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- The eastern plateau of Antarctica has the coldest temperatures on Earth.
- Satellite data has been used by researchers to determine how far subzero temperatures can plummet.
- Clear skies, light winds and dry air can bring down the temperature as low as minus 144 degrees Fahrenheit.
According to a study published this week in Geophysical Research Letters, scientists have found a new threshold to determine where temperatures can drop below freezing on Earth.
According to new data that was added to a preliminary study in 2013, the eastern Antarctic shelf can record temperatures as cold as 144 degrees Fahrenheit. The high altitude and the proximity of the South Pole make this region the most suitable place for extreme cold. of this magnitude.
(MORE: The Antarctic sea ice retreats five times faster than expected)
The Antarctic Plateau of the East. (Ted Scambos, NSIDC / University of Colorado-Boulder)
The eastern plateau of Antartica is an arid and snowy region where surface weather instruments are not available in these pockets of extreme cold, so scientists used satellite data between 2004 and 2016 to obtain the reference of 144 degrees Fahrenheit.
The small, low depressions in the Antarctic Ice Sheet had the coldest temperatures. Because the cold air is dense, it flows into the troughs where it can remain trapped for several days when the sky is clear and the winds are light. This is similar to the way cold air is pouring into places in the valley at night elsewhere in the world.
Dry air is also key to ultra-cold temperatures, the study found.
"In this area, we see periods of incredibly dry air, which allows the heat of the snow surface to radiate more easily into space," says Ted Scambos, lead author of the # Study in a release from the National Snow and Ice Data Center. NSIDC).
The study found that temperatures fall below minus 130 degrees Fahrenheit in much of the plateau almost every winter, according to NSIDC. Satellites detected that in this area, about 100 locations had surface temperatures of minus 144 degrees Fahrenheit between 2004 and 2016.
The coldest temperatures on Earth are located in the east of Antarctica. (NOAA ESRL)
Minus 144 degrees Fahrenheit is on the coldest temperatures can dive on Earth, the researchers said.
In the next year or two, scientists hope to collect more data by deploying ground instruments in the coldest places.
Vostok, Antarctica, currently holds the world record for the coldest temperature ever recorded by a terrestrial weather station. Minus 128.6 degrees Fahrenheit was observed on July 21, 1983.
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