When you look at such a photograph taken on the shore of a lake, can you think that it was taken in the depths of the mainland Antarctica? I also thought that this continent is covered at all times of the year, if not with a thick layer of ice, but there are no huge areas of open land, and even more so with rivers and lakes. The coast is thawing, well, a couple of kilometers inland - that's all. But it turns out it's not...

About the absence of many kilometers of ice thickness, we can conclude (at least off the coast)

Antarctic Lake Vanda. The lake is 5 km long and has a maximum depth of 69 m.

Huge ice-free expanses in Antarctica


This is what it looks like in satellite pictures. Territory approximately 30x50 km without ice and snow

The terrain of this place

I learned about this place from this video:

Some will say what's wrong here summer period the ice melted, the valleys were exposed. But the fact is that even in winter there is no, not only accumulated ice, but also snow.

Lake in winter

Land of Victoria. One of the McMurdo Dry Valleys

Agree, not an Antarctic landscape at all. Either this is a huge amount of water erosion to work, or these are faults in earth's crust, or, as a version - a huge ancient quarry.

Wright Valley. Desert

Glaciers are trying to get into the valleys. But either there is not enough pressure from their main masses, or the temperature in the valley due to a geothermal anomaly is such that they melt, and thanks to this, rivers are allowed to appear. Yes, real rivers in Antarctica:

Onyx - The most long river Antarctica.
Located in the Wright Valley in Victoria Land, in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, characterized by an almost year-round absence of snow, high level solar insolation and rather high summer temperatures. The length of the river is about 30 km. It flows into Lake Wanda.
The water level in the river is subject to strong daily and seasonal fluctuations. Onyx has several tributaries and flows only during the late Antarctic summer (February, March). During the rest of the time, the river flow looks like a bare ribbon of ice. Sometimes for several years the river cannot reach Lake Wanda. But peculiar floods also happen, during one of them, in 1984, New Zealand rafters even went down the river.
There are no fish in the river, but there are microorganisms and algae that can be seen blooming.
Weather stations are located along the river, and at the mouth of the river is the New Zealand Wanda station.
(founded in 1968). It's interesting that Maximum temperature The air temperature at the station, noted on January 5, 1974, was +15.0 °C, which, apparently, is the temperature record for the entire Antarctica.

So why is there no snow and “multi-million-year” ice (quoted in quotation marks) in their valleys? Why is there so little snow here? It is hard to believe that the precipitation is blown away by winds that blow at a speed of 320 km / h. First of all - in the speed of such winds. Or maybe the waters of the flood could not overflow here for some reason and, accordingly, freeze? Or has the temperature of the earth's surface melted all the ice? The temperature of deep waters in 23 gr. Lake Wanda talks about it.

In the English-language wikipedia, it is written that Lake Vanda is a hypermineralized lake with a salinity of more than ten times more than sea ​​water, greater than salinity Dead Sea, and perhaps even more than at Lake Assal (Djibouti). Lake Vanda is also meromictic, meaning that the deeper waters of the lake do not mix with the shallow waters. There are three different layers of water ranging from 23°C at the bottom, 7°C in the middle layer and 4-6°C in the upper layers. Those. geothermal lake.

Let's continue our further tour of Antarctica.

McMurdo station is nearby on the island, on the shore of the bay. The hill looks like a waste heap. 77° 50" 35.70" S 166° 38" 50.51" E

Its height is higher than the level of neighboring mountains

The flat surface of the mountains

Why is Antarctica photographed by satellites in winter? Like the Arctic, by the way. But there are also summer photos in the panoramio service.

As can be seen from the photographs, McMurdo Station is a large contingent of researchers. Capital buildings, a lot of machinery and equipment. The station is located on an island in McMurdo Sound. And the central mountain of the island is a volcano:


The diameter of the larger crater is about 500m. But two geologically young craters are located in an older one. It is over 4 km in diameter.

This is Mount Erebus. Puffs of steam sometimes escape from the crater. IN this the book says that the volcano erupted last time September 17, 1984 with the release of volcanic bombs.

As you can see, Antarctica lives a stormy geological life and in some places it is not at all what they show us.

Antarctica is not only -89.2°C
1
The official date for the discovery of Antarctica as a continent is January 28, 1820. On this day, the expedition of Bellingshausen and Lazarev approached Antarctica at the point 69 ° 21 "28" south latitude and 2°14"50" west longitude.

2
January 24, 1895 the captain of the Norwegian ship "Antarctic" Christensen and teacher natural sciences Carsten Borchgrevink was the first to set foot on the continental part of Antarctica.




3
According to the Antarctic Convention, signed on December 1, 1959 and entered into force on June 23, 1961, the cold continent does not belong to any country.

4
Antarctica is the driest, windiest and coldest continent. In Antarctica, on Russian station"Vostok", was registered maximum low temperature in the world - -89.2°C (-128.6°F).

5
Antarctica has a dialing code of +682 and a top-level domain. aq, as well as the flag (a white continent on a blue background) - but there is no institution of citizenship, no government, since there is no permanent population.


6
February in Antarctica is the height of the short Antarctic summer and the most auspicious time for Antarctic diving: at the end of February and at the beginning of March, the parties of winterers change.

7
There are more than 40 year-round research stations in Antarctica - five of them are Russian: Bellingshausen, Vostok, Mirny, Novolazarevskaya, Progress - and three more former Soviet bases are mothballed, while the other eight are closed.

8
Antarctica is home to the cleanest sea on earth, the Weddell Sea.

9
Beer, a refreshing and highly nutritious drink, is included in the mandatory diet of polar explorers working at stations in the Arctic and Antarctic.

10
In October 1999, an iceberg the size of London broke off Antarctica.

11
Not in Antarctica polar bears
Polar bears do not live in Antarctica at all, but in the Arctic. Penguins inhabit most of Antarctica, but it is unlikely that a penguin will meet a polar bear in vivo. Polar bears live in areas such as northern Canada, Alaska, Russia, Greenland and Norway. It's too cold in Antarctica because there are no polar bears. However, in Lately, scientists are beginning to think about how to populate polar bears in Antarctica, as the Arctic is gradually melting.

12
There are rivers in Antarctica. One of them is the Onyx River, which carries meltwater to the east. The Onyx River flows to Lake Vanda in the Wright Dry Valley. Due to extreme climatic conditions it flows for only two months during the Antarctic summer. Its length is 40 km, and although there are no fish, microorganisms and algae live in this river.

13
The driest place on Earth. One of the most interesting facts about Antarctica is the contrast between the dry climate and the amount of water (70 percent fresh water). This continent is the driest place on our planet. Even the hottest desert in the world receives more rain than the Dry Valleys of Antarctica. In fact, on everything south pole about 10 cm of precipitation falls annually.

14
Inhabitants of Antarctica. There are no permanent residents in Antarctica. The only people who live there for any period of time are those who are part of the temporary scientific communities. In summer, the number of scientists and support staff is about 5,000, while in winter no more than 1,000 people remain to work here.

15
Who owns Antarctica? There is no government in Antarctica, and no country in the world owns this continent. Although many countries have attempted to claim ownership of these lands, an agreement has been reached that grants Antarctica the privilege of being the only region on Earth that is not ruled by any country.

16
In search of meteorites. One of the interesting facts about this continent is the fact that Antarctica is the best place where you can find meteorites. Apparently, meteorites that hit the Antarctic ice sheet are better preserved than anywhere else on Earth. Fragments of meteorites from Mars are the most valuable and unexpected discoveries. Probably, the speed of release from this planet had to be about 18,000 km / h, in order for the meteorite to reach the Earth.

17
Lack of time zones. It is the only continent without time zones. Scientific communities in Antarctica, they tend to stick to the time that is associated with their native land, or check the time according to the supply line that supplies them with food and important things. Here you can go through all 24 time zones in a few seconds.

18
Animals of Antarctica. This is the only place on Earth where Emperor penguins can be found. These are the tallest and largest of all penguin species. Also emperor penguins are the only species that breeds during the Antarctic winter, while the Adélie penguin, compared to other species, breeds in the southernmost part of the mainland. Of the 17 penguin species, 6 varieties are found in Antarctica.
Despite the fact that for blue whales, killer whales and fur seals this continent is also hospitable, Antarctica is not rich in land animals. One of the largest life forms here is an insect, the wingless midge Belgica antarctica, about 1.3 cm long. There are no flying insects due to extreme windy conditions. However, black springtails can be found among the colonies of penguins, which jump like fleas. In addition, Antarctica is the only continent that does not have native ant species.

19
Global warming. The largest land mass covered with ice is Antarctica, where 90 percent of the world's ice is concentrated. The average ice thickness on Antarctica is about 2133 m. If all the ice on Antarctica melts, the world's sea level will rise by 61 m. But average temperature on the continent is -37 degrees Celsius, so there is no danger of melting yet. In fact, most of the continent will never get above freezing.

Leads to the fact that glaciers are melting on all continents, including Antarctica. Previously, the mainland was completely covered with ice, but now there are areas of land with lakes and rivers that are free of ice. These processes take place on the coast of the ocean. Satellite images will help to verify this, on which you can see the relief without snow and ice.

It can be assumed that the melting of glaciers occurred in the summer season, but the valleys are free from ice cover much longer. Probably anomalous in this place warm temperature air. Melted ice contributes to the formation of rivers and lakes. The longest river on the continent is the Onyx (30 km). Its shores are almost all year round free from snow. At different times of the year, temperature fluctuations and water level drops are observed here. The absolute maximum was recorded in 1974 +15 degrees Celsius. There are no fish in the river, but there are algae and microorganisms.

In some parts of Antarctica, the ice has melted not only due to rising temperatures and global warming, but also due to air masses that move at different speeds. As you can see, life on the continent is not monotonous, and Antarctica is not only ice and snow, there is a place for warmth and water bodies.

Lakes in oases

In the summer season, glaciers melt in Antarctica, and water fills various depressions, as a result of which lakes are formed. The greatest number of them is recorded in coastal regions, but they are also found at significant heights, for example, in the mountains of Queen Maud Land. On the continent there are both quite large and small reservoirs in area. In general, most of the lakes are located in the oases of the mainland.

Under-ice reservoirs

Except surface water, in Antarctica there are subglacial reservoirs. They were opened not so long ago. In the middle of the twentieth century, pilots discovered strange formations up to 30 kilometers deep and up to 12 kilometers long. These subglacial lakes and rivers were further investigated by scientists from the Polar Institute. For this, radar surveys were used. Where special signals were recorded, the melting of water under the icy surface was established. The approximate length of the under-ice water areas is over 180 kilometers.

In the course of research on under-ice reservoirs, it was found that they appeared quite a long time ago. Melt water from the glaciers of Antarctica gradually flowed into the subglacial depressions, covered with ice from above. The approximate age of the subglacial lakes and rivers is one million years. There is silt at their bottom, and spores, pollen get into the water various kinds flora, organic microorganisms.

The melting of ice in Antarctica is actively taking place in the area of ​​outlet glaciers. They are a fast moving stream of ice. Melt water partly drains into the ocean, and partly freezes on the surface of glaciers. The process of melting of the ice cover is observed from 15 to 20 centimeters annually in the coastal zone, and up to 5 centimeters in the center.

Lake Vostok

One of the largest reservoirs of the mainland, located under the ice, is Lake Vostok, as well as a scientific station in Antarctica. Its area is approximately 15.5 thousand kilometers. Depth at different areas The water area is different, but the maximum recorded is 1200 meters. In addition, there are at least eleven islands on the territory of the reservoir.

As for living microorganisms, the creation of special conditions in Antarctica affected their isolation from outside world. When drilling began on the icy surface of the continent, they discovered various organisms at considerable depths, characteristic only of the polar habitat. As a result, at the beginning of the 21st century, more than 140 subglacial rivers and lakes were discovered in Antarctica.

When you look at such a photograph taken on the shore of a lake, can you think that it was taken in the depths of the mainland Antarctica? I also thought that this continent is covered at all times of the year, if not with a thick layer of ice, but there are no huge areas of open land, and even more so with rivers and lakes.

The coast is thawing, well, a couple of kilometers inland - and that's it. But it turns out that's not the case...

Antarctic Lake Vanda. The lake is 5 km long and has a maximum depth of 69 m.

Huge ice-free expanses in Antarctica


This is what it looks like in satellite pictures. Territory approximately 30x50 km without ice and snow


The terrain of this place

I learned about this place from this video:

Some will say that this is so, in the summer the ice melted, the valleys became bare. But the fact is that even in winter there is no, not only accumulated ice, but also snow.


Lake in winter


Land of Victoria. One of the McMurdo Dry Valleys


Agree, not an Antarctic landscape at all. Either this is a huge amount of water erosion worked, or these are faults in the earth's crust, or, as a version, a huge ancient quarry.


Wright Valley. Desert

Glaciers are trying to get into the valleys. But either there is not enough pressure from their main masses, or the temperature in the valley due to a geothermal anomaly is such that they melt, and thanks to this, rivers are allowed to appear. Yes, real rivers in Antarctica:

Onyx is the longest river in Antarctica.

It is located in the Wright Valley in Victoria Land, in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, characterized by an almost year-round lack of snow, high levels of solar insolation and fairly high summer temperatures. The length of the river is about 30 km. It flows into Lake Vanda.

The water level in the river is subject to strong daily and seasonal fluctuations. Onyx has several tributaries and flows only during the late Antarctic summer (February, March). During the rest of the time, the river flow looks like a bare ribbon of ice.

Sometimes for several years the river cannot reach Lake Wanda. But peculiar floods also happen, during one of them, in 1984, New Zealand rafters even went down the river.

There are no fish in the river, but there are microorganisms and algae that can be seen blooming.

Weather stations are located along the river, and at the mouth of the river is the New Zealand Wanda station (founded in 1968). It is interesting that the maximum air temperature at the station, recorded on January 5, 1974, was +15.0 °C, which, apparently, is the temperature record for the entire Antarctica.

So why is there no snow and “multi-million-year” ice (quoted in quotation marks) in their valleys? Why is there so little snow here? It is hard to believe that the precipitation is blown away by winds that blow at a speed of 320 km / h.

First of all - in the speed of such winds.

Or maybe the waters of the flood could not overflow here for some reason and, accordingly, freeze? Or has the temperature of the earth's surface melted all the ice? The temperature of deep waters in 23 gr. Lake Wanda talks about it.

The English-language wikipedia says that Lake Vanda is a hypermineralized lake with a salinity of more than ten times more than sea water, more than the salinity of the Dead Sea, and perhaps even more than that of Lake Assal (Djibouti).

Lake Vanda is also meromictic, which means that the deeper waters of the lake do not mix with the shallow waters. There are three different layers of water ranging from 23°C at the bottom, 7°C in the middle layer and 4-6°C in the upper layers. Those. geothermal lake.

Let's continue our further tour of Antarctica.


McMurdo station is nearby on the island, on the shore of the bay. The hill looks like a waste heap. 77° 50′ 35.70″ S 166° 38′ 50.51″ E


Its height is higher than the level of neighboring mountains


The flat surface of the mountains


Why is Antarctica photographed by satellites in winter? Like the Arctic, by the way. But there are also summer photos in the panoramio service.

As can be seen from the photographs, McMurdo Station is a large contingent of researchers. Capital buildings, a lot of machinery and equipment. The station is located on an island in McMurdo Sound. And the central mountain of the island is a volcano:

The diameter of the larger crater is about 500m. But two geologically young craters are located in an older one. It is over 4 km in diameter.

This is Mount Erebus. Puffs of steam sometimes escape from the crater. IN this The book says that the volcano last erupted on September 17, 1984. with the release of volcanic bombs.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Onyx
Characteristic
Length
Source

lake brownworth
- Coordinates
mouth
- Coordinates
A country

Antarctica Antarctica
Region
R: Rivers in alphabetical order R: Water bodies in alphabetical order R: Rivers up to 50 km in length R: River card: fill in: Basin area Onyx (river) Onyx (river) R: River card: fill in: National name K: River card: fix: source

Onyx is the longest river in Antarctica. located in wright valley on Victoria Land, in the dry valleys of McMurdo, characterized by an almost year-round absence of snow, high levels of solar insolation and relatively (for Antarctica) high summer temperatures. The length of the river is about 30 km. It flows into Lake Vanda.

The water level in the river is subject to strong daily and seasonal fluctuations. Onyx has several tributaries and flows only during the late Antarctic summer (February, March). During the rest of the time, the river flow looks like a bare ribbon of ice. Sometimes for several years the river cannot reach Lake Wanda. But there are also peculiar floods; during one of them, in 1984, New Zealand rafters even went down the river.

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Notes

An excerpt characterizing Onyx (river)

Seeing the calmness of his tres gracieux souverain, Michaud also calmed down, but to the sovereign’s direct, essential question, which required a direct answer, he had not yet had time to prepare an answer.
– Sire, me permettrez vous de vous parler franchement en loyal militaire? [Sovereign, will you allow me to speak frankly, as befits a real warrior?] – he said to gain time.
- Colonel, je l "exige toujours," said the sovereign. "Ne me cachez rien, je veux savoir absolument ce qu" il en est. [Colonel, I always demand this... Don't hide anything, I certainly want to know the whole truth.]
– Sir! Michaud said with a thin, barely perceptible smile on his lips, having managed to prepare his answer in the form of a light and respectful jeu de mots [pun]. – Sir! j "ai laisse toute l" armee depuis les chefs jusqu "au dernier soldat, sans exception, dans une crainte epouvantable, effrayante ... [Sir! I left the entire army, from the commanders to the last soldier, without exception, in the great, desperate fear…]
– Comment ca? - strictly frowning, interrupted the sovereign. - Mes Russes se laisseront ils abattre par le malheur ... Jamais! .. [How so? Can my Russians lose heart before failure… Never!..]
This was just what Michaud was waiting for to insert his play on words.
“Sire,” he said with respectful playfulness, “ils craignent seulement que Votre Majeste par bonte de c?ur ne se laisse persuader de faire la paix.” Ils brulent de combattre, - said the representative of the Russian people, - et de prouver a Votre Majeste par le sacrifice de leur vie, combien ils lui sont devoues... . They are eager to fight again and prove to Your Majesty by the sacrifice of their lives how devoted they are to you…]
- Ah! the sovereign said calmly and with a gentle gleam in his eyes, slapping Michaud on the shoulder. - Vous me tranquillisez, colonel. [A! You calm me down, Colonel.]
The sovereign, bowing his head, was silent for some time.
- Eh bien, retournez a l "armee, [Well, go back to the army.] - he said, straightening to his full height and addressing Michaud with an affectionate and majestic gesture, - et dites a nos braves, dites a tous mes bons sujets partout ou vous passerez, que quand je n" aurais plus aucun soldat, je me mettrai moi meme, a la tete de ma chere noblesse, de mes bons paysans et j "userai ainsi jusqu" a la derniere ressource de mon empire. Il m "en offre encore plus que mes ennemis ne pensent," the sovereign said, more and more inspired. "Mais si jamais il fut ecrit dans les decrets de la divine providence," he said, raising his beautiful, meek and brilliant feelings eyes to the sky, - que ma dinastie dut cesser de rogner sur le trone de mes ancetres, alors, apres avoir epuise tous les moyens qui sont en mon pouvoir, je me laisserai croitre la barbe jusqu "ici (the sovereign showed half of his chest with his hand) , et j "irai manger des pommes de terre avec le dernier de mes paysans plutot, que de signer la honte de ma patrie et de ma chere nation, dont je sais apprecier les sacrifices!.. [Tell our brave men, tell all my subjects wherever you pass, that when I have not a single soldier left, I myself will stand at the head of my amiable nobles and good peasants and thus exhaust the last funds of my state. They are more than my enemies think ... But if it was destined by divine providence that our dynasty ceased to reign on the throne of my ancestors, then, having exhausted all the means that are in my hands, I will grow my beard until now and rather go to eat one potato with the last of my peasants, rather than decide to sign the disgrace of my homeland and my dear people, whose sacrifices I know how to appreciate!..] Having said these words in an excited voice, the sovereign suddenly turned around, as if wishing to hide from Michaud the tears that had come into his eyes, and went into the depths of his office. After standing there for a few moments, he big steps returned to Michaud and with a strong gesture squeezed his arm below the elbow. The beautiful, meek face of the sovereign flushed, and his eyes burned with a gleam of determination and anger.