Rare photographs of Roald Amundsen, the first man to reach the South Pole. The Mystery of the Giant Hole at the North Pole
Antarctica is the most severe climatic region on Earth. The lowest recorded temperature is –89.2 °C.
Now North hemisphere As winter approaches Antarctica, summer arrives and teams of researchers from all over the world head here to take advantage of the (relatively) warm season. Among them are Russian scientists who in February 2012 penetrated into the relict subglacial Lake Vostok, which had been isolated from the outside world for millions of years. This unique body of water is located about 3,700 meters below the surface of the glacier, and this Arctic summer it is planned to send a robot deep into the lake to collect samples of water and sediment from the bottom.
This report presents photographs from the mysterious world of Antarctica, because those who visited it icy continent They call the Antarctic adventure the trip of a lifetime.
Polar stratospheric clouds or nacreous clouds in Antarctica, January 11, 2011. At an altitude of 25 kilometers, they are the highest of all types of clouds. They are found only in polar regions when the temperature in the stratosphere falls below 73°C. You can learn about other unusual cloud formations in the article “Rare types of clouds.”
IceCube Laboratory. This is a neutrino detector with the world's largest telescope, located in the ice of the mysterious world of Antarctica. Scientists are trying to unravel the mysteries of tiny particles called neutrinos, in hopes of shedding light on how the universe came to be.
South Pole Telescope (SPT). The official purpose of the American device is to study the microwave and radiation background of the Universe, as well as to detect Dark Matter. January 11, 2012.
This is also a south polar telescope, only at night. Its weight is 254 tons, height - 22.8 meters, length - 10 meters:
It seems dirty snow. These are actually the penguin colonies at Cape Washington. The photo was taken from a high altitude on November 2, 2011.
Emperor penguins are the largest of the modern species penguin family. They can dive to depths of over 500 meters and stay underwater for up to 15 minutes.
Full moon on DeLac Island, named after a biologist who worked in his field in the early 1970s.
Northern lights at McMurdo Station, July 15, 2012. Antarctic McMurdo Station is the largest settlement, port, transportation hub and research center in Antarctica. About 1,200 people live there permanently. Located next to the Ross Glacier.
Buildings at the South Pole and the nearly full Moon, May 9, 2012. Red lights are used outside to minimize "light pollution" interfering with various telescopes.
The moon and southern aurora above the IceCube laboratory, which we already talked about. Antarctic Amundsen-Scott Station, August 24, 2012.
Underground! The digital optical module is lowered into the ice. It is part of the IceCube laboratory, a neutrino detector.
The majestic beauty of the Arctic Peninsula - the northernmost part of the Antarctic continent, about 1,300 km long.
Hello! Leopard seal hunting on Ross Island in the Ross Sea, November 22, 2011. This is the southernmost island land on the planet (not counting mainland Antarctica).
McMurdo Antarctic Station, November 2011.
Portrait. A participant in the American Antarctic program near McMurdo Station, November 1, 2012.
Satellite communication dishes at the Antarctic Amundsen-Scott Station (American program), August 23, 2012. The station is located at an altitude of 2,835 meters above sea level, on a glacier that reaches a maximum thickness of 2,850 meters. The average annual temperature is about?49 Celsius; varies from?28 Celsius in December to 60°C in July.
Testing a prototype of a Martian spacesuit. Created by NASA from more than 350 different materials, costs about $100,000. Antarctica, March 13, 2011.
Interesting snow formations that look like footprints. Usually appear after a storm in Antarctica.
Russian Antarctic station "Vostok", located in the central part of Antarctica. Photo from 2005.
Aerial view of the Russian Antarctic station "Vostok". At the beginning of 2012, our scientists made a big breakthrough in the study of Antarctica. Now we will tell you about it.
On February 5, 2012, Russian scientists managed to penetrate the relict subglacial Lake Vostok in Antarctica, which had been isolated from the outside world for 14 million years.
Lake Vostok in Antarctica is hidden under 4 kilometers of ice. To reach the water, scientists had to drill a well 3,766 meters deep! The study of Lake Vostok plays a huge role in the study of climate change in recent millennia. Scientists believe that living organisms can live in the waters of the lake, although the water pressure there is more than 300 atmospheres.
The expanses of Antarctica. You can't get through here except on tracked vehicles, November 27, 2011.
Polar explorers have an aphorism: “If you want to quickly and clearly achieve your goal, call Amundsen; you need to carry out Scientific research- look for Scott; but when you don’t know what to do, and nothing helps, fall on your knees and pray for Shackleton.”
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton(Ernest Henry Shackleton, 15 February 1874, Kilkee House, Kildare, Ireland - 5 January 1922, Grytviken, South Georgia) - Anglo-Irish explorer Antarctica, figure in the heroic age of Antarctic exploration. Member of four Antarctic expeditions, three of which he commanded.
First experience polar research received on the Discovery expedition, a participant in the first trip to the South Pole (latitude 82° 11’ was reached), after which he was evacuated for health reasons. In 1907, Shackleton led his own Nimrod expedition, during which he reached 88° 23" S, 97 geographical miles (180 km) short of the South Pole. For his achievements, he was knighted by King Edward VII.
After Amundsen (December 14, 1911) and Scott (January 17, 1912) reached the South Pole, Shackleton declared that crossing the entire Antarctic continent remained "the only great goal of Antarctic travel." In 1914, he organized the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition - a grandiose project to cross the continent through the South Pole through completely unexplored lands. By the will of fate, this expedition turned into an almost two-year, full of drama, battle for survival in the cold and merciless Antarctic, into a journey that historians would later call the most outstanding journey of all time: before reaching the shores of Antarctica, the expedition ship Endurance was trapped by ice in the Sea Weddell and sank. Shackleton managed to save the entire crew without killing a single person, but his heroism and professional qualities were not appreciated in Britain against the backdrop of the First World War. In 1921, he led the Shackleton-Rowett expedition, but even before its work began in Antarctica, he died of a heart attack at the age of 47 and was buried on the island of South Georgia.
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Expedition photographer Frank Hurley.
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Shackleton was a versatile personality, tried to run for the British Parliament, organized commercial enterprises, but was not successful in any of them. After his death, he was forgotten for some time, but in the middle of the twentieth century there was a surge of interest in Shackleton’s legacy, first in the USA and then in Great Britain. In 2002, during a national poll of the 100 Greatest Britons, Shackleton was ranked 11th, while Robert Scott was only 54th.
The polar regions of the Earth are the harshest places on our planet. For centuries, people have tried at the cost of life and health to reach and explore the Northern and Southern Arctic Circle. So what have we learned about the two opposite poles of the Earth?
1. Where is the North and South Pole: 4 types of poles
There are actually 4 types of North Pole from a scientific point of view:
North magnetic pole is a point on earth's surface, towards which magnetic compasses are directed
North geographic pole – located directly above the geographic axis of the Earth
North geomagnetic pole – connected to the Earth's magnetic axis
The North Pole of Inaccessibility is the northernmost point in the Arctic Ocean and the farthest from land on all sides.
Similarly, 4 types of the South Pole were established:
South magnetic pole - a point on the earth's surface at which the earth's magnetic field is directed upward
South geographic pole - a point located above the geographic axis of rotation of the Earth
South geomagnetic pole - associated with the Earth's magnetic axis in the southern hemisphere
The South Pole of Inaccessibility is the point in Antarctica that is farthest from the coast of the Southern Ocean.
In addition, there is a ceremonial south pole - an area designated for photography at Amundsen-Scott Station. It is located a few meters from the geographic south pole, but since the ice sheet is constantly moving, the mark shifts every year by 10 meters.
2. Geographic North and South Pole: ocean versus continent
The North Pole is essentially a frozen ocean surrounded by continents. In contrast, the South Pole is a continent surrounded by oceans.
In addition to the Arctic Ocean, the Arctic region (North Pole) includes parts of Canada, Greenland, Russia, the USA, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland.
The southernmost point of the earth, Antarctica is the fifth largest continent, with an area of 14 million square kilometers. km, 98 percent of which is covered by glaciers. It is surrounded by the South Pacific Ocean, the South Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean.
Geographic coordinates of the North Pole: 90 degrees north latitude.
Geographic coordinates of the South Pole: 90 degrees south latitude.
All lines of longitude converge at both poles.
3. The South Pole is colder than the North Pole
The South Pole is much colder than the North Pole. The temperature in Antarctica (South Pole) is so low that in some places on this continent the snow never melts.
The average annual temperature in this area is -58 degrees Celsius in winter, and the highest temperature recorded here was in 2011 at -12.3 degrees Celsius.
In contrast, the average annual temperature in the Arctic region (North Pole) is -43 degrees Celsius in winter and about 0 degrees in summer.
There are several reasons why the South Pole is colder than the North Pole. Since Antarctica is a huge landmass, it receives little heat from the ocean. In contrast, the ice in the Arctic region is relatively thin and there is an entire ocean underneath, which moderates the temperature. In addition, Antarctica is located at an altitude of 2.3 km and the air here is colder than in the Arctic Ocean, which is at sea level.
4. There is no time at the poles
Time is determined by longitude. So, for example, when the Sun is directly above us, local time shows noon. However, at the poles all lines of longitude intersect, and the Sun rises and sets only once a year on the equinoxes.
For this reason, scientists and explorers at the poles use whatever time zone they prefer. Typically, they refer to Greenwich Mean Time or the time zone of the country they are coming from.
Scientists at Amundsen-Scott Station in Antarctica can make a quick run around the world, crossing 24 time zones in a few minutes.
5. Animals of the North and South Pole
Many people have the misconception that polar bears and penguins share the same habitat.
In fact, penguins live only in the southern hemisphere - in Antarctica, where they have no natural enemies. If polar bears and penguins lived in the same area, the polar bears would not have to worry about their food source.
Marine animals at the South Pole include whales, porpoises and seals.
Polar bears, in turn, are the largest predators in the northern hemisphere. They live in the northern part of the Arctic Ocean and feed on seals, walruses and sometimes even beached whales.
In addition, the North Pole is home to animals such as reindeer, lemmings, foxes, wolves, as well as marine animals: beluga whales, killer whales, sea otters, seals, walruses and more than 400 known species of fish.
6. No Man's Land
Despite the fact that many flags can be seen at the South Pole in Antarctica different countries, this is the only place on earth that does not belong to anyone and where there is no indigenous population.
The Antarctic Treaty is in force here, according to which the territory and its resources must be used exclusively for peaceful and scientific purposes. Scientists, explorers and geologists are the only people who set foot on Antarctica from time to time.
In contrast, more than 4 million people live in the Arctic Circle in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Scandinavia and Russia.
7. Polar night and polar day
The Earth's poles are unique places where the longest day is observed, which lasts 178 days, and the longest night, which lasts 187 days.
At the poles there is only one sunrise and one sunset per year. At the North Pole, the Sun begins to rise in March on the vernal equinox and descends in September on the autumn equinox. At the South Pole, on the contrary, sunrise is during the autumn equinox, and sunset is on the day of the spring equinox.
In summer, the Sun is always above the horizon here, and the South Pole receives sunlight around the clock. In winter, the Sun is below the horizon, when there is 24-hour darkness.
Read also:
8. Conquerors of the North and South Pole
Many travelers tried to reach the Earth's poles, losing their lives on the way to these extreme points of our planet.
Who was the first to reach the North Pole?
There have been several expeditions to the North Pole since the 18th century. There is disagreement over who was the first to reach the North Pole. In 1908, American explorer Frederick Cook became the first to claim to have reached the North Pole. But his compatriot Robert Peary refuted this statement, and on April 6, 1909, he was officially considered the first conqueror of the North Pole.
First flight over the North Pole: Norwegian traveler Roald Amundsen and Umberto Nobile on May 12, 1926 on the airship "Norway"
First submarine at the North Pole: nuclear submarine Nautilus on August 3, 1956
First trip to the North Pole alone: Japanese Naomi Uemura, April 29, 1978, traveling 725 km by dog sled in 57 days
The first ski expedition: expedition of Dmitry Shparo, May 31, 1979. Participants covered 1,500 km in 77 days.
Lewis Gordon Pugh was the first to swim across the North Pole: he swam 1 km in water with a temperature of -2 degrees Celsius in July 2007.
Who was the first to reach the South Pole?
The first conquerors of the South Pole were the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and the British explorer Robert Scott, after whom the first station at the South Pole, the Amundsen-Scott station, was named. Both teams took different routes and reached the South Pole within a few weeks of each other, first by Amundsen on December 14, 1911, and then by R. Scott on January 17, 1912.
First flight over the South Pole: American Richard Byrd, in 1928
The first to cross Antarctica without the use of animals or mechanical transport: Arvid Fuchs and Reinold Meissner, December 30, 1989
9. North and South magnetic poles of the Earth
The Earth's magnetic poles are associated with magnetic field Earth. They are located in the north and south, but do not coincide with the geographic poles, since the magnetic field of our planet is changing. Unlike geographic poles, magnetic poles shift.
The magnetic north pole is not located exactly in the Arctic region, but moves east at a speed of 10-40 km per year, as the magnetic field is influenced by underground molten metals and charged particles from the Sun. The south magnetic pole is still in Antarctica, but it is also moving west at a speed of 10-15 km per year.
Some scientists believe that a change may occur one day magnetic poles, and this could lead to the destruction of the Earth. However, the change of magnetic poles has already occurred, hundreds of times over the past 3 billion years, and this did not lead to any dire consequences.
10. Melting ice at the poles
Arctic ice in the North Pole region typically melts in the summer and freezes again in the winter. However, for last years, the ice cap began to melt at a very rapid pace.
Many researchers believe that by the end of the century, and maybe in a few decades, the Arctic zone will remain ice-free.
On the other hand, the Antarctic region at the South Pole contains 90 percent of the world's ice. The ice thickness in Antarctica averages 2.1 km. If all the ice in Antarctica melted, sea levels around the world would rise by 61 meters.
Fortunately, this will not happen in the near future.
Some fun facts about the North and South Pole:
1. There is an annual tradition at Amundsen-Scott Station at the South Pole. After the last supply plane leaves, the researchers watch two horror films: The Thing (about an alien creature that kills the inhabitants of a polar station in Antarctica) and The Shining (about a writer who is in an empty, remote hotel in winter).
2. Every year the polar tern bird makes a record flight from the Arctic to Antarctica, flying more than 70,000 km.
3. Kaffeklubben Island - a small island in the north of Greenland is considered the piece of land that is closest to the North Pole, 707 km from it.
That’s why Google covered it with a screen, and in the old version (more transparent) it was clear that there was no ice in the center. The Moon, which I saw around May 18, was in a hurry to the South. And among all the fables there is one that claims that at the South Pole there is an entrance to the center of the Earth, as well as a masking fable about a Nazi base.
In February, Argentina experienced its worst drought in 50 years. Drought killed 300 thousand heads of large cattle. Farmer losses amounted to at least $600 million in the province of Santa Fe alone (this province lies between 28° and 34°).
At the end of February, severe fires began in southern Australia (30°-40°). It burned throughout March, but we managed to cope with the disaster, although there were isolated outbreaks back in April.
Meanwhile: fires in Mexico in March; fires in the southern USA since the beginning of April (in the south of California - since the beginning of May); the worst drought in 80 years in Brazil in April; severe drought in India since mid-April (hundreds of people die from the heat).
What about our Antarctica?
In January 2009, a high-ranking Russian delegation visited Antarctica (accepted new suns?). The TV footage showed a very bright, high-standing Sun.
From the forum:
Others build all sorts of conspiracy theories, refer to trips of the establishment and political elite to Antarctica... (Hee hee).
The dynamics of the progress of the heat since February are in good agreement with the act of acceptance at the end of January - the thermal suns came out to the places of deployment (by the way, in 2010 no such cataclysms occurred: all the suns have long been in their places).
Meanwhile, in Antarctica, the ice bridge connecting the Wilkins Ice Shelf (opposite South America) with the mainland, and at the end of April it began to collapse. At the same time, in May, information was announced that there were no signs of warming in Antarctica (the luminaries had left and the weather had returned to normal).
A new winter is approaching. In Transbaikalia, in the first week of September, 20 cm of snow fell and record cold came. What about the suns?
And they go to a base in Antarctica (for maintenance and recharging?). This combination of temperature maps has already come across several times:
On August 14, a thermal spot suddenly appears in Antarctica (above the scale maximum of 10°), and on the 15th, a new thermal sun flares up in the middle of South America, which disappears after a couple of days, leaving only a stationary sun in the north of South America. This corresponds to leaving after recharging, but there are also reverse pictures (with arrival), unfortunately, not so clear, since maps of Antarctica are often either not updated at all, or are given with large white gaps. It is difficult to collect statistics to trace the correlation (maps are not saved, and there is no way to sit and monitor around the clock).
And finally, the question arises: “How are the suns recharged?”
From the forum:
A familiar pilot from civil aviation said that at altitudes of 9000 km there is increased x-ray radiation. If earlier, when they flew to the USA and back to Russia via the North Pole in violation of all civil transportation standards and received 5 BER doses in one flight, now the same picture is in the lower latitudes. This suggests that the “fire” of space has approached the surface of the Earth. Many types of ailments: rapid fatigue, sudden rise and fall in temperature, wandering pains in the skeleton, hepatic discharge to the surface of the skin, headaches and unexpected increase in blood pressure, etc. and so on.
Key word spoken: radiation!
The suns run on the same nuclear fuel that was exported from Russia (by the way, Ukraine transfers its uranium reserve to us for storage). That's why chemtrails are needed: they really protect the earth from radiation! Hiding the luminaries and hiding space information- just a by-product. That’s why birds don’t fly to the South (usually they are seen flying in cloudy weather), and after the radioactive fog they die out en masse (like bees, frogs, and plankton). That’s why I feel so bad after walking down the street, and for some reason I don’t want to take a shower. That is why the Penza prisoners hid underground, hoping to escape.
08.10.2009:
As Rospotrebnadzor explained to MK, complaints about poisoning by pine nuts have recently become more frequent. Moreover, in various parts of the country - from Moscow to Tyumen. In this case, all victims exhibit the same symptoms: a pronounced and persistent bitterness in the mouth that does not stop for several days, as well as general weakness and mild nausea.
But throughout the second half of summer the suns stuck out in Siberia!
There is another aspect that can be tied to the suns.
Interesting Google image (border between Norway and Sweden):
It’s clear what the white circle in the center of Antarctica hides.
But what could this square be hiding?
Here is a lower resolution image (from another program):
What are these red spots?
Similar ones were found in other places, also closed.
But in remote Siberia they were too lazy to close:
Therefore, desert areas are chosen. That's why it was so hot in the summer in Siberia.
In development of the version: satellite images.
Fires in northern Australia (the Indonesian sun only hits the north);
smoke from fires is visible.
But the fires in Siberia - smoke from the fires is not visible in the upper part of the image, but in the lower part it is not very clear whether it is smoke or clouds.
Maybe it's not fires?
And in Australia there is no smoke from single spots.
Pink snow fell in the Stavropol Territory, yellow snow fell in Crimea. The next day they said: it’s okay, it’s just that sand was brought in from Africa, this already happened in 2008 and 2009.
P.S. When the material had already appeared on the Internet, my old friend told me about two funny incidents from her life. She twice met pilots who carried out regular flights to Antarctica. Distinguished by extreme curiosity, she, almost already in bed, began to pester them with questions. There was only one scenario: with their tails fluffed up, they talked about the flight, about the countries under their wing, but as soon as the story reached the details of their arrival in Antarctica, their eyes glazed over, they apologized for being forced to leave urgently, got dressed and disappeared forever.
Already in the 70s, the first photographs of the North Pole with its huge round hole in the center of the earth appeared. So why were these facts hidden from the public eye?
Most satellite images of both poles turned out to be shaded or blurred. But the good news is that today more and more pictures and videos are appearing indicating that these holes exist.
The South Pole turned out to be even more interesting. Judging by photographs from 1992, it turns out that the hole occupies 1/3 of the entire Antarctic, swallowing 18 parallels.
Theories that the Earth is hollow and inhabited inside were expressed back in the 19th century. That the North and South Poles are entrances to the underworld. The next hypothesis was that inside the planet there is its own sun, which supports internal life.
Science of the 20th century completely refuted these ideas, citing the fact that knowing the mass of the earth, the thickness earth's crust and other indicators, they are groundless. Well, just in case, I hid information about huge holes at both poles of the globe.
But research was still carried out. In 1947, Vice Admiral Richard Byrd led an expedition to the North Pole. He noticed a bright spot of color. As he approached, it seemed to him that he saw forests, rivers, meadows with animals that looked like mammoths. Then he saw unusual flying cars and a beautiful city with crystal buildings. And what was most strange was the air temperature, which rose to +23 degrees Celsius - this was absolutely impossible for the North Pole.
In his diary, the vice admiral wrote that he communicated with the inhabitants of the underworld, who in their development were thousands of years ahead of earthlings. Representatives inner world They turned out to be similar to people, but more beautiful and more spiritual. They had no wars and had their own energy resource. Bird was further told that they had tried to establish contact with people earlier, but all their attempts were perceived incorrectly, and that some of their equipment was destroyed. After which they decided that they would contact the outside world only in the event of its probable self-destruction. Residents of the “inner” land showed all their achievements and escorted Richard to the “outer” world. Upon returning home, it turned out that the plane had used 2,750 km of fuel.
For the rest of his life, Vice Admiral Byrd was under constant surveillance and was advised not to tell anyone what he saw.