Name of the Book: Antarctica - Life On The Frozen Continent
Author’s Name: Conor Kilgallon
Category: Coffee Table Book
Pages: 226
Publisher: Amber Books
Ratings: 5/5
Highlights: Spectacular pictures of stunning landscapes curated with scoop of interesting and intriguing information about the mysterious Continent Antarctica which was unknown to human civilization till the 19th Century.
The book is divided into four parts - East Antarctica, West Antarctica, Islands and Wildlife
Excerpts: Antarctica is the fifth biggest Continent twice the size of Australia. It comprises of rocky land mass covered with ice in contrast with the Arctic which is land surrounding frozen sea.
The continent records the lowest temperature on Earth which bottoms down to -89.2 Degree Centigrade. During winters the size of the Continent doubles due to the enormous amount of ice. It holds 70% of world’s fresh water in the form of ice which, if it were to melt, would raise the global sea level up to 60 Meters( i.e. 200 Ft.) .
19th and 20th Centuries saw a spurt of expeditions to the Continent and a race to territorial claim which is governed by the Antarctica Agreement whereby a lion’s share of the freezing land mass is held by Australia followed by Norway and a slim slice by France. Presently, the Continent is dotted with Research Stations, Igloo Satellite Colonies, Progress Stations and Support Bases. The Russian Support Base or Progress Station runs throughout the year while the other Research Stations remain open only in summers( October to February) to study marine life, sub atomic particles of the sun etc. The Ozone Hole in Earth’s atmosphere was first detected in 1985 by one of these Research Bases( Halley) . However, these man-made Units are seemingly in ugly contrast to the majestic, snowy tansantarctic mountains( dividing East from West Antarctica), silently floating tabular, tibular, dome shaped azure ice bergs( which drift away from the land in summers and get trapped in fast ice or sea ice in the winters), sculpted by wind and water, the millions of meditating penguins, the horde of lazing seals on the coastal beds, the flapping but fast extinguishing albatrosses, the visiting whales, fabled Midnight Sun and the magical red moon. Antarctica also hosts the legendary South Pole.
With increasing global footprints Antarctica now also houses a living museum, post office, shop and churches. To give glimpses of a few more fascinating facts about this huge Continent lying across Eastern and Western Hemispheres:
Antarctica is the driest, windiest region and actually a polar desert.
West Antarctica is known as Lesser Antarctica, most probably, because it has milder climate( temperature bottoming down to merely -20 Degree Centigrade) than East Antarctica which has harsher Winter. It is also the part which is warming very fast. The summers in Antarctica is supposedly balmy i.e. only 0 Degree Centigrade in temperature.
Ross Sea lying in West Antarctica is called the last ocean of the Earth as it is the most southerly sea.
Antarctandes mountain range in West Antarctica is a continuation of Andes mountain range of South America.
Lambert Glacier in East Antarctica is the fastest moving glacier.
Scotia Sea( West Antarctica)is also known as Iceberg Alley because all ice bergs pass through this sea passage due to the anti-clockwise coastal currents and clockwise circumpolar currents.
Mummy Lake in East Antarctica is named after the mummified seals found on the edges of its waters.
The mountains of East Antarctica has several ranges, namely, Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and the highest peak is 10590 Ft.
Tide Cracks appearing on ice beds are feeding ground for birds and breathing hole for seals.
Penguins only breed in winters. The Empire Penguin weighing around 45 Kgs and height around 39 inches are the largest and hardiest. Surprisingly, they can dive almost 1800 Ft. deep and hold their breath for almost twenty minutes long under water.
The male penguins huddle around an incubating egg in harsh winters alternating between the cooler edge and warmer interior of the huddle( this process is known as thermoregulation wherein the male penguins lose almost 12 kgs. in weight as they renounce food to keep the egg warm) while the female penguins walk away to the sea to feed and bring back food.
These and many more astounding facts and figures along with beautiful photographs of volcanic islands, thriving wildlife, cruising ships, magnificent sky show of Aurora Australis, regal mountain ranges, ice sheets waltzing on cold sea water, serrated ice bergs( seracs) predominated by the colour blue( as they absorb long red wavelengths and throw off blue short wavelengths of light) serenely gliding by carrying with them at times bergy bits and growlers are captivated in the pages of this magnificent book.
The book while giving a wealth of information, presented picturesquely, heightens curiosity of the reader to know more about this mystique Continent. And that is the USP of the labours of the curator, Conor Kilgallon, which has truly paid off.
A Coffee Table book, while being attractive and informative, does not drag with long drawn out descriptions and statistics. It is easy to read or browse through, the insights are relevant and precise supplementing the visuals and can be really enjoyed with sips of a piping hot cup of coffee on a summer evening.
And that is what I did.