Soil and Hydrology of Antarctica

Although Antarctica is mostly made of ice, it also contains a body of soil. The body of soil is known as the Antarctic Dry Valley. The climate of the Antarctic Dry Valley is cold and dry. This causes the soil there to be very similar to arid soil. Arid soil is very dry and lacks vegetation. This lack of life in the soil makes it hard to live off of, and is similar to a desert landscape. This barren land sees few, if any animals, because there is no vegetation to serve as food. The lack of water in the soil also makes it hard for organisms to be created. Arid Soil is scientifically categorized as Aridisol. Aridisol is the most wide spread soil around the world. Arid soil contains sufficient amount of water to support vegetation for no more than 90 days. Considering the harsh climate in Antarctica and the lack of water in the Aridisol, it’s no wonder why the Antarctic Dry Valley has no vegetation growth.

The cold climate in Antarctica is so cold that it slows down the atom particles in water enough to chemically change its physical state. This scientific wonder leads to the 61 percent of the world’s fresh water being located in Antarctica’s ice caps. This does not address the amount of 0.01% of all the water in the world being fresh useable water, as previously discussed in the University of Colorado Denver Geography 1202 course. To put into perspective the massive amounts of ice in Antarctica, the approximate 14,000,000 squared kilometers of Antarctica is 12,150,000 squared kilometers of ice sheet. The Onyx River also shows the hydrology of Antarctica in a liquid state. The Onyx River is an example of an endorheic drainage system. This means the river is a closed drainage basin. It does not flow into external bodies of water like rivers or into the ocean, but instead forms bodies of water such as lakes.

 (This image of the Onyx River shows the relative small size to other rivers through out the world of Antarctica's longest river.

The approximate length of the Onyx River is only 32 Kilometers)