10 most difficult Antarc­tic riddles

In Antarctica we can find the Erebus high volcano at nearly 4 km, the Don Juan pond with a salinity of 44.2%, and the desert of the McMurdo Valleys. Lake Vostok with an oxygen content 5 times more than the average, however, is hidden under a 4 km layer of glacier.

Argentina maintains the most permanent polar stations - 6, Chile - 5, Russia - 5.

Alexander Island was discovered on January 28, 1821 by a Russian expedition under Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, who named it Alexander I Land for the reigning Tsar Alexander I of Russia. What in fact is an island, was believed to be part of the Antarctic mainland until 1940.

When a piece of iceberg ice melts, it makes a fizzing sound called "Bergie Seltzer". This sound is made when the water-ice interface reaches compressed air bubbles trapped in the ice. As this happens, each bubble bursts, making a 'popping' sound. The bubbles contain air trapped in snow layers very early in the history of the ice, that eventually got buried to a given depth (up to several kilometers) and pressurized as it transformed into firn then to glacial ice.

Troll is a Norwegian research station located at Jutulsessen, 235 kilometers (146 mi) from the coast in the eastern part of Princess Martha Coast in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica. It is Norway's only all-year research station in Antarctica. It has an overwintering capacity of eight people and a summer capacity of 40. It is served by Troll Airfield, which is the base for the Dronning Maud Land Air Network.

An ice sheet is a mass of glacier ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50,000 km2 this is also known as continental glacier. The only current ice sheets are in Antarctica and Greenland; during the last glacial period at Last Glacial Maximum the Laurentide ice sheet covered much of North America, the Weichselian ice sheet covered northern Europe and the Patagonian Ice Sheet covered southern South America.

Emilio Marcos Palma (born 7 January 1978) is an Argentine man known for being the first documented person born on the continent of Antarctica. Palma was born in Fortín Sargento Cabral at the Esperanza Base, near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, and weighed 3.4 kg (7 lb 8 oz). His father, Captain Jorge Emilio Palma, was head of the Argentine Army detachment at the base. He is featured in the Guinness Book of Records .

With a salinity level of over 40%, Don Juan Pond is the saltiest of the Antarctic lakes. This salinity allows the pond to remain liquid even at temperatures as low as −50 °C (−58 °F) due to the interference of salts with the bonding of water molecules. Don Juan Pond was discovered in 1961 by George H. Meyer.

All structures at the South Pole cause wind-blown snow to build up in the surrounding area (about four feet of snow per year). The station building has sloping lower portion of wall, which causes the snow to be scoured away.

The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and is covered by various ice shelves and icebergs. The Weddell Sea has been deemed by scientists to have the clearest water of any sea.