Antarctica time. Time in Antarctica is now
In January 1820, a Russian expedition led by Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev discovered Antarctica, the existence of which had previously only been speculated. Today we have collected for you interesting and little known facts about the most remote southern continent- the highest, driest, windiest, sparsely populated and coldest place on earth.
1. At one time, it was impossible to work in Antarctica for those who had not had their wisdom teeth and appendix removed. Due to the fact that surgical operations were not performed at Antarctic stations, to work here it was necessary to first part with these parts of the body, even if they were completely healthy.
3. Like many countries, Antarctica has its own Internet domain - .aq
4. 53 million years ago, it was so warm in Antarctica that palm trees grew on its shores, and the air temperature rose above 20 degrees Celsius.
5. In December 2013, Metallica gave a concert in Antarctica, thus becoming the first band in the world to perform on all continents. In order not to disturb the local fauna, the concert was held under a special protective dome, and the audience listened to the music through headphones.
6. From 1960 to 1972, the first nuclear power plant in Antarctica operated at McMurdo Station, the largest settlement and research center owned by the United States.
7. Antarctica has its own fire station. It belongs to the McMurdo station, and it employs real professional firefighters.
8. Despite the extreme conditions, 1,150 species of fungi have been discovered in Antarctica. They adapt well to extremely low temperatures and extended periods of freezing and thawing.
9. Technically, all 24 time zones are present in Antarctica, since their boundaries converge at one point at both poles.
10. There are no polar bears in Antarctica. To see them you have to go to North Pole or, for example, to Canada.
11. There is a bar in Antarctica - the southernmost bar on the planet. And it is located at the Akademik Vernadsky station, belonging to Ukraine.
12. Most low temperature temperature ever recorded on earth - minus 89.2 degrees Celsius - was recorded in Antarctica at the Russian Vostok station on July 21, 1983.
15. The average ice thickness of Antarctica is 1.6 km. Antarctica contains approximately 70% of all fresh water on earth.
16. The Transantarctic Mountains run across the entire continent and divide it into western and eastern parts. This ridge is one of the longest in the world - its length is 3500 km.
17. The existence of the continent of Antarctica was unknown until its discovery in 1820. Before this it was assumed that it was just a group of islands.
18. On December 14, 1911, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen became the first person to reach South Pole and planted the flag of their nation there. He also became the first person to visit both geographic poles of the planet.
19. As a result of secret negotiations, on December 1, 1959, 12 countries concluded the Antarctic Treaty, providing for the demilitarization of the Antarctic area and its use for exclusively peaceful purposes. Today, more than 50 countries are parties to the Treaty.
20. On January 7, 1978, Argentinean Emilio Marcos Palma was born - the first person in history to be born in Antarctica. It is believed that this event was a planned action by the Argentine government, which specifically sent a pregnant woman to the Esperanza station in order to subsequently claim rights to part of the territory of Antarctica.
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The official version says that Antarctica was discovered during the Russian expedition of Bellingshausen and Lazarev in 1820. But by the end of the 19th century, researchers doubted this fact and put forward the hypothesis that the discovery of the mainland occurred much earlier. The reason for this was the map compiled by the Turkish admiral Piri Reis...
Ancient subglacial lake discovered in Antarctica
Antarctica on an ancient map
When compiling the maps, Rice used manuscripts that survived the destruction of the Library of Alexandria by the Arabs. The map around which passions flared up dated back to 1513. Interestingly, it depicted the mountain ranges of Antarctica, which are now buried under thick ice and were recently discovered using seismic sounding.
It's interesting that Almost all ancient geographers were firmly convinced of the existence of a certain continent in the South. There was also legendary information about the land in the South dating back to the 15th century BC.
In 1897, the English steam brig Queen Elizabeth anchored in a bay off the Antarctic coast of Queen Maud Land. It should be noted that this year turned out to be abnormally hot throughout the entire territory. globe. When the sailors climbed to a small plateau 10 miles from the coast, they saw that the ruins of unknown structures had thawed from under the multi-meter thickness of ice. Unfortunately, it turned out to be impossible to get inside, since the lower part of the structures was still under the ice...
Based on the sensational discovery, a special expedition was planned, which was to take place in 1899. But the Anglo-Boer War began, and with its beginning all plans were forgotten. And only in the second half of the 20th century, in 1977, research was continued thanks to new unexpected finds.
Mysterious golden hairs in Antarctica
At that time, experimental research was carried out in the ice basin of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute. An expedition arriving from Antarctica unloaded ice cores obtained by drilling a kilometer-long layer of ice above one of the subglacial Antarctic lakes. It has been suggested that this ice should not be used, much less melted, until it is determined that it does not contain pathogenic organisms.
And then they decided to involve biologists in the research. Samples were taken for analysis, which showed that one of the samples contained short gold wires the thickness of a human hair, as well as wood chips. Interestingly, the length of the metal hairs was 2 centimeters, and all the hairs found in different samples had the same length, straight ends, and almost no elasticity. During the experiment, they were squeezed with tweezers, and dents appeared on them.
These mysterious hairs did not dissolve in hydrochloric, sulfuric, nitric, or acetic acids, which is characteristic only of gold...
There is also evidence from Norwegian archaeologists dating back to the late 80s. They claim to have discovered Antarctic ice gold jewelry, dishes, masks and even unknown instruments. True, in scientific circles this discovery was “silenced”, since it went very much contrary to the generally accepted version of the history of the mainland...
Apparently, in ancient geological eras, Antarctica was different warm climate, an abundance of flora and fauna. A natural disaster that changed conditions on the mainland most likely destroyed the bridges connecting eastern Antarctica with Africa and South America. Evidence of climate change was found in layers 280-320 million years old.
Among them are fossil remains of plants and animals, including ichthyosaurs, which were heat-loving reptiles, and fern flora.
