Today I am going to write about the Antarctican climate and also the weather down there. I am really excited to write about this topic and I hope you are excited to read about it.
Antarctican Climate
Antarctica can be call a desert because of the short amount of rain fall (precipitation). Even though it is not hot the average temperature in Antarctica is -50 degrees Celsius brrr. The coldest temperature on the planet recorded by man is -89 degrees Celsius and that was in Antarctica. Did you know that there is only one day and night every year in Antarctica there is six months of daylight straight and then six months of darkness; Crazy! The precipitation in Antarctica is mainly snow. In coastal regions about 200 mm can fall annually. In mountainous regions and on the East Antarctica plateau the amount is less than 50 mm annually. This is not as high as other desert regions because it is so cold, so the snow gradually builds up year after year. There are also strong winds, with recordings of up to 200 mph being made. Antarctican seasons are opposite of what we have in the UK while it is summer in the UK it is winter in Antarctica.
Why is it so cold and dry?
- The angle of the Sun is low in the sky. This means the energy from the Sun spreads out over a large area.
- The area has 24 hours of darkness for some of the winter. Therefore, there is no sunlight for long periods of time.
- The surface of Antarctica has a high albedo. This means that a lot of the energy received from the Sun is reflected back into space.
- The high altitude of the land. Temperatures decrease approximately 1°C for every 100 m increase in height.
- Cold air cannot hold as much water vapour as warm air, so precipitation is less likely.
- Oceans store heat so they often create milder temperatures and increased rainfall. However, as Antarctica is such a large land mass, only the very edges of the continent experience this affect
How an Ice Berg is formed
The ice can get to 2.5 km deep in winter and can really be slippery. You may see that there is loads of icebergs in the Antarctican ocean this is because sometimes the ice can break of the land and create Ice Bergs.
How I am Feeling
Today we are just going to do some school work and also have some beach time we have decided to book another few days in our hotel in Koh Samui and we might be going to cambodia but we have not booked the flights yet but we are 70% sure. I am excited to go there if we do but I am also having a great time here in Thailand.
Caspar's Blog 
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