… is relatively small. Their habitat is limited to the narrow, ice-free coastal areas and the ocean, on which they depend for their food. The most important link in the … measuring four to six cm in length. It feeds mainly on planktonic diatoms and zooplankton. With an estimated total incidence of one billion tonnes in the … basic food resource for many living creatures such as squid, bony fish, penguins and sea birds, seals and whales. Some 208 species of fish live in the coastal region …

… in fact grow in the Antarctic! A few species have adapted to the austere conditions and have colonised areas which are ice-free. However, these highly specialised … Antarctic which promote vegetation in light of thick ice cover, little light, dry and very saline soil, and extremely short vegetation periods. A few plants have nevertheless found a way …

… the coldest continent on Earth. Source: M. Müller/UBA Antarctica is the driest and coldest continent on Earth. Only in the west temperatures reach the freezing … wintertime in the northern hemisphere – the South Pole is inclined towards the sun and there are 24 hours of daylight. Because of the ecliptic plane, that is the tilt … even in summertime. Furthermore, the snow has very high reflective power (albedo), and therefore most of the sun's energy cannot be absorbed and heat radiation is …

… continent today, it is hard to imagine that Antarctica used to be fertile land and completely free of ice. Some 170 million years ago Antarctica was still part of the Gondwana supercontinent - until it broke up and Antarctica drifted south and slowly began to freeze over. last update on …

… Environmental monitoring on King George Island The Fildes Region is subject to high … helps to show its effects Source: Christina Braun/FSU Jena King George Island is the largest of the South Shetland Islands, and because of its accessibility …

… Antarctica Man has been fascinated by this vast ice landscape ever since its discovery. Source: Dorling Kindersley RF / Thinkstock "Imagine a country as large as Australia and Europe together, sunnier than California but colder than the icebox of a refrigerator, dryer than Arabia and higher than Switzerland, emptier than the Sahara. There is only one place in the …

… The German Environment Agency and the Antarctic Protecting the Antarctic is one of … difficult at first glance to see the connection between a German environment agency and the Antarctic - after all, Germany has no territorial claims in the eternal ice. …

… universe. Even a mere teaspoon of soil contains a million bacteria, 120,000 fungi and 25,000 algae. These microscopic organisms perform key material-cycle functions. last update on 17.07.2013 Soil teems with life “Plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms purify the water and air, and ensure fertile soils. Hence the uncompromised ability of soil and water …

… The CORINE Land Cover (CLC) program CORINE Land Cover 2006 Source: Umweltbundesamt Land cover is a key indicator of … Centre (DLR)’s Deutsches Fernerkundungsdatenzentrum, on behalf of the UBA. … The CORINE Land Cover (CLC) program …

… stability, the soil particles are compacted; this in turn degrades soil quality. And as farm equipment grows ever heavier, problems can result. last update on 10.03.2014 Is soil compaction a problem? Farm, forestry and construction equipment has become ever more powerful and ever heavier in recent decades. In extreme cases, machinery weighing up to 60 …