Bigger than and all of Europe, Antarctica makes up a whopping 10 percent of the earth's land. With temperatures of -89 Celsius and sustained winds of over 190 miles per hour, Antactica, the landscape has a vast but forbidding beauty. This continent lies in the Southern Ocean.
These Antarctic marine ecosystem supports some of the richest nutrient flows on the planet and is home to whales, seals and dolphins. Beneath the huge ice service are huge amounts of micro forage. This food is the primary fare for consumption by sea creatures such as seals and whales.
The animals residing in Antarctica are well adapted to the cold, dry and windy conditions. Antarctica's average elevation is the highest of all the continents but has an annual precipitation of only 200mm concentrated mainly on the coastline. Animals which have learned to survive and thrive in these brutal weather conditions include penguins and seals.
Antarctica is still the most pristine and undisturbed area in the world. The density of the molecules in the atmosphere is so pronounced at the poles that a severe greenhouse is present. The heat supplied by the rays of the sun is soaked up readily, and therefore produces tremendous heat as a result.
Our atmosphere is comprised of approximately 79 percent nitrogen and 21 percent oxygen. Methane and carbon dioxide also contribute to the make-up of the atmosphere, but in minute quantities. These substances, combined with water, serve to generate a tremendous amount of heat. This process is called the greenhouse effect.
Polar regions collect more of these greenhouse gasses and are therefore warming faster than the more temperate regions. The overall temperature increase in Antarctica is 4 to 5 times greater than that of other areas which provides scientists with opportunities to study the greenhouse effect.
The height of the ice on the continent is over 15,000 feet. This tremendous thickness is a build up of snow accumulated over many centuries. Excavators have discovered a great deal of information on prehistoric eras by drilling and examining core samples and their atomic isotopes and prehistoric air bubbles.
The infamous hole in the ozone layer is caused by fluorocarbons released from refrigerants into the atmosphere interacting with ozone. They create detrimental consequences when reaching our ozone. As a result of the elevated heating occurrence, massive chunks of ice layers have been ripped away.
These shelves, once separated, will gradually head in a northerly direction and melt away. This causes sea levels to rise. Unfortunately, this decreases the amount of area the krill have to breed and eat.
If the ice continues to melt, the seas could rise over 180 feet. In theory, buildings in New York would be overwhelmed and swallowed up by water like a vast geyser. Countries at a lower altitude, such as Bangladesh, could be completely swallowed up and destroyed.
Most people who have been to Antarctica will tell you of the breathtaking beauty of the continent. The wildlife is not even disturbed by the humans walking about. The purity of God's creatures, coupled with the brilliant radiance of nature, is simply a remarkable sight to see.
It is up to the future generations to preserve the pristine splendor or Antarctica. It's destruction has been accelerating for quite a while,though. Many nations are joining together to work toward sustainable maintaining and preserving this beautiful landscape.
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