As
German filmmaker Werner Herzog portrayed in his 2007 documentary
Encounters at the End of the World, over the years Antarctica has
enticed thousands of adventurers to explore its inhospitable geography –
a surreal realm of extremes so great they cannot be understood until
they are experienced.
They
visit in an effort to grasp how this strange, harsh place, where unruly
blizzards and -50C temperatures are the norm, can sustain a vital
ecosystem. And their voyages help the rest of the world understand how
the frozen continent of Antarctica works.
The
first commercial tours to Antarctica date back to the 1950s, but
tourism really took off with the formation of the International
Association of Antarctica Tour Operators in 1991, after which numbers
rose from a few thousand visitors each year to tens of thousands of
annual tourists, reaching about 34,000 visitors in 2011. Many of them
come on cruise ships, often passing through Chile or Argentina first,
but there are also more than a dozen research stations on the continent,
the largest being the McMurdo Station in the south, which can support
more than a thousand people.
Ice
covers 99.5% of Antarctica, a place known for being the coldest,
driest, windiest and highest continent on Earth. As such, it’s
considered the largest desert on the planet, and is also home to the
world’s third deepest lake, the subglacial Lake Vostok; several
volcanoes including the highly active Mount Erebus; and the South Pole.
About
14 million years ago, a period of climate change caused the formation
of the Antarctic ice sheet, which averages one mile in thickness and
gets up to three miles thick in some parts. Before this, scientists
believe, Antarctica looked more like Alaska or the Alps, consisting of a
range of glacier-capped mountains. Today, the ice sheet provides
habitat for many species of seabirds, seals and penguins.
Antarctica’s
waters are home to a thriving ecosystem driven by phytoplankton --
microscopic plant-like organisms that grow rapidly during the summer
months of near-constant sunlight. Krill (crustaceans resembling prawns)
subsist on phytoplankton and are in turn eaten by fish, squid,
jellyfish, seabirds, penguins, seals, whales and other animals.
Penguins, seals, birds and whales also eat fish and sometimes jellyfish;
leopard seals will additionally eat penguins and other seals; and orca
whales will additionally eat penguins, seals and smaller whales.
New
species are being discovered in Antarctica all the time. This year, for
instance, scientists discovered deep-sea hot springs (or “hydrothermal
vents”) which opened up a world of never-before-seen wildlife, including
a new type of fuzzy and colourless Yeti crab, a still unnamed
colourless octopus and a carnivorous seven-legged sea star, all of
which live in complete darkness 2,400m underwater.
But
the Antarctic Peninsula is also one of the most rapidly warming regions
on the planet, and as a result, has attracted close study by climate
scientists. As the British Antarctic Survey organisation explained,
while the “global significance of the Antarctic Peninsula warming is
difficult to assess, the main concern is for the loss of a unique
landscape and biota.”
Practicalities
Tourists
only visit Antarctica during the summer months of November through
March, and even then temperatures don’t typically rise above 2C. The
weeks around Christmas, however, yield a period of 24-hour sunlight. The
most common way to get to Antarctica is by ship -- on a group tour or
as part of a cruise -- and there are a number of sea and air operators
offering trips to the frozen continent. Most flights leave from Punta
Arenas, Chile, and most boat trips leave from Ushuaia, Argentina.
Travelwise
is a BBC Travel column that goes behind the travel stories to answer
common questions, satisfy uncommon curiosities and uncover some of the
mystery surrounding travel. If you have a burning travel question,
contact Travelwise.
No comments:
Post a Comment