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East Antarctica is significantly larger than West Antarctica, and similarly remains widely unexplored in terms of its volcanic potential. While there are some indications that there is volcanic activity under the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, there is not a significant amount of present information on the subject.
The frozen continent of Antarctica was the last continent humanity set foot on. The first documented landings made below the Antarctic Circle took place in 1820, when Admiral Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and the crew of the Vostok and Mirny, as part of the Russian Antarctic Expedition, made land at Peter I Island and Alexander Island.
Due to the permafrost the water in the soil remains frozen for most of the year. In the summer the top of the permafrost may be covered with water due to melting in the area. [14] Weathering is also common in polar regions. There is rubble from rocks that are scattered on the land due to movement of glaciers. Also quick temperature change ...
Antarctica is governed by about 30 countries, all of which are parties of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty System. According to the terms of the treaty, military activity, mining, nuclear explosions, and nuclear waste disposal are all prohibited in Antarctica. Tourism, fishing and research are the main human activities in and around Antarctica.
In 2022, a study narrowed the warming of the Central area of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet between 1959 and 2000 to 0.31 °C (0.56 °F) per decade, and conclusively attributed it to increases in greenhouse gas concentrations caused by human activity. [50] East Antarctica cooled in the 1980s and 1990s, even as West Antarctica warmed (left-hand side).
Nearly all of Antarctica's surface is covered by ice to an average depth of 1.9 km (1.2 mi; 6,200 ft). [2] As such, a number of notable ice features have been described on the continent. Ice shelves
Two temperature records were set on February 6, one in each hemisphere, one for warmth, the other for mind-numbing cold. On Feb. 6, 2020, five years ago, Antarctica set its all-time record high of ...
The area around Don Juan Pond is covered with sodium chloride and calcium chloride salts that have precipitated as the water evaporated. [4] [5] The area and volume of Don Juan Pond vary over time. According to the United States Geological Survey topographical map published in 1977, the area was approximately 0.25 km 2 (62 acres). However, in ...