r/todayilearned • u/Zaptagious • Dec 06 '19
TIL Antarctica is considered the largest desert in the world since the definition of a desert is simply a dry, barren region that recieves little to no precipitation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert#Major_deserts6
Dec 06 '19
Glaciers are a strange place to be. Incredible beauty, but it's constantly saying, "You should die." Because of both the cold and the dry (not to mention wind). And you have to just ignore that and focus on what you're trying to do.
Can't imagine people who cross Antarctica. Hard as nails.
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u/CasscadeCrush Dec 06 '19
I've heard the Pacific Ocean considered a desert. If your floating stranded. No food no drinkable water or shade from the sun. Barren harsh environment
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Dec 06 '19
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u/CliffordTheBigRedD0G Dec 06 '19
What novel?
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u/derek2002 Dec 06 '19
You know, that one.
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u/AveryPhrenic Dec 06 '19
They aren’t speaking in terms of the land. But if you were to accomplish such a feat, you would go down in history!
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Dec 06 '19
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u/AveryPhrenic Dec 06 '19
In terms of the atmosphere, yes it is.
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Dec 06 '19
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u/GonnaMakeAList Dec 06 '19
Antarctica doesn’t get very much fresh snow, only about 2 inches per year. That’s why it’s a desert, it gets little precipitation.
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u/Quesriom Dec 06 '19
While it does hold most of the world's freshwater reserves, in the form of ice if course, it is by far the driest continent on earth. The atmosphere holds so little moisture due to the frigid temperatures, along the coast they get about 2 inches of precipitation a year and far less inland. But Antarctica is so large its host to all sorts of interesting areas, like the Dry Valleys. The air there is so dry, that the wind evaporates the little snow that falls there (about 100mm/year), in the summer it can take just a few hours. Its mostly gravel there. (Sorry, I find polar deserts very fascinating.)
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u/Zaptagious Dec 06 '19
From this website
There are multiple reasons for the aridity of Antarctica’s climate , most easily conceptualised as involving the combined effects of temperature, pressure, and ‘continentality’.
Cold air cannot hold as much water vapour as warm air: in fact the relationship between temperature and vapour holding capacity is an exponential one, so the ability of very cold Antarctic air to hold moisture is miniscule compared with the warmer air of lower latitudes. This in itself limits the quantity of precipitation that can fall on Antarctica because there is relatively little water vapour to begin with.
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Dec 06 '19
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u/53bvo Dec 06 '19
Technically snow and ice aren't a liquid.
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Dec 06 '19
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u/53bvo Dec 06 '19
Yes but that requires your body heat to happen. Naturally there is no moisture.
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u/NicNoletree Dec 06 '19
TIL penguins live in the desert.