Coldest, windiest,
driest, most remote - Antarctica is extreme by
any standard. In the dry interior of the
continent, the annual mean temperature is between
-58 and -76°F (-50 and -60°C). Toward the coast
it rises to between 14 and -4°F (-10 and
-20°C). The lowest world temperature on record
was measured here: -128.6°F (-89.2°C).
Almost the entire continent-98 percent- is
covered in ice that is thousands of years old. If
it all were to melt, the global sea level would
rise by a couple of hundred feet (about 60
meters).
Antarctica has two distinct seasons, a very short
summer and a very long winter. During the austral
summer the days are very long. In the winter
feeble sunlight breaks out for only an hour or
two, if at all.
Antarctic cruise
|
