History of Antarctica

For the natural history of the Antarctic continent, see Antarctica.

The history of Antarctica emerges from early Western theories of a vast continent, known as Terra Australis, believed to exist in the far south of the globe. The term Antarctic, referring to the opposite of the Arctic Circle, was coined 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 that 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 but although they discovered nearby islands, they did not catch sight of Antarctica itself. It is believed he was as close as 150 miles from the mainland.

In 1820, several expeditions claimed to have been the first to have sighted the ice shelf or the continent. A Russian expedition was led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev, a British expedition was captained by Edward Bransfield and an American sealer Nathaniel Palmer participated. The first landing was probably just over a year later when American Captain John Davis, a sealer, set foot on the ice.

Antarctica

Antarctica (US English ⁱ/æntˈɑːrktɪkə/, UK English /ænˈtɑːktɪkə/ or /ænˈtɑːtɪkə/ or /ænˈɑːtɪkə/) is Earth's southernmost continent, containing the geographic South Pole. It is situated in the Antarctic region of the Southern Hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. At 14,000,000 square kilometres (5,400,000 square miles), it is the fifth-largest continent in area after Asia, Africa, North America, and South America. For comparison, Antarctica is nearly twice the size of Australia. About 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice that averages 1.9 kilometres (1.2 mi) in thickness, which extends to all but the northernmost reaches of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Antarctica, on average, is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent, and has the highest average elevation of all the continents. Antarctica is considered a desert, with annual precipitation of only 200 mm (8 in) along the coast and far less inland. The temperature in Antarctica has reached −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F), though the average for the third quarter (the coldest part of the year) is −63 °C (−81 °F). There are no permanent human residents, but anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 people reside throughout the year at the research stations scattered across the continent. Organisms native to Antarctica include many types of algae, bacteria, fungi, plants, protista, and certain animals, such as mites, nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades. Vegetation, where it occurs, is tundra.

Eight Below

Eight Below is a 2006 American adventure drama film based on Antarctica by Toshirô Ishidô, Koreyoshi Kurahara, Tatsuo Nogami and Susumu Saji. It was produced by Patrick Crowley and David Hoberman, directed by Frank Marshall with music by Mark Isham and written by David DiGilio. It stars Paul Walker, Bruce Greenwood, Moon Bloodgood, and Jason Biggs. It was released theatrically on February 17, 2006, by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States. The film is set in Antarctica, but was filmed in Svalbard, Norway, Greenland, and British Columbia, Canada. The film received positive reviews from critics and it earned $120.4 million on a $40 million budget.

Plot

In 1993, Jerry Shepard (Paul Walker) is a guide at an Antarctica research base under contract with the National Science Foundation. UCLA professor, Dr. Davis McClaren (Bruce Greenwood), arrives at the base. He presses Shepard to take him to Mount Melbourne to attempt to find a rare meteorite from the planet Mercury. Shepard does so, ignoring his own intuition, which tells him it is too late in the season to complete such a treacherous route, and decides that the only way to get to Mount Melbourne is by dog sled.

Antarctica: The Bliss Out, Vol. 2

Antarctica: The Bliss Out, Vol. 2 is the third album by Windy & Carl, released in February, 1997 through Darla Records.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Carl Hultgren and Windy Weber. 

Personnel

References

External links