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Antarctica is the coldest, driest, and most isolated continent on Earth. But beneath its frozen surface, there is a hidden world of life that could help us understand the possibility of life on other planets. In this video, we will explore how scientists are studying Antarctica's ice and what they have discovered so far.
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TIMESTAMPS:
0:01 An unbelievable find
09:02 ATM in Antarctica
18:55 Why we are not allowed to visit Antarctica
This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.
#brightside #brightsideglobal
TIMESTAMPS:
0:01 An unbelievable find
09:02 ATM in Antarctica
18:55 Why we are not allowed to visit Antarctica
This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.
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FunTranscript
00:00Do you know that NASA explores not only stars, planets, galaxies, or black holes?
00:05Hard to believe, but yes.
00:07The agency also works on discoveries here on our home planet Earth.
00:12So what has NASA recently discovered?
00:14Is there life under the ice?
00:17While they were analyzing data recently,
00:20they discovered something unbelievable hiding under Antarctica's ice.
00:24And this discovery not only changes everything we know about the whole water system of the Earth,
00:30but it may also help with research about life and space.
00:35Humankind's existence might depend on understanding Antarctica and its secrets.
00:40So, the recent discoveries reveal vital information about our survival.
00:45But before we continue, let's see how much you know about this place,
00:49where it's only ice as far as your eyes can see.
00:54Antarctica is one of the world's seven continents in the Southern Hemisphere.
00:58It's the fifth largest continent in terms of total area,
01:01and that means it's almost twice the size of Australia.
01:06Want to see real meteorites?
01:07Go to Antarctica!
01:09Due to its dry climate,
01:11Antarctica is one of the best places to observe space.
01:15But what's even greater
01:16is that you can find meteorites on the white surface of the continent.
01:20Scientists have already plucked about 45,000 meteorites from the ice,
01:24and they think they can see another 300,000.
01:28Since there aren't many terrestrial rocks there,
01:31it's easy for them to spot them thanks to their dark color.
01:34Antarctica's dry desert environment also helps preserve them,
01:38even the ones that fell to Earth more than 1 million years ago.
01:42And can you imagine any volcanic activity in Antarctica?
01:46It's hard.
01:47But this place is where fire meets the ice.
01:52West Antarctica is where most volcanic activity occurs.
01:57Scientists recently found that 138 volcanoes exist in West Antarctica alone.
02:03Wow!
02:05You would think that Antarctica is always cold.
02:08But no!
02:09Its coastal regions can get as warm as 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
02:14But have you ever wondered what Antarctica would look like if there were no ice?
02:20It may seem unimaginable now,
02:22but it was not always covered by ice.
02:25That was 34 million years ago, though.
02:27So nobody could tell how the continent's surface would be without the ice.
02:32But NASA changed that.
02:34They generated computer simulations
02:36and created the most accurate map of it as of today.
02:40What they saw was incredible.
02:43The continent was not flat at all, like it seemed.
02:46It's pretty bumpy with valleys, bowling plains, and high mountains.
02:52But this was nothing next to what they had discovered under Antarctica's ice.
02:58So, what is it?
03:00Drumroll, please.
03:02NASA found two new subglacial lakes.
03:06And what's even cooler about it is that they spotted these lakes from space.
03:11How is that?
03:13If your answer is high-tech satellites, then you're right.
03:18In 2003, NASA launched a satellite called IceSat.
03:22It measured ice sheet mass balance and cloud and aerosol heights.
03:28The satellite also helped create the ice-free map of Antarctica.
03:32In 2010, the European Space Agency launched the second satellite, CryoSat-2.
03:39It was for tracking the changes in the thickness of the ice.
03:43Then, in 2018, NASA launched the third one, IceSat-2, a follow-on to the IceSat spacecraft.
03:51It measured ice sheet elevation and sea ice thickness.
03:55It was NASA's most advanced Earth-observing laser instrument.
03:59It delivered the highest precision data.
04:03And when that was combined with the data from the other satellites,
04:06it was possible to spot these two new lakes near a pair of larger ones.
04:12But how is it possible that these lakes exist in the first place?
04:17The average thickness of most Antarctica ice is approximately 1.2 miles.
04:23However, it can get over 1.8 miles thick in some places, especially during the winter.
04:29So, you might think that there's nothing under there.
04:32But science says otherwise.
04:36It's not quite possible to see it with your bare eyes.
04:39But the continent's ice is slowly but constantly flowing in different directions under the force of its weight.
04:46But scientists could not figure out how water moved for many years.
04:51That started to change in 2007,
04:53when data gathered from the IceSat provided insight into what hides beneath the surface.
05:00They first discovered an entire network of meltwater lakes
05:03connected under Antarctica's fast-flowing ice streams.
05:07And there were hundreds of them.
05:10Scripps Institution of Oceanography glaciologist Helen Amanda Fricker
05:14figured that the elevation changes measured by IceSat
05:17happened because of the dynamics of these lakes.
05:21They did not hold meltwater statically.
05:24Instead, they were filling and draining continuously over time through a system of waterways.
05:29And as they did that, the ice above rose and fell.
05:34But where do they drain?
05:37The ocean, of course.
05:39And it drains a lot.
05:41A recent study, co-authored by Fricker,
05:43found that the drainage of one lake flushed as much as 198 billion gallons into the ocean in only three
05:50days.
05:52Countless mysteries about how nature works are still waiting to be solved.
05:56But finding the two new lakes will give scientists a better picture
06:00of how fast the Antarctic ice sheet will change as the climate gets warmer
06:03and how this will affect global ocean currents and sea level rise.
06:08The filling and draining cycle of the lakes also cause the ice sheet to suffer cracks and crevices.
06:14So, the information they find from these new lakes
06:17will also give them a better understanding of the damage on the surface of the ice.
06:22They will also be able to assess how this filling and draining system
06:26influences the speed at which ice slips into the oceans and seas.
06:30And that means they can evaluate how the added freshwater may alter marine ecosystems.
06:36This discovery may also suggest whether life is under the ice.
06:41Wow!
06:42Scientists drilled through about 3,504 feet of ice
06:46and found that water samples taken from one of the lakes
06:49contained approximately 10,000 bacterial cells per milliliter.
06:54Such a high number of bacterial life is a good sign
06:57because that means the icy waters might also support higher life forms
07:02such as micro-animals.
07:03And one of these new lakes might even be their home.
07:08But the most exciting thing is that the new lakes
07:11might help them understand whether life on other planets is possible.
07:16Scientists believe any life below the frozen surface of the planet Mars
07:19might follow the patterns seen in Antarctica's lakes.
07:23So, there is a possibility that they might find critical new information
07:27on the type of life that may have existed on the red planet.
07:32You wouldn't want to be there during the winter, though.
07:35The lowest temperature on Earth you can experience is negative 128 degrees Fahrenheit.
07:40In 2010, there was an even lower temperature of negative 135 degrees Fahrenheit.
07:46You may feel this cold much worse due to the strong and dry winds.
07:51Did you know that the size of the ice surface on Antarctica
07:55also changes throughout the year?
07:58It's about 1.2 million square miles during the summer.
08:01But when it's winter, it grows to 7.3 million square miles.
08:07Yet, despite the change, it remains the largest piece of ice on Earth.
08:11Sorry, Arctic, you lose.
08:14Do you know these cute little penguins?
08:16Consider these animals the locals, because there is no native population in Antarctica.
08:22It's a no-man's land, because no single country owns it.
08:26But do you know who really owns it?
08:28Five different species of penguins, seals, and killer whales.
08:33Ha ha.
08:34Despite the continent's harsh conditions,
08:37you can visit it as a tourist for fishing and research purposes.
08:40Around 5,000 people reside on the continent during summer at research stations.
08:45But when winter comes, the number naturally drops down to 1,000.
08:50Antarctica's ice blanket makes up 70% of the world's freshwater reserves.
08:55Imagine what would happen if it melted.
08:57The global sea levels would be raised by almost 200.
09:02Antarctica is the most remote continent on the planet.
09:05It has 90% of the world's ice.
09:08But it's considered a desert because the annual rainfall is only about 8 inches.
09:15You'd probably never think it was a desert if you look at it, since it's white and full of wildlife.
09:21But Antarctica is not only what it appears to be on the surface.
09:26There is so much hidden beneath it, and even above it.
09:39One of the theories supports that the Atlantean civilization could have thrived and flourished in the Antarctic continent,
09:46when it was still uncovered by ice.
09:50Due to the Earth's cyclical eras, this is the periods of ice and interglacial periods.
09:57It was believed that Antarctica was actually a tropical forest.
10:01And, well, a recent Google Earth picture found some interesting ruins,
10:05buried deep within a lake bed on the icy continent.
10:09It's unclear to which civilization these remains belong to,
10:13but some theorists believe that it could perfectly be Atlantis.
10:18And these frozen Antarctic lakes are holding much more under them.
10:23In the 1970s, scientists were surprised to find large lakes under the ice plaques in the frozen continent.
10:31Over 400 lake beds are believed to exist under layers of ice.
10:35Lake Vostok, for instance, the largest subglacial lake over there,
10:41is buried beneath two miles of thick ice.
10:44There are pristine blue ice caves hidden under there as well.
10:48The water in these lakes remains liquid due to the small levels of geothermal heat from the Earth's core.
10:55And some scientists believe that some lakes are around 15 million years old.
11:01Talk about the old days, huh?
11:05Now, amongst the unique phenomena that occur in the continent,
11:09let's say Antarctica is home to an extremely weird waterfall.
11:14The year was 1911, when Australian geologists wondered about the so-called bloodfalls.
11:21He was extremely puzzled by this red stream of liquid pouring from a small hillside amongst the Antarctic ice.
11:29After years of studying it,
11:32it was understood what caused the redness was the high iron content in the water.
11:37The last piece of the puzzle came when scientists discovered that there was an underground lake
11:42with water full of oxidized iron nearby,
11:45which was what caused the bloodfall to exist in the first place.
11:52And speaking of puzzles,
11:54this image might be quite puzzling.
11:56After all,
11:57why on Earth would anyone need to take cash to Antarctica?
12:00Well, a little history first.
12:04Back in 1956,
12:06the U.S. founded McMurdo Research Station,
12:09which is the biggest science hub in the continent to date.
12:13At its peak,
12:14the McMurdo Station hosts from 200 to 1,000 scientists.
12:19And these people need money to buy coffee,
12:22pizza,
12:22and other things to meet their daily needs.
12:24That's when Wells Fargo decided to install an ATM there.
12:30Oh,
12:31and they even set a Guinness World Record this way.
12:34The Wells Fargo ATM at McMurdo Station is the most southern one in the world.
12:39And it's the loneliest ATM in the world as well,
12:42as there isn't another one for hundreds and hundreds of miles.
12:48The freezing temperatures in Antarctica can make the continent hostile to human life.
12:54Actually,
12:55Antarctica is the coldest,
12:57driest,
12:57and windiest continent on our planet.
13:00The average temperature along the coast is around 14 degrees Fahrenheit.
13:05But as you head towards the Antarctic hinterlands,
13:08it gets even colder than that.
13:11The interior of the continent can register temperatures of around negative 71 degrees Fahrenheit.
13:18On the bright side,
13:19these freezing conditions can account for some mesmerizing phenomena,
13:23such as ice bubbles.
13:26These bubbles frozen inside some Antarctic lakes are bubbles of methane gas.
13:31The gas released from the melting of glaciers ends up freezing midway
13:36and makes for a beautiful and exotic scene.
13:39I guess methane never looked this pretty before, did it?
13:43A few years ago,
13:45scientists were taken aback by a giant hole the size of the Netherlands in one Antarctic lake.
13:52For scale,
13:53that's more or less the size of Lake Michigan.
13:57These holes are called polynyas,
13:59and they are a natural phenomenon in the continent.
14:02However,
14:03this one is the biggest scientists have ever seen since the 1970s.
14:09So you'll understand,
14:11polynyas are massive holes in a sea of ice.
14:14Most of them occur along the continent's coast,
14:17but this new one was found in the Weddell Sea,
14:20much farther from the shore.
14:22Scientists are still trying to understand how that happened
14:25and what its implications are for the climate in the region.
14:30There's one feature in the continent that looks completely man-made
14:33and has even sparked several theories around the world regarding its origins.
14:38I mean,
14:39this formation looks exactly like other man-made pyramids, doesn't it?
14:44The only difference is that this is actually a natural rock formation
14:48and has existed for a very long time.
14:51It was first found during an expedition in the 1910s
14:55and was kept secret ever since.
14:57It was nicknamed Pyramid,
14:59but its correct scientific name is Nunatak,
15:02which is simply a peak of rock sticking out above a glacier or an ice sheet.
15:08There are other famous peaks that look pyramid-shaped,
15:11such as the Matterhorn in Switzerland.
15:14So no,
15:15this really isn't a human construction.
15:17We're sure of it.
15:19And the list of fascinating discoveries on the ice continent goes on.
15:23An artificial intelligence program
15:25was analyzing a set of data on Antarctica
15:28when it came across a stunning discovery.
15:32There may be up to 300,000 undiscovered meteorites
15:35to be found in the icy field of the continent.
15:39The truth is,
15:40meteorites have been falling on the continent
15:42for millions of years,
15:44but it was only 110 years ago
15:47that the first one was found.
15:48And guess what?
15:50Recently,
15:51researchers found a Martian meteorite in East Antarctica.
15:54It was the biggest one found in the last 25 years,
15:58and it weighed about 165 pounds.
16:02Now,
16:03usually fire and ice are rather a tricky combination,
16:06so I'm guessing you wouldn't say that Antarctica hosts an active volcano, right?
16:11But it does.
16:12The volcano,
16:14known as Mount Erebus,
16:15is the southernmost active volcano in the world
16:18with liquid magma and lava boiling for eons.
16:22Actually,
16:23Mount Erebus has been active for over a million years,
16:26and it's Antarctica's second highest volcano
16:29with a height of 12,000 feet.
16:33We've mentioned before that Antarctica wasn't always icy,
16:37but could you imagine a huge rainforest covering the entire continent?
16:41This isn't science fiction.
16:43It's actually true.
16:45Leaf impressions and fossilized wood
16:47clearly show signs of tropical trees in the region.
16:52Fossil research has also revealed something magnificent.
16:55Antarctica is home to the oldest worm in the world.
17:00According to National Geographic,
17:02sperm fossils found in Antarctica
17:04reveal a long-extinct species of worm
17:07that is around 50 million years old.
17:10Scientists claim that this discovery
17:12is beyond important to studying some evolutionary relationships
17:16and say that this was only possible
17:18due to the freezing of such samples
17:20for thousands of years.
17:24Antarctica is a continent rich in biodiversity.
17:28Penguins,
17:29polar bears,
17:30and seals are just some of the animals
17:32we know that exist down there.
17:35But there is also a rare and fascinating species of fish
17:39that inhabits Antarctic waters.
17:41Popularly known as the see-through fish,
17:44this species is as bizarre as it is beautiful.
17:47This fish had to adapt
17:49to survive the cold water temperature in Antarctica,
17:52so much so that it evolved into a unique being.
17:56As well as a transparent body,
17:58this fish has transparent blood,
18:00making it completely see-through.
18:02This is because they lack the protein hemoglobin,
18:06which gives blood its red color.
18:08Pretty neat, huh?
18:10When you think of Antarctica,
18:12you probably think of icebergs, right?
18:15So here are some fun facts about it.
18:18Did you know that icebergs have a lifespan
18:20of about 3,000 years?
18:22And that together with Greenland,
18:25Antarctica is one of the world's primary sources of icebergs.
18:30Icebergs can reach 600 to 700 feet
18:32below the surface of the water,
18:34and around 90% of an iceberg is hidden underwater.
18:38That's where the expression tip of the iceberg comes from.
18:41We've all dreamed of visiting the Arctic
18:44and witnessing the natural wonders
18:46of polar bears frolicking on ice flows
18:48or the Aurora Borealis dancing across the sky.
18:52Well, sorry to break it to you,
18:54but you won't find any tourists
18:56flocking to Antarctica anytime soon.
18:58Why, you may ask?
19:00Let's dive into it.
19:01First off, where is Antarctica?
19:04It's located in the Southern Hemisphere,
19:06specifically at the South Pole.
19:08The Southern Ocean surrounds it,
19:10and most of the continent is covered by ice,
19:13making it one of the most remote
19:14and frigid places on Earth.
19:16Now, have you ever met someone
19:18who's visited Antarctica?
19:20Probably not.
19:21It's one of the least visited places on the planet,
19:24and only a handful of lucky explorers
19:27have seen its interior,
19:28which is mostly made up of glaciers and ice fields.
19:31But trust me when I say the wildlife and scenery
19:34are out of this world.
19:37Why shouldn't you travel to Antarctica?
19:40Well, for starters,
19:41the environment is incredibly fragile
19:43and can be easily damaged.
19:46Plus, there are no native human populations
19:48on the continent,
19:49so your travels would essentially be like
19:52visiting an uninhabited island.
19:54And let's not forget
19:55that it's also one of the most expensive destinations
19:58to travel to.
19:59Despite all that,
20:01Antarctica is not exactly
20:02guarded like a fortress,
20:04but there is an international agreement
20:06called the Antarctic Treaty.
20:08This treaty was negotiated
20:10to prevent any unwanted activity
20:12on the continent
20:13and banned some forms of testing
20:15done there by member states.
20:17But the primary reason
20:19we can't just waltz into Antarctica
20:21is that it has a delicate ecosystem
20:24that needs protection.
20:26The treaty states
20:27that Antarctica should be used
20:28for peaceful purposes only
20:30and should be free
20:31from any human activity
20:32that could harm the environment.
20:34Scientists are still learning
20:36about the continent's unique ecosystem,
20:38and our activity and machines
20:40could disrupt the delicate balance
20:42that exists there.
20:44If you're still itching
20:45to go to Antarctica,
20:47getting permission
20:47isn't exactly a walk in the park.
20:50U.S. citizens, for example,
20:52need to complete a special form
20:54and send it to the Office of Ocean
20:56and Polar Affairs.
20:57And once you're there,
20:58you'll need to follow
20:59some strict guidelines
21:00to protect the environment,
21:02like not disturbing any wildlife
21:04or taking souvenirs
21:05like rocks, plants, or animals.
21:08Now, technically,
21:10can you live in Antarctica?
21:11While there are no laws
21:13banning people
21:13from living there permanently,
21:15it's a very inhospitable environment
21:17and unsuitable
21:19for human habitation.
21:20Temperatures can reach
21:21negative 76 degrees Fahrenheit
21:23and below,
21:25making it nearly impossible
21:26for anyone to survive
21:27without the proper equipment
21:29and experience.
21:30Plus, the nearest piece of land
21:32is over 1,000 miles away,
21:34making any inhabitants
21:36completely cut off
21:37from the rest of the world.
21:39Who knows?
21:40Maybe one day we'll get the chance
21:42to visit this unique
21:43and fascinating continent.
21:44But until then,
21:45let's admire it from afar.
21:49Let's now talk a bit
21:51about the discovery of Antarctica.
21:53Unlike other places
21:54that were already inhabited,
21:56Antarctica never had
21:57a native human population.
21:59Ancient Greek philosophers
22:01had an idea about the continent
22:03and called it Ant-Arctos,
22:05meaning opposite the bear.
22:07The bears, it refers to,
22:09are not the polar ones, though,
22:11but rather the great
22:12and little bear constellations,
22:14which are only observable
22:15in the Northern Hemisphere.
22:17As a result,
22:18the term signifies
22:19the opposite of
22:20the land of the bear.
22:24Whaling and sealing voyages
22:26in the late 1700s
22:27and early 1800s
22:29would venture further south
22:30when rounding Cape Horn
22:32at the tip of South America.
22:34It was known
22:35that going further south
22:36often meant stronger winds,
22:38but also the risk
22:39of hitting floating ice
22:40of all sizes
22:41and of winds and seas
22:43that could prove dangerous
22:45to the ship and crew.
22:47Captain James Cook
22:48was the first
22:49to cross the Antarctic Circle
22:50on January 17, 1773
22:53in the Ross Sea region.
22:55He reached a point
22:57further north a year later,
22:58and though he didn't sight land,
23:00he came to within 50 miles
23:02and saw deposits of rock
23:04held in icebergs,
23:05indicating that a more
23:06southerly land existed.
23:09The first sighting
23:10of Antarctica
23:11is widely acknowledged
23:12to have taken place
23:13in January of 1820,
23:15during the voyage
23:16of two ships
23:17under the command
23:18of Captain Fabian Gottlieb
23:20von Bellingshausen
23:21as part of a two-year
23:22exploratory expedition
23:23around the world
23:24to discover new lands.
23:26The captain's ships
23:27were the first
23:28to have crossed
23:28the Antarctic Circle
23:30since Cook.
23:32The first undisputed landing
23:34on Antarctica
23:35didn't happen
23:36until much later,
23:37on January 24, 1895
23:39at Cape Adare
23:41during the whaling voyage
23:42of the ship Antarctic
23:44led by Henrik Bull.
23:46A small boat
23:47with six or possibly
23:48seven men on board
23:49rode ashore
23:51during calm conditions.
23:54You might not believe it,
23:56but Antarctica
23:56is actually a desert.
23:58With all that ice,
24:00you'd think it'd be
24:01like a winter wonderland
24:02with snowball fights
24:03and hot cocoa
24:04all day long.
24:05When we think of deserts,
24:07we picture camels
24:08and cacti
24:09and people struggling
24:10to find water.
24:11But in Antarctica,
24:13it's a whole different story.
24:15The struggle isn't
24:16to find water.
24:17It's to find anything
24:18that's not covered in ice.
24:20And the average rainfall
24:21has been just over
24:220.4 inches
24:24in the past 30 years.
24:26That's like a few drops of rain
24:28compared to what
24:28we're used to.
24:30So, technically,
24:31it's not the dunes
24:33or sizzling heat
24:34that makes a desert,
24:34well, a desert.
24:36It's the lack
24:37of precipitation.
24:38But don't worry.
24:39If you ever find yourself
24:41lost in Antarctica,
24:42you won't have to worry
24:43about getting thirsty.
24:45Just make sure
24:46you bring a jacket
24:47and some mittens
24:48because it's cold enough
24:49to make you
24:50into a popsicle.
24:51Not only is Antarctica
24:52one of the driest places
24:54on Earth,
24:54but it's also
24:55the coldest,
24:56the windiest,
24:57and the highest.
24:59Talk about overachieving.
25:01The penguins
25:02and scientists
25:02down in Antarctica
25:03have at times
25:05found themselves
25:05in a bit of a pickle
25:06when it comes to time.
25:08You see,
25:09unlike the rest of us
25:10on this big blue planet,
25:12there is no
25:12Antarctica time zone.
25:14All the lines
25:15of longitude
25:16meet at a single point
25:17at the South Pole,
25:19making it a bit
25:20of a head-scratcher
25:21when trying to figure out
25:22what time it is.
25:24Now, you might be thinking,
25:26but how do the scientists
25:27and researchers
25:28keep track of time
25:29down there?
25:30Good question.
25:31They typically stick
25:32to the time zone
25:33of the country
25:34they departed from.
25:35However,
25:36with stations
25:36from all over the world
25:38on the Antarctic Peninsula,
25:40things can get
25:41a little wacky.
25:42Imagine trying to coordinate
25:43with your neighboring countries
25:45without accidentally
25:46waking them up
25:47in the middle of the night.
25:50You might think
25:51that not much
25:52could survive
25:52in a place
25:53where the temperature
25:53is extremely cold,
25:55the sun barely shows up,
25:56and the wind
25:57could blow you away
25:58faster than a tumbleweed.
26:00Well,
26:01as in many places
26:02on Earth,
26:02life found a way
26:04in Antarctica, too.
26:05Believe it or not,
26:06this frozen continent
26:07is buzzing
26:08with activity.
26:09It's home
26:10to billions of krill,
26:12which in turn
26:12attract lots of seals
26:14and more penguins
26:15than you can shake
26:16a fish at.
26:18But don't let their
26:20cute and cuddly
26:20appearance fool you.
26:21penguins are the
26:22ultimate swimmers
26:23with streamlined bodies
26:25that would make
26:26Olympic medal winners
26:27jealous.
26:28They come ashore
26:29to breed and chill,
26:30but their real talent
26:32is stealing pebbles
26:33from each other
26:34and forming
26:34mathematically precise
26:36huddles to stay warm.
26:38Antarctica is also
26:39home to the largest
26:40species of penguin
26:41on Earth.
26:42It's called
26:42the emperor penguin.
26:44Sure,
26:45these creatures
26:45are flightless birds,
26:46but that doesn't mean
26:47they can't jump.
26:48In fact,
26:49some of them
26:50can leap
26:51up to 120 inches.
26:53And let's not forget
26:54about the seals.
26:55With their furry bodies
26:57and special songs,
26:58these marine mammals
26:59are protected
27:00by the Antarctic Treaty,
27:02and they're thriving
27:03in the cool waters
27:04of the southern ocean, too.
27:05But the real stars
27:07of the show
27:07are the whales.
27:09During the Antarctic summer,
27:10these huge creatures
27:11show up in droves
27:13to chow down
27:14on the abundant krill.
27:15It's indeed
27:16like a whale
27:17whoops!
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