Antarctica largest Dessert
A desert is defined by the amount of precipitation (rain, snow, mist and fog) in an area. A region that receives very little precipitation (the exact amount depends on who you ask) is classified as a desert. There are many types of deserts, including subtropical, coastal and polar deserts. What they all have in common is a barren, windswept landscape, which makes it difficult for plants and animals alike to gain a foothold on land. This all certainly applies to Antarctica.

The average yearly rainfall at the South Pole over the past 30 years was a tiny 10 mm (0.4 in). Most of the continent is covered by ice fields carved by the wind, and craggy mountains covered in glaciers. While Antarctica is home to wonderful forests of low-lying mosses and lichens, there are only two flowering plants that can survive the harsh conditions. And most of the animals we encounter – penguins, seals, whales and seabirds – rely on seafood for sustenance.
While most deserts only cover part of a continent, the Antarctic Polar Desert spans the whole of Antarctica. It snows and rains on the coastal Antarctic Peninsula, but in the McMurdo Dry Valleys in East Antarctica, it never rains. In fact, scientists believe that in some parts of the Dry Valleys it hasn’t snowed or rained for 14 million years! So although the coast sees some precipitation, the average across the continent is low enough to classify all of Antarctica as a polar desert.Approximately 98% of the Antarctic continent is covered by a permanent ice sheet. This beautiful and wild expanse of ice covers an incredible 14 million km² (5.4 million square miles). That’s about the same area as the United States and Mexico combined!

At its deepest, Antarctica’s ice is 4.5km (2.7 miles) thick. If it melted, global sea levels would rise about 60 m (200 ft). That’s a lot of ice. And due to Antarctica’s desert conditions, it has taken an impressive 45 million years for it to grow to its current thickness.The interior is very dry and rarely sees clouds. Here, the annual precipitation averages around 50 mm (1.9 in), and most of this falls as snow or ice crystals. This gives rise to some of the most ethereal weather conditions you can see on earth including frost flowers, solar haloes and polar stratospheric clouds.

By contrast, the coast has a maritime climate influenced by the ocean and it’s quite common to see low clouds and mist clinging to the craggy mountains. The Antarctic coastline can receive more than 200 mm (7.8 in) of precipitation each year.

On the Antarctic Peninsula, which travellers can visit in the summer months, it’s quite possible to see snow, rain and sunshine in one day. Some northern parts of the Antarctic Peninsula receive 500 mm (19.7 in) between October and March, and on nearby subantarctic islands this can double, with 1000 mm (39.4 in) each year! That’s why we make sure that everyone on our voyages has a top notch, complimentary polar expedition jacket. These jackets are water and wind-resistant, so you’ll be protected from the elements whatever the weather.Tundra and desert biomes share some features. They both:

Receive very little rainfall
Support limited vegetation
However, they differ in a few key ways. While deserts can be either hot or cold, tundra is characterised by cold temperatures between -40°C and 18°C (-40°F and 64°F). Tundra is often found in cool subarctic and subantarctic regions and alpine areas. Deserts, on the other hand, can be found at any latitude, from sea level to high altitudes.

The defining feature of tundra is permafrost, a thick layer of soil that stays frozen all year. In tundra biomes a thin, surface layer of soil thaws in the summer allowing lichens, mosses and small shrubs to grow, while the soil beneath never thaws.

While Antarctica is classified as a desert, many of the nearby islands are considered tundra, including the South Shetland Islands, South Georgia and the Falkland Islands.Antarctica may be a desert, but it’s surrounded by iridescent blue icebergs, an endless expanse of ocean and a dome of polar sky. If you’d like to find out how you can join a small ship expedition cruise to Antarctica, please take a look at our upcoming voyages here. And if you’d like to keep learning about Antarctica, this article with 10 fun Antarctic facts is a good place to continue reading.

If you’re interested in learning more about Antarctica or seeing for yourself what it’s all about, contact our expedition experts today.At 14.2 million square kilometers [5.5 million square miles], Antarctica is the largest desert in the world,” Wille told Live Science. “Some regions of Antarctica, like the McMurdo Dry Valleys, are believed to have not received any precipitation in 14 million years.” This epic lack of precipitation is due in large part to cold temperatures, nearby mountains that block clouds, and strong winds that suck moisture from the air.

Even for a desert, this region is exceptionally parched. According to scientists who are part of the National Science Foundation’s LTER (Long-Term Ecological Research) project in Antarctica, the McMurdo Dry Valleys have no snow or ice except for the few lakes that are permanently iced over. But it isn’t completely barren. There are microbes, mosses and lichens that can tolerate the dry deep freeze.Antarctica is, on average, the coldest, driest, and windiest of the continents, and it has the highest average elevation. It is mainly a polar desert, with annual precipitation of over 200 mm (8 in) along the coast and far less inland. About 70% of the world’s freshwater reserves are frozen in Antarctica, which, if melted, would raise global sea levels by almost 60 metres (200 ft). Antarctica holds the record for the lowest measured temperature on Earth, −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F). The coastal regions can reach temperatures over 10 °C (50 °F) in summer. Native species of animals include mites, nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades. Where vegetation occurs, it is mostly in the form of lichen or moss.

The ice shelves of Antarctica were probably first seen in 1820, during a Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev. The decades that followed saw further exploration in French, American, and British expeditions. The first confirmed landing was by a Norwegian team in 1895. In the early 20th century, there were a few expeditions into the interior of the continent. British explorers were the first to reach the magnetic South Pole in 1909, and the geographic South Pole was first reached in 1911 by Norwegian explorers.

Antarctica is governed by about 30 countries, all of which are parties of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty System. According to the terms of the treaty, military activity, mining, nuclear explosions, and nuclear waste disposal are all prohibited in Antarctica. Tourism, fishing and research are the main human activities in and around Antarctica. During the summer months, about 5,000 people reside at research stations, a figure that drops to around 1,000 in the winter. Despite its remoteness, human activity has a significant impact on the continent via pollution, ozone depletion, and climate change.Antarctica is a good place to find meteorites, or rocks that fall from space to Earth. Scientists find more meteorites in Antarctica than any other place in the world. Meteorites are easier to see on the white ice. Also, meteorites that fall to Antarctica are protected by the ice for a long time.

NASA sends teams to Antarctica to learn more about the planet Mars. Antarctica and Mars have a lot in common. Both places are cold. Both places are dry like a desert. NASA tested robots in Antarctica that later landed on Mars.

NASA also goes to Antarctica to study astronaut nutrition. Like people that are in Antarctica in the winter, astronauts in space are not in the sunlight. The sun helps the human body make vitamins. Scientists study people that visit Antarctica to learn how to help astronauts in space get enough vitamins.Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth. The temperature in the winter is cold enough to freeze water all the time. The temperature in the middle of Antarctica is much colder than the temperature on the coasts.