Antarctica is the highest continent on Earth. The average height of the surface of the ice sheet is 2040 m, which is 2.8 times the average height of the surface of all other continents (730 m). The average height of the bedrock subglacial surface of Antarctica is 410 m.

According to the differences in the geological structure and relief, Antarctica is divided into East and West. The surface of the ice sheet of East Antarctica, rising steeply from the coast, becomes almost horizontal in the depths of the mainland; its central, highest part, reaches 4000 m and is the main ice divide, or the center of glaciation in East Antarctica. In the West there are three centers of glaciation with a height of 2-2.5 thousand m. Extensive low-lying ice shelves often stretch along the coast, two of which are of enormous size (Ross - 538 thousand km 2, Filchner - 483 thousand km 2).

The relief of the bedrock (subglacial) surface of East Antarctica is an alternation of high mountain uplifts with deep depressions. The deepest East Antarctica is located south of the Knox Coast. The main uplifts are the Gamburtsev and Vernadsky subglacial mountains. Partially ice-covered Transantarctic Mountains. West Antarctica is more complex. Mountains more often “break through” the ice sheet, especially on the Antarctic Peninsula. The Sentinel Ridge in the Ellsworth Mountains reaches a height of 5140 m (Vinson Massif) - the highest point in Antarctica. In close proximity to the ridge there is also the deepest depression of the under-ice relief of Antarctica - 2555 m. Antarctica lies lower than that of other continents (at a depth of 400-500 m).

Most of the mainland is formed by the Precambrian Antarctic, which is framed on the coast by Mesozoic folded structures (coastal areas and the Antarctic Peninsula). The Antarctic platform is structurally heterogeneous and of different ages in different parts. Most of it within the coast of East Antarctica is the Upper Archean crystalline basement. The cover of the platform is composed of a layer of sediments of different ages (from Devonian to Cretaceous).

Deposits have been discovered in Antarctica, signs of deposits of mica, graphite, rock crystal, beryl, as well as gold, molybdenum, copper, lead, zinc, silver and titanium have been established. The small number of deposits is explained by the poor geological knowledge of the mainland and its thick ice sheet. The prospects for the Antarctic subsoil are very great. This conclusion is based on the similarity of the Antarctic platform with the Gondwanan platforms of other continents of the Southern Hemisphere, as well as on the commonality of the Antarctic fold belt with mountain structures.

The Antarctic ice sheet has apparently existed continuously since the Neogene, sometimes shrinking, sometimes increasing in size. At present, almost the entire continent is occupied by a powerful ice sheet, only 0.2-0.3% of the entire area of ​​the continent is ice-free. The average ice thickness is 1720 m, the volume is 24 million km 3, i.e., approximately 90% of the volume of fresh water on the Earth's surface. All types of glaciers are found in Antarctica - from a huge ice sheet to small wind and cirque glaciers. The Antarctic ice sheet descends into the ocean (excluding very small sections of the coast, composed of bedrock), forming for a considerable extent shelf - flat ice plates floating on the water (up to 700 m thick), resting at some points on bottom uplifts. Depressions of the under-ice relief, going from the central regions of the mainland to the coast, are the outlet paths of ice to the ocean. The ice in them moves faster than in other areas, it is broken into countless blocks by systems of cracks. These are outlet glaciers resembling mountain valley glaciers, but flowing, as a rule, in ice shores. The glaciers are fed at the expense of which about 2200 km 3 accumulate on the entire area of ​​the ice cover per year. The consumption of matter (ice) occurs mainly due to spalling, surface and under-ice melting and water are very small. Due to the incompleteness of observations, the arrival and especially the flow of ice are not determined accurately enough. Most researchers accept the balance of matter in the ice sheet of Antarctica (until more accurate data are obtained) close to zero.

Parts of the surface that are not covered with ice are bound by permafrost, which penetrates for some distance under the ice sheet and to the bottom of the ocean.

Geography and relief of Antarctica

Remark 1

Antarctica is a continent with extremely low temperatures, lying at the south pole of the globe. The entire territory of the continent is covered with ice (with the exception of small areas in the western part). The total area of ​​the mainland is more than a million square meters. km.

The territory of Antarctica is located in two belts - subantarctic and antarctic, lies on the Antarctic plate. As a result of tectonic faults, a significant part of the territory has risen. Due to the dense ice cover, the surface of the mainland is strongly dissected.

The continent is washed by the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, the Ross, Amundsen, Bellingshausen and Weddell seas.

The major islands of the continent are Alexander I Land, Clarence and Deception. To the north of the southern border lies the Arctic Peninsula. The major peninsulas of Antarctica include: Hut Point Peninsula, Edward VII Peninsula, Mawson Peninsula.

The Transarctic Mountains divide the territory into West and East Antarctica:

1. The western territories are distinguished by a more complex relief; numerous ridges break through the ice crust. The area adjacent to the Pacific Ocean is characterized by the presence of small plains and nunataks - mountain peaks rising above the ice cover.
2. In the eastern part, the mountains alternate with deep depressions. The thickness of the ice hides the Gamburtsev Mountains, comparable in size to the Alps.

Remark 2

The cleanest water on the planet is found in the Weddell Sea. It allows you to see from the surface at a depth of up to 70 m various representatives of the flora and fauna.

The length of the coastline is 30 thousand km, it is slightly indented. Coasts in the form of ice shelves or high ice cliffs. There are active and dormant volcanoes in Antarctica.

Natural resources

Antarctica has a wide variety of natural resources, the most important of which are:

1. Mineral resources. Almost all minerals are found in Antarctica. Signs and manifestations of mineral deposits were found in more than 170 places of the territory. There are rich deposits of titanium, iron, manganese, chromium, copper, nickel, platinum and gold, precious stones and gems, coal, mica. The continent has significant oil reserves.
2. Water resources. About 80% of the world's fresh water is concentrated in the Antarctic ice, which is a huge reserve. Inland ice shelves block the way. There are mountain and sheet glaciers. There are about 140 subglacial lakes under the ice sheet. The largest lake is The east has a depth of 1200 m.
3. biological resources. The flora and fauna are poor.
4. Recreational resources. Geomorphological (Ulvetanna Peak, Vinson Massif, Sidley and Erebus volcanoes), biological (cognitive recreation), water (kayaking, yachting, swimming in lakes, ice diving) and landscape (natural-aqua and natural-continental) resources are used as these resources. , sports recreation (track and field bike tours and marathons).

Climatic conditions

The mainland is very cold, both winter and summer. The average annual temperature is -60 ºС. The absolute minimum was recorded in 1983 and amounted to -89.2 ºС. In winter, the temperature ranges from -60 to -75 ºС, and in summer it rises to -50 ºС. On the coast, the climate is milder, the average temperature ranges from 0 to -20 ºС.

The continent is located inside the Antarctic Circle, so in winter there is a round-the-clock polar night, and in summer - a polar day.

The mainland is very far from the equator, therefore it receives much less heat than the rest of the Earth's continents.

Antarctica is an icy desert, its surface reflects about 80% of the light into space.

Strong winds blow from high mountain ranges (in some areas up to 320 km/h). The amount of snowfall per year, as a rule, does not exceed 10 cm.

Flora and fauna

There is no vegetation in the Antarctic desert. It is found on the outskirts of the continent, in the Antarctic oases. Mushrooms, lichens, mosses, and undersized shrubs grow on ice-free terrain. Most of all algae - about 700 species. Of the flowering plants, only Antarctic meadow grass and colobanthus kito. Meadow is a light-loving cereal plant. Small bushes can reach 20 cm. It tolerates frost well, therefore it is used to breed new frost-resistant varieties of rye and wheat. Colobanthus belongs to the clove family. The height of an adult plant does not exceed five cm, it has a pillow shape with small white and pale yellow flowers.

The fauna of Antarctica is represented by mammals, insects, birds, crustaceans, and other animals. Animals live only in places where there is vegetation. The waters surrounding the continent are rich in zooplankton. Ice fish live in extremely cold water.

Remark 3

One of the largest animals living near Antarctica is the blue whale, attracted there by a large number of shrimp.

Leopard seals, seals, elephant seals, blue whales and humpback whales live on the coast. On the north coast you can meet emperor penguins, Adélie penguins, Sclater penguins. Sometimes black-and-white or sand-colored dolphins, also called sea cows, swim to the shores of the continent. The basis of the diet of large animals is fish, squid, krill.

Sea leopards can reach a length of 3.8 m or more. In autumn, they come close to the shore, where they hunt penguins and young fur seals.

Colonies of penguins and fur seals most often drift on ice floes along the coast, and by the beginning of winter they gather at South Georgia.

Daphnia, crustaceans, roundworms and blue-green algae live in the fresh lakes of the mainland.

Gulls, petrels and cormorants nest on the rocks. The mainland is home to skuas and arctic terns.

The nature of Antarctica is well suited to invertebrate arthropods. About 70 species of ticks and 4 species of lice live here. Of the insects on the islands, butterflies, beetles and spiders live. There are fleas, lice, mosquitoes. Only on the mainland live black-coal-colored ringing mosquitoes. The bulk of insects and invertebrates were brought to the continent by birds.

The article tells about the complexities of geological exploration. Provides information about the presence of minerals on the mainland.

Minerals of Antarctica

Antarctica is the continent that is the coldest, and at the same time full of mysteries, place on Earth.

The area is completely covered with ice crust. This is the reason why information about minerals in this part of the land is extremely scarce. Deposits are located under the thickness of snow and ice:

• coal;
• iron ore;
• precious metals;
• granite;
• crystal;
• nickel;
• titanium.

Extremely narrow information about the geology of the continent can be justified by the difficulties of carrying out exploration work.

Rice. 1. Geological exploration.

This is affected by low temperatures and the thickness of the ice shell.

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Primary information on the accumulation of minerals, ore deposits and precious metals was obtained at the beginning of the last century.

It was during this period that coal seams were discovered.

Today, more than two hundred points have been found on the territory of Antarctica with deposits of iron ore and coal. But only two have the status of a deposit. Industrial production from these deposits in Antarctic conditions is recognized as unprofitable.

Copper, titanium, nickel, zirconium, chromium and cobalt are also found in Antarctica. Precious metals are expressed in gold and silver veins.

Rice. 2. Western coast of the Antarctic Peninsula.

They are located on the west coast of the peninsula. On the shelf of the Ross Sea, it was possible to find gas manifestations that are located in wells for drilling. This is evidence that natural gas may be present here, but it is difficult to establish its exact volume.

Geology of Antarctica

The geology of the mainland is such that almost its entire plane (99.7%) is hidden in ice, and its average thickness is 1720 m.

Many millions of years ago, it was so warm on the mainland that palm trees adorned its shores, and the air temperature exceeded 20 ° C.

On the Eastern Plain, there are drops from 300 meters below sea level to 300 meters above sea level. The transantarctic mountain peaks cross the entire continent and are 4.5 km long. height. Slightly smaller is the Queen Maud Land mountain range, which has a length of 1500 km. along, and then rises up to 3000 m.

Rice. 3. Lands of Queen Maud.

The Schmidt Plain has an altitude range from -2400 to +500 m. The Western Plain is located approximately at the mark corresponding to sea level. The Gamburtsev and Vernadsky mountain range has a length of 2500 km.

The most suitable regions for mining are located on the periphery of the continent. This is explained by the fact that the interior regions of Antarctica have been studied to a small extent, and any kind of research is doomed to failure due to the considerable distance from the coast.

What have we learned?

From the article, we learned what minerals the land of Antarctica is rich in. It was found out that on the territory of the continent there are deposits of coal, granite, precious metals, crystal, nickel, titanium, iron ore. We also learned that low temperatures make mining difficult.

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. Antarctica- the southernmost continent. It has a unique geographical position: the entire territory, except for. The Antarctic Peninsula lies within. - Arctic Circle from the nearest mainland. South. America -. Antarctica is separated by a wide (more than 1000 km) strait. Drake. The shores of the mainland are washed by water. Quiet,. Atlantic and. Indian Oceans. Off the coast. Antarctica, they form a series of seas (Weddell,. Bellingshausen,. Amundsen,. Ross), shallowly protrude into the land. The coastline is almost entirely glacial cliffs.

A peculiar geographical position in cold high latitudes determines the main features of the nature of the mainland. The main feature is the presence of a continuous ice sheet

Research and development

Mankind did not know about the existence for a long time. Antarctica. In the XVII century, scientists and travelers speculated about the existence. Southern land, but could not find it. Famous navigator. J.. Ku uk during his round-the-world trip 1772-1775 crossed three times. The southern polar circle of 1774, it was up to 71 ° 10 "S, but when it came across solid ice, it turned. The results of this expedition diverted the attention of researchers from the sixth continent for some time.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the British discovered small islands south of 50 ° S. In 1819, the first Russian Antarctic expedition was organized to search. The southern mainland led it. F. Bellingsau. Uzen and. MLazarev on the ships "Vostok" and "MirnyMirny".

Among researchers. Antarctica, conquered for the first time. South Pole, were Norwegian. R. Amundsen (December 14, 1911) and Englishman. R. Scott(January 18, 1912)

For the first half of the XX century. More than 100 expeditions from different countries have visited Antarctica. A comprehensive study of the mainland began in the second half of the 20th century in 1955-1958 during the preparation and implementation. International Geophysical Year were organized major expeditions of a number of countries using modern technology 1959 a number of countries was signed. Agreement on Antarctica. Behind it, it is forbidden to use the continent for military purposes, it assumes freedom of scientific research and the exchange of scientific information.

Today. Antarctica is the continent of science and international cooperation. There are more than 40 scientific stations and bases belonging to 17 countries that carry out research in. Antarctica in 1994, at the former English and scientific station "Faraday", a group of scientists from Ukraine began work (today it is the Ukrainian station "Akademik. Vernadsky" y ").

Relief and minerals

. Relief. Antarctica double decker: above - glacial, below - indigenous (earth's crust). The ice sheet of the mainland was formed more than 20 million years ago. The average height of the subglacial surface. Antarctica is 410 m .. On the mainland there are mountains and mountains with a maximum height of more than 5000 m and huge (up to 30% of the mainland area) troughs lying in some places 2500 m below sea level. All these relief elements, with a few exceptions, are covered with an ice shell, the average thickness of which is 2200 m, and the maximum thickness is 4000-5000 m. If the ice cover is taken as the surface of the mainland, then. Antarctica is the highest continent. Lands (average height - 2040 m). Glacial shell. Antarctica has a domed surface, slightly raised in the center and lowered to the edge of the edges.

Most of the base. Antarctica lies. Antarctic Precambrian platform. The Trans-Antarctic Mountains divide the mainland into western and eastern parts. West coast. Antarctica is very cut, and the ice sheet here is less thick and broken by numerous ridges. In the Pacific part of the mainland during the period of Alpine mountain building, mountain systems arose - a continuation. Andes. South. America -. Antarctic. Andes. They contain the highest part of the mainland - the massif. Vinson (5140 m0 m).

V. East. Antarctica subglacial relief is predominantly flat. Some parts of the bedrock surface lie well below ocean level. Here the ice sheet reaches its maximum thickness. It breaks off to the sea with a steep ledge, forming ice shelves. The largest ice shelf in the world is the glacier. Ros-sa, whose width is 800 km, and the length is 1100 k0 km.

In the depths. Various minerals have been discovered in Antarctica: ferrous and non-ferrous ores, coal, diamonds, and others. But their extraction in the harsh conditions of the mainland is associated with great difficulties.

Climate

. Antarctica is the coldest continent on. Earth. One of the reasons for the severity of the climate of the mainland is its height. But the root cause of glaciation is not the height, but the geographical position, which determines a very small angle of incidence of the sun's rays. In the conditions of the polar night, a strong cooling of the mainland occurs. This is especially evident in inland areas, where even in summer the average daily temperatures do not rise above -30 °. C, and in winter they reach -60 ° -70 °. C at the Vostok station, the lowest temperature on Earth (-89.2 ° C) was recorded. On the coast of the mainland, temperatures are much higher: in summer - up to 0 ° C, in winter - up to -10-25 ° to -10 .. .-25 °С.

As a result of strong cooling, an area of ​​high pressure (baric maximum) is formed in the inner part of the continent, from which constant winds blow towards the ocean, especially strong on the coast in a band 600-800 km wide.

On average, about 200 mm of precipitation per year falls on the mainland, in the central parts their amount does not exceed a few tens of millimeters.

Inland waters

. Antarctica is the area of ​​greatest glaciation. Earth 99% of the mainland is covered with a thick ice sheet (the volume of ice is 26 million km3). The average thickness of the cover is 1830 m, the maximum is 4776 m. V. The Antarctic ice cover contains 87% of the earth's ice volume.

From the inner thick parts of the dome, the ice spreads to the outskirts, where its thickness

much less. In summer on the outskirts at temperatures above 0 °. C the ice is melting, but the land is not freed from the ice cover, since there is a constant influx of ice from the center

Off the coast there are small areas of land free of ice - Antarctic oases. These are rocky deserts, sometimes with lakes, their origin is not fully understood.

organic world

Features of the organic world. Antarctica is associated with a harsh climate. This is the Antarctic desert zone. The species composition of plants and animals is not rich, but svreridny. Life is predominantly concentrated in oases. Antar rktids. Mosses and lichens grow on these rocky surfaces and rocks, and microscopic algae and bacteria sometimes live on the surface of snow and ice. Higher plants include some species of low grasses that are found only at the southern tip. Antarctic Peninsula and islands. Antarctica.

There are a lot of animals on the coast, whose life is connected with the ocean. In coastal waters, there is a lot of plankton, especially small crustaceans (krill). They feed on fish, cetaceans, pinnipeds, birds. Whales, sperm whales, killer whales live in the Anta-Arctic waters. Seals, sea leopards, elephant seals are common animals on icebergs, ice shores of the mainland. Antarctica is penguins - birds that do not drink in the summer, but swim well. In summer, gulls, petrels, cormorants, albatrosses, skuas nest on the coastal rocks - the main enemies. Penguinsgviniv.

Insofar as. Antarctica has a special status, today only gigantic reserves of fresh water are of economic importance. Antarctic waters are a fishing area for cetaceans, pinnipeds, marine spineless animals, and fish. However, sea wealth. Antarctica is depleted, and now many animal species are under protection. Hunting and fishing of marine animals.

There is no permanent indigenous population in Antarctica. international status. Antarctica is such that it does not belong to any state

Antarctica is a huge icy continent, almost twice the size of Australia. This is the only place on Earth that is almost untouched by man.

The main part of the land in Antarctica is covered with ice, which retreats in the coastal regions in summer. Here, on some mountain peaks, there is never snow. Living organisms have adapted to extremely low temperatures.

Geologists believe that Antarctica has large reserves of coal, iron and copper. However, the Antarctic treaty prohibits the development of any minerals, but some countries would like to amend it to allow them to mine them.

According to an international agreement, there is no mining on the mainland. This is due to the fact that during the extraction of minerals, huge heaps of waste rock or quarry remain in the mining sites.

And in Antarctica, such outbursts of rock to the surface will cause the melting of continental ice, which will inevitably lead to a catastrophe in Antarctica and on the whole globe.

If in Antarctica any, even a small, object, such as a piece of wood, is thrown on ice or snow, the ice under it will simply begin to melt before our eyes, and the object will sink deeper. This is due to significant solar radiation, which concentrates heat on the subject.

Thus, mining in Antarctica is possible only with the use of new technologies currently being developed by some developed countries of the world (Japan, USA).