Half Moon Island (Media Luna, isla)
Half Moon Island is a minor Antarctic island, lying in McFarlane Strait 1.35 km north of Burgas Peninsula, Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands of the Antarctic Peninsula region. Its surface area is 171 ha. The Argentine Cámara Base is located on the island. It is only accessible by sea and by helicopter; there is no airport of any kind. The naval base is operational occasionally during the summer, but is closed during the winter.
The island is a series of gravel bars (tombolos) connecting volcanic bedrock islands. The volcanism is not recent and may be millions of years old. The crescent shaped island may be the result of an eroded caldera similar to the much more recent Deception Island volcano complex. The parallel gravel bars are a result of post-glacial (isostatic) uplift of the area after the much larger Pleistocene ice cap melted and the pressure was released.
The island is a series of gravel bars (tombolos) connecting volcanic bedrock islands. The volcanism is not recent and may be millions of years old. The crescent shaped island may be the result of an eroded caldera similar to the much more recent Deception Island volcano complex. The parallel gravel bars are a result of post-glacial (isostatic) uplift of the area after the much larger Pleistocene ice cap melted and the pressure was released.
Map - Half Moon Island (Media Luna, isla)
Map
Country - Antarctica
Antarctica is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest continent, being about 40% larger than Europe, and has an area of 14200000 km2. Most of Antarctica is covered by the Antarctic ice sheet, with an average thickness of 1.9 km.
Antarctica is, on average, the coldest, driest, and windiest of the continents, and it has the highest average elevation. It is mainly a polar desert, with annual precipitation of over 200 mm along the coast and far less inland. About 70% of the world's freshwater reserves are frozen in Antarctica, which, if melted, would raise global sea levels by almost 60 m. Antarctica holds the record for the lowest measured temperature on Earth, −89.2 C. The coastal regions can reach temperatures over 10 C in summer. Native species of animals include mites, nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades. Where vegetation occurs, it is mostly in the form of lichen or moss.
Antarctica is, on average, the coldest, driest, and windiest of the continents, and it has the highest average elevation. It is mainly a polar desert, with annual precipitation of over 200 mm along the coast and far less inland. About 70% of the world's freshwater reserves are frozen in Antarctica, which, if melted, would raise global sea levels by almost 60 m. Antarctica holds the record for the lowest measured temperature on Earth, −89.2 C. The coastal regions can reach temperatures over 10 C in summer. Native species of animals include mites, nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades. Where vegetation occurs, it is mostly in the form of lichen or moss.