Geographical position of Antarctica: general information

The geographical position of Antarctica is the only thing that practically did not cause doubts among the numerous travelers who had long gone out in search of the sixth continent. The unexplored land was located, in their opinion, in the south of Africa and Australia. It was there that Antarctica was discovered in 1820. The geographic position of the continent is well known today. It largely determines the severity of the climate and other conditions on the continent.

Geographical position of Antarctica: general information

In ancient times, Aristotle believed in the existence of a distant continent in the south. He supported his opinion with the theory of symmetry of the earth: the continent is necessary for balancing its excess in the north. And, indeed, the ice continent is located in the southern polar region. The location opposite to the Arctic region of the globe, even reflected in its name. The prefix "anti" in translation from ancient Greek means "against".

The geographical position of Antarctica is limited to a zone called Antarctica. It lies in the range of 48-60 ° S. W. The area occupied by the mainland is estimated at 13,975 thousand square kilometers. This figure includes both shelf glaciers and islands connected to the continent. If the continental shelf is taken into account in calculating the area, the indicator increases to 16,355 thousand km ² .

Edge and center

The geographical position of Antarctica is characterized by the presence of a long peninsula, which stretched toward South America. Here is the most northern point of the mainland. This is Cape Sifre. It reaches 63º13 'south latitude. On the opposite side of the peninsula, the territory of the ice continent does not extend so far into the ocean.

The coordinates of the center of Antarctica are approximately 84 degrees south. W and 64º c. Etc. It was called the "pole of relative inaccessibility". Opinions about its exact location are somewhat divergent. In science, the pole of inaccessibility is the point most distant from the transport routes, in the case of the sixth continent - from the coast. However, some factors, including the peculiarities of the geographical position of Antarctica, have made it difficult to determine its location. The shore line can be carried out at the "meeting place" of land and water or the ice shelves and the ocean. Because of this, the exact coordinates of the unavailability pole are not defined. It is often associated with the Soviet station of the same name, located at 82º06 'S. W. And 54º58 'in. E.

In any case, the location of the center of the continent does not coincide with the location of the South Pole. If the first of these coordinates is chosen as the right ones, then the distance between them is about 660 km.

The highest continent

Although studying the geographical position of Antarctica, Grade 7, few people remember how the continent "rises" above sea level. The sixth continent is rightfully considered to be the highest. The reason is in an impressive ice cover. On average, the height of the surface of Antarctica above sea level is two thousand meters. In the center of the mainland, the figure increases to 4000 m. The overwhelming part of this power is ice. Only 0.3% of the relief of Antarctica is free of it. The surface height of the sixth continent is 2.8 times greater than that of any other continent.

Two parts

The number of ice-free zones includes the Transantarctic mountains. They divide the continent into two regions: West and East Antarctica. These areas are different in their structure and origin. The eastern part is the place where the continent's high plateaus are located, reaching a mark of four thousand meters above sea level. The western region is occupied by mountainous islands connected by ice. In the same zone, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, there are Antarctic Andes, also exceeding 4 thousand meters above sea level. The highest point on the continent is the Vinson Massif. It is located in West Antarctica and rises to 4892 m. In this same part is located the most "low" point of the mainland. This is the Bentley basin, filled with ice. Its depth reaches 2555 m below sea level.

Impressive cover

The physico-geographical position of Antarctica is the key to understanding all the characteristics of the continent. It is the reason for such an impressive ice cover of the continent. A similar education can be found in Greenland. However, the Antarctic ice "coverlet" exceeds it tenfold. The characteristics of this formation are striking. Here 90% of all ice is found, which is on land of our planet. Its volume is about 33 million cubic kilometers!

The ice cover is a formation resembling a dome. The steepness of its surface increases to the coast. Gradual accumulation of mass leads to the movement of ice towards its destruction (ablation, scientifically). For Antarctica, such a zone is the coast. Here, ice is broken off, icebergs are formed. Annually, the total volume of destruction is approximately 2.5 thousand km ³ .

Feature

Apparently, the geographical position of Antarctica and the glacial relief are inextricably linked. The location of the continent was the reason for the appearance of another feature of the continent. These are huge shelf glaciers. They, partially floating in the water, partially leaning on the bottom, stretch from shore to the sea. Shelf glaciers are the source of the most impressive icebergs. Individual specimens amaze with their dimensions even quite familiar to the wonders of the Antarctic scientists. A good example is the B-15 iceberg, which broke off in 2000 from the Ross Ice Shelf. Its area exceeded ten thousand square kilometers.

In winter (in the northern hemisphere at this time of summer), the territory occupied by ice shelves is estimated at 18 million ^km² . When it is replaced by summer, their area is reduced to 3-4 million ^km² .

Ancient Education

According to researchers, the glacial cover of the continent was formed about 14 million years ago. Not the least role in this was played by the erosion of the jumper, which previously connected the sixth continent and South America. The "trace" from it is the Antarctic Peninsula. The same process, apparently, led to the formation of the current of the Western winds (the Atlantic circumpolar current), which separates the waters surrounding the continent from the World Ocean.

The conditional boundary

The geographical position of Antarctica according to the plan of the terrain or map is determined, in particular, by its proximity to the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. In some manuals, they directly border the continent. In others, the waters of the Southern Ocean are washed by Antarctica. Its conditional boundary can be called the current of the Western winds. The isolation of the Southern Ocean is, rather, unofficial, although since the beginning of this century it has become increasingly common in the literature.

The temperature conditions in the waters surrounding the continent vary from -2 ºС to +10 ºС. The Southern Ocean is a place of strong storms and winds. In winter, it freezes up to 65 ° S. W. In the Pacific and up to 55º south. W. In the Atlantic area. However, some areas remain ice-free throughout the entire period due to the action of strong winds.

Climate

The geographical position of Antarctica affects the weather conditions on the continent. Here is the cold pole of the planet. The lowest temperature (-88.3 ºС) was recorded by Soviet researchers in August 1960 at the station "Vostok". Average winter values vary between -60 ºС and -70 ºС. In summer the range is somewhat different: from -30 ºС to -50 ºС. In general, the temperature practically never rises above -20 ºС. The exception is the coast and its most outstanding point is the Antarctic Peninsula. Here the air can warm up to 10-12 ºС in summer. In the winter months, the temperature falls on the peninsula to an insignificant by the standards of the continent at -8 ° C. At the same time, the movement of cold air masses from the center of the continent "awakens" rather strong winds: sometimes their speed reaches 90 m / s.

Antarctica (the geographical position contributes to this) is not famous for its elevated humidity values. The average figure is 60-80%, on the coast it drops to 20%, and in some areas - even to 5%. This fact is especially striking when you recall how much water is contained in the ice shell of the continent.

Once upon a time, Antarctica was covered with forests. According to researchers, on the continent there were rivers and lakes, mountains and hills, valleys and meadows. Today it is difficult to imagine such Antarctica. About its past is evidence of some of the minerals discovered, in particular coal deposits. However, many of the resources concealed by the ice cover have yet to be explored. The harsh conditions of our Antarctica, connected with its geographical location, do not allow us to quickly master the vast territories of the continent. Perhaps that's why the program of international cooperation began to unfold here. Researchers from different countries together try to understand the secrets of the sixth continent. And the degree of progress often depends on the ability to agree and coordinate actions.