Besides being the coldest and most isolated continent Antarctica is also the world's largest desert covering 5.5 million square miles. Most of the continent is covered by ice fields carved by the wind, and craggy mountains covered in glaciers. Approximately 98% of the Antarctic continent is covered by a permanent ice sheet. The interior is very dry and rarely sees clouds. Here, the annual precipitation averages around 50 mm (1.9 in), and most of this falls as snow or ice crystals. This gives rise to some of the most ethereal weather conditions you can see on earth including frost flowers, solar halos and polar stratospheric clouds
Frost Flowers are a natural phenomenon that occurs in seas of the polar regions. The "flowers" are formed from water vapors that escape from the fissures in the thin layer of surface ice when they come into contact with cold air these vapors crystallize.
At the South Pole, a mesmerizing display of halos can be witnessed during certain atmospheric conditions. These halos are formed by the interaction of sunlight with ice crystals suspended in the air.
Polar stratospheric clouds are high-altitude clouds that form in the Antarctic during the polar night when temperatures in the stratosphere drop to extremely low levels. PSCs form in the winter and early spring when temperatures in the stratosphere are below −78°C. PSCs are made of ice crystals that reflect and refract light, giving them a bright, iridescent appearance.
The kayakers (can you spot them?) give a sense of scale for these huge icebergs near Cuverville Island in Antarctica.
Mountain Range in Paradise Harbor
Purple Sunset
Reflections
Taken during the "blue hour" which is the time when the sky is most blue after the sun has set. Due to the long winter nights and high latitude, the blue hour in Antarctica can be particularly striking, with the snow reflecting the blue light from the sky.
Ice Sculptures of Nature
Wind-formed ridges and grooves in snow that resemble sand dunes are called Sastrugi.
Colony of penguins.
The untouched nature of Antarctica in the midnight sun.
Islamic poo people (Pakis) often inspire me with their surprisingly skilled ghetto metalwork, but this is fucking disgusting. Hell yeah, melt plastic by burning plastic bags, shred the formed clump to fine granules and some sweet, sweet plastic dust in your lungs.
