1. The Earth is not a perfect sphere but rather an oblate spheroid, with the equatorial region slightly bulging and the poles slightly flattened.
2. Coral reefs are the largest biological structures on Earth, composed of tiny coral polyps that build calcium carbonate skeletons over time, forming complex underwater ecosystems known as coral reefs.
3. Antarctica hosts the largest ice cap on Earth, with ice covering an area of 30 million cubic kilometers, accounting for about 70% of the planet's fresh water and 90% of its ice.
It is the coldest and windiest place on Earth, with temperatures dropping to as low as -89.2°C and wind speeds reaching up to 320 kilometers per hour.
4. The Moon is gradually moving away from the Earth due to tidal forces between the Earth and the Moon.
Its orbital speed increases by about 3.8 centimeters per year, although this drift is not noticeable in daily life, over millions of years, it will have a significant impact on the Earth's rotation.
5. The Earth's magnetic North Pole is shifting westward.
In the early 1990s, scientists discovered that the magnetic North Pole was located about 1600 kilometers south of true north in Canada.
They realized that its position is not fixed, moving at a rate of about 15 kilometers per year and accelerating, currently moving westward towards Siberia at a rate of about 50-60 kilometers per year.
6. The Dry Valleys of Antarctica are one of the driest regions on Earth, located west of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica.
It is estimated that this region has not seen rainfall or snowfall for nearly 2 million years.
7. The Tibetan Plateau is known as the "Third Pole" of the Earth, with over 46,000 glaciers, making it the largest freshwater reservoir outside of the polar regions.
8. The mass of the Earth is constantly changing, currently approximately 5.97237x10^24 kilograms. The Earth continuously absorbs micrometeoroids and dust from space while also releasing substances such as hydrogen and radiation into space.
The annual mass gain and loss from this process are estimated to be tens of thousands of tons, although small compared to the total mass of the Earth, it is significant.
9. The oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere is primarily produced by phytoplankton in the ocean.
Since the ocean covers most of the Earth's surface area, the oxygen produced by phytoplankton in the ocean is even more abundant than that produced by tropical rainforests. Approximately 70% to 80% of the oxygen in the atmosphere comes from phytoplankton in the ocean.
10. There are approximately 1500 potentially active volcanoes globally, with about 500 having erupted in recorded history.
Approximately 50-60 volcanoes erupt each year, while others show signs of instability and may erupt in the future.
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