The decades that followed saw further exploration in French, American, and British expeditions. The ice shelves of Antarctica were probably first seen in 1820, during a Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev. Where vegetation occurs, it is mostly in the form of lichen or moss. Native species of animals include mites, nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades. The coastal regions can reach temperatures over 10 ☌ (50 ☏) in summer. Antarctica holds the record for the lowest measured temperature on Earth, −89.2 ☌ (−128.6 ☏).
About 70% of the world's freshwater reserves are frozen in Antarctica, which, if melted, would raise global sea levels by almost 60 metres (200 ft). It is mainly a polar desert, with annual precipitation of over 200 mm (8 in) along the coast and far less inland. Most of Antarctica is covered by the Antarctic ice sheet, with an average thickness of 1.9 km (1.2 mi).Īntarctica is, on average, the coldest, driest, and windiest of the continents, and it has the highest average elevation. Antarctica is the fifth-largest continent, being about 40% larger than Europe, and has an area of 14,200,000 km 2 (5,500,000 sq mi). Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole.
Composite satellite image of Antarctica (2002)Īntarctica ( / æ n ˈ t ɑːr k t ɪ k ə/ ( listen)) is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent.
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