ANTARTIC CLIMATE
It is characterized by being extremely cold, dry, windy, and with scarce precipitations. In fact, summer does not exist.
The minimum temperature recorded was -89,3 ºC and wind speed until 320 km/h. Storms are silent, without thunders or lightning and they blow the hardened snow. Their name is "Blizzard" in the Antarctic slang. This climate is due to several factors, among which: the high latitude, the magnitude of the ice layer that covers it and practically no sushine.
OPTICAL PHENOMENA
In the purity and limpidity of the Antarctic atmosphere, several optical phenomena take place. Among them "halos" including "parhelia" and "paraselene". One can also see "mirages" in wich images are inverted.
The "aurora australis" (southern lights), is a luminous phenomenon that takes place 100 km up in the atmosphere. Its origine is electric and is related with solar activity. Other phenomena take place, like "blanqueos" during which there are no shades; the "water sky" points out when there is free water on the icy sea and the "ice blink" which indicates presence of ice.
VEGETATION AND ANIMAL LIFE
Antarctica consists in three environments: the atmosphere, the ice covered continent, and the sea.
In the atmosphere there are no pathogenic germs, but bacteria, levens, and microfungus, as a special culture shows.
Plant life is very poor on the continent and is represented by lichens, mosses and exceptionnaly some specimen of a superior flora.
Animal life in the continental environment is reduced specially to invertebrate arthropodes. That is why it is considered as the greatest desert in the world.
In the sea environment, life is extremely rich. The causes of this are mainly a long period of light, the oxygenation, richness in salts of water. It begins with "plankton" and directely or indirectely, the whole Antarctic fauna is fed.
A feature of the Antarctic fauna is the relative species poorness, but a great richness in specimens, at least until man acts.
Submarine fauna is rich and various, but concerning simple sight observation, birds and mammals present a greater interest.
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