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Antarctica Frozen World of Penguins

April 28, 2021 at 9:19 pm by Editorial
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By Anupama Nair

Mumbai, April 28

Antarctica is the southern-most and fifth in size among the world’s continents. Its landmass is almost wholly covered by a vast ice sheet. It is often described as a continent of superlatives, it is also the world’s highest, driest, windiest, coldest, and iciest continent. Antarctica is about 5.5 million square miles (14.2 million square km) in size, and thick ice covers about 98 percent of the land. The continent is divided into East Antarctica (which is largely composed of a high ice-covered plateau) and West Antarctica (which is largely an ice sheet covering an archipelago of mountainous islands). Antarctica is lying almost concentrically around the south pole. The name Antarctica’s means “opposite to the Arctic.”

The continent is a cold dry desert where access to water determines the abundance of life. While the terrestrial ecosystem contains more than a thousand known species of organisms, most of these are micro-organisms. Maritime Antarctica, the islands and coasts, supports more life than inland Antarctica, and the surrounding ocean is as rich in life as the land is barren. The penguins are the most favorite bird found. We all love to see the penguins waddling in the snow. There are many varieties of penguins like King Penguins, Emperor Penguins, Adélie Penguins, and Chinstrap Penguins. Other sea animals include Leopard Seals, Elephant Seals, Snow Petrels and Killer Whales.

Ice-choked and stormy seas around Antarctica, was an hinderance to exploration by wooden-hulled ships. No land-break the relentless force of the prevailing west winds as they race clockwise around the continent, dragging westerly ocean currents. The southernmost part of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans converge into a cold oceanic water mass with unique biological and physical characteristics.

The history of Antarctica begins from the early Western theories of a vast continent, known as Terra Australis, believed to exist in the far south of the world. The term Antarctic, was created by Marinus of Tyre in the 2nd century AD. The rounding of the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn in the 15th and 16th centuries proved the theory of Terra Australis Incognita ("Unknown Southern Land"), if it existed, was a continent in its own right. In 1773, James Cook and his crew crossed the Antarctic Circle for the first time, however, although, they discovered nearby islands, they missed Antarctica. It is believed he was as close as 240 km from the mainland.

On 27 January 1820, a Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb, Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarey discovered an ice shelf at Princess Martha Coast, that later became known as the Finbul Ice Shelf. They became the first explorers to see and officially discover the continent of Antarctica. Three days later, on 30 January 1820, a British expedition captained by Edward Bransfield discovered Trinity Peninsula, and ten months later an American mariner Nathaniel Palmer saw Antarctica on 17 November 1820. The first man to land in Antarctica was probably an American captain John Davis, in 1821.

Several expeditions tried to reach the South Pole in the early 20th century, during the "Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.”  Many such attempts resulted in injury or death. Norwegian Roald Amundsen and Robert Scot from Britain were finally successful in 1911. Women were originally prohibited from exploring Antarctica until the 1950s. A few brave women tried to land in Antarctica before 1950, but were turned away. Louise Seguin and Ingrid Christensen were finally successful. Christensen was the first woman to set foot on the mainland Antarctica

Colonization of Antarctica refers to having humans, including families, living permanently on the continent. Currently, the continent hosts only a temporary population of scientists and support staff. Antarctica is the only continent on Earth without indigenous human inhabitants, despite its proximity to Argentina, Chile and Australia. At present scientists and staff from 30 countries live on about 70 bases. There have been at least eleven human births in Antarctica, beginning with one in 1978 at an Argentinian Base.

It is matter of pride for us that an Indian base called “Dakshin Gangotri” was set up in 1984, which is part of the Indian Antarctic Program. In 1984. The mission was led by geologist Sudipta Sengupta. The first Indian post office in Antarctica was established at Dakshin Gangotri and Meteorologist G. Sudhakar Rao was named as the first Indian postmaster in Antarctica in 1988.It was an unmanned station, set up using indigenous Indian equipment, powered by solar energy. The station was entirely computerized to record all data that was researched. It was built using pre-fabricated timber. In 1991, the eleventh Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica conducted geomagnetic observations simultaneously at Dakshin Gangotri and Maitri.

Let us now talk about the temperature in Antarctica. The average annual temperature ranges from about −10 °C on the coast to −60 °C at the highest parts of the interior. In summer near the coast, the temperature is a pleasant 10 °C in summer. Is it possible to fly over Antarctica, the answer would be no, due to lack of infrastructure? It is a fact, “that there isn't much infrastructure in Antarctica at all, let alone towers and airports and other structures which can help airplanes take off, land, and navigate. The lack of such an infrastructure can make flying over Antarctica like flying over the sea.”

If it is impossible to travel to Antarctica, don’t worry, Phillip Island off the coast of Melbourne is a good place to visit. Phillip Island is home to the largest Little Penguin colony in the world. You can experience the magic of watching these amazing seabirds waddle home from the ocean to their burrows any night of the year from the viewing platforms and boardwalks. The Penguin Parade is at sunset which makes Philip Island a popular tourist location.

Industrial Development brings with it large climate change in the earth. Global warming is a real threat as the earth is getting warmer with each passing day. Antarctica is no exception. Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions have raised temperatures, even higher in the poles, and as a result, glaciers are rapidly melting. If all the ice covering Antarctica, Greenland, and in mountain glaciers around the world like Himalayas were to melt, sea level would rise about 70 meters (230 feet). The ocean would cover all the coastal cities, and land area would shrink significantly. Ice actually flows down valleys like rivers of water. Scientists warn most of coastal cities could be flooded by 2100 AD. If we are not careful it could be a reality.

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