I am composing a multimedia journal of my travels and adventures for Apple Computer, using some of their best available hardware and software tools. How I got here and what I'm doing is a story in itself. As of October 1991 it was reported that the ozone shield, which protects the Earth's surface from harmful ultraviolet radiation, had dwindled to the lowest level recorded over Antarctica since 1975 when measurements were first taken. While Antarctica has no indigenous inhabitants, there are seasonally staffed research stations all over the continent which bring the summertime population to around 1200. During the totally dark winter months the total population is closer to 200.
Administration is carried out through consultative member meetings.
Antarctica is the highest, driest, coldest, windiest, most remote place on the planet. But the weather is not the only environmental danger there. Because of the now well-documented depletion of the ozone layer, during summer more solar radiation reaches the surface at the South Pole than is received at the Equator. East Antarctica is colder than West Antarctica because of its higher elevation, while the Antarctic Peninsula has the most moderate climate. Its highest temperatures occur in January along the coast and average slightly below freezing.