天堂港, 南极洲 Paradise Harbour, Antarctica (© SinghaphanAllB/Getty Images)

天堂港, 南极洲 Paradise Harbour, Antarctica (© SinghaphanAllB/Getty Images)

下面的另一块大陆 The other continent down under

南极日

世界上最孤立的大陆是南极洲这片极地沙漠，这是地球上最冷、最干燥、风力最大的大陆。听起来像是不可居住的，几乎完全位于南极圈之下的南极洲也是一个美丽的地方，这张照片就是南极洲半岛顶端附近的天堂港，也就是天堂湾。南极洲也极易受到气候变化的影响，值得今天纪念1959年南极条约签署周年的南极日。国际协定保护南极洲作为科学保护区。

南极半岛是南极洲的最北端，也是最接近南美洲的地区，因此相对容易到达。天堂港是大陆上游客最多的地方之一，也是民用游轮的常规停靠站。该地区是一个繁荣的企鹅群体的家园，也是一个观察冰川崩解的绝佳地点。虽然冰川冰的流失是正常的，但由于全球变暖，这一过程以惊人的速度加速。覆盖南极洲的一英里厚的冰盖占了地球淡水供应的70%。从长远来看，如果全部融化，海平面将上升200英尺。如果没有这片冰原之地，世界将大不相同。

Antarctica Day

The most isolated continent in the world is hands down the polar desert that is Antarctica, the coldest, driest, and windiest continent on Earth. Inhospitable as it sounds, Antarctica, which lies almost completely below the Antarctic Circle, is also a place of stunning beauty as evidenced by this image of Paradise Harbour, aka Paradise Bay, near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. Antarctica is also extraordinarily vulnerable to the effects of climate change, worth remembering today on Antarctica Day, which marks the anniversary of the signing of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty. The international agreement protects Antarctica as a scientific preserve.

The Antarctic Peninsula is the northernmost part of Antarctica and the closest to South America, making it relatively accessible. Paradise Harbour is one of the most visited places on the continent, and a regular stop for civilian cruises. The area is home to a thriving colony of penguins and is an excellent place to see glacial calving. While the loss of glacial ice is normal, the process has accelerated at an alarming rate due to global warming. The mile-thick ice sheet that covers Antarctica accounts for 70 percent of the planet's supply of fresh water. To put that in perspective, if it all melted, sea levels would rise by 200 feet. Without this land of ice, the world would look a lot different.