Oceania

Antarctica

Location

Continent mostly south of the Antarctic Circle.

Cold weather injuries, terrain, wildlife, crevasses, ice-flows, survival, personal hygiene, food and water preparation.

About 98 per cent thick continental ice sheet and 2 per cent barren rock, with average elevations between 2,000 and 4,000 metres; mountain ranges up to nearly 5,000 metres; ice-free coastal areas include parts of southern Victoria Land, Wilkes Land, the Antarctic Peninsula area, and parts of Ross Island on McMurdo Sound; glaciers form ice shelves along about half of the coastline, and floating ice shelves constitute 11 per cent of the area of the continent.

Severe low temperatures vary with latitude, elevation, and distance from the ocean; East Antarctica is colder than West Antarctica because of its higher elevation; Antarctic Peninsula has the most moderate climate; higher temperatures occur in January along the coast and average slightly below freezing.

Katabatic (gravity-driven) winds blow coastward from the high interior; frequent blizzards form near the foot of the plateau; cyclonic storms form over the ocean and move clockwise along the coast; volcanism on Deception Island and isolated areas of West Antarctica; other seismic activity rare and weak; large icebergs may calve from ice shelf.

No major health issues.

In 1998, NASA satellite data showed that the Antarctic ozone hole was the largest on record, covering 27 million square kilometres; researchers in 1997 found that increased ultraviolet light passing through the hole damages the DNA of ice-fish, an Antarctic fish lacking haemoglobin; ozone depletion earlier was shown to harm one-celled Antarctic marine plants; in 2002, significant areas of ice shelves disintegrated in response to regional warming.

For more in-depth general information please download our Preparation and Training document.