Antarctica—Lastfala Spialaen
FROM MAN WEA RAET FOR WEKAP! LONG AUSTRALIA
FROM samfala part bilong Antarctica cold tumas, wanfala writer hem sei “sapos iu dropim wanfala haf iron bar hem bae pisis olsem glass, . . . and sapos iu pullim ap wanfala fish thru long wanfala hol long ice hem bae kamap blok . . . ice nao insaed faev second nomoa.” From ples hem cold tumas and luk naes long spesol wei—wea samtaem kasem barava naes laet wea olketa kolem southern lights—man savve tingim Antarctica olsem difren world.
Bat Antarctica hem barava part bilong disfala world. Pipol sei hem olsem wanfala bigfala natural laboratory for studyim earth and atmosphere bilong hem and olketa change long environment raonem world tu, wea insaed diswan olketa samting wea man duim. Olketa study hia nao mekem olketa scientist for wari moa. Olketa lukim samfala nogud saen long olketa area bilong South Pole, wea showimaot danger hem stap. Bat firstaem, letem iumi lukim why nao Antarctica hem spesol land.
Firstaem, Antarctica—land wea farawe winim evri land long world—hem wanfala land bilong barava difren samting. Hem barava luk naes and klin evribit bat hem wanfala barava hard ples for stap long hem. Wind and cold bilong hem winim eni ples long earth, bat long wanfala wei wea spesol hem soft and isi for man spoelem. Evri kantri winim hem long rain, bat hem garem ice wea insaed long hem garem 70 percent bilong evri fresh wata long earth. Witim thick bilong samting olsem 2,200 meter, ice hem mekem Antarctica hae winim evri land long earth, wea average hae bilong hem 2,300 meter ovarem sea level. Hem mek-faev bigfala land long earth tu, bat hem no garem eni samting wea stap evritaem long hem wea moa big winim wanfala midge, wankaen flae wea big bilong hem wan centimeter and no garem wing.
Olsem Iu Visitim Mars!
Taem iu go insaed Antarctica, bae gogo namba bilong laef samting wea iu lukim hem kamap smol, especially taem iu kasem olketa area wea olketa kolem olketa drae valley. Olketa polar desert hia stap hae long olketa Transantarctic Mountain—wanfala laen long olketa maunten wea akrosim disfala land and long samfala ples hae winim 4,300 meter. Olketa barava cold wind savve blow thru olketa drae valley hia and kwiktaem blowim awe eni snow wea maet foldaon. Olketa scientist biliv olketa valley hia only ples long earth wea luk olsem Mars. Dastawe, olketa iusim olketa ples hia for testim space equipment bifor datfala Viking mission go long Mars.
Nomata olsem, olketa drae valley hia bat garem olketa laef samting tu! Olketa bacteria, algae, and fungus stap insaed olketa smol air spes insaed olketa rok. Olketa laef long eni smol wata long there. Aotsaed, ples bilong olketa hem wanfala barava emti world bilong olketa ventifact, olketa rok wea garem spesol sheip and shaen from strong wind bilong planti handred year.
Kasem Nem Bifor Olketa Faendem
Story abaotem wanfala big land area long south part bilong earth hem stap from taem bilong olketa Greek savveman yet. Olsem example, Aristotle sei wanfala land area long south part bilong earth mas stap for balancem olketa land wea stap long north part. Disfala buk Antarctica—Great Stories From the Frozen Continent sei “from north saed bilong earth hem andanit olketa star bilong Arktos, datfala Bear, there nao, Aristotle (384-322 BC) hem sei, datfala land wea olketa no savve long hem long south mas be Antarktikos—wea minim, opposite evribit”—or stap opposite saed bilong earth. So Antarctica hem spesol from hem kasem nem bilong hem 2,000 year bifor olketa faendem!
Long 1772, man for travel bilong Britain, Captain James Cook, hem sail go south for lukaotem disfala land bilong south wea olketa sei hem stap. Hem kasem wanfala world bilong olketa island wea kasem strong wind and maeti iceberg, or olsem hem kolem, “olketa ice island.” Hem raet: “Samfala long olketa thrifala kilometer big and 20 meter hae, bat wave bilong sea savve brek ovarem olketa, hem nao hao strong and hevi bilong olketa wave.” Cook disaed strong and go ahed south, and long January 17, 1773, ship bilong hem, Resolution, and narawan wea gogo witim hem, Adventure, olketa kamap first ship for katkros long area bilong Antarctic Circle. Cook trae hard for sail go thru olketa ice kasem taem hem no wei nao. “Mi no savve lukim eniting long south bat ice nomoa,” hem raet olsem insaed record buk bilong hem. Hem tan bak taem hem samting olsem 120 kilometer nomoa from land bilong Antarctica.
So hu nao first wan for lukim Antarctica? Tru nao, hu nao first wan for step antap long hem? Kam kasem distaem no eniwan sure. Maet hem olketa wea huntim whale or seal, bikos taem Cook go bak long homples bilong hem, report bilong hem abaotem staka seal, penguin, and whale mekem staka man for hunt for hariap go kasem disfala area.
Blood Long Ice
Insaed buk bilong hem The Fatal Impact, Alan Moorehead hem raet hao Cook “lukim wanem hem maet be bigfala sekson bilong wild animal long world, and hem first man for talem world hao diswan stap.” “For olketa animal bilong Antarctica,” Moorehead hem sei, “[wanem kamaot from diswan] hem bigfala wei for distroe.” Disfala buk Antarctica—Great Stories From the Frozen Continent hem sei: “Gogo for end bilong mek-eitin century, wei for huntim seal long south part long earth kamap olsem datfala gold rush. Barava hae demand from China and Europe for olketa skin bilong seal hem mekem olketa finisim evri seal and gogo olketa hunter barava lukaotem eni niu area wea garem olketa ples bilong seal.”
Bihaen olketa wea huntim seal kanduit faendem seal moa, olketa wea huntim whale start for spoelem sea. “No eniwan bae savve haomas whale and seal nao olketa killim dae long olketa sea long south,” Moorehead hem raetem. “Waswe, hem ten million or fifti million? Namba kamap samting nating; killkill go ahed gogo klosap no eniting stap moa for killim.”
Bat, distaem, olketa law stap wea protectim evri plant and animal bilong Antarctica. And tu, from no eni animal wea kaikaim narawan stap long land and staka kaikai stap long sea, saedsea bilong Antarctica hem nambawan ples for olketa animal long summer taem. Bat Antarctica insaed danger wea moa worse, wea olketa agreement midolwan olketa kantri hard for changem.
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TUFALA POLE DIFREN
Nomata tufala semsem long samfala wei, North Pole and South Pole tufala difren winim wei wea tufala stap long difren ples nomoa. Tingim olketa samting hia.
Area raonem North Pole hem ice and sea, bat South Pole hem klosap long midol bilong mek-faev bigfala land long earth.
Raonem North Pole hem America, Asia, and Europe, wea garem staka pipol, bat Antarctica garem big sea nomoa raonem hem, tru nao, barava raf wan long earth.
Planti thousand famili stap insaed long area bilong Arctic Circle, wea hem tu hom bilong staka thousand plant and animal. Bat, no eni man kolem Antarctica hom. Only native hia hem algae, bacteria, olketa moss, lichen, tufala kaen plant wea garem flaoa, and tu-thri difren kaen insect.
“Olketa kolem Antarctica datfala continent wea muv evritaem,” Encyclopædia Britannica hem talem, “bikos long wei wea ice hipap and then go awe from saedsea bilong hem evri year.” Ice savve hipap kasem 1,600 kilometer go aot long sea. Disfala wei for hipap hem six taem moa winim ice wea hipap long Arctic, wea givim Antarctica moa paoa for affectim weather raonem world.
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(Lukim pablikeson for olketa nara information)
ATLANTIC OCEAN
INDIAN OCEAN
PACIFIC OCEAN
Drake Passage
James Ross Island
Larsen Ice Shelf
ANTARCTIC PENINSULA
Ronne Ice Shelf
Vinson Massif (barava tol maunten, 16,066 feet)
Ross Ice Shelf
Mt. Erebus (active volcano)
TRANSANTARCTIC MOUNTAINS
South Pole
Barava cold temperature wea olketa recordim long earth hem long Antarctica [minus 89.2 C.]
0 500 km 500 mile
[Credit Line]
U.S. Geological Survey
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Olketa Chinstrap penguin hipap long wanfala blue iceberg
[Credit Line]
© 2000 Mark J. Thomas/Dembinsky Photo Assoc., Inc.
[Piksa long page 19]
Humpback whale
[Piksa long page 19]
Olketa southern elephant seal
[Piksa long page 19]
Long South Pole
[Credit Line]
Foto: Commander John Bortniak, NOAA Corps
[Piksa long page 19]
Ross Ice Shelf
[Credit Line]
Michael Van Woert, NOAA NESDIS, ORA