45˚W
A
0˚
15˚E
30˚E
45˚E
IV.
The Pole of Inaccessibility
The pole of Inaccessability is considered to be the most remote place on earth. It is located on top of the antarctic ice cap, over 1000 km from the nearest open water. It was here that the Soviet antarctic expedition set up a weather montioring station in 1958. This base suffered in the coldest average temperatures of any location on earth, and was abandoned after less than a year of operation due to the dangers of isolation. The base consisted of a communications hut, electrical hut, and accomodation for four people. Atop the accomodation hut held a bust of Lenin, facing towards Moscow.
R C A TI T
When the station was abandoned, nothing was taken. This is not uncommon once antarctic stations outlive their use or become too dangerous to operate. The cost of dismantling the stations and moving the remains far outweighs thier worth. The result is a collection of hauntingly eerie abandoned stations, such as Oasis base (Soviet), Shackelton’s hut, Ross’ hut, Grytviken whaling station, and many more. The station at the Pole of Inaccessibility is one of the prime examples, although the snowfall over the antarctic ice cap is quickly consuming the structures. Today, not much more than the bust of Lenin can be seen at the site.
CA
N
15˚W
30˚W
60˚E
60˚W
W
S
Pole of Inacessibility staion
4” 4 ’ 3 3 ° 6 6 e cl r i C c i ct r ta n A
E
AK
SIG
N A
L
Orcadas Staion (Argentina) 10/0 Signy Station (UK) 45/14
I.
Continental Compression
Antarctica’s ice sheet contains roughly 26.5 million cubic kilometres of ice, and at some points is over 3800m deep. This amounts to around 24 million tonnes of weight pushing down on the antarctic continent. If the entire antarctic ice cap were to melt, the continent would experience a glacial isostatic adjustment. The crust has an elastic upheaval once the weight of the ice has been removed. After the intial elactic reaction, magma in the mantle beneath the crust will begin a slow viscous flow, further pushing the continent upwards.
75˚W
This process takes tens of thousands of years to occur, and is currently occuring in parts of Northern Europe and North America. These regions are elevating due to relief from the last glaciation period. The upward movement in some areas, such as parts of Sweden and Finland, can be at a rate of almost 1cm per year. Is is expected for this process to take at least another 10,000 years to complete, with the resulting change in elevation potentially reaching an increase of several hundred metres. NASA’s operation icebridge and the Bedmap 2 project sets out to model the antarctic conteinent free of ice. In this scenario, parts of the continent would be under sea level. But we must consider the unprecendented glacial isostatic adjustment that would result from the loss of antarctica’s ice.
Comadante Ferraz (Brazil) 40/12 Machu Picchu Station (Peru) 28/0 Arctowski Station (Poland) 40/12 Carlini Station (Argentina) 100/20 King Sejong (Korea) 70/18 Artigas Station (Uraguay) 60/9 Bellingshausen (Russia) 38/25 Eduardo Montalva (Chile) 161/80 Great Wall Station (China) 40/14 Risopatron Station (Chile) 8/0 Arturo Prat Station (Chile) 15/9 Maldonaldo Station (Ecuador) 22/0 Camara Staion (Argentina) 36/0 Juan Carlos I (Spain) 25/0 Ohridsk Station (Bulgaria) 36/0 Guillermo Mann (Chile) 6/0 Deception Station (Argentina) 65/0 Gabriel de Castilla (Spain) 25/0
Source: www.southpolestation.com, i09.com, www.atlasobscura.com
Novolazarevskaya (Russia) 70/30
Maitri Station (India) 65/25
Tor Station (Norway) 4/0
Neumayer III (Germany) 50/9
V.
SANAE (South Africa) 80/10 Troll Station (Norway) 40/7
Wasa Station (Sweden) 20/0 Aboa Station (Finland) 20/0
Cu
Fe
DRONNING MAUD LAND
Co
Currently any kind of activity to do with mineral exploitation, such as surveying for oil, or drilling is banned my the 1991 Madrid Protocol. However, some scientists speculate that antarctica may be incedibly resource rich. Even though mineral surveying is banned, and only 1% of the geology of the continent is exposed, there are signs of antimony, chromium, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, tin, uranium, zinc, cobalt, mangnese, oil and coal and diamonds present in different areas. The theory of coninental drift also suggests a mineral rich Antarctica.180 million years ago, South America, Africa and Australia were connected to Antarctica forming the super continent Gondwana. Resource rich areas within these continents may correspond to areas in the antarctic as well.
200 56
Syowa Station (Japan) 110/28
ENDERBY LAND
Kohnen Station (Russia) 28/0
U
Hailey Station (UK) 65/15
Johann Gregor Mendel (Czech Republic) 20/0
Matienzo Station (Argentina) 15/0
Mechior (Argentina) 36/0 Gabriel Gonzalez (Chile) 9/0 Brown Station (Argentina)
Despite the possibility of large mineral reserves in the antarctic, the biggest obstacle, along with legislation, is the extreme envrionment in which these minerals are found. Much of these reserves are found under ice caps kilometres thick. The oil reserves identified under the ocean off the continent are surrounded by extremely large icebergs that scour the sea floor to great depth, potentially damaging any sea floor installations. The economic potential of Antarctica is a politically charged topic; many countries have been very vocal about thinly veiled attempts at mineral surveying in the past, but in this current climate, and with the Madrid protocol up for review in 2041, this will become an increasingly relevant issue.
-47
2000 m
Primavera Station (Argentina) 18/0
18/0
Fe
Ti Petrel Station (Argentina) 55/0 Marambio Station (Argentina) 150/55
2500 m
COATS LAND
KEMP LAND
3000 m
Palmer Station (USA) 43/12 Vernadsky Station (Ukraine) 24/12
3500 m
Dome Fuji (Japan) 15/0
Belgrano Station (Argentina) 12/12
1
Cu
Gondwana, 180 million years ago
3800
Dome Fuji 3786 m
San Martin (Argentina) 20/20
Rothera Station (UK) 130/22
Luis Caravajal (Chile) 30/0
Continental Crust
75˚E
Mawson Station (Australia) 60/20
ANTARCTIC PENINSULA
Ice Sheet
Mining in the Antarctic
Princess Elizabeth (Belgium) 20/0
Esperanza Station (Argentina) Bernando (Chile) 90/55 44/16
Ni
Oasis Station
Grytviken station, South Gerogia
Known mineral reserves
Pole of Inaccessability (Abandoned)
-71
PRINCE CHARLES MOUNTAINS
16
Fossil Bluff (UK) 6/0
Projected mineral reserves
Fe PALMER LAND
Africa India
Druzhnaya Station (Russia) 50/0
WEDDELL SEA
Bharati Station (India) 50/15 Zhongshan Station (China) 30/15 Progress Station (Russia) 77/20 Davis Station (Australia) 70/22
PRINCESS ELIZABETH LAND
Sky Blu (UK) 6/0
South America Australia Antarctica
Taishan (China) 5/0
Antarctica Peninsula
4000 m
BELLINGSHAUSEN SEA
Exposed coal seam, Transantarctic Mountains. Source: British
47
Kunlun (China) 20/0
Sources: cmar.csiro.au, sealevel.colorado.edu, www.nasa.gov.
880 22
Arturo Parodi (Chile) 25/0
Cu
II.
The Infinitate Horizon
WILHELM II LAND
-82.2
ELLSWORTH MOUNTAINS
90˚W
Sources: www.antarctica.gov.au, www.coolantarctica.com, www.britannica.com
Dome Argus 4093 m
VI.
-52 Aumndsen - Scott Base (USA)
2838
250/75
Mb 3488 -89.2
If one was to stand at sea level and stare across the ocean towards the horizon, they would see roughly 5 kilometres before the curvature of the earth hid the rest behind the horizon. This can vary for different locations, depending on the elevation and the topography of the area. But in Antarctica, the uniquly uniform topography of the ice cap greatly increases the distance to the horizon. This creates the illusion of an indeterminate, even infinate horizon.
ELLSWORTH LAND
Vostok Station
Lake Vostok is subglacial lake which holds 6,343 cubic kilometres of liquid water, making it the world’s third largest lake. It lies under roughly 3,800m of ice, and is subjected to high pressures which keep the water liquid enven at temperatures of -2 degrees C. Since 1990, Russian expeditioners have been trying to reach the lake to take scientific samples. After several technical failures, and international protest over the ecological concerns of Russia’s drilling method, the Russians managed to break through to Lake Vostok in the 2012-2013 summer season. Samples have been analysed and found to contain genetic material of more that 3,500 different organisms. This environment is considered as a possible analogue for the environment underneath the icy surface of one of Jupiter’s moons, Europa.
Mirny Station (Russia) 169/60
18
Vostock (Russia) 25/13
3500 m
QUEEN MARY LAND
TRANSANTARCTIC MOUNTAINS
If you combine this with other optical phenonmena, such as ice fog (the rapid condensation of water over very cold surfaces) and the fata morgana, the edge of the horizon is all but impossible to determine, disappearing somewhere in the haze between white ice and blue sky. This makes visual navigation impossible on the antarctic ice cap. The fata morgana is an optical illusion that results in distant images being magnified, inverted and displayed above the actual horizon. This occurs when there is a highly differentiated layer of warmer air on top of a cool layer, which created a complex mirage as the light moves inbetween these layers.
56
3000 m
Coal
Vostok station is an extreme environment, with the coldest temperature in history recorded here, at -89.2 degrees C. In highly unstable, cold environments such as these the Russians used a combination of thermo-drills and electromechanical drills to drill through roughly 4000m of ice before reaching thier goal. Similar operations to reach subglacial lakes have been undertaken by the US and the UK, but using heated glacial melt water as a drilling method for a minimised environmental impact. Despite using what some describe as reckless and insensitive drilling methods, the lake Vostok drilling program remains as the deepest succesful ice drilling operation in history.
AMUNDSEN SEA 2500 m
WILKES LAND 2000 m
Zn
Casey Station (Australia) 70/20 Concordia Station (France/Italy) 60/13
MARIE BRYD LAND
ROSS SEA
Pb McMurdo Station (USA) 1055/250
5 kilometres
1610 Curvature of the Earth
Subglacial Lake Vostock
90˚E
Dome Circe 3264 m
Mn
1760
2,503 m
1992 - Second borehole begins drilling
1710
1660
Mn
Scott Station (NZ) 63/10
1810
105˚W
105˚E
8 + kilometres Ice Sheet Antarctic
1890 Curvature of the Earth
Oil
Sources: www.antarcticconnection.com, Kuhn, M. 1978. Optical Phenomena in the Antarctic Atmosphere. Meterological studies at Plateau station, Antarctica. 25:129-144
TERRE ADELIE 1910
3,580 m
1998 - Drilling stopped
3,668 m 3,769 m
2007- Drill gets stuck 2011 - Ice/Water interface is reached
Mario Zucchelli (Italy) 92/0
OATES LAND
Jang Bogo Station (Korea) 60/16
III.
Aurora Australis
Mb
Sources: www.antartidaurbana.com, www.extremetech.com, www.nature.com
1990
Mb GEORGE V LAND
2010
3812
Contours (every 500 metres)
Ice cap movement direction
Changes in the magnetic pole will affect aurora activity around the globe. The closer one is to a magnetic pole, the more aurora activity you will experience, which can include disruptions to ground based communications equipment, as well as disruptions to communications sattelites.
Charged particles Winter sea ice extent
Summer sea ice extent
Known Mineral Deposit
Magnetic South Pole (Year)
120˚W
-
Dome Peak (Height)
+
Dumont d’Urville (France) 100/26
t
em
sO
0 - 50 Station Population Summer / Winter
Aurora Australis as seen from the internation space staion
Davis Station (Australia) 70/22
ar
50 - 100 Station Population Summer / Winter
Vostock (Russia) 25/13
Ave rag
pe
ra
tin
120˚E
ed d spe win
Amundsen - Scott South Pole (USA) 250/75
Magnetosphere
e
100 - 250 Station Population Summer / Winter
Magnetosphere
pth De
McMurdo Station (USA) 1055/250
st recorded
250 - 1000 Station Population Summer / Winter
+
Dome Circe 3264 m
Ye
React with NitrogenGreen and Blue Light
1910
we
-
1000+ Station Population Summer / Winter
Pb
Lo
React with Oxygen Green and Red Light
Charged Parti cles
p ertu re
South Magnetic Pole
io n
- + LIDAR at Davis station, 2012
The magnetic poles are located close to the north and south geographic poles, but they wander. The south magnetic pole has been migrating at a rate of roughly 10km per year towards north north west, but can fluctuate by up to 80 km each day. Recently, this rate has spead up to 50km per year, and this has taken the pole off the coast of Antarctica, heading for Western Australia. At this rate of movement, and at this current direction, the south magnetic pole may be located close to Perth in the year 2098. Scientists believe that this increased fluctuation of the magnetic pole may be a sign of an immiment flip of the magnetic poles, with the south pole suddenly becoming the north pole and vice versa. This had occured before, 780,000 years ago, and scientist speculate that it could happen again in the next millenium.
Exposed rock
+
Wandering South Magnetic Pole
at
Magnetic Field Line
VII.
77
Dumont d’Urville (France) 100/26
The aurora is caused by charged particles carried by solar wind being directed towards the magnetic poles by the earth’s magnetic field. These particles collide with oxygen and nitrogen atoms in our atmosphere, which release energy in the form of light, creating an aurora. 2013 was an unprecedented year for auroras due to high solar flare activity. The increased amount of charged particles heading towards earth due to a solar flare can overload the electronics on satellites orbiting the earth. Antarctic skies are the clearest in the world, so scientists at Davis station take advantage and use a LIDAR (Light Detecting and Ranging instrument) to take mearurements of different parts of our atmosphere by shining a very powerful laser into the sky and carefully measuring the back scatter.
-20
El e
v
0
g
500
1000
1500
Km
Sources: www.antarctica.gov.au, www.australiangeographic.com
Sources: ngdc.nooa.gov, www.antarctica.gov.au, www.scientificamerican.com, www.window2universe.org
135˚W
150˚W
165˚W
180˚
165˚E
150˚E
135˚E