Nice People Thread No. 15, a Cyber Summer

zagubov

I've got to confess I had a "coals to Newcastle" feeling when I read the idea that Polish people were insufficiently religiously or spiritually provided-for. Just as there must be deserts that are short of sand and glaciers that need more ice.

Pyxis

zagubov wrote: »

I've got to confess I had a "coals to Newcastle" feeling when I read the idea that Polish people were insufficiently religiously or spiritually provided-for. Just as there must be deserts that are short of sand and glaciers that need more ice.

Isn't Antarctica officially a desert?






Edit. Yes, but because it has such low precipitation, not because very little grows there, which is what I first thought.
Apparently, the Sahara gets more rain than Antarctica does!

michaels

PasturesNew wrote: »

It's VERY windy today! Windier than the recent storms that had names - and a bizarre thing happened. For the first time, ever, the wind has managed to blow my side gate open! I've been through some wild and windy nights before, but it's never done that before.

Nothing like that here - we still haven't put the trampolines back together properly.

vivatifosi wrote: »

We went into London today to see The Art of the Brick, DC Comics exhibition. Very enjoyable, but only one word for the weather: dreadful.

http://www.aotbdc.co.uk

We got at text at 9.30 cancelling DD2s netball match at 12:45 because of the rain. By 10:30 it was bright sunshine....

Pyxis wrote: »

Isn't Antarctica officially a desert?

Edit. Yes, but because it has such low precipitation, not because very little grows there, which is what I first thought.
Apparently, the Sahara gets more rain than Antarctica does!

Apparently according to the year 8 coursework I have done this evening deserts generally have less than 250mm rain per annum and Antarctica in parts has as little as 50mm per annum - how long does it take to make a 2km thick ice-sheet based on 50mm per year of precipitation?

Pyxis

I found this, although it's only one theory.......


"Though the exact story of Antarctica's ice development is uncertain, there are some theories. It is believed that the reduction in Earth's carbon dioxide levels, as well as changes in its orbit, caused a high degree of cooling. This, in combination with the formation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, formed glaciers on the landmass, which grew sizably and carved deep valleys in the landscape. This was about 34 million years ago. When the ice cooled further, it froze these shifting sheets to the rock, preserving the landscape below and covering it in a thick blanket of white. More research is needed on how the continent-sized sheets truly formed, but it makes for a fascinating discussion point on Antarctic voyages around the Peninsula".

I would imagine that the lack of precipitation is more a result of the low temperatures, rather than snowfall causing the low temperatures.
I would guess that without any evaporation, there wouldn't be any subsequent rainfall. It was probably a vicious circle......can't remember the technical name for that.


I think it's only in recent years that we've had the technology to probe what the underlying terrain is like. It's known that there is a large mountain range with glaciated valleys, like in the Alps. Apparently we know more about the surface of Mars than we do about the underlying surface of Antarctica!

It's a mysterious place. I wonder what secrets it holds.

CKhalvashi

michaels wrote: »

Apparently according to the year 8 coursework I have done this evening deserts generally have less than 250mm rain per annum and Antarctica in parts has as little as 50mm per annum - how long does it take to make a 2km thick ice-sheet based on 50mm per year of precipitation?

40000 years, plus 50mm for whatever melted.

Pyxis

CKhalvashi wrote: »

40000 years, plus 50mm for whatever melted.

Ah! But the precipitation would have been soft snow, so have you allowed for compaction into ice?

I would have said that 40,000 years was just the tip of the iceberg.

Pyxis

How sad.






Several years ago, there was a holiday I saw in a brochure...... I can't remember the tour operator's name, but it was a small, specialist one.

This holiday involved flying to the south of Argentina, and then being on a boat that would semi-circumnavigate Antarctica, stopping off at some places if conditions allowed, and then striking off to New Zealand.

As I would love to go to both Antarctica and New Zealand, it sounded glorious. (It would have been in December, so summertime there).

I deliberated and deliberated, but the cost at the time was around £12,000, and this was several years ago, and I just couldn't afford it; it was a pipe-dream.

Two or three years later, the holiday was no longer listed in the brochure.



Now, all the Antarctic holidays I've seen just appear to be around the islands etc. and a bit of the mainland nearest to South America.
Nothing like the semi-circumnavigation one ending up in New Zealand.

GDB2222

Pyxis wrote: »

Two or three years later, the holiday was no longer listed in the brochure.



Now, all the Antarctic holidays I've seen just appear to be around the islands etc. and a bit of the mainland nearest to South America.
Nothing like the semi-circumnavigation one ending up in New Zealand.

Do you remember how long it took for the complete voyage? I wonder whether they used quite small ships, which perhaps are rather uncomfortable for a lengthy voyage through the Southern Ocean? Plus, perhaps rather dull if you are out of sight of land for weeks on end?

Pyxis

GDB2222 wrote: »

Do you remember how long it took for the complete voyage? I wonder whether they used quite small ships, which perhaps are rather uncomfortable for a lengthy voyage through the Southern Ocean? Plus, perhaps rather dull if you are out of sight of land for weeks on end?

I can't really remember; it might have been just two weeks, maybe three? It deffo wasn't for weeks on end, though.
I remember thinking that it would be nice to combine it with a tour of New Zealand.

The ship wasn't huge, and the passenger numbers were small, hence the high price, but the cabins and food sounded ok. (I've never been into roughing it!)

I kept the brochure for several years, but I must have eventually cleared it out, as a 'never-to-be-dream', because I can't find it!

vivatifosi

Re sailing in Antarctica. Aiui the ship's have to have a special hull for the ice. I think the liner The Marco Polo used to do sailings there, not sure if it's even still in service.

I've been through the Magellan Straits which required quite some sea legs, would love to go to Antarctica though, maybe from Ushuaia.