Word: largest
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Thus was created the world's largest stretch of inhospitable land. Precipitation is so sparse over Antarctica's 14 million sq. km (5.4 million sq. mi.) that it is classified as one of the world's dryest deserts. Because most of the small amount of snow never melts and has accumulated for centuries, 98% of Antarctica is permanently covered by a sheet of ice that has an average thickness of 2,155 meters (7,090 ft.). That accounts for 90% of the world's ice and 68% of its fresh water. Although the sun shines continuously in the summer months...
...Australia -- maintained that parts of the continent belonged to them. Some of the claims overlapped: Chile, Britain and Argentina, for example, all declared their ownership of the Antarctic Peninsula. The U.S., while making no claims, refused to recognize those of other nations and organized numerous expeditions, including the largest in Antarctic history. Mounted in 1946 and called Operation Highjump, it was a naval exercise involving 13 ships, 50 helicopters and nearly 5,000 service members. Its unstated purpose: to make sure the U.S. could legitimately stake its own claim should it ever want...
...glaciers in Antarctica's past, and biologists drew 50-kg (110-lb.) fish from ice holes to study the unique organic antifreeze that keeps these sea dwellers alive. Volcanologists braved the knifelike winds and choking fumes atop Mount Erebus to learn what kinds of gases and particles Antarctica's largest volcano emits. At Williams Field, a runway on the Ross Ice Shelf, a multidisciplinary team prepared to launch a huge helium balloon. Its purpose: to follow circumpolar winds around the entire continent, gathering data on cosmic rays and solar flares and testing the behavior of high-density computer chips...
...bases try to make Antarctic life as enjoyable as possible. At McMurdo Station, the continent's largest town, the 1,100 or more summer residents can hang out at the four Navy bars, use a two-lane bowling alley, take aerobics classes at the gym, and borrow videotapes from a library. Recent social events included a chili-cooking contest and an amateur comedy night. Even at the South Pole Station, home to no more than 90 hardy workers, there is an exercise room, a sauna, a poolroom and a library equipped with wide- screen...
...proved to be far less damaging. Thanks to mild weather that kept the spill at bay, by the end of last week the 217-mile-long slick had stagnated about 29 miles off the Moroccan coast. Though the spill from the Iranian supertanker Khark 5 is the 16th largest in history, its eventual impact on the environment and Morocco's economy may be relatively mild. But until the oil is completely dispersed, changes in the weather may yet push the crude onto the shore. That possibility was keeping Moroccans on edge. "We are at the mercy of the winds," said...