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[[File:Horlick Mountains.jpg|300px|left]]
[[File:Crabeater Pléneau Bay.jpg|250px|left]]
The '''[[Climate of Antarctica]]''' is the coldest on the Earth.
The '''[[crabeater seal]]''' is a true seal with a circumpolar distribution around the coast of [[Antarctica]]. They are found primarily on the free-floating [[pack ice]] that extends seasonally out from the Antarctic coast, which they use as a platform for resting, mating, social aggregation and accessing their prey. They are by far the most abundant seal species in the world. While population estimates are uncertain, there are at least 7 million and possibly as many as 75 million individuals. This success of this species is due to its specialized predation on the abundant [[Antarctic krill]] of the [[Southern Ocean]], for which it has uniquely adapted, sieve-like tooth structure.


[[Antarctica]]'s lowest air temperature record was set on 21 July 1983, with −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F) at Vostok Station in East Antarctica. Satellite measurements have identified even lower ground temperatures, down to −93.2 °C (−135.8 °F) at the cloud free East Antarctic Plateau on 10 August 2010. It is also extremely dry (technically a desert), averaging a mere 166 mm (6.5 in) of precipitation per year. On most parts of the continent the snow rarely melts and is eventually compressed to become the [[glacier]] ice that makes up the [[ice sheet]]. Weather fronts rarely penetrate far into the continent, because of the [[katabatic wind|katabatic winds]]. Most of Antarctica has an ice cap climate (Köppen EF) with very cold, generally extremely dry weather.
Despite its name, crabeater seals do not eat crabs. As well as being an important [[krill]] predator, the crabeater seal is an important component of the diet of [[leopard seal|leopard seals]], which consume about 80% of all crabeater pups.


The lowest reliably measured temperature of a continuously occupied station on Earth of −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F) was on 21 July 1983 at Vostok Station.
'''([[crabeater seal|Full Article...]])'''
 
'''([[Climate of Antarctica|Full Article...]])'''

Latest revision as of 13:37, 19 March 2026

Crabeater Pléneau Bay.jpg

The crabeater seal is a true seal with a circumpolar distribution around the coast of Antarctica. They are found primarily on the free-floating pack ice that extends seasonally out from the Antarctic coast, which they use as a platform for resting, mating, social aggregation and accessing their prey. They are by far the most abundant seal species in the world. While population estimates are uncertain, there are at least 7 million and possibly as many as 75 million individuals. This success of this species is due to its specialized predation on the abundant Antarctic krill of the Southern Ocean, for which it has uniquely adapted, sieve-like tooth structure.

Despite its name, crabeater seals do not eat crabs. As well as being an important krill predator, the crabeater seal is an important component of the diet of leopard seals, which consume about 80% of all crabeater pups.

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