When you hear the word "desert", images of hot sand, dunes, camel caravans and heat that burns the skin pop up in your head. Sahara, Gobi, Atacama - it sounds familiar. But what about Antarctica? Yes, the coldest place on the planet? It turns out that it is considered the largest desert on Earth! Paradoxically? Very much. But logical. Let's prove it now.
Where is the sand and why is there ice?
It is commonly thought that a desert is necessarily heat, but in fact, the determining factor here is not the temperature, but the amount of precipitation: the less precipitation, the drier the region, which means the closer it is to the title of desert. In Antarctica, less than 50 mm of precipitation falls per year, and this is even less than in some parts of the Sahara! The only difference is that in Africa precipitation falls in the form of rain (rarely, but still), and in Antarctica it falls in the form of snow.
But why is it so dry there? It's all about the cold. Frosty air almost does not retain moisture, and powerful winds disperse the already rare clouds. Antarctica is literally locked in an icy cocoon, from which neither heat nor moisture can get out.
It all began millions of years ago, when this continent, once green and covered with forests, set off on a journey to the South Pole.
A chill that chills to the bone
It is better not to joke with Antarctica: the temperature here can drop to -90C. In 1983, a record -89.2C was registered at the Vostok station, and in 2010, satellites recorded an even more terrifying -93.2C. In winter, it is stable -60C, in summer - a maximum of -25C, which, you must agree, does not warm the soul much.
But even in this kingdom of cold there are "oases" - the dry valleys of McMurdo. There is no snow there. Why? Due to katabatic winds - air currents that literally evaporate all moisture, they accelerate to 320 km / h, sweeping away everything in their path. The landscapes of these valleys are so alien that NASA uses them to test rovers. According to scientists, these lands have not seen rain for more than 2,000,000 years.
Ice is a book of history, but not everyone knows how to read it
Antarctica is a kind of huge refrigerator where the secrets of the Earth are kept. Under the ice shell up to 4.8 km thick hides a real underground world, where there are mountain ranges above the Alps, dormant volcanoes and hundreds of subglacial lakes.
One of the most mysterious is Lake Vostok. It has been isolated from the outside world for 15 million years! Its waters are hidden under kilometers of ice, so scientists believe that it may be inhabited by organisms unlike anything we know. In 2017, researchers found strange bacteria in the samples, the DNA of which does not match the species known to science ...
There is also a "blood waterfall" - a terrible sight as if the icy desert has injured itself. It is actually a stream of salt water with a high iron content that rusts when it comes into contact with air, turning the snow red. It looks frightening, but for science it is a real treasure.
What are the Antarctic ice whispering about?
Ice is not just water. This is a time capsule where ancient air bubbles are imprinted, the age of which reaches 800 thousand years. Their analysis helps to understand what the Earth's climate was like long before the appearance of man.
But there are also alarming signs: if the Antarctic ice melts, the level of the world's oceans will rise by tens of meters, flooding megacities and changing the map of the world. Although now we are talking about it as of the distant future, the processes have already been launched.
Antarctica is more than just an icy desert
It doesn't just silently watch humanity—it warns. Its climatic changes provide clues about the future of the planet, its ice hides Earth's past, its extraterrestrial landscapes can help us understand how to look for life beyond our planet.
Perhaps one day it is here, among the eternal cold and winds, that a discovery will be made that will change our understanding of life. In the meantime, Antarctica remains the most mysterious corner of the Earth — and the most unexpected desert on the planet.
