Definitions for Antarctica
æntˈɑrk tɪ kə, -ˈɑr tɪ-antarc·ti·ca

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:3.0 / 5 votes

1. Antarctica, Antarctic continentnoun

   an extremely cold continent at the south pole almost entirely below the Antarctic Circle; covered by an ice cap up to 13,000 feet deep

   "Antarctica is twice the size of Australia"

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 2 votes

1. Antarcticanoun

   The southernmost continent, south of the Southern Ocean, containing the South Pole.

2. Antarcticanoun

   The wider South Polar region comprising the Antarctic Continent as well as the adjacent Antarctic and Subantarctic islands, and the Southern Ocean waters situated south of the Antarctic Convergence.

3. Etymology: From Antarctica, from ἀνταρκτικός, from ἀντ- + ἀρκτικός, from ἄρκτος

WikipediaRate this definition:1.0 / 4 votes

1. Antarctica

   Antarctica (UK: or, US: (listen)) is Earth's southernmost continent. It contains the geographic South Pole and is situated in the Antarctic region of the Southern Hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. At 14,200,000 square kilometres (5,500,000 square miles), it is the fifth-largest continent and nearly twice the size of Australia. At 0.00008 people per square kilometre, it is by far the least densely populated continent. About 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice that averages 1.9 km (1.2 mi; 6,200 ft) in thickness, which extends to all but the northernmost reaches of the Antarctic Peninsula. Antarctica, on average, is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent, and has the highest average elevation of all the continents. Most of Antarctica is a polar desert, with annual precipitation of 20 cm (7.9 in) along the coast and far less inland. The temperature in Antarctica has reached −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F) (or even −94.7 °C (−135.8 °F) as measured from space), though the average for the third quarter (the coldest part of the year) is −63 °C (−81 °F). Anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 people reside throughout the year at research stations scattered across the continent. Organisms native to Antarctica include many types of algae, bacteria, fungi, plants, protista, and certain animals, such as mites, nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades. Vegetation, where it occurs, is tundra. Antarctica is noted as the last region on Earth in recorded history to be discovered, unseen until 1820 when the Russian expedition of Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev on Vostok and Mirny sighted the Fimbul ice shelf. The continent, however, remained largely neglected for the rest of the 19th century because of its hostile environment, lack of easily accessible resources, and isolation. In 1895, the first confirmed landing was conducted by a team of Norwegians. Antarctica is a de facto condominium, governed by parties to the Antarctic Treaty System that have consulting status. Twelve countries signed the Antarctic Treaty in 1959, and thirty-eight have signed it since then. The treaty prohibits military activities and mineral mining, prohibits nuclear explosions and nuclear waste disposal, supports scientific research, and protects the continent's ecozone. Ongoing experiments are conducted by more than 4,000 scientists from many nations.

WikidataRate this definition:3.0 / 3 votes

1. Antarctica

   Antarctica is Earth's southernmost continent, containing the geographic South Pole. It is situated in the Antarctic region of the Southern Hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. At 14.0 million km², it is the fifth-largest continent in area after Asia, Africa, North America, and South America. For comparison, Antarctica is nearly twice the size of Australia. About 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice that averages at least 1 mile in thickness. Antarctica, on average, is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent, and has the highest average elevation of all the continents. Antarctica is considered a desert, with annual precipitation of only 200 mm along the coast and far less inland. The temperature in Antarctica has reached −89 °C. There are no permanent human residents, but anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 people reside throughout the year at the research stations scattered across the continent. Only cold-adapted organisms survive there, including many types of algae, animals, bacteria, fungi, plants, and protista. Vegetation where it occurs is tundra.

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:1.0 / 3 votes

1. antarctica

   Song lyrics by antarctica -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by antarctica on the Lyrics.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Antarctic
   • Continent

How to pronounce Antarctica?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say Antarctica in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Antarctica in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Antarctica in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of Antarctica in a Sentence

1. Chad Greene:

   Antarctica is crumbling at its edges, and when ice shelves dwindle and weaken, the continent's massive glaciers tend to speed up and increase the rate of global sea level rise.

2. Eric Rignot:

   That's just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, as the Antarctic ice sheet continues to melt away, we expect multi-metre sea level rise from Antarctica in the coming centuries.

3. Gavin Schmidt:

   We will see instances of extreme precipitation that will break records or see extreme heat waves that will break records. We will see increased wildfires ; we will see increases in coastal flooding ; we will see increases in sea level ; we will see increased mass loss from Greenland and Antarctica, these are very predictable aspects of the climate.

4. Catherine Bradshaw:

   With the big ice sheet on Antarctica like we have today, the predominant winds are known as katabatic winds, and these go from the land to the sea, they originate from the ice sheet where it is very high, very cold and very dry -- in fact Antarctica receives only a few inches of snowfall a year and is so dry it is classified as a desert.

5. Anders Levermann:

   The sea level rise from Western Antarctica will eventually submerge Hamburg, Shanghai, New York and Hong Kong, you can't negotiate with physics: that's the dilemma here.

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References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=Antarctica
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Antarctica
3. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctica
4. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=Antarctica