Portal:Antarctica

Radar satellite image of Lake Vostok

Lake Vostok (Russian: озеро Восток, romanized: ozero Vostok) is the largest of Antarctica's 675 known subglacial lakes and the 16th largest lake in the world by area. Lake Vostok is located at the southern Pole of Cold, beneath Russia's Vostok Station, under the surface of the central East Antarctic Ice Sheet, which is at 3,488 m (11,444 ft) above mean sea level. The surface of this fresh water lake is approximately 4,000 m (13,100 ft) under the surface of the ice, which places it at approximately 500 m (1,600 ft) below sea level. (Full article...)

The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martin in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctica. (Full article...)

Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) is a species of krill found in the Antarctic waters of the Southern Ocean. It is a small, swimming crustacean that lives in large schools, called swarms, sometimes reaching densities of 10,000–30,000 animals per cubic metre. It feeds directly on minute phytoplankton, thereby using the primary production energy that phytoplankton originally derive from the sun in order to sustain its pelagic life cycle. It grows to a length of 6 centimetres (2.4 in), weighs up to 2 grams (0.071 oz), and can live for up to six years. A key species in the Antarctic ecosystem and in terms of biomass, E. superba is one of the most abundant animal species on the planet, with a cumulative biomass of approximately 500 million metric tons (550 million short tons; 490 million long tons); however, the species is suffering from overfishing. (Full article...)

Encounters at the End of the World is a 2007 American documentary film by Werner Herzog about Antarctica and the people who choose to spend time there. It was released in North America on June 11, 2008, and distributed by ThinkFilm. At the 81st Academy Awards, the film was nominated for Best Documentary Feature. (Full article...)

• ... that agate gemstones have been found on every continent, including Antarctica?
• ... that Frederick E. Bakutis, then the US Navy commander in Antarctica, remarked in 1965 that it would "remain the womanless white continent of peace"?
• ... that Coscinodon lawianus is one of only two species of moss only found in continental Antarctica?
• ... that Google Street View in Antarctica started as a "challenge"?
• ... that Piri Reis did not map Antarctica in the sixteenth century?
• ... that a 2018 film by David Wilcock has been described by Vice as making the case that space aliens "occupy large swaths of Antarctica [and] are massing for an invasion"?