Czy w temperaturze –50°C istnieje życie?

Jakie najniższe temperatury zostały odnotowane na Antarktydzie?

Na te i inne pytania odpowiedź znajdziemy w poniższym tekście.

First psychological research at Arctowski station were conducted in 1979. In the nineties the American team under direction of prof. L. Palinkas conducted research in order to determine the patterns of multicultural psychosocial adaptation. The author discusses stress as a result of isolation and extreme conditions.

Poland has been active in Antarctica for 41 years and modernizes its infrastructure and research program in accordance with the recommendations of the Antarctic Treaty, SCAR, and international recommendations.

Antarctica is a land of surprises. How low are the lowest temperatures ever recorded there? Is there life at –50°C? Is there anywhere on the continent tourists can actually enjoy swimming?

The length of crystalline cones (cc) is proportional to krill body length and this proportion can be described by the equation L cc = L krill x 1.679 + 52.032 ( cc — μm; L krill - mm). By measuring cc one can determine the size of krill with the precision of 2—3 mm. The structure of crystalline cones is not crystal, and the elemental composition includes much of S and Ca. Crystalline cones are often found in the stomach and feces of animals feeding on krill.

In the examined area three types of waters have been recorded: Surface Waters of winter modification, Warm Deep Waters and East Bransfield Strait Waters. Geographical location of Scotia Front is similar to that observed in previous years. The dynamics of waters within the examined area is high. It is reflected not only in physical and chemical parameters but also in the distribution of chlorophyll α. In the Front its total amount in a water column is greater than outside.

Comparison of T and S values in areas 1, 2, and 3 in the Bransfield Strait and Admiralty Bay (Fig. 1) shows that the warmest waters are found in area 1, while the coldest in area 3. Surface salinity is the lowest in area 2 as a result of water outflow from land. In area 3 vertical salinity variations are the lowest, with the maximum occurring at the surface. At 500 m depth the highest salinity is recorded in area 1. The most homogeneous distribution of temperature and salinity is observed in area 3. In Admiralty Bay, in the annual cycle of 1995 water temperatures at 4 m, 10 m and 100 m are similar to those in 1979 except in the winter, when they are lower.

The environments of inlets, coves and lagoons varies widely. Climate warming has lead to retreat of glaciers directly entering the sea. In lagoons this is accompanied by exposure of an uncolonized substratum. Colonization processes in these lagoon appear to describe processes which have previously occurred in bays and fjords of glacial origin in the South Shetlands.

Studies were carried out in the region of southern. Drake Passage and Bransfield Strait in February and March 1981. The relation occurring between the alimentary tract filling (ATF) and the quantity of chlorophyll α integrated within the range of 0-150 m water-layer may be described by Ivlev's equation expressing the amount of the food ration in relation to food concentration. The ATF value increases in large individuals and is proportional to their body weight. The daily rythm of krill feeding, expressed by ATF, depends on the quantities of food in the environment.