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-as of [30 MARCH 2024]–
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“arctic”
(greek for “north”)
“antarctica”
(“opposite of north”)
(aka ‘south’)
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‘american english’ –>
/æntˈɑːrktɪkə/
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‘british english’ –>
/ænˈtɑːktɪkə/
or
/ænˈtɑːtɪkə/
or
/ænˈɑːtɪkə/)
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-“antarctica” is earth’s southern-most continent, containing the ‘geographic south pole’-
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(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 kilometers’ (or ‘5,400,000 square miles’), it is the 5th-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 kilometers’ (/ ‘1.2 miles’ / ‘6,200 feet’) in ‘thickness’, which extends to all but the northernmost reaches of the ‘antarctic peninsula’)
(‘antarctica’ (on average) is the (‘coldest’ / ‘driest’ / ‘windiest’ continent), and has the ‘highest average elevation’ of all the ‘continents’)
(‘antarctica’ is a ‘desert’, with ‘annual precipitation’ of only ‘200 millimeters’ (/ ‘8 inches’) along the ‘coast’ and far less ‘inland’)
(the ‘temperature’ in ‘antarctica’ has reached −89.2 °C (/ −128.6 °F), though the average for the ‘3rd quarter’ (the coldest part of the year) is −63 °C (−81 °F))
(there are no permanent human residents, but anywhere from 1,000 – 5,000 people reside throughout the year at the ‘research stations’ scattered across the ‘continent’)
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(organisms native to ‘antarctica’ include many types of…)
‘algae’
‘bacteria’
‘fungi’
‘plants’
‘protista’
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(and certain animals, such as…)
‘mites’
‘nematodes’
‘penguins’
‘seals’
‘tardigrades’
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(‘vegetation’ (where it occurs), is ‘tundra’)
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(although ‘myths’ + ‘speculation’ about a terra australis (aka “southern land”) date back to ‘antiquity’, ‘antarctica’ was only first sighted in ‘1820’, by the russian expedition of ‘fabian gottlieb von bellingshausen’ + ‘mikhail lazarev’ on vostok + mirny, who sighted the “fimbul ice shelf”)
(the continent, however, remained largely ‘neglected’ for the rest of the ‘1800s’ because of its (‘hostile environment’ / ‘lack of resources’ / ‘isolation’))
(antarctica is a de facto ‘condominium’, governed by ‘parties’ to the ‘antarctic treaty system’ that have ‘consulting status’)
(12 countries signed the ‘antarctic treaty’ in ‘1959’, and 38 have signed it since then)
(what will it take to get the rest of the ~200 countries on board?)
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(the ‘antarctic treaty”…)
*prohibits ‘military activities’ + ‘mineral mining’*
(“why?”)
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*prohibits ‘nuclear explosions’ + ‘nuclear waste disposal’*
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*supports ‘scientific research’*
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*protects the continent’s ‘eco-zone’*
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(ongoing ‘experiments’ are ‘conducted’ by more than ‘4,000 scientists’ from many ‘nations’)
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”“too cold…”
(“song for nash”)““too cold…”
(“song for nash”)
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*👨🔬🕵️♀️🙇♀️*SKETCHES*🙇♂️👩🔬🕵️♂️*
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💕💝💖💓🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤❤️💚💛🧡❣️💞💔💘❣️🧡💛💚❤️🖤💜🖤💙🖤💙🖤💗💖💝💘
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*🌈✨ *TABLE OF CONTENTS* ✨🌷*
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🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥*we won the war* 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥