Properly equipped and sheltered, humans can survive indefinitely in Antarctica.Expeditions that ran into trouble, with inadequate supplies, not nearly enough shelter, bad weather, bad navigation, etc., were doomed to failure and disaster.Read the gripping story of Ernest Shackleton and his expedition.Written by him in hiring his crew:“Men wanted for hazardous journey; small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger; Safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success. “ - Sir Ernest Shackleton
"But, is it possible that changing currents could start a chain reaction that leads to (relatively) rapid warming?"One thing to remember about Antarctica is that the Ice Cap in places is literally kilometers thick. Global Warming will take a lot to create a difference. However it can slip slide as per Glaciers into the Ocean. Or the recently discovered Western Antarctica Volcanic fields may overheat it underneath, as some scientist assume is happening.So it is difficult to predict.However warming of Antarctica is only one possibility, the other is immense cooling.For example: as Antartica melts the ability for sea ice formation increases.As sea ice reflects light and heat better than water this causes "Global Cooling"An increase in sea ice may create plankton blooms.Plankton blooms will soak up Soluble CO2 and possibly convert it to Methane directly.Methane is many times worse CO2 as a green house gas and additionally alters the Ozone process.Any decrease in Ozone causes UV light filtration to fail causing more difficulty for Organisms up the Food Cycle from plankton.This increases the plankton blooms. and the cycle continues.However while these factors are occurring, thousand of other factors are occurring, thus making predictions near impossible.If I was to make a 2016 weather prediction, Id say.2016 will have the globally accepted worst weather records ever.And towards the end of 2016 Global cooling will start.
We are living in the Quaternary Ice Age. It has endured the last 2 million years, but yes, when it ends most of the Antarctic ice sheet will melt.The glaciers in central Antarctica have been stable for millions of years.The million-year evolution of the glacial trimline in the southernmost Ellsworth Mountains, AntarcticaFrom the abstract: “Since erosion was by warm-based ice near an ice-sheet upper margin, we suggest it first occurred during the early glaciations of Antarctica before the stepped cooling of the mid-Miocene at ∼14 Ma. This was a time when the interior Antarctic continent had summers warm enough for tundra vegetation to grow and for mountain glaciers to consist of ice at the pressure melting point.“We are currently in a warm phase of the Quaternary:But 14 million years ago, the Earth was drastically hotter than now:
How long has Antartica been covered with ice?
Although myths and speculation about a Terra Australis ("Southern Land") date back to antiquity, the first confirmed sighting of the continent is commonly accepted to have occurred in 1820 by the Russian expedition of Mikhail Lazarev and Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen. However, the continent remained largely neglected for the rest of the 19th century because of its hostile environment, lack of resources, and isolated location. Belief in the existence of a Terra Australis — a vast continent located in the far south of the globe to "balance" the northern lands of Europe, Asia and north Africa — had existed since Ptolemy suggested the idea in order to preserve symmetry of landmass in the world. Depictions of a large southern landmass were common in maps such as the early 16th century Turkish Piri Reis map. Even in the late 17th century, after explorers had found that South America and Australia were not part of "Antarctica," geographers believed that the continent was much larger than its actual size. More than 170 million years ago, Antarctica was part of the supercontinent Gondwana. Over time Gondwana broke apart and Antarctica as we know it today was formed around 25 million years ago.
The answer depends on the time of year, the location, and your physique. Like seals, people with a lot of fat would have a definite advantage! Even so, everybody is different, and my answer here is just an estimate.Along the Peninsula it's relatively warm during the summer months ("warm" like London on a dreary winter day). If you're near the ocean and standing on bare ground instead of ice, and it's not stormy, you might last a day or two.Once you go inland your survival will drop from days to hours, or even minutes depending on the season and location. One winter night I found myself running around naked and dripping wet (don't ask) on the frozen Ross Sea for about 10 minutes; it was calm, -30C (-22F) weather and I survived just fine, but it wasn't pleasant. Most of Antarctica is a lot colder than that, even during the summer.Note: The wind is often more important than the actual air temperature! It steals your warmth.Let's say you're an average-sized person somewhere on the plateau, which covers most of Antarctica. It's damn cold. On a calm, sunny, summer day you could probably stand around naked for 15 minutes sunning yourself before becoming seriously hypothermic. It would likely get life threatening after half an hour or so. If it's windy, you'd become hypothermic immediately, probably unconscious within 15 minutes, and dead shortly thereafter. During the winter, you'd be doing good to survive 10 minutes, even if it's calm. If it's -60C and the wind is blowing 20 knots (typical winter conditions in some regions), I'd give you less than 5 minutes.
In some areas possibly although I suspect it is unlikely you will get good yields. The Antarctic Peninsula is the northernmost point of Antarctica. Summertime temperatures on the peninsula average 1 - 2 degrees celsius so some vascular plant life might grow there. Some vegetables like green top carrots and swiss chard are remarkably cold tolerant and might grow in a greenhouse without heating.Inside a thermally efficient greenhouse with good solar gain and no wind ingress you may get warm enough temperatures to grow some plant life. Glass is not a good insulator so some other construction materials like PE or PVC might work better. Further south however three is virtually no chance of growing anything in a greenhouse without heating. At South Pole forget it. It is simply too cold there for anything (flora or fauna) to survive without heating.How warm it would get inside really depends on a number of factors including construction material, thermal efficiency, exposure to wind and the volume of air transferred through cracks and draughts etc. So the answer to your question is an unhelpful "it depends".
How long will it be before Antarctica disappears altogether due to global warming?
Wow. yet yet somebody else who equates "liberal" with "Democrat." Democrats have got here upon a partisan subject that conveniently would be used to punish capitalism. Liberals love capitalism. They be attentive to that there has on no account been a famine ever at any time in historic previous in a capitalist democracy. Capitalism generates the wealth that we liberals elect to tinker with and redistribute. It precludes starvation while coupled with democracy. It can supply the jobs of which we liberals are so fond. specific, i'm a liberal. specific, I help capitalism. No, i'm no longer a Democrat. international Warming or climate exchange would be actual. The climate is often changing. i'm additionally a scientist. i be attentive to that the international climate is the main complicated of all complicated systems with which people immediately work together. can we impact the climate? of course we do. Are we inflicting international warming? no longer yet proved. the priority is obtainable in 2 types. First, the type getting used to assist judgements punishing capitalism stopped working approximately 15 years in the past. We scientists be attentive to that as quickly as a type stops working we examine the type, ask for help from human beings in attempting to choose what's erroneous with the type, and we end utilising the type to assist determination-making. those on the component of "The medical debate is over" approximately international warming did no such element. They tried to conceal the reality that the type would not paintings. they attempt to maintain all and sundry who would disagree with them from moving into the controversy. They launch own assaults on extreme scientists who question them. And, they insist that their type would want for use to make judgements that punish capitalism. that's hogwash, no longer technology. the different variety of the priority is a question to which I actual have on no account gained an answer, no longer to point a sturdy answer. Making an overpowering case to decrease and at last do away with using fossil fuels, with out ever pointing out international warming, is newborn's play. continual merchandising of international warming invitations opposition that would desire to on no account be there. If the point is to decrease and at last do away with using fossil fuels, why are international warming enthusiasts taking the toughest of all achieveable roads to get there?
NO.Antarctica was not always capped with ice. At a number of points in its long history it was experienced a tropical or temperate climate,was covered with forest .More than 170 million years ago, Antarctica was part of the supercontinent Gondwana. Over time, Gondwana gradually broke apart and Antarctica as we know it today was formed around 25 million years ago. About 541 to 485.4 million years ago West Antartica was partly in the Northern Hemisphere and East Antartica was at the equator. By the end of the Cretaceous period it had a Subtropical climate. Since about 15 million years ago Antartica has been mostly covered with ice.