In physical geography, tundra is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sámi word тӯндар meaning "uplands", "treeless mountain tract". There are three regions and associated types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine tundra, and Antarctic tundra.
The British Antarctic Territory (BAT) is a sector of Antarctica claimed by the United Kingdom as one of its 14 British Overseas Territories, of which it is by far the largest by area. It comprises the region south of 60°S latitude and between longitudes 20°W and 80°W, forming a wedge shape that extends to the South Pole, overlapped by the Antarctic claims of Argentina and Chile.
Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranthaceae, Cactaceae, and Polygonaceae. It is a large family, with 81 genera and about 2,625 known species.
Antarctic flora are a distinct community of vascular plants which evolved millions of years ago on the supercontinent of Gondwana. Presently, species of Antarctica flora reside on several now separated areas of the Southern Hemisphere, including southern South America, southernmost Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and New Caledonia. Joseph Dalton Hooker was the first to notice similarities in the flora and speculated that Antarctica had served as either a source or a transitional point, and that land masses now separated might formerly have been adjacent.
Biscoe Point is a rocky point forming the south-eastern side of Biscoe Bay, immediately north of Access Point on the south side of Anvers Island, in the Palmer Archipelago of Antarctica.
Colonization of Antarctica refers to establishment of civilian settlements in Antarctica having humans, including families, living on the continent of Antarctica. Currently, the continent hosts only two civilian settlements, the Argentinian-administered Esperanza Base and Chilean-administered Villa Las Estrellas, as well as about 70 scientific and military bases with a transient population of scientists and support staff. Antarctica is the only continent on Earth without indigenous human inhabitants, despite its proximity to Argentina and Chile at the Antarctic Peninsula.
Deschampsia antarctica, the Antarctic hair grass, is one of two flowering plants native to Antarctica, the other being Colobanthus quitensis.
Colobanthus is a large genus of small, cushion-like herbaceous plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, sometimes known as "pearlworts", a name they share with plants of the related genus Sagina. C. quitensis is the world's southernmost dicot, and one of only two native extant flowering plants of Antarctica.
Sagina is a genus of 20–30 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. These are flowering herbs native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere extending south to tropical mountain areas at high altitudes, reaching just south of the equator in Africa. They are small annual or perennial herbaceous plants, growing to 5–15 cm. The leaves are opposite, often in tight whorl-like clusters, simple linear, typically 5–20 mm long. The flowers are solitary or in small cymes, with four or five green sepals and an equal number of white petals; the petal size relative to the sepal size is useful in species identification. The fruit is a small capsule containing several seeds.
The Antarctic Floristic Kingdom, also the Holantarctic Kingdom, is a floristic kingdom that includes most areas of the world south of 40°S latitude. It was first identified by botanist Ronald Good, and later by Armen Takhtajan. The Antarctic Floristic Kingdom is a classification in phytogeography, different from the Antarctic realm classification in biogeography, and from Antarctic flora genera/species classifications in botany.
Yankee Harbour is a small inner harbour entered from Shopski Cove between Glacier Bluff and Spit Point, indenting the south-west side of Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. It is 2.35 km (1.46 mi) long in west-south-west to east-north-east direction, and 1.6 km (0.99 mi) wide, and is bounded by Provadiya Hook to the south-west, Parvomay Neck to the north and east, and Kladara Beach to the south.
Antarctica is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest continent, being about 40% larger than Europe, and has an area of 14,200,000 km2 (5,500,000 sq mi). Most of Antarctica is covered by the Antarctic ice sheet, with an average thickness of 1.9 km (1.2 mi).
The Joubin Islands are a group of small islands lying 6 kilometres (3 nmi) south-west of Cape Monaco, Anvers Island, at the south-western end of the Palmer Archipelago of Antarctica. The islands were discovered by the French Antarctic Expedition, 1903–05, under Jean-Baptiste Charcot, and named by him for Louis Joubin, the French naturalist. They have been designated a Restricted Zone under ASMA 7 — Southwest Anvers Island and Palmer Basin — which includes the marine area extending 50 metres (55 yd) from the shorelines.
Harmony Point is a point which lies close west of Harmony Cove and forms both the south side of the entrance to Malak Sechko Cove and the western extremity of Guangzhou Peninsula and Nelson Island, in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. It was charted in 1935 by Discovery Investigations personnel on the Discovery II, and named from association with Harmony Cove.
Lagotellerie Island is an island 1.9 kilometres (1 nmi) long, lying 3.7 kilometres (2 nmi) west of Horseshoe Island in Marguerite Bay, off the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctica. It was discovered and named by the French Antarctic Expedition, 1908–10, under Jean-Baptiste Charcot.
The wildlife of Antarctica are extremophiles, having adapted to the dryness, low temperatures, and high exposure common in Antarctica. The extreme weather of the interior contrasts to the relatively mild conditions on the Antarctic Peninsula and the subantarctic islands, which have warmer temperatures and more liquid water. Much of the ocean around the mainland is covered by sea ice. The oceans themselves are a more stable environment for life, both in the water column and on the seabed.
Temperature change due to climate change in Antarctica is not stable over the whole continent. West Antarctica is warming rapidly, while the inland regions are cooled by the winds in Antarctica. Water in the West Antarctic has warmed by 1 °C since year 1955. Further increase in temperature in water and on land will affect the climate, ice mass and life on the continent and have global implications. Present-day greenhouse gas concentrations are higher than ever according to ice cores from Antarctica, which indicates that warming on this continent is not part of a natural cycle and attributable to anthropogenic climate change.
