What are the resources of Antarctica?

Photo was taken by photograph in Italy

Antarctica, known as the Seventh Continent, is the last continent on earth to be discovered and the only continent without human settlement. What are the resources of Antarctica?

There are more than 220 minerals in Antarctica. It mainly includes coal, petroleum, natural gas, platinum, uranium, iron, manganese, copper, nickel, cobalt, chromium, lead, tin, zinc, gold, aluminum, antimony, graphite, silver, diamond, etc. They are mainly distributed in Southeast Antarctica, Antarctic Peninsula and coastal islands. For example, there are large coal fields in Victoria, gold, silver and graphite deposits in the south, oil and natural gas are abundant in the whole western continental shelf, huge iron ore belt is found in Prince Charles mountain, tin, lead, antimony, molybdenum, zinc and copper deposits are found in the coast of George V, manganese and copper deposits are found in the central part of the Antarctic Peninsula, nickel, cobalt and chromium deposits are found in aspland Island, sandwich island and Egypt island There's sulfur in Mount Ribes. According to the fact that there are large coalfields in Antarctica, it can be inferred that it was once located in a warm latitude zone, where dense forests formed coalfields through geological processes. Later, after a long-distance drift, it came to its present position.

The hinterland of Antarctica is almost barren. The only creatures there are simple plants and one or two insects. But the ocean is full of life. There are algae, corals, starfish and sponges. There are many tiny creatures called krill in the sea. Krill provides food for many Antarctic fish, seabirds, seals, penguins and whales.

The climate in Antarctica is very cold, so it is difficult for plants to grow. Occasionally, some mosses, lichens and other plants can be seen. There are birds and sea animals near the coast and islands. Most birds are penguins. In summer, penguins often gather along the coast to form a typical Antarctic scene. The main sea animals are seals, sea lions and dolphins. The sea around the continent, with large numbers of whales, is an important whaling area in the world. As a result of excessive hunting, the number of whales has been greatly reduced, and seals and other sea animals have almost disappeared. There are also many nutritious krill in the sea near Antarctica. Krill is also abundant in the sea around Antarctica, with an estimated annual catch of 1.05 billion tons, which can meet the demand of human for aquatic products.

Antarctica is a huge natural "cold storage" and an important storage place of fresh water in the world, with about 70% of the earth's fresh water resources.

Antarctica is rich in coal, iron, oil and natural gas. Coal resources mainly exist in the Hengduan Mountains of Antarctica. They are Permian coal with shallow storage facies and concave convex coal blocks. Iron ore is stored in the area between indie and Wilcox in Southeast Antarctica, but the largest iron ore is in Prince Charles mountains, which stretches for tens of kilometers. In addition, there are gold, silver, platinum, chromium, tin, lead and other metal deposits in Antarctica.

gmtlight: no matter what resources Antarctica has, or don't destroy them, people on earth have the obligation to protect them.