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Antarctica on the Web
However harsh our winters may seem in a bad year in Western New York, the climate is significantly more severe in Antarctica—the highest, driest, windiest, coldest place on the planet. Its South Pole Station boasts an average annual temperature of minus 56 degrees Fahrenheit! Still, each year at the end of October, as the air begins to "warm," approximately 27 nations send personnel to perform research on the continent and its surrounding waters.
Geographic South Pole. The copper pipe marks the exact spot of 90 degrees South latitude as determined each January using the satellite-based Global Positioning System, or GPS. In the mid-background are flags of the original 12 signatory nations to the Antarctic Treaty. In background is the geodesic dome housing facilities of Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.
PHOTO: LYNN TEO SIMARSKI, NSF.
The Internet makes it easy to learn about life in the land really "down under" during the summer research season. For example, the weekly Antarctic Sun http://www.asa.org/antsun/ has an archive of stories ranging from the scientific (how the Antarctic food staple krill survives the unforgiving climate) to the artistic ("Cool tunes: music from and about Antarctica") and everything else in between, such as a feature story on "Better Dorms and Gardens," complete with photographs of McMurdo Station's living quarters.
South Pole news and information is provided daily by 70South http://www.70south.com/home, which bills itself as "the No. 1 Source for Antarcticles." News stories are provided on a variety of categories, such as Animals ("Researchers to Study Insects in Antarctica"), Business ("China to Consider Antarctic Tourism") and Medical ("Robert Scott Hut Being Tested for Anthrax"). Informational links include "Bases/Stations," "Evacuations," "Expeditions," "History," "Quotes" and "Ships."
For those interested in the scientific research being conducted in the Antarctic, the South Pole Station's Web site http://www.spole.gov/ provides a full array of information on studies conducted at and around Antarctic research centers. A visit to the National Snow and Ice Data Center's "Antarctic ColdLinks," http://nsidc.org/links/antarctica_science.html, offers an extraordinary amount of information on "snow cover, avalanches, glaciers, ice sheets, freshwater ice, sea ice, ground ice, atmospheric ice, permafrost, ice cores" and more.
Krill (Euphausia superba), about an inch long, are extremely numerous around Antarctica, and much of the region's other animal life depends on krill directly or indirectly for food.
PHOTO: PEGGY HAMMER, NSF.
The National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Program's Antarctic Sciences Web site http://www.nsf.gov/od/opp/antarct/start.htm highlights a number of important research areas, such as "Aeronomy and Astrophysics," "Biology and Medicine," "Geology and Geophysics, "Ocean and Climate" and "Glaciology." The program areas are described in terms understandable to non-scientific audiences. However, scientists are presented with information on grant opportunities and other research support. Polar researchers and cyber travelers alike will enjoy the site's link to Antarctic Images http://www.nsf.gov/od/opp/antarct/imageset/start.htm.
Finally, those with an interest in Antarctic will take pleasure in a visit to the San Francisco Exploratorium's marvelous homepage http://www.exploratorium.edu/origins/antarctica/ devoted to describing a museum-sponsored expedition to the "Last Continent. The site abounds with photographs, field notes, Web casts and much more—a real treat for the computer-chair traveler!
—Frederick Stoss, University Libraries