Among the main characteristics of Antarctica, its extremely cold climate stands out, which affects the number of species that inhabit the Antarctic continent.
Very few terrestrial vertebrate animals live on the continent and those that do live in the part closest to the sea, such as penguins, orcas, seals and whales.
The vegetation is also particular, being mainly mosses and plants of little height together with some species of fungi.
Its most important characteristics are discussed below:
1- Climate and temperature
The continent receives very little solar radiation; due to its location, the sun's rays never reach the zenith.
This causes low temperatures; in fact they are the lowest recorded on the planet and reach -89.2 ºC.
In 2010 an even lower temperature was recorded, of about -93 ºC, but it was not a reading on site but satellite and could be affected by the temperature of the ground; therefore it is not taken into consideration.
2- Geography
It is the fourth largest continent on the planet, with a surface area considerably larger than that of Oceania and Europe.
It is surrounded by the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. Its population does not reach 5,000 inhabitants and they are originally from the 30 countries that have scientific bases in the territory.
France, Norway, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Russia, the United States, Brazil, Uruguay and Peru have shown interest in a possible territorial division.
3- Fauna
The largest purely terrestrial animal on the continent is the Belgica antarctica mosquito, which is up to 6 millimeters long and cannot fly.
The rest of the animals in the territory live on the coasts and are not considered terrestrial, as is the case with seals and penguins.
Antarctic krill is an endogenous species of Antarctica and inhabits the waters of the Atlantic and the Pacific.
It is a crustacean weighing just 2 grams and 6 centimeters in length that feeds mainly on phytoplankton, abundant in these waters.
Phytoplankton is an important link in the trophic chain of the Antarctic ecosystem because it serves as food for fish, whales and penguins.
4- Flora
Bryophytes are terrestrial plants that abound on the continent. They grow only in the few weeks of summer.
As for the rest, the number of plants on the surface is very limited given the poor quality soil, little organic matter, lack of humidity and solar radiation.
There are 700 different types of algae, many endogenous to the region. Algae can benefit from more favorable temperatures in the water.
These do not have problems due to lack of humidity and the water is rich in organic matter. In addition, algae are adapted to the amount of solar radiation and it is sufficient for their development.
5- Mining
As it is a protected territory, mining activities are limited, yet deposits of uranium, gold, chromium, diamonds and oil have been discovered.
The restrictions on its exploitation are a consequence of the Antarctic Treaty and it is not expected that they will change until the year 2040.
References
- Antarctica - Fauna and Climate patrimonionatural.com
- Flora and Fauna of Antarctica - Antarkos antarkos.org.uy
- The fauna and flora of polar regions: Antarctic - Visual Dictionary ikonet.com
- Antarctica - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org
- Flora and Fauna of Antarctica - antartidacs.wordpress.com
- Land of Penguins - Flora and Fauna Proyectoantartidaequipoescobar.blogspot.com