Antarctic tourism. Pure Antarctic ice. Antarctica cruise

During a cruise to Antarctica, you may be lucky to walk past a graveyard of icebergs - small remains of majestic massive boulders that still stick out of the sea, but will subsequently be washed away with water until they completely dissolve into it. Why do people go to the ends of the Earth? This incredibly beautiful breathtaking sight that will remind you of the transience of our lives.

The Antarctic ice sheet has the shape of a dome. Powerful ice cover has a huge mass. Plastic ice masses flow down from the center to the periphery, forming a convex shape. Icy Antarctica is the highest continent of the Earth. Icebergs are considered to be one of the most bizarre and beautiful creations of Antarctica. Sunlight, refracting in the facets, makes them glow turquoise and azure colors. This marvelous spectacle is not as durable as the sparkle of precious stones: any iceberg will melt sooner or later. But he can live for decades, hitting the game of light. Inside icebergs tunnels and caves are formed.

In 2000, the largest iceberg of 11,000 square kilometers broke off from Antarctica. This is more than Jamaica! Iceberg is an ice block that can form off the coast of Antarctica. From this place begins their journey to the fortieth latitudes of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. These areas of the oceans are not very popular among sea carriers, because their main routes go through the Panama and Suez Canals. However, the size of icebergs and their number here are much higher than those of the northern hemisphere.

Tabular ice floes is the result of the process of breaking off large areas of ice shelves. Their structure can be very different: from the firn to glacier ice. The color characteristic of the iceberg is variable. A freshly split has a white matte shade due to the large proportion of air in the outer layer of compressed snow. Over time, the gas is displaced by drops of water, because of which the iceberg is painted in a light blue color. Large tabular iceberg is a very massive ice block.

From the interior of the ice dome ice gradually spreads to the outskirts. From the edge of the ice sheet in the summer, huge blocks of ice break off in the form of canteens and pyramidal icebergs and slip into the water, and then they are carried away by currents into the ocean. The ice cover in Antarctica is constantly replenished due to the precipitation of snow and its subsequent crystallization on the ice surface. On average, about 200 mm of precipitation falls annually. And in the central regions of the mainland, their number is several tens of millimeters.

From the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, the marginal seas of the Weddell, Bellingshausen, Amundsen, and Ross extend into the coast of the continent. Large areas of marginal seas are covered with ice shelves, which are a continuation of the continental ice shell. The ice sheet of Antarctica has existed for at least 40 million years. Icebergs, especially table-like, are characteristic of the southern polar region. In the northern circumpolar regions, icebergs are more rare, among them icebergs of relatively small size of outcrops and surface glaciers prevail. Since the formation of an iceberg of any kind, the process of its destruction has been continuously taking place, especially actively in the marine part of the ocean. Numerous forms of icebergs - pyramidal, oblique, rounded, with arches, rams - arise when they are destroyed. Oblique icebergs are a characteristic initial form of destruction, especially offshore table-like icebergs. A sunken underwater terrace, seeking to emerge, raises one edge of the iceberg. Inclined icebergs are distinguished by high altitude. The duration of the existence of icebergs in Antarctic waters averages about 2 years.

Pyramidal iceberg is the result of ice landslides. They are distinguished by a peak with a sharp end and a considerable height above the surface of the water. The length of ice blocks of this type is about 130 m, and the height of the surface part is 54 m. Their color differs from table-like ones in a soft greenish-bluish tinge, however, darker icebergs are also recorded. In the thickness of the ice there are significant inclusions of rocks, sand or silt that fell into it during the movement around the island or continent.

The shape of an iceberg depends on its origin: Icebergs of outlet glaciers have a table-like shape with a slightly convex upper surface, which is dissected by various types of irregularities and cracks. Characteristic for the Southern Ocean. Icebergs of surface glaciers are distinguished by the fact that their upper surface is almost never level. It is somewhat inclined, like a shed roof. Their sizes, in comparison with other types of icebergs of the Southern Ocean, are the smallest. Icebergs of ice shelves, as a rule, have significant horizontal dimensions (tens and even hundreds of kilometers). Their height is on average 35-50 m. They have a flat horizontal surface, almost strictly vertical and even side walls.

Water is the most mysterious and at the same time the most important substance for maintaining life on the planet. She has no smell, no color, but the existence of any life in the form in which we know it, without water, would simply be reduced to zero. One of the unique qualities of water is its ability to maintain underwater life thanks to an interesting natural anomaly, in which ice covers a mass of water, preventing it from completely freezing. According to ordinary physical laws, everything should happen exactly the opposite, and a substance that has been in solid form for a long time should be at the bottom, and not on the surface. But water violates the basic laws of physics.

It is believed that the unique ability of ice not to go under water is due to the appearance of a special crystal lattice in it, which is often enriched with tiny air bubbles. The ice cover, gradually spreading from the shores of the reservoir to its very center, reliably protects all inhabitants from severe frosts, while maintaining a positive temperature under the ice dome. Theoretically, any, even the largest body of water, can freeze up to the very day, subject to certain natural and temperature conditions. In normal times, even a small pond with a maximum depth of about three meters is not able to freeze to the bottom due to the fact that when the water reaches a critical mark of +4 degrees Celsius, an intensive process of moving layers begins in the pond / lake / river and other similar reservoirs. different temperatures. The coldest water layers gradually rise up, while the warmer begin to fall down. With decreasing average temperature, ice gradually forms on the surface of the reservoir, which stops the process of moving layers of water of different temperatures and prevents the under-ice world from completely freezing.

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