Of course, there must be many other reasons why the temperature in Antarctica is so low.
For example, Antarctica is at a high altitude and the air is relatively thin, etc. These reasons make the average temperature in Antarctica much lower than other places.
Not only is Antarctica cold, but the winds can sometimes be terribly strong.
The topography of Antarctica is very interesting. It is composed of a continent and countless islands, like a huge ice cream.
The continental area in the middle is at a relatively high altitude, and the air above it will drop when it gets cold, sliding down the steep slope between the continent and the coast, forming strong winds.
People who have not experienced the Antarctic storm will never know its average speed of 70 kilometers per hour, and the fastest speed can even reach 100 meters per second.
What is this equivalent to? It is equivalent to driving a car at a hundred yards on the highway in heavy snow and not sticking your head out of the window.
Some people think this statement is exaggerated, but in fact it is an understatement.
The living environment in Antarctica is extremely poor and is known as a forbidden zone for life.
There are no indigenous inhabitants in the entire Antarctica, and the closest human settlement to Antarctica is in the waters of New Zealand.
However, Antarctica is inhabited, and every year, groups of polar explorers from all over the world go to Antarctica for exploration.
This is because Antarctica is the last continent discovered by humans, and it has abundant resources that can be developed and utilized. In addition, Antarctica's unique climatic conditions and geographical environment are also deeply favored by astronomers.
Although the air in Antarctica is thin, it is very conducive to space observation.
Air actually hinders human vision. Although the human eye cannot see air, it will affect the propagation of light. Antarctica is extremely cold and there is very little water vapor in the air, which greatly reduces the obstruction to the propagation of light and protects the metal parts of observation instruments from corrosion.
In addition, Antarctica has less air movement, which is also conducive to astronomical observations.
We know that when air is heated it will flow and form wind, but in Antarctica there is less sunlight in winter and the air temperature is more evenly distributed, so there is less flow, which also helps astronomers make accurate observations.
"Speaking of this, I have a question, Brother Yang, what is the difference between the South Pole and the North Pole?" Fang Youqun suddenly asked.
Chen Qingsheng glanced at Fang Youqun and said, "There is no difference. You just need to remember that fish from the Antarctic are more expensive than fish from the Arctic."
"Is that so?" Fang Youqun asked doubtfully.
Xiang Yang smiled, looked at Chen Qingsheng and said, "That's not the case. Sturgeons from the Arctic are also very expensive. If we talk about species, the North and South Poles can only be said to have their own merits."
"If you really want to talk about the difference, you just need to know what is around them. The North Pole is in the northern hemisphere of the earth. It is an ocean almost surrounded by land, while the Antarctic is a continent almost surrounded by ocean. So there are polar bears but no penguins in the Arctic, and there are penguins but no polar bears in the Antarctic." Xiang Yang said with a smile.
In fact, there is a huge difference between the South Pole and the North Pole.
There is a large ocean covered by ice and snow in the Arctic, and around the North Pole is treeless permafrost. This place can be said to be located between the Arctic Circle and the North Pole.
If someone stands at the North Pole, no matter which direction that person looks, it is south.
But at the North Pole, humans cannot stand for too long because the North Pole is covered by constantly moving sea ice in the middle of the ocean.
If someone falls from the North Pole into the Arctic Ocean, they will fall directly to the bottom of the sea, which is 14,000 feet deep. The average temperature on the water surface in winter can be below minus 40 degrees Celsius, and the coldest temperature recorded is almost around minus 70 degrees Celsius.
In addition, there are indigenous people in the Arctic.
Although life in the Arctic is difficult, people still live in the Arctic today.
Antarctica is the southernmost continent on Earth. It contains the South Pole and is the fifth largest continent on Earth, almost twice the size of Australia.
The entire Antarctic continent is almost covered by ice and snow, with a thickness of at least one mile. Some scientists say that most of the ice and snow in Antarctica actually come from penguin urine, but this statement has not been widely recognized.
Xiang Yang also doesn't think this statement is correct, because there is really too much ice and snow in Antarctica. If so much ice and snow are to be formed by penguin urine, it will take endless years.
However, this statement is not without basis.
The living environment in Antarctica is arguably one of the most extreme in the world.
On average, Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, driest, and has the highest average altitude in the world.
The dryness of Antarctica can be described as a desert.
There is only 200 millimeters of rainfall along the coast, and it becomes less as you go inland. If it relies on rainfall, it would be difficult to form such a large glacier.
At this point, Xiang Yang suddenly smiled and said, "Antarctica is the coldest place in the world. The sunlight in Antarctica and the North Pole should be about the same. The heat dissipation in Antarctica may be slightly faster than that in the North Pole, but the faster heat dissipation alone is unlikely to cause such a large difference in average temperature between the South Pole and the North Pole."
"Then what other reasons are there?" Fang Youqun asked.
Xiang Yang said: "The Arctic is a frozen ocean. The seawater under the ice is much warmer than the frozen continent of Antarctica. The floating ice will transfer temperature, which will prevent the temperature in the Arctic from dropping to an extreme level."
It is also true that the South Pole is much higher in altitude than the South Pole.
In many cases, the temperature decreases with altitude.
The reason why there is snow on the top of many high mountains is the same.
At this point, Xiang Yang suddenly remembered something interesting. "As far as I know, there seems to be no plane in the world that has ever crossed the entire Antarctic."
Fang Youqun asked in confusion: "Why is that? Is it because airplanes cannot fly over Antarctica?"
"That's not the case. With the continuous advancement of human technology, it is now very easy for humans to fly planes over polar regions. For example, there are many planes flying over the Arctic, and there are also many scientific researchers in Antarctica who take planes to or from Antarctica." Xiang Yang replied.
The main reason why no aircraft has ever crossed Antarctica is that there is no need, or in other words, no economic demand.
There are no human towns in Antarctica and it is far away from other continents. There is no need to pass through Antarctica when traveling between any two other continents, and no flight is willing to take a detour for no reason.
The second reason is safety.
According to ETOPS rules, an aircraft must not be more than 4 hours away from an emergency airport while in the air.
And how many emergency airports are there in Antarctica
Apart from McMurdo, there are almost no emergency airports in Antarctica for emergency landings.