| These drifting icebergs have recently come loose from Antarctica’s ice as can be seen from their tabular form and the ice strata still visible on their sides. Only a small part of their volume can be seen as more than 90 percent remains below the water’s surface. Every year, around 2.000 cubic kilometers of ice returns to the ocean as icebergs. These blocks measure from 30 of feet to 60 of miles (from tens of meters to hundreds of kilometers). Antarctica is a continent of extremes. It covers 5.5 million square miles (14 million square kilometers), temperatures can go down to -26°F (-70°C), winds can reach speeds of 186.4 miles per hour (300 kilometers per hour) and it contains 61 percent of the Earth’s freshwater. This continent was the subject of many territorial claims from the 19th century onwards but it has been governed by the Washington Treaty since 1959. This gives it an international status and limits its use to pacific and scientific activities. Studying ice that traps air bubbles as it forms is particularly important in understanding current climate changes. As part of the EPICA European Program, Antarctica’s ice was analyzed. The researchers reached a drilling depth of 10.728 feet (3.270 meters). This represents 800.000 years of climate archives.
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![Ice sculpted by the wind at the summit of Mount Discovery, Antarctica [South pole] (78°18’ S, 164°02’ E).](components/com_datsogallery/img_thumbnails/tn_EXPO_TVDC_327.jpg "Ice sculpted by the wind at the summit of Mount Discovery, Antarctica [South pole] (78°18’ S, 164°02’ E).")
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