南極洲的這些冷知識，你都知道嗎？

There is so much that we don"t know yet about our planet, Earth. This is especially true when it comes to places which are remote, hard to reach and where the climate is harsh and uninviting. That makes Antarctica one of the most mysterious places on Earth - it"s an icy, remote, desolate desert with many secrets that are yet to be unraveled. The continent is so large that it may seem that scientists are just beginning to explore its vast territories and hidden treasures.

One internet user has compiled a list of the most interesting facts about Antarctica.

其實，我們對於自己生活的星球（地球）還了解甚少，尤其是那些因偏僻、難以到達或氣候惡劣而不引人注意的地方。這也使得南極洲成為了地球最神秘的地方之一，這片冰冷、遙遠、荒涼的荒蕪之地仍有很多未解之謎。這片大陸是如此遼闊，擁有著廣闊的領土和隱藏著的寶藏；以至於科學家們已經探索了多年，卻仍像剛剛開始一樣。

一網友就列了一個南極洲「趣事」清單，快來看看吧~

1. There Are Places In Antarctica Which Haven"t Received Rain Or Snow In 2 Million Years

氣象學家推測，南極洲的乾旱之地有近兩百萬年沒有降過水

In Antarctica around 1% of the continent (4,000 km or 2,500 mi) is permanently ice-free–such areas are called dry valleys or Antarctic oasis. They are thought to be the world』s harshest deserts and it is estimated that these areas haven』t seen rain or snow in almost 2 million years. According to one study led by Australian scientists, due to climate change ice-free areas in Antarctica could expand up to 25% by the end of 21st century. This could drastically change the biodiversity of the continent.

南極洲大約有1%的大陸（4000公里或2500英里）永久無冰，這些地區被稱之為干谷或南極綠洲。這些地區也被認為是世界上最乾旱的沙漠，估計這些地區近200萬年沒有下過雨和雪。根據澳大利亞科學家的一項研究，由於氣候變化，南極洲無冰區在21世紀末可能擴大到25%；這將極大地改變這一大陸的生物多樣性。

2. There Is A Waterfall In Antarctica Which Is Called Blood Falls

南極洲有一處神奇的「血瀑布」

Don』t worry–no real blood is running there. 5 million years ago, as sea levels rose, East Antarctica was flooded and a brine lake was formed there. After millions of years, glaciers formed on top of the lake. As they froze, the water below became even saltier. Today, the subglacial lake under Blood Falls is three times saltier than seawater and, therefore, is too salty to freeze. The water beneath Taylor Glacier, which feeds the Blood Fall, contains a lot of iron (picked up from the underlying bedrock) and when iron-rich water comes in contact with air, the iron oxidizes and takes on a red coloring, leaving blood-like stains on the ice.

別擔心，這裡流動的可不是真正的血。500萬年前，隨著海平面上升，南極洲東部被洪水淹沒並形成了一個鹽水湖。幾百萬年後，湖泊頂部形成了冰川。它們一結冰，下面的水就會變得更咸。現如今，「血瀑布」下面的冰下湖要比海水咸三倍，也因為鹽分太大而無法凝固。泰勒冰川下面的水滋養了「血瀑布」，其中含有大量的鐵（從下面的基岩中提取得知）；當富含鐵的水與空氣接觸時，鐵會氧化並呈現紅色，因而冰上會有這樣血一樣的痕迹。

3. 70% Percent Of World"s Fresh Water Is In Antarctica

世界上70%的淡水都在南極

Around 90% of the world』s ice and 70% of the fresh water is in Antarctica. If all of the Antarctic ice melted, sea levels in the world would rise about 200 feet (61 meters).

世界上約90%的冰和70%的淡水都在南極洲。據推測，如果南極所有的冰都融化掉，海平面會上升約61米。

4. Antarctica Has No Official Time Zone

南極洲沒有統一的時區

As Antarctica is mostly uninhabited, the continent is not officially divided into time zones. However, a number of existing research stations use either the time zone of the country that operates or supplies them, or use the local time of countries located nearby. For example, McMurdo Station observes New Zealand Standard Time (NZST) during standard time and New Zealand Daylight Time (NZDT) during the Daylight Saving Time (DST) period in New Zealand. Palmer Station (an American research station) keeps Chile Summer Time (CLST) as Chile is the closest country to their station.

由於南極洲大部分是無人居住的，所以沒有被正式地劃分時區。然而，一些現有的研究站使用自己國家的時區，或使用附近國家的當地時間。例如，麥克默多電台在標準時間期間觀測紐西蘭標準時間（NZST），在紐西蘭夏令時（DST）期間觀測紐西蘭夏令時（NZDT）。帕爾默站（美國研究站）使用智利夏季時間（CLST），因為智利是最接近他們的國家站。

5. The Average Ice Sheet Thickness In Antarctica Is 1 Mile

被冰覆蓋的南極洲，冰層的平均厚度在1600米左右

Antarctica, the southernmost continent, is almost completely covered in a thick layer of ice (except for dry valleys, which make up around 1% of the area). The thickness of the ice sheet varies depending on the location, with the East Antarctic sheet being much thicker than the one in the West. On average, the ice is more than one mile (1.6 km) thick, but in some sections it can get as thick as almost three miles (4.8 km).

南極洲，地球最南端的大陸，幾乎完全被厚厚的冰層覆蓋（除了乾涸的山谷，這些山谷約佔該地區的1%）。冰蓋的厚度因地理位置而異，南極東部的冰蓋比西部要厚得多。平均來說，冰厚超過一英里（1.6公里），但在一些區域冰厚可以達到近三英里（4.8公里）。

6. The Largest Recorded Iceberg Was Bigger Than The Whole Island Of Jamaica

有記錄的最大冰山比整個牙買加半島都大（11000平方千米）

The world』s largest recorded iceberg, was Iceberg B-15, which measured around 183 miles (295 km) long and 23 miles (37 km) wide, with a surface area of 4,200 square miles (11,000 sq km) – making it larger than the whole island of Jamaica. In 2000, the Iceberg B-15 broke up into smaller icebergs and later drifted away into the sea.

世界上有記錄的最大冰山是冰山B-15，它長約183英里（295公里），寬23英里（37公里），表面積4200平方英里（11000平方公里），整個牙買加半島都大。在2000年，冰山B-15分解成了更小的冰山，後漂入大海。

7. Emilio Marcos Palma Was The First Person To Be Born In Antarctica

Emilio Marcos Palma是南極洲第一個出生的人

In 1978 Emilio Marcos Palma made history by being the first person to be born on Antarctica. His father was the head of the Argentine Army detachment at the Esperanza Research Base. Since then, ten more people have been born on the continent, but Palma』s birthplace still remains the southernmost and has featured in the Guinness Book of Records.

1978，Emilio Marcos Palma是第一個出生在南極的人，他也創造了歷史。他的父親是埃斯佩蘭扎研究基地阿根廷軍隊支隊的負責人。從那時起，這一大陸又誕生了十個人，但帕爾瑪的出生地仍然是世界的最南端，並被列入吉尼斯世界紀錄。

8. Mount Erebus Is One Of The Few Consistently Active Volcanoes On Earth

這裡只有地球最南端的活火山，埃里伯斯山

Mount Erebus is one of the few consistently active volcanoes and the southernmost active volcano on Earth. It contains a 1,700℉ (about 927℃) lava lake, that is thought to be miles deep. Mount Erebus is always alive and bubbling, releasing gas and spitting out chunks of molten rock and feldspar crystals, rich in potassium, sodium and aluminum silicate.

埃里伯斯火山是地球上少數幾個始終活躍的活火山之一，也是地球上最南端的活火山。它有一個數英里深且1700℉（約927℃）的熔岩湖。埃里伯斯火山總是充滿活力，冒著氣泡、釋放氣體、噴出大量的熔融岩石和長石晶體，其中富含鉀、鈉和硅酸鋁。

9. Antarctica Has One ATM

南極洲有兩台ATM機

The banking conglomerate Wells Fargo installed an ATM back in 1998 at McMurdo Station, the largest science hub on the continent. While it is near New Zealand territory, the ATM only dispenses US dollars.

早在1998年，富國銀行集團（Wells Fargo）就在南極洲最大的科學中心麥克默多站（McMurdo Station）安裝了一台自動取款機。雖然它靠近紐西蘭，但ATM只能分發美元。

圖源：boredpanda.com

Ref：

https://www.boredpanda.com/interesting-antarctica-facts-south-pole/

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