Ross Gyre

We just learned about the Weddell Gyre.

Another gyre in Antarctica is the Ross Gyre.

This one is just like the Weddel Gyre, but it is in the Ross Sea which is on the other side of the Antarctic Peninsula from the Weddell Sea.


(from: wikipedia - ross gyre)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Portcullis

Weddell Gyre

We just learned that an Ocean Gyre is a way that water flows around in all the oceans.

One of the ocean gyres in Antarctica is called the Weddell Gyre.

The Weddell Sea is the water by the Antarctic peninsula.

The water in this gyre mixes the super cold water right by Antarctica with the warmer southern Atlantic ocean water that is north of Antarctica.



(from: wikipedia - weddel gyre)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Drawbridge

Ocean Gyre

We just learned about the Antarctic Convergence.

Another part of the geography of Antarctica is the Ocean Gyre.

A gyre is an area in the ocean where the water flows around in an oval shape.
Even though there are smaller waves everywhere, there is an overall flow of the water.

In the northern part of the globe it flows clockwise, and in the south it is counter clockwise.

The gyres mix up the cold and warm water in the ocean and also carry plants animals and even garbage all around the world.
The ocean gyres that go around Antarctica help carry the cold water away from Antarctica to the rest of the ocean.

These swirling waters are made by the earth spinning around, and the water, wind and land pushing everything around.


(from: wikipedia - ocean gyre)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Castle Keep

Antarctic Convergence

We just learned about the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.

Another part of Antarctica is the Antarctic Convergence, also called the Antarctic Polar Front.

This is the line in the water around Antarctica where the cold water of Antarctica meets the warm water from the rest of the oceans.

Where the waters meet the cold water usually sinks down below, and the warm water goes to the top.
Because of this mixing, a lot of sea animals like krill live there, which also means a lot of other animals that eat krill come around.

The mixing of this cold and warm water has a lot of effects on the rest of the ocean.


(from: wikipedia - antarctic convergence)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Bastion

Antarctic Circumpolar Current

We just learned about the Nunatuk rock formations.

Another part of Antarctica is the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, also called the ACC.

In the ocean around Antarctica the water flows around it in a clockwise loop.

This water flow called a current is the largest ocean current in the world, mostly because it flows around and around without hitting any other land.
Most other ocean currents eventually run into other continents.

The looping current goes around Antarctica and the south pole like a circle, which is why it's called "Circumpolar".
With the water going around and around, it helps keep the warmer ocean water from getting to Antarctica.
This helps keep the south pole cold and the glaciers from melting.


(from: wikipedia - antarctic circumpolar current)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Butter Churn Tower

Nunatak

We just learned about the Onyx River.

Another part of Antarctica is a Nunatak.

This is a rocky part of a mountain that sticks up out of a glacier.

Nunataks are important because many times they are the only place that plants and animals can live in cold places like Antarctica.


(from: wikipedia - nunatak)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Outworks

Onyx River

We just learned about the Subglacial Lakes.

Another part of Antarctica is the Onyx River.

This is the longest river in Antarctica, at 32 kilometers long and ends up at Lake Vanda.
The water for this river is from meltwater, and goes toward the middle of Antarctica away from the ocean, during the summer months.

Water levels change depending on the season, and the river can flow as fast as 20 cubic meters per second. There were even some researchers from New Zealand that rafted down the river one time!

There are no fish in the river, but there are some tiny animals like bacteria and algea living there, along with some gulls that fly around.

Most of the time the water is just barely higher than the 32 degrees F it needs to melt, so it is really ice cold water!



(from: wikipedia - onyx river)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Roundel

Subglacial Lakes

We just learned about the Meltwater.

Another part of Antarctica is the Subglacial Lakes.

We know that sometimes the ice and snow melts and turns into ponds, rivers or lakes.
And sometimes these lakes are way deep down underneath the ice.

Antarctica has hundreds of lakes deep down underneath the glaciers, called "subglacial lakes".

The biggest one that has been discovered is Lake Vostok.
This is down underneath Vostok Station, and the water is over 2 miles below the ice.
Lake Vostok is 160 miles long, 30 miles wide, and 3,000 feet deep.
It has as much water in it as Lake Michigan.



(from: wikipedia - lake vostok)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Palisade

Meltwater

We just learned about the Melt Pond.

Another part of Antarctica is glacial Meltwater.

Sometimes the ice or snow in Antarctica will melt a little, and turn into what is called meltwater.
Meltwater is different than the ocean water around Antarctica because it is fresh water.
This means animals can drink it, and it also means it can mix with the ice and snow of the glaciers and melt and refreeze over and over.
The meltwater usually melts because of the warmer summer weather, from magma underground, or from volcanic eruptions.

If the water stays in one place on top of the snow or ice, that is the melt pond.
Other times the melted snow or ice will turn into a small river and flow across the snow and ice.
There are even times when the snow or ice will melt underneath the top part, and make a small lake underneath the snow or ice.

Sometimes the meltwater is underground and is between two glaciers.
When this happens the glaciers can move around as they are sliding on the water in between.

Scientists study meltwater because it can help them understand climate change and how glaciers move.


(from: wikipedia - meltwater)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Ramparts

Melt Pond

We just learned about the Antarctic Sea Ice.

Another part of the ice Antarctica is the Melt Pond.

Sometimes when it gets warm enough for ice to start melting, the top of it will melt and make a little pond on top of the other ice.
This melt pond area is darker than the white snow colored ice, so it warms up more with the sun and can cause it to melt more and get bigger.
Sometimes melt ponds are on top of sea ice.
If the sea ice melt pond keeps getting deeper as it melts, it will melt all the way through the ice.
Melt ponds are fresh water, but if they melt through to the ocean underneath that is salt water.
The salt water will melt the sea ice even more and make a bigger melt pond.

Other times melt ponds are on top of glaciers.
If a melt pond gets big and deep enough it will just hit the land underneath.

Melt ponds can also be underneath a glacier, like an underground lake.


(from: wikipedia - melt pond)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Moat

Antarctic Sea Ice

We just learned about the South Pole.

Another part of Antarctica is the Antarctic Sea Ice.

We've learned before about the big Antarctic Ice Sheet that covers the continent.
And we've learned about the Ice Shelves that stick out from the Ice Sheet above the water.

The ice shelves are very thick, sometimes 1 kilometer deep.
Sea ice is a lot thinner, and is usually only a few meters thick.
Sometimes it is touching the shelf ice, and sometimes it's just floating out in the ocean close to Antarctica.

During the winters in Antarctica, the frozen sea ice goes out very far from the main land of Antarctica, and then in the summer most of it melts back to the ice shelves.



(from: wikipedia - antarctic sea ice)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Barbican

South Pole

We just learned about Pole of Inaccessibility Research Station.

We learned before about adventurers traveling to the South Pole.

The south pole is at the very bottom of the planet, and at the opposite end of the north pole.
We know the first person to get there was Roald Admundsen, and the Amundsen-Scott station is right at the south pole.

There is a red striped pole with a silver globe on top with flags all around for picture taking at the south pole. This is called the Ceremonial South Pole, and it is a few feet away from the real south pole.
The warmest the south pole has ever been is 9 F, and the coldest ever was -117 F.

There is also the South Magnetic Pole, which is in a different spot.
When you use a compass and one end points north, the other end points south.
This is because the earth's poles are magnetic which helps a lot for travel!
These north and south poles actually move a little based on the changes in the earth under the ground like the moving magma.

There is also the South Geomagnetic Pole, which is in another different spot.
The earth spins around and makes a magnetic field around it.
You can think about it like how static electricity can move things around.
This is really the true magnetic pole, but the moving of magma and other parts of the earth makes the magnetic pole move around and be different than the geomagnetic pole.

Another place is the South Pole of Inaccessibility.
This is the place in the south pole that is the hardest to get to, as it is the farthest place inland from the ocean.
There was a Russian base there for a while but it has been abandoned.




(from: wikipedia - south pole)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Sally Port

Pole of Inaccessibility Research Station

We just learned about the Carlini Base.

Another research base in Antarctica is the Pole of Inaccessibility Research Station.

This is in the place on Antarctica that is the farthest from any point of water where a boat could land with explorers.
Since it's so hard to get to it's called the most inaccessible.

The Russians built a small base for 4 people there in 1958, and they stayed for 8 days and then left.
Since then the base has been covered by snow, and the only part showing is the statue of the old Russian leader Lenin that was on the top of the base.

Some people still visit the spot to do some research, but the base is buried so no one stays there anymore.


(from: wikipedia - pole of inaccessibility (antarctic research station))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Curtain Wall

Carlini Base

We just learned about the Brown Station.

Another base in Antarctica is Carlini Base.

This base is owned by Argentina and is on the Antarctic peninsula, and holds about 60 people.
It was built in 1953, and is used mostly to study the weather, the animals and the ocean.

There are tourists that sometimes come to visit the station, so they have a radio station and a movie theater there for people.
In 2013 the rock band Metallica came down to Antarctica to play a concert, so that they could say they played on every continent.
Because the loud guitars, drums and speakers would hurt the ice, animals and environment down there, they played the concert with no amplifiers, just using their instruments in a special dome that kept in the sounds.

Living by this base are thousands of penguins and hundreds of sea lions that they watch over and study.



(from: wikipedia - carlini base)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Machicolation

Brown Station

We just learned about the Vernadsky Research Base.

Another research station in Antarctica is Brown Sation.

This station is owned by Argentina, and was built in 1951.
In 1984 when winter time was coming, one of the scientists did not want to stay during the cold winter but he was told that he had to.
So because he was mad and didn't want to stay, he burned down the station!
Luckily everyone escaped the fire and survived, and they all had to go home.

The station was rebuilt later on, and has about 18 people staying there.
They have a great lookout point that is 276 feet above the station, where people go to take great pictures.
After taking pictures, they go sledding down the hill back to the station.

It is also a great place for gentoo penguins who love to come visit, and the scientists try to study what they are doing.





(from: wikipedia - brown station)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Battlements

Vernadsky Research Base

We just learned about the Antarctic Palmer Station.

Another research station in Antarctica is Vernadsky Research Base.

This base is owned by the country of Ukrainian, and is on the Antarctic Peninsula.

Because it is on the Peninsula where a lot of changes are happening with icebergs melting and floating away, this base does a lot of studies for global warming.

It is one of the bases that people can visit for fun if they want to say they came to Antarctica.
There is a post office where they sell postcards, and a post office where tourists can send them out.

The station even has a bar where people can play pool and darts.
Faraday Bar calls itself the Southernmost Bar on the Earth, and they have a tourist shop where people can buy patches, stickers and other souvenirs to prove they have been to Antarctica.




(from: wikipedia - vernadsky research base)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Merlon

Palmer Station

We just learned about the ANSMET Station.

Another research station in Antarctica is Palmer Station.

This station is right along the Antarctic Peninsula, and is actually on a small island named Amsler Island.
Because it is right on the water, this station spends most of its time studying the sea and the animals living in it near Antarctica.

There is a boat called the Laurence M. Gould that helps people travel from the station to South America.





(from: wikipedia - palmer station)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Crenel

ANSMET Station

We just learned about the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica Station.

Another Antarctic station is ANSMET Station, which stands for Antarctic Search for Meteorites.

This is a station in the Transantarctic Mountains where 4 to 10 people live and collect meteorites.
They go out on snowmobiles and search in the snow for meteorites that are buried in the mountains.

ANSMET was built in the year 1976, and since then they have collected over 20,000 meteorites!
A few meteorites were from the moon, and a few were even from Mars!



(from: wikipedia - ansmet)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Parapet

Princess Elisabeth Antarctica Station

We just learned about the McMurdo Station.

Another research station in Antarctica is Princess Elisabeth Antarctica Station.

This station is owned by Belgium, and was made in 2009 in Queen Maud Land, one of the areas of Antarctica.

It is the only station on the continent that has zero emissions, which means it doesn't cause pollution when it makes energy for the station.

It uses solar panels and wind turbines to capture the sun and wind to use for energy.

The station usually has about 16 scientists at a time, and has a garage to use for snow vehicles that they can drive around.


(from: wikipedia - princess elisabeth antarctica)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Wall Walk

McMurdo Station

We just learned about the Amundsen-Scott - South Pole Station.

Another research base in Antarctica is McMurdo Station.

This is the biggest station in Antarctica, and can have over 1,200 people staying there!

The land is claimed by New Zealand, but the United States runs the base.
This base has an airport where people can land cargo planes, and a port where big ships can dock.
If someone wants to go to the south pole, they first start at the McMurdo station.
People bring supplies to McMurdo base that are then brought to the south pole.

One of the ways people get around at the McMurdo base is a big bus called Ivan the Terra Bus.
It is 46 feet long, 12 feet wide and 14 feet tall, with tires that are over 6 feet tall!
Ivan can carry 56 people, and weighs 67,000 pounds.
With all that weight on the snow it can get up to 26 miles per hour.




(from: wikipedia - mcmurdo station)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Zwinger