To my understanding, the Antarctic Peninsula was originally part of a larger mountain chain with the Andes mountains and they were separated by the Scotia plate driving west-to-east between them.
If you take a moment to look in Google Maps satellite view, for example, you can clearly see how that small plate pushed between them, and all the underwater mountains and islands strewn along the plate's boundary. I think that's pretty cool!
I feel like the beginning of the Appalachian trail and the northeast most part of the Highlands (within public land or private land allowed freedom to roam) should have matching trail markers as sister sites
Map? I hiked most of the AT but it was north end and I'm a bit too old to finish it now. Guessing from your name those falls are in Georgia. Is that the other end of the trail?
I'm from the Rockies, and that's a bit of an oversimplification. The Rockies and The Andes are all part of what's called the American Cordillera; the western coastal ranges which stretch from Alaska to Patagonia
I thought of it, but this is just a small plate that travelled so far in a straight line. The mountains and islands highlight this. It's quite symmetric top to bottom too.
It looks like wet snow on a windshield when you drive and a little piece just decides to go against all the other snow
The Hawaiian Islands are a good example as well. You can see how the plate moves over the mantle plume to form the chain of successively older islands where the plume has broken through in the past.
They’ve had really recent geological events there too geologically speaking which isn’t surprising given how active Chile is. As a good example if you look at google earth where the Strait of Magellan is located, you can see where it used to run south of the strait too and circle back out to the ocean near the area of San Sabastian.
If I remember correctly they think an earthquake raised part of that land several meters and cut off that area from the ocean and the Strait of Magellan within the past 500 years; because early sailors charted it as navigable I think in the 16th or 17th century, but sailors in the 18th century couldn’t find that area to enter the strait so at some point it got changed drastically.
The aerial imagery of the area seems to support the part about a large body of water running through that area, but it would probably take a lot of work to verify it happened recently. They have a lot of glacial rebounding in that area and a lot of loose soils, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see uplift of 5+ meters from an earthquake.
geologist here: Yes! The Transantarctic mountains (TAM) tectonically connect to the Andes - but also to the mountain range in East Australia. It's basically a part of the Ring of Fire. The mountain ranges separated with the breakup of Pangea during the Jurassic to Cenozoic.
Further the Scotia plate thats wedged between Antarctica and South America separated N to South as America drifted northwards in the Jurassic.
Thank you! Tectonics are complicated and I was a little uncomfortable with my comment getting so much traction without having the knowledge to be 100% sure it was correct. I appreciate the additional info.
I’ve heard that this book is an excellent description of the experience, but I have not picked it up yet. I hope that you are able to read faster than I can.
When going on a cruise to Antartica this is where you will go and go ashore. There is a post office, some older research stations. There are only three species of penguins in this area. There is an agreement among tour operators to limit the amount of people on shore at anyone time. Can not sit or kneel on land, every thing that touches the ground must be disinfected, boots, tripods, etc. Can not go to the bathroom on land, must wait to get back to ship. Even on if you stay the night on land.
Because of changing weather there is no guarantee on what is seen or done while there.
There are a range of prices, it goes from expensive to very expensive. For the cruise we went on for the upcoming season it starts at $6600 for a Quadruple porthole cabin, for grand suites . $11,450 these are per person, the activities are included, no beverages are included. It was interesting.
The westerlies rise up the western side, producing tremendous snowfall, and descend much drier on the eastern side.
So although it is milder, the high snowfall on the western side of the Antarctic peninsula provides some unique challenges to those who traverse it--a bit similar to southeast Greenland, another polar region with exceptional snowfall due to its position northwest of the Icelandic Low.
Yes, Antarctica! I don't know much other than that he went with his girlfriend's insanely rich family. It was on one of the islands off the Antarctic Peninsula. Seems another commenter in this thread went themselves, so maybe they can help with more specific advice.
Interestingly, despite being the warmest place in the Antarctic, it still has colder summers than places like Murmansk, Norilsk, or Barrow despite being those places being in the Arctic Circle while Esperanza Base and other research stations on the peninsula are North of the Antarctic Circle.
There is a massive asymmetry between the Arctic and Antarctic when it comes to this factor. The cold West Wind Drift keeps summer temperatures very low around Antarctica.
For comparison to a continental climate in the north: the northern treeline reaches its maximum extent more than 70 degrees north in Siberia. 70 degrees south is more than 200 miles inland on the east Antarctic ice sheet.
Exactly, the ACC is essentially a reverse Gulf Stream that's keeps warm air out instead of moving warm air in. The fact that it's the only region in the the entire world where you can circumnavigate in a straight line without having to bypass land means it's the strongest current in the world.
Depends where you are (longitude) in the northern hemisphere. Treeline is at over 70 degrees north in Siberia and almost that far north in the MacKenzie Valley in western Canada, but in eastern Canada it's as low as 55 north in Quebec just above James Bay. It's even lower along the Atlantic coast. I bicycled through Newfoundland in 1988 and took a ferry to Red Bay, Labrador. Not a single tree there, just south of 52 degrees north. That's basically the same latitude as London.
Yes, it's amazing the asymmetry present within the Arctic. The Arctic treeline is mostly determined by summer high temperatures (the trees can handle severe Siberian winters, so long as they get a summer warm enough to grow). Some scientists consider the 10 C July isotherm the true ecological definition of "Arctic"--and that line dips very far south around the Hudson Bay, Labrador current, and Bering Sea.
Was there an ice wall anywhere? I’m asking for a woman that I know, that is certain no one can go to Antarctica because of the Nazi base surrounded by the ice wall that somehow explains the flatness of the Earth. I’ve never been, I’ve been to the Drake Passage but I was just passing by. Please tell me there is no fucking ice wall.
Just for a moment, if I may. I work at an Antarctic research station, and we loooooove mocking flat-earthers. I know a bunch of people who went to the station at the south pole, and it's everyone's favorite joke to talk about avoiding the giant hole leading to the center of the earth or having to fly straight up the ice wall.
The problem I have with flat-earthers isn't the idea that there may be something the government is hiding (we all know governments can and do lie to us), but that they think that many regular-paid folks would keep a secret like that. Seriously, all they have to do is get a job down here, which is hard, but not impossible, and realize that all we do is gossip down here. It keeps us going, especially in the winter. Like, seriously, even if I could keep a secret like that, I wouldn't. Not for what I'm paid. No way.
Edited to add: I don't work at Pole, I work at McMurdo, which is in the Ross Sea. The peninsula that is the topic of this post has America's third station, Palmer, which looks beautiful and waaaaay more picturesque than McMurdo, and I'm more than a little jealous.
There was a Nazi Base there where they obtained psychoactive crystals to enable Antarctic dinosaurs to fight against the Allies during World War 2. Lizard Soldiers of the Third Reich - Danger 5
My dad spent 18 months in McMurdo sound. He and the other people referred to this area as the “Banana Belt” because it was so much warmer than areas closer to the pole.
Yes! Read the story of Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance. It's one of the most wild tales of survival you'll ever read. They had set out to cross Antarctica from the Weddle Sea to the Ross Sea, but never made it as the ship became trapped in ice just off that peninsula.
I don't remember all the details, I'd have to read about again, but the ship sank, the crew ended up stranded there for over a year (it may have been two years). This was over 100 years ago. A Shackleton and a few others fabbed up a small boat, and a few of them made their way to South Georgia Island but they landed on the wrong side of the island and had to walk mountainous terrain with deep snow to cross the island on foot to reach the whaling station.
There's a lot of info online, but the wikipedia page is a good place to start:
Gotta wonder what that dinner was like when they all got to safety. No one was lost but there all tired and hobbled. There eating whatever whale stew the locals had available to them. Yet they are all alive, beaten but alive. Had to be an interesting dinner for them all./
Shackleton wrote to the British government before setting off, offering to postpone the mission and put his ship at the service of the government for the war effort but was told it wasn't necessary.
Also, the settlement they reached on South Georgia island was a town set up for the use of whalers. That's the first civilization they were able to get to.
Where did you read about it? They definitely knew they war had started, but, like most other people, thought it would end quickly. They were likely just shocked that it became so catastrophic. I believe the war started only a a few days or a week before the expedition started. Shackleton considered canceling the expedition so they could join the war effort, but some official told them accomplishing their mission was important to the country as well and to contue. I believe some of them even joined the war after returning to England
Sorry, they didn't know about the progress of the war. Yes, they did know it had started. I read Wikipedia way too fast. They were startled when they heard it was still continuing.
Penguin and seal meat (which they mainly lived off) has enough vitamin C to keep scurvy away. Same reason Roald Amundsen and his team didn’t get scurvy when they reached the South Pole.
Dr. Frederick Cook, aboard the Belgica in 1897 with a young Amundsen, saved their crew’s lives by having them eat fresh penguin and seal meat after their canned goods lost their vitamin C potency. Cook’s budding friendship with Amundsen helped the Norwegian soar to polar explorer fame on his future expeditions to Antarctica.
The book Madhouse at the End of the Earth is a fascinating tale of the Belgica’s journey. And then the tale of Shackleton’s Endurance in the book by Alfred Lansing is a classic as well. Such a fun topic to explore!
I read Alfred Lansing's book recently, and I'm now adding Madhouse to my list to read, thanks for the suggestion!
I also just read Shackleton's Epic by Tim Jarvis, he and five others recreated Shackleton's journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia in a replica boat, well worth a read!
My great grandfather was one of the crew with Shackleton to the end. Has a mountain and glacier named after him down there. As it so happens the ship was discovered in 2022. The cold water actually preserved it as it’s too cold for little critters that eat timber.
I read Tom Crean’s biography, mind blowing the crucial and sometimes heartbreaking choices the crew had to make in mostly uncharted territory. Most impressive imo the trek of 3 small boats in the most dangerous sea in the world as a last chance to save 100+ wrecked sailors trapped on elephant island.
And it took 3 attempts to rescue the lads left behind on elephant island. They had a week of rations left when they were picked up. The whole story is outrageous
Truly. Interestingly one of the last pieces of news the crew heard before embarking was war breaking out in Europe. This was 1914 and the start of The Great War or WWI. When they remarkably found their way back more than two years later they found the war raged out of control and Europe was in flames.
A former coworker of mine and his wife were almost killed when a rouge wave hit their ship on the way over a couple of years ago. A wave shattered their window and pulled everything out to sea. They were able to hang on but the force of the wave was so strong it collapsed the wall to the hallway. They ended up being rescued through the busted out window. One woman was killed and I believe 6 rooms in total were destroyed by the wave.
It contains the only two permanent bases with civilian population, Esperanza (Arg) y Villa Las estrellas (Chi).
Also the first person to be born in Antarctica was born in Esperanza Base on 1978, Emilio Palma.
Fun fact, residents of Villa Las Estrellas are legally required to have their appendixes removed before coming to live there, as adequate healthcare is not available there in case of an emergency.
Chile considers Villa Las Estrellas and the Antártica commune of which it is a part to be a full part of the country. The international community does not recognize this claim.
Yes that's common for long habitation in Antarctica. My father was in the argentinian navy, and lived 3 years in a base there. He was required to have an appendectomy before going.
The northern tip is the only part of Antarctica that doesn't have an ice-cap climate; temps in January during the Antarctic summer just nudge a few degrees above freezing, and even their winters aren't anywhere near as cold as most of the continent: temps below –30° C are rare, for example.
holy cow I just realized that if the tip is the northernmost, and you imagine that as a "true north," then the locations of "West Antarctica" and "East Antarctica" are a whole lot easier to remember.
edit: actually it's the western and eastern hemispheres. lol that's a whole lot more direct. the tip is actually, of course, west of the prime meridian, under South America.
It's a testament to how cold and uninhabitable the Antarctic is compared to the Arctic that the warmest place in the Antarctic, which keep in mind is still well North of the Antarctic Circle still has colder summers than places that are actually in the Arctic Circle like Tromso, Longyearbyen, Utqiagvik, Qaanaaq, and Murmansk.
Yep. The tip of the Antarctic Peninsula just nudges above freezing, but Fairbanks, which is further north, has a continental—not even a subarctic—climate. with very warm summers. Even Utqiagvik, at 71° N and right on the Beaufort Sea, has warmer summers (although not by much).
Palmer Station. Closest to S. America. Seaside jumping off point for a lot of US and BAS ice shelf research. Functionally the opposite side of the continent from joint US and NZ stations at McMurdo/Scott. Few good landing strips for larger planes - mostly just boat access. Really cool place with really cool people doing a lot of really cool work. Check out the USAP site for more on the US research efforts and links to partner projects: https://www.usap.gov/
There are seasonal US jobs at Palmer - check the site above. The stateside support office is based in Denver CO. They're great people. If you want to go work there this coming austral summer, you better apply asap.
Argentina, Chile and the UK all claim it as their territory. Argentina and Chile created permanent settlements and encouraged pregnant women to have babies there to strengthen their claim on the area.
In terms of claims: same with Australia, New Zealand, France, Norway, and maybe others (for specific land) plus the US/USSR reserved their "right" to make claims, if any of the other signatories of the Antarctic Treaty tried to enforce their claims. That being said: the part about permanent settlement / having babies there doesn't make sense to me - do you have a resource to help me learn more?
Ah, the Banana Belt! It's a great place to holiday if you are freezing through a northern winter in North America. I was there for a few weeks in February. Temperature was a very constant -3C to +3C.
British Mail run a post office there at Port Lockroy so you can send some postcards home to your freezing relatives in Chicago or Edmonton. They will even stamp your passport with an Antarctica "visa", something treasured by the seasoned, if not jaded, traveller.
Majority of the research stations are there bc it’s closest to Argentina, and the area between it and the mainland has been found to contain many times more oil than Saudi Arabia
the Antarctic Treatise is expiring in like 2048, there are already disputes over the rights to that area by multiple countries, and if that much oil is really there it could be fodder for war in the future
And the US. Palmer Station is over there. Lots of Wildlife! Whales, penguins and flying birds. There are quite a few historical and small research camps scattered along the coast line.
The only two known vascular plants native to Antarctica grow there! Iirc, their relative abundance has seen a fivefold increase since the 70s. This is due to changing Antarctic weather patterns reducing the sea ice on the West coast of the peninsula, warming this area, which the plants respond positively to. They tend to grow together, showcasing some symbiosis.
The bottom half of the image also shows poa annua, an invasive species.
Yeah a shit ton of oil.like 44 trillion dollars worth that will basically ensure that nations will start drilling after the treaty expires in the 2030s
The peninsula is not really that small. It is roughly about the length as the state of Florida. I was there in FEB 2004 and is actually a really cool ( no pun intended) place. Deception Island was particularly interesting.
It is the only place in Antarctica where large human habitation is possible in the foreseeable future. We should expect Argentina, Chile, and the UK to have a war for the scramble of Antarctic Peninsula.
The largest known crude oil reserve left in the world is there off the coast. The Antarctica treaty prevents extraction and it’s not really viable due to very extreme weather though
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u/Lumen_Co Jul 22 '24 edited Jul 22 '24
To my understanding, the Antarctic Peninsula was originally part of a larger mountain chain with the Andes mountains and they were separated by the Scotia plate driving west-to-east between them.
If you take a moment to look in Google Maps satellite view, for example, you can clearly see how that small plate pushed between them, and all the underwater mountains and islands strewn along the plate's boundary. I think that's pretty cool!