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Antarctica is the coldest, driest, and most isolated continent on Earth. But did you know that it also has an ATM? In this video, we will tell you how an ATM ended up in Antarctica and who withdraws money there. #brightside #brightsideglobal TIMESTAMPS: 0:01 An ATM in Antarctica 09:43 Why we are not allowed to visit Antarctica 18:37 Shocking discovery 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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00:01Antarctica is the most remote continent on the planet.
00:05It has 90% of the world's ice,
00:07but it's considered a desert because the annual rainfall is only about 8 inches.
00:14You'd probably never think it was a desert if you look at it, since it's white and full of wildlife.
00:20But Antarctica is not only what it appears to be on the surface,
00:25there is so much hidden beneath it, and even above it.
00:30Atlantis has long been a mystery for humankind.
00:33Did it ever exist? And if yes, where was it located?
00:38One of the theories supports that the Atlantean civilization could have thrived and flourished in the Antarctic continent,
00:45when it was still uncovered by ice.
00:49Due to the Earth's cyclical eras, this is the periods of ice and interglacial periods.
00:55It was believed that Antarctica was actually a tropical forest.
01:00And well, a recent Google Earth picture found some interesting ruins,
01:04buried deep within a lake bed on the icy continent.
01:08It's unclear to which civilization these remains belong to,
01:12but some theorists believe that it could perfectly be Atlantis.
01:17And these frozen Antarctic lakes are holding much more under them.
01:22In the 1970s, scientists were surprised to find large lakes under the ice plaques in the frozen continent.
01:30Over 400 lake beds are believed to exist under layers of ice.
01:34Lake Vostok, for instance, the largest subglacial lake over there, is buried beneath two miles of thick ice.
01:43There are pristine blue ice caves hidden under there as well.
01:47The water in these lakes remains liquid due to the small levels of geothermal heat from the Earth's core.
01:54And some scientists believe that some lakes are around 15 million years old.
02:00Talk about the old days, huh?
02:04Now, amongst the unique phenomenon that occur in the continent,
02:08let's say Antarctica is home to an extremely weird waterfall.
02:12The year was 1911 when Australian geologists wondered about the so-called bloodfalls.
02:20He was extremely puzzled by this red stream of liquid pouring from a small hillside amongst the Antarctic ice.
02:28After years of studying it, it was understood what caused the redness was the high iron content in the water.
02:36The last piece of the puzzle came when scientists discovered that there was an underground lake
02:41with water full of oxidized iron nearby, which was what caused the bloodfall to exist in the first place.
02:51And speaking of puzzles, this image might be quite puzzling.
02:55After all, why on Earth would anyone need to take cash to Antarctica?
03:00Well, a little history first.
03:03Back in 1956, the US founded McMurdo Research Station,
03:08which is the biggest science hub in the continent to date.
03:11At its peak, the McMurdo Station hosts from 200 to 1,000 scientists.
03:18And these people need money to buy coffee, pizza, and other things to meet their daily needs.
03:24That's when Wells Fargo decided to install an ATM there.
03:29Oh, and they even set a Guinness World Record this way.
03:32The Wells Fargo ATM at McMurdo Station is the most southern one in the world.
03:38And it's the loneliest ATM in the world as well, as there isn't another one for hundreds and hundreds of
03:45miles.
03:47The freezing temperatures in Antarctica can make the continent hostile to human life.
03:53Actually, Antarctica is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent on our planet.
03:59The average temperature along the coast is around 14 degrees Fahrenheit.
04:04But as you head towards the Antarctic hinterlands, it gets even colder than that.
04:10The interior of the continent can register temperatures of around negative 71 degrees Fahrenheit.
04:17On the bright side, these freezing conditions can account for some mesmerizing phenomena, such as ice bubbles.
04:25These bubbles frozen inside some Antarctic lakes are bubbles of methane gas.
04:30The gas released from the melting of glaciers ends up freezing midway and makes for a beautiful and exotic scene.
04:38I guess methane never looked this pretty before, did it?
04:42A few years ago, scientists were taken aback by a giant hole the size of the Netherlands in one Antarctic
04:50lake.
04:51For scale, that's more or less the size of Lake Michigan.
04:56These holes are called polynyas, and they are a natural phenomenon in the continent.
05:01However, this one is the biggest scientists have ever seen since the 1970s.
05:08So you'll understand, polynyas are massive holes in a sea of ice.
05:13Most of them occur along the continent's coast, but this new one was found in the Weddell Sea, much farther
05:19from the shore.
05:20Scientists are still trying to understand how that happened and what its implications are for the climate in the region.
05:29There's one feature in the continent that looks completely man-made and has even sparked several theories around the world
05:35regarding its origins.
05:37I mean, this formation looks exactly like other man-made pyramids, doesn't it?
05:43The only difference is that this is actually a natural rock formation and has existed for a very long time.
05:50It was first found during an expedition in the 1910s and was kept secret ever since.
05:56It was nicknamed pyramid, but its correct scientific name is Nunatak, which is simply a peak of rock sticking out
06:04above a glacier or an ice sheet.
06:07There are other famous peaks that look pyramid shaped, such as the Matterhorn in Switzerland.
06:13So no, this really isn't a human construction, we're sure of it.
06:18And the list of fascinating discoveries on the ice continent goes on.
06:22An artificial intelligence program was analyzing a set of data on Antarctica when it came across a stunning discovery.
06:30There may be up to 300,000 undiscovered meteorites to be found in the icy field of the continent.
06:38The truth is, meteorites have been falling on the continent for millions of years, but it was only 110 years
06:45ago that the first one was found.
06:47And guess what? Recently, researchers found a Martian meteorite in East Antarctica.
06:53It was the biggest one found in the last 25 years and it weighed about 165 pounds.
07:01Now, usually fire and ice are rather a tricky combination.
07:05So I'm guessing you wouldn't say that Antarctica hosts an active volcano, right?
07:10But it does.
07:11The volcano, known as Mount Erebus, is the southernmost active volcano in the world with liquid magma and lava boiling
07:19for eons.
07:21Actually, Mount Erebus has been active for over a million years and it's Antarctica's second highest volcano with a height
07:29of 12,000 feet.
07:32We've mentioned before that Antarctica wasn't always icy, but could you imagine a huge rainforest covering the entire continent?
07:40This isn't science fiction. It's actually true.
07:44Leaf impressions and fossilized wood clearly show signs of tropical trees in the region.
07:51Fossil research has also revealed something magnificent.
07:54Antarctica is home to the oldest worm in the world.
07:59According to National Geographic, sperm fossils found in Antarctica reveal a long-extinct species of worm that is around 50
08:07million years old.
08:09Scientists claim that this discovery is beyond important to studying some evolutionary relationships
08:15and say that this was only possible due to the freezing of such samples for thousands of years.
08:23Antarctica is a continent rich in biodiversity.
08:27Penguins, polar bears, and seals are just some of the animals we know that exist down there.
08:34But there is also a rare and fascinating species of fish that inhabits Antarctic waters.
08:40Popularly known as the see-through fish, this species is as bizarre as it is beautiful.
08:46This fish had to adapt to survive the cold water temperature in Antarctica, so much so that it evolved into
08:53a unique being.
08:55As well as a transparent body, this fish has transparent blood, making it completely see-through.
09:01This is because they lack the protein hemoglobin, which gives blood its red color.
09:07Pretty neat, huh?
09:09When you think of Antarctica, you probably think of icebergs, right?
09:14So here are some fun facts about it.
09:16Did you know that icebergs have a lifespan of about 3,000 years?
09:21And that together with Greenland, Antarctica is one of the world's primary sources of icebergs.
09:29Icebergs can reach 600 to 700 feet below the surface of the water, and around 90% of an iceberg
09:35is hidden underwater.
09:36That's where the expression tip of the iceberg comes from.
09:41We've all dreamed of visiting the Arctic and witnessing the natural wonders of polar bears frolicking on ice flows,
09:48or the aurora borealis dancing across the sky.
09:52Well, sorry to break it to you, but you won't find any tourists flocking to Antarctica anytime soon.
09:58Why, you may ask?
10:00Let's dive into it.
10:01First off, where is Antarctica?
10:03It's located in the Southern Hemisphere, specifically at the South Pole.
10:08The Southern Ocean surrounds it, and most of the continent is covered by ice,
10:13making it one of the most remote and frigid places on Earth.
10:16Now, have you ever met someone who's visited Antarctica?
10:20Probably not.
10:21It's one of the least visited places on the planet, and only a handful of lucky explorers have seen its
10:27interior,
10:28which is mostly made up of glaciers and ice fields.
10:31But trust me when I say the wildlife and scenery are out of this world.
10:37Why shouldn't you travel to Antarctica?
10:40Well, for starters, the environment is incredibly fragile and can be easily damaged.
10:46Plus, there are no native human populations on the continent,
10:49so your travels would essentially be like visiting an uninhabited island.
10:54And let's not forget that it's also one of the most expensive destinations to travel to.
10:59Despite all that, Antarctica is not exactly guarded like a fortress,
11:04but there is an international agreement called the Antarctic Treaty.
11:08This treaty was negotiated to prevent any unwanted activity on the continent
11:13and banned some forms of testing done there by member states.
11:17But the primary reason we can't just waltz into Antarctica is that it has a delicate ecosystem that needs protection.
11:25The treaty states that Antarctica should be used for peaceful purposes only
11:30and should be free from any human activity that could harm the environment.
11:34Scientists are still learning about the continent's unique ecosystem,
11:38and our activity and machines could disrupt the delicate balance that exists there.
11:44If you're still itching to go to Antarctica, getting permission isn't exactly a walk in the park.
11:50U.S. citizens, for example, need to complete a special form and send it to the Office of Ocean and
11:56Polar Affairs.
11:57And once you're there, you'll need to follow some strict guidelines to protect the environment,
12:02like not disturbing any wildlife or taking souvenirs like rocks, plants, or animals.
12:08Now, technically, can you live in Antarctica?
12:11While there are no laws banning people from living there permanently, it's a very inhospitable environment and unsuitable for human
12:19habitation.
12:20Temperatures can reach negative 76 degrees Fahrenheit and below,
12:25making it nearly impossible for anyone to survive without the proper equipment and experience.
12:30Plus, the nearest piece of land is over 1,000 miles away, making any inhabitants completely cut off from the
12:37rest of the world.
12:38Who knows? Maybe one day we'll get the chance to visit this unique and fascinating continent.
12:44But until then, let's admire it from afar.
12:49Let's now talk a bit about the discovery of Antarctica.
12:53Unlike other places that were already inhabited, Antarctica never had a native human population.
12:59Ancient Greek philosophers had an idea about the continent and called it Ant-Arctos, meaning opposite the bear.
13:07The bears, it refers to, are not the polar ones, though, but rather the great and little bear constellations,
13:14which are only observable in the Northern Hemisphere.
13:17As a result, the term signifies the opposite of the land of the bear.
13:24Whaling and sealing voyages in the late 1700s and early 1800s would venture further south when rounding Cape Horn at
13:32the tip of South America.
13:34It was known that going further south often meant stronger winds, but also the risk of hitting floating ice of
13:41all sizes and of winds and seas that could prove dangerous to the ship and crew.
13:47Captain James Cook was the first to cross the Antarctic Circle on January 17, 1773 in the Ross Sea region.
13:55He reached a point further north a year later, and though he didn't sight land, he came to within 50
14:01miles and saw deposits of rock held in icebergs indicating that a more southerly land existed.
14:09The first sighting of Antarctica is widely acknowledged to have taken place in January of 1820 during the voyage of
14:16two ships under the command of Captain Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen as part of a two-year exploratory expedition around
14:24the world to discover new lands.
14:26The captain's ships were the first to have crossed the Antarctic Circle since Cook.
14:32The first undisputed landing on Antarctica didn't happen until much later, on January 24, 1895, at Cape Adare during the
14:42whaling voyage of the ship Antarctic led by Henrik Bull.
14:45A small boat with six or possibly seven men on board rode ashore during calm conditions.
14:54You might not believe it, but Antarctica is actually a desert.
14:58With all that ice, you'd think it'd be like a winter wonderland with snowball fights and hot cocoa all day
15:05long.
15:05When we think of deserts, we picture camels and cacti and people struggling to find water.
15:11But in Antarctica, it's a whole different story.
15:15The struggle isn't to find water.
15:17It's to find anything that's not covered in ice.
15:20And the average rainfall has been just over 0.4 inches in the past 30 years.
15:26That's like a few drops of rain compared to what we're used to.
15:30So technically, it's not the dunes or sizzling heat that makes a desert, well, a desert.
15:36It's the lack of precipitation.
15:38But don't worry.
15:40If you ever find yourself lost in Antarctica, you won't have to worry about getting thirsty.
15:45Just make sure you bring a jacket and some mittens because it's cold enough to make you into a popsicle.
15:51Not only is Antarctica one of the driest places on Earth, but it's also the coldest, the windiest, and the
15:58highest.
15:59Talk about overachieving.
16:00The penguins and scientists down in Antarctica have at times found themselves in a bit of a pickle when it
16:07comes to time.
16:08You see, unlike the rest of us on this big blue planet, there is no Antarctica time zone.
16:14All the lines of longitude meet at a single point at the South Pole, making it a bit of a
16:20head-scratcher when trying to figure out what time it is.
16:24Now, you might be thinking, but how do the scientists and researchers keep track of time down there?
16:30Good question.
16:31They typically stick to the time zone of the country they departed from.
16:35However, with stations from all over the world on the Antarctic Peninsula, things can get a little wacky.
16:42Imagine trying to coordinate with your neighboring countries without accidentally waking them up in the middle of the night.
16:49You might think that not much could survive in a place where the temperature is extremely cold, the sun barely
16:55shows up, and the wind could blow you away faster than a tumbleweed.
17:00Well, as in many places on Earth, life found a way in Antarctica, too.
17:05Believe it or not, this frozen continent is buzzing with activity.
17:09It's home to billions of krill, which in turn attract lots of seals and more penguins than you can shake
17:16a fish at.
17:18But don't let their cute and cuddly appearance fool you.
17:21Penguins are the ultimate swimmers, with streamlined bodies that would make Olympic medal winners jealous.
17:28They come ashore to breed and chill, but their real talent is stealing pebbles from each other and forming mathematically
17:35precise huddles to stay warm.
17:37Antarctica is also home to the largest species of penguin on Earth.
17:42It's called the emperor penguin.
17:44Sure, these creatures are flightless birds, but that doesn't mean they can't jump.
17:48In fact, some of them can leap up to 120 inches.
17:53And let's not forget about the seals, with their furry bodies and special songs.
17:58These marine mammals are protected by the Antarctic Treaty, and they're thriving in the cool waters of the Southern Ocean,
18:05too.
18:05But the real stars of the show are the whales.
18:09During the Antarctic summer, these huge creatures show up in droves to chow down on the abundant krill.
18:15It's indeed like a whale.
18:17Do you know that NASA explores not only stars, planets, galaxies or black holes?
18:22Hard to believe, but yes.
18:24The agency also works on discoveries here on our home planet Earth.
18:29So what has NASA recently discovered?
18:32Is there life under the ice?
18:34While they were analyzing data recently, they discovered something unbelievable hiding under Antarctica's ice.
18:41And this discovery not only changes everything we know about the whole water system of the Earth, but it may
18:47also help with research about life in space.
18:52Humankind's existence might depend on understanding Antarctica and its secrets.
18:57So, the recent discoveries reveal vital information about our survival.
19:02But before we continue, let's see how much you know about this place, where it's only ice as far as
19:08your eyes can see.
19:11Antarctica is one of the world's seven continents in the Southern Hemisphere.
19:15It's the fifth largest continent in terms of total area, and that means it's almost twice the size of Australia.
19:23Want to see real meteorites? Go to Antarctica!
19:26Due to its dry climate, Antarctica is one of the best places to observe space.
19:32But what's even greater is that you can find meteorites on the white surface of the continent.
19:37Scientists have already plucked about 45,000 meteorites from the ice, and they think they can see another 300,000.
19:45Since there aren't many terrestrial rocks there, it's easy for them to spot them, thanks to their dark color.
19:51Antarctica's dry desert environment also helps preserve them, even the ones that fell to Earth more than one million years
19:58ago.
19:59And can you imagine any volcanic activity in Antarctica? It's hard.
20:04But this place is where fire meets the ice.
20:09West Antarctica is where most volcanic activity occurs.
20:14Scientists recently found that 138 volcanoes exist in West Antarctica alone. Wow!
20:22You would think that Antarctica is always cold, but no!
20:27Its coastal regions can get as warm as 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
20:31But have you ever wondered what Antarctica would look like if there were no ice?
20:37It may seem unimaginable now, but it was not always covered by ice.
20:42That was 34 million years ago though, so nobody could tell how the continent's surface would be without the ice.
20:49But NASA changed that.
20:51They generated computer simulations and created the most accurate map of it as of today.
20:57What they saw was incredible.
21:00The continent was not flat at all like it seemed.
21:03It's pretty bumpy with valleys, bowling plains, and high mountains.
21:09But this was nothing next to what they had discovered under Antarctica's ice.
21:15So, what is it?
21:17Drumroll please!
21:19NASA found two new subglacial lakes.
21:23And what's even cooler about it is that they spotted these lakes from space.
21:28How is that?
21:30If your answer is high-tech satellites, then you're right.
21:34In 2003, NASA launched a satellite called IceSat.
21:39It measured ice sheet mass balance and cloud and aerosol heights.
21:45The satellite also helped create the ice-free map of Antarctica.
21:49In 2010, the European Space Agency launched the second satellite, CryoSat-2.
21:56It was for tracking the changes in the thickness of the ice.
22:00Then, in 2018, NASA launched the third one, IceSat-2, a follow-on to the IceSat spacecraft.
22:07It measured ice sheet elevation and sea ice thickness.
22:12It was NASA's most advanced Earth-observing laser instrument.
22:16It delivered the highest precision data.
22:20And when that was combined with the data from the other satellites,
22:23it was possible to spot these two new lakes near a pair of larger ones.
22:29But how is it possible that these lakes exist in the first place?
22:34The average thickness of most Antarctica ice is approximately 1.2 miles.
22:40However, it can get over 1.8 miles thick in some places, especially during the winter.
22:46So, you might think that there's nothing under there.
22:49But science says otherwise.
22:53It's not quite possible to see it with your bare eyes.
22:56But the continent's ice is slowly but constantly flowing in different directions under the force of its weight.
23:03But scientists could not figure out how water moved for many years.
23:08That started to change in 2007, when data gathered from the IceSat provided insight into what hides beneath the surface.
23:16They first discovered an entire network of meltwater lakes connected under Antarctica's fast-flowing ice streams.
23:24And there were hundreds of them.
23:27Scripps Institution of Oceanography glaciologist Helen Amanda Fricker figured that the elevation changes measured by IceSat happened because of the
23:36dynamics of these lakes.
23:38They did not hold meltwater statically.
23:40Instead, they were filling and draining continuously over time through a system of waterways.
23:46And as they did that, the ice above rose and fell.
23:51But where do they drain?
23:54The ocean, of course.
23:56And it drains a lot.
23:58A recent study, co-authored by Fricker, found that the drainage of one lake flushed as much as 198 billion
24:05gallons into the ocean in only three days.
24:09Countless mysteries about how nature works are still waiting to be solved.
24:13But finding the two new lakes will give scientists a better picture of how fast the Antarctic ice sheet will
24:19change as the climate gets warmer,
24:20and how this will affect global ocean currents and sea level rise.
24:25The filling and draining cycle of the lakes also cause the ice sheet to suffer cracks and crevices.
24:31So, the information they find from these new lakes will also give them a better understanding of the damage on
24:37the surface of the ice.
24:39They will also be able to assess how this filling and draining system influences the speed at which ice slips
24:46into the oceans and seas.
24:47And that means they can evaluate how the added freshwater may alter marine ecosystems.
24:54This discovery may also suggest whether life is under the ice.
24:59Scientists drilled through about 3,504 feet of ice and found that water samples taken from one of the lakes
25:06contained approximately 10,000 bacterial cells per milliliter.
25:11Such a high number of bacterial life is a good sign because that means the icy waters might also support
25:18higher life forms such as microanimals.
25:21And one of these new lakes might even be their home.
25:24But the most exciting thing is that the new lakes might help them understand whether life on other planets is
25:31possible.
25:33Scientists believe any life below the frozen surface of the planet Mars might follow the patterns seen in Antarctica's lakes.
25:40So, there is a possibility that they might find critical new information on the type of life that may have
25:46existed on the red planet.
25:49You wouldn't want to be there during the winter though.
25:52The lowest temperature on Earth you can experience is negative 128 degrees Fahrenheit.
25:57In 2010, there was an even lower temperature of negative 135 degrees Fahrenheit.
26:03And you may feel this cold much worse due to the strong and dry winds.
26:08Did you know that the size of the ice surface on Antarctica also changes throughout the year?
26:15It's about 1.2 million square miles during the summer.
26:19But when it's winter, it grows to 7.3 million square miles.
26:24Yet, despite the change, it remains the largest piece of ice on Earth.
26:28Sorry Arctic, you lose.
26:31Do you know these cute little penguins?
26:33Consider these animals the locals because there is no native population in Antarctica.
26:40It's a no-man's land because no single country owns it.
26:44But do you know who really owns it?
26:46Five different species of penguins, seals, and killer whales.
26:50Ha ha!
26:51Despite the continent's harsh conditions, you can visit it as a tourist for fishing and research purposes.
26:57Around 5,000 people reside on the continent during summer at research stations.
27:02But when winter comes, the number naturally drops down to 1,000.
27:06Moving forward that our took reigns keep a look where we compare andاهosa crust is Evac 2003.
27:06Yes, it's a perfectly affordable butterfly consuming.
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27:06And it's easier to eat because like a expenseÙˆ milli shovel to eat and build something,
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