Antarctica remains the last vast wilderness on earth. A continent encircled by pack ice, huge tabular icebergs and covered with an ice sheet miles deep. A beautiful mysterious place, enticing explorers, adventurers and dreamers over the decades. Remote, inhospitable and without permanent inhabitants. It is the windiest and highest continent, which is capped by an ice sheet over 4 km thick in places. Antarctica is 58 times larger than the United Kingdom, and surrounded in winter by a vast girdle of sea ice larger in area than the continent itself.
Antarctica's key role in global processes is now recognised. The ice sheet holds 90% of the world's fresh water, which, if melted, would raise sea level by 65 m. The ice sheet drives the Southern Hemisphere weather patterns and modulates world climate.
For many, perhaps, the most appealing aspect of Antarctica is its wildlife. Although there are only a few native species, those that have adapted to the harsh environment thrive in large numbers. Seals, whales and Penguin populations are counted in the tens of thousands in some rookeries. One of the characteristics of the south polar region is that its birds and mammals (such as seals and whales) depend on the sea. In the end, the penguins evolved to a swimming way of living and because they had no land-predators to fear, they lost their ability to fly.
