Trivia 8 of 10
8. Antarctica is the largest desert in the world
A desert is not a synonym for heat, but for little rain. With about 14 million square kilometers and almost no precipitation in its interior, Antarctica is the largest desert on the planet, larger than the Sahara.
Ice everywhere, but almost no rain
Scientists call a region a desert when it receives very little water per year, generally less than 250 millimeters. In the interior of Antarctica, the equivalent of a few centimeters of water falls per year, almost always as fine snow.
The ice accumulated there formed over hundreds of thousands of years, layer upon layer. In some places, the ice cap is more than 4 kilometers thick, and it is the largest freshwater reserve on the planet.
It is also the coldest place ever measured. In 1983, the Soviet station of Vostok, now Russian, recorded −89.2 °C in the air, and satellites have since detected even lower temperatures on the snow surface, in valleys of the plateau.
The ice holds clues about ancient climate. Air bubbles trapped in deep ice carry samples of the atmosphere from up to 800,000 years ago, which makes it possible to compare today's carbon dioxide with that of the past.
Antarctica has no permanent population. Those who live there are researchers from dozens of countries, at scientific bases, and an international treaty from 1959 reserves the continent for peaceful purposes and for science. Brazil maintains the Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station there.
Did you know? There are regions of Antarctica without ice, the McMurdo Dry Valleys. The strong, dry winds that blow down from the mountains prevent snow from accumulating and leave the soil exposed.
