list of countries in antarctica

Before discussing the exact number of countries presently holding claims on Antarctica, its important to understand what these claims constitute. This page lists notable places in and immediately surrounding the Antarctic continent, including geographic features, bodies of water, and human settlements. Some of the most common permanent stations are led by countries such as Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Germany, and Italy among others. Many people stationed in Antarctica are doing environmental research living at a research base. It is the hottest continent and home of the world's largest desert, the Sahara, occupying the 25% of the total area of . It covers size of 14,000,000 sq km and population of only 1,106. There are 50 blank spaces where your students can write the state name associated with each . [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. The claims by Britain, Australia, New Zealand, France, and Norway do not overlap and are recognised by each other. There are currently (as at May, 2020) 31 countries operating in Antarctica and running 73 bases (36 summer seasonal and 37 permanent year-round). This area within Antarctica extends from Edward VIII Bay in the east to Queen Maud Land in the west. NA. Its hard to predict what may happen in the future, but if oil were to be found underneath all the ice, the sovereigns will hold on to their claims much stronger. [122], The same features can be observed in algae and cyanobacteria, suggesting that they are adaptations to the conditions prevailing in Antarctica. [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. Let us know more about the continent. There are no countries in Antarctica, although seven nations claim different parts of it: New Zealand, Australia, France, Norway, the United Kingdom, Chile, and Argentina. [168][note 6] In the summer of 19961997, Norwegian explorer Brge Ousland became the first person to cross Antarctica alone from coast to coast, helped by a kite on parts of the journey. The Belgian Princess Elisabeth station is one of the most modern stations and the first to be carbon-neutral. Their thick-walled and strongly melanised cells make them resistant to UV radiation. The climate of present-day Antarctica does not allow extensive vegetation to form. Read more: Summer Season in the South Pole. [126], Of the 700 species of algae in Antarctica, around half are marine phytoplankton. [71] In a few blue-ice areas, the wind and sublimation remove more snow than is accumulated by precipitation. The area received its name after the wife of Richard E Byrd, the first naval officer to explore the region in the 20th century. [14], Antarctica is divided into West Antarctica and East Antarctica by the Transantarctic Mountains, which stretch from Victoria Land to the Ross Sea. By 1959, 12 countries came together to create the 1959 Antarctica Treaty: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the U.S.S.R. (Russia), the United Kingdom, and the United States. Antarctica is the windiest place on the earth where windspeed of more than 350 kilometres per hour/218 miles per hour have been measured. Besides these seven, some other countries with research stations include: The list goes on and encompasses most of the European countries, including quite a lot of them from Europe. ", "Temperate rainforests near the South Pole during peak Cretaceous warmth", "Late Paleozoic Ice Age glaciers shaped East Antarctica landscape", "Migration of Triassic tetrapods to Antarctica", "Evolution of the Pacific margin of the northern Antarctic Peninsula: An overview", "Anatomy of a basal sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Early Jurassic Hanson Formation of Antarctica", "Breakup and early seafloor spreading between India and Antarctica", "The fossil record of Antarctic land mammals: Commented review and hypotheses for future research", "An emerging consensus in the evolution, phylogeny, and systematics of marsupials and their fossil relatives (Metatheria)", "The spatial and temporal evolution of strain during the separation of Australia and Antarctica", "IceAtmosphere Feedbacks Dominate the Response of the Climate System to Drake Passage Closure", "Rapid Cenozoic glaciation of Antarctica induced by declining atmospheric CO, "Regional geology mapping using satellite-based remote sensing approach in Northern Victoria Land, Antarctica", "Geology and Paleontology of Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula", "Uplift and tilting of the Shackleton Range in East Antarctica driven by glacial erosion and normal faulting", "Cenozoic geodynamics of the Ross Sea region, Antarctica: Crustal extension, intraplate strikeslip faulting, and tectonic inheritance", "Soviet Team Finds a 'Mountain of Iron' in Antarctica", "The Undiscovered Oil and Gas of Antarctica", "Record low surface air temperature at Vostok station, Antarctica", "Antarctica records unofficial coldest temperature ever", "Mapping blue-ice areas in Antarctica using ETM+ and MODIS data", "Snow in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica", "Record warming at the South Pole during the past three decades", "Antarctica logs highest temperature on record of 18.3C", "Attribution of polar warming to human influence", "Understanding climate: Antarctic sea ice extent", "Accelerated ice discharge from the Antarctic Peninsula following the collapse of Larsen B ice shelf", "Chapter 4: Sea Level Rise and Implications for Low Lying Islands, Coasts and Communities", Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, "Basal Melting, Roughness and Structural Integrity of Ice Shelves", "Ice-sheet losses track high-end sea-level rise projections", "Four decades of Antarctic Ice Sheet mass balance from 19792017", "History, mass loss, structure, and dynamic behavior of the Antarctic Ice Sheet", "Mass balance of the Antarctic Ice Sheet from 1992 to 2017", "Chapter 9: Ocean, Cryosphere, and Sea Level Change", "Constraining the mass balance of East Antarctica", "The uncertain future of the Antarctic Ice Sheet", "Chapter 9: Ocean, cryosphere, and sea level change", "Large, Deep Antarctic Ozone Hole Persisting into November", "Q10: Why has an "ozone hole" appeared over Antarctica when ozone-depleting substances are present throughout the stratosphere? [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. [54], 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. All but a small portion of the region lies within the Eastern Hemisphere. The Antarctica Treaty of 1959 was signed by twelve countries: the United Kingdom was the first to sign the treat followed by Argentine, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, United States of America and The Soviet Union/ Russia. The Chinese in Antarctica; Antarctic Bases. Antarctica is not broken up into countries, or capitals. Below is a list of countries and areas of the world in alphabetical order, with official names and alternative designations. To get a clearer picture, you need to understand more about the events that preceded the treaty system that keeps the fifth-largest continent of the world in check, protecting it from armed conflicts and petty squabbles. ", "World Meteorological Organization Global Ozone Research and Monitoring ProjectReport No. COUNTRIES A - K COUNTRIES L - Z CONTINENTS: Africa Antarctica Asia Europe North America Oceania South America Why it is important to know other countries, capitals and famous places? [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. Antarctica (/ n t r k t k / ()) is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent.Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern 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 km 2 (5,500,000 sq mi). It is also the world's highest, driest, windiest, coldest, and iciest continent. Flight delays are less painful inside a gorgeous, well-designed airport. The 23 countries of the Middle East, North Africa, . This article includes a geography-related, List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands, List of mountains of Princess Elizabeth Land, "The World at a Glance: Surprising Facts", "Bedmap2: improved ice bed, surface and thickness datasets for Antarctica", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lists_of_places_in_Antarctica&oldid=1097887588, This page was last edited on 13 July 2022, at 04:57. Holy See and the State of Palestine are the non-member observer states. Geographical features, such as ice caps, are shown as they are today for identification purposes, not as how they appeared at these times. NA. [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. The relative warmth of the Arctic Ocean is transferred through the Arctic sea ice and moderates temperatures in the Arctic region. Other associated Triassic flora included ginkgophytes, cycadophytes, conifers, and sphenopsids. [194], Tourists have been visiting Antarctica since 1957. The ice shelves of Antarctica were probably first seen in 1820, during a Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev. There are no countries in Antarctica. [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. [98] Estimates of the mass balance of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet as a whole range from slightly positive to slightly negative. During the Cambrian period, Gondwana had a mild climate. Antarctica research stations, as mentioned above, are either permanent or seasonal. For a list of them, see List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands. In the Cretaceous, it was dominated by a fern-conifer ecosystem, which changed into a temperate rainforest by the end of that period. [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. Military personnel or equipment are permitted only for scientific research or other peaceful purposes. Few nations including Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and United Kingdom have laid claims over it, yet it still appears to be an independent territory without any government ownership or rule. [33][34] There is no evidence of any tetrapods having lived in Antarctica during the Paleozoic. [37], The Antarctic Peninsula began to form during the Jurassic period (206146Ma). He sailed along a huge wall of ice that was later named the, colonized structural cavities within porous rocks, first international agreement to protect Antarctica's biodiversity, Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, Convention on the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities, Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, "Highlights from the Bartholomew Archive: The naming of Antarctica", "Bedmap2: improved ice bed, surface and thickness datasets for Antarctica", "The Lost Dry Valleys of the Polar Plateau", "Origin and Evolution of the Sub-Antarctic Islands", "Bunbury Basalt: Gondwana breakup products or earliest vestiges of the Kerguelen mantle plume? [19] Several Antarctic ice streams flow to one of the many Antarctic ice shelves, a process described by ice-sheet dynamics. However, as can be expected of any place on Earth where interests of various countries collide, waters get muddied rather abruptly. Devoid of trees, the wonderland of mountains . 1400-1600)-language text, Articles containing Old English (ca. [106] The extreme cold conditions of Antarctica allow polar stratospheric clouds to form. 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 Argentinean government formally protested against the claim. Permanent stations are those that run all year round. A full collapse would likely not take place unless warming reaches between 2 and 3C (3.6 and 5.4F), and may occur within centuries under pessimistic assumptions. 14. This Icey region of Antarctica was discovered by Lincoln Ellsworth and his co-pilot Herbert Hollick-Keyon as they were crossing the continent. Antarctica is the only continent in the world uninhabited by Homo sapiens. Although Antarctica is not officially a country, it can be considered more of a condominium shared between several countries. [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. For Australia and New Zealand, see, Temperate conditions near the coast in December, The warming trend for Antarctica from 1957 to 2006, based on the analysis of, Conservation and environmental protection, The word was originally pronounced with the first. COPYRIGHT 2022 | Isolated Traveller. Antarctica is a desert, receiving very little annual precipitation. [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. Near the center of the land mass is the South Pole. This area lies south of the Pacific Ocean and East of the Ross Sea. Put aside your responsibilities for the night and say no to that October Isnt it gorgeous? Although Antarctica is a continent, there is no official country within the landmass. Whether youre starting your day off with delicious vegan OK, youve been saving up your cash and now youre ready to go to Asia to chill, eat some killer food, relax, and maybe Europes Best Airline 2011-2016 and 18th best airline in the world in 2018 according to Skytrax rating, Turkish Airlines still raises the question of 6 Under-the-Radar Caribbean Islands to Visit, Happiness, Mapped: 5 Places in The United States That Make This Scandinavian Smile, 4 Spooky Spots to Visit This Halloween in the US, Things I Noticed Have Changed in Norway Since Last Time I Visited, 8 Things to Do in Georgetown, South Carolina, 4 Things I Saw at a Country Flea Market in America Last Week, How to Find Extremely Cheap Last Minute Flights. Dozens of research stations, some year-round and others seasonal, operate in Antarctica under the guidance of around 30 individual countries. [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. The coastal regions can reach temperatures over 10C (50F) in summer. [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 220Gt per year during the five years from 2012 to 2017. In particular, the United States seeks to promote Antarctica's status as a continent reserved for peace and science in accordance with the provisions of the Antarctic Treaty of 1959. List of Antarctic bases; China's Taishan base; New Zealand's Scott Base; Poland's Henryk Arctowski Station; . Antarctica is 1.3 times as large as Europe. 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