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Antarctic Peninsula

Also Known As Graham Land
Polar and Antarctic

The Antarctic Peninsula is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctica, known locally as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martin in Argentina, and historically as Graham Land in Britain and Palmer Peninsula in the United States. It covers about 522,000 square kilometers, roughly 80 percent ice covered, and carries the mildest climate anywhere on the continent under Antarctic tundra vegetation. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Classification
Biogeographic Realm
Antarctic 1
Area (sq km)
522,000 1
Connections

Demonstrates

Source National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Hosts

Source World Wildlife Fund
Arctic Tern, Species

Audubon's own text names the Antarctic broadly rather than the Peninsula by name; the Arctic tern's pole-to-pole migration takes it into Antarctic waters including the Peninsula region during the austral summer.

Source Arctic Tern (Audubon Field Guide)
Blue Whale, Species

NOAA's own text names Antarctic waters near the ice edge broadly rather than the Peninsula specifically; the Antarctic Peninsula's ice-edge waters sit within this described Southern Ocean summer feeding range.

Source Blue Whale (NOAA Fisheries)
Source World Wildlife Fund
Leopard Seal, Species
Source World Wildlife Fund

In Biome

Tundra, Biomes
Source Antarctic Peninsula (Wikipedia)

Open Questions

Source Antarctic Peninsula (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Antarctic Peninsula (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • lead section
    The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martin in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctica.
  • Biogeographic realm: antarctic (derived from location stated in entity description)
  • Open Questions: Open Question: Antarctic Peninsula
View the Source
Arctic Tern (Audubon Field Guide)
National Audubon SocietyHosts: Arctic Tern, Field Guide - Migration
Quote, Hosts: Arctic Tern, Field Guide - Migration
some Arctic Terns may migrate farther than any other birds, going from the high Arctic to the Antarctic.
View the Source
Blue Whale (NOAA Fisheries)
NOAA FisheriesHosts: Blue Whale, Species page - Antarctic distribution
Quote, Hosts: Blue Whale, Species page - Antarctic distribution
Antarctic blue whales occur mainly in relatively high latitude waters south of the 'Antarctic Convergence' and close to the ice edge in summer.
View the Source
World Wildlife Fund
World Wildlife Fund
  • Hosts: Gentoo Penguin
  • Hosts: Adelie Penguin
  • Hosts: Leopard Seal
View the Source
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationDemonstrates: Glacial RetreatView the Source
Open Questions (1 open question)
Open Question: Antarctic Peninsula

The Antarctic Peninsula's own Wikipedia entry states that the IPCC has been unable to determine the greatest potential effect on sea level rise that glaciers in the region may cause.

What would resolve this Long-term glaciological monitoring and ice-sheet modeling of the peninsula's glacier mass balance under different warming scenarios.
GlaciologyAntarctic Peninsula (Wikipedia)

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