9/28/2023 0 Comments Mt erebus fun factsThe break-up of Gondwana took place over a long period and around 33 million years ago Antarctica finally broke away from Australia and took its place over the South Pole 7 (source: Wet Tropics Management Authority). Francis, Victoria University of Wellington YouTube Channel). There is also evidence that dinosaurs roamed Antarctica during the Jurrasic period with an Ankylosaurus, a Hypsilophodon, and a Hadrosaurus among fossils found there 6 (source: J. Long before humans had evolved, Antarctica was part of a super-continent called Gondwana along with modern-day Australia, Africa, South America, India, and Arabia.Īt this time, Antarctica was tropical with high temperatures and vegetation much like that found in the Amazon rainforest. Antarctica used to be a green tropical climate with dinosaurs ![]() However, it’s not the type of desert that you would typically imagine, it’s an ice desert.īut with a total area of 14.2million km2 (5.5million sqm), Antarctica is the largest desert on Earth, closely followed by the Arctic which is also an ice desert 5 (source: CIA Factbook).Ĥ. Since Antarctica receives an average of 150mm of precipitation per year across the continent, it can be classified as a desert 4 (source: Australian Antarctic Program). ![]() It’s generally agreed that a desert is a place that receives less than 250mm (10 in) of precipitation per year 3 (source: Essentials of Geology, 3rd ed, Marshak, 2009). This is in contrast to the Arctic which is not classified as a continent since it is mostly made up of floating sea ice with no landmass underneath.ĭespite being a continent, there are no countries or cities in Antarctica, but more on this in fact number 12. In fact, given that Antarctica is 14.2 million km 2, it’s the fifth biggest continent on Earth, larger than Australia and Europe. Lewis and K Wigen, 1997).Īntarctica has all of these characteristics and also has unique geography and unique vegetation which are also key determinants of a continent. The basic definition of a continent is generally “a large, continuous, discrete masses of land, ideally separated by expanses of water” 2 (source: The Myth of Continents, M. Underneath the two ice sheets that we are familiar with is a large landmass that sits on the Antarctic tectonic plate which is why we classify Antarctica as a continent under the 7 continent model taught by most English-speaking schools. This would result in the loss of many major cities such as London and Bangkok, the entire loss of Florida, and entire countries would be underwater including the Netherlands, Demark, and Bangladesh. ![]() If all the ice in Antarctica were to melt, it would raise sea levels by around 60m. These ice sheets can be up to 5km (3 miles) deep and contain 90% of all the ice on Earth and 70% of all the fresh water on Earth 1 (source: National Science Foundation). Antarctica holds 70% of the world’s freshwaterĪntarctica is made up of two large ice sheets, known as East Antarctica and West Antarctica.
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