
3.
Cloudy skies : Areas along Antarctica's coasts are among the cloudiest places in the world, according to the British Antarctic Survey. This "hole" in the ozone layer grows and shrinks with the seasons and is largely caused by chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons, once widely used in air conditioners, aerosol sprays and refrigerators.
4.
A hole in the ozone : (matter of concern )Scientists with the British Antarctic Survey first noticed a significant depletion of the ozone in the layer of the atmosphere called the lower stratosphere above Antarctic in the 1970s.
5.
Salty salty water : Deep Lake in Antarctica is so salty that it stays liquid at temperatures down to minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 20 degrees Celsius).
6.
Cool formations : Giant, hollow towers of ice form on Mount Erebus when fumarole cracks on the volcano that vent hot gas spew steam into the open air. The steam freezes in place in the frigid air, forming towers up to 30 feet (10 meters) tall.
7.
Super cold : The air in Antarctica is so cold that water vapor can condense out of the air and form tiny ice crystals that then fall to the ground. On a sunny day, the sun's rays glint off the crystals, creating a phenomenon called diamond dust, according to the British Antarctic Survey.
8.
The South Pole : Antarctica is, of course, home to the geographic South Pole, the spot where the Earth's (imaginary) rotation axis would intersect the surface — at least, it is usually. There is some wobble in Earth's orbit, so the location is not always a precise one.
9.
A well-known current : The world's largest wind-driven current, the Circumpolar Current, circles clockwise around Antarctica, from west to east, and is instrumental in moving heat, salt, nutrients and marine life among the world's main ocean basins.
10.
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