Strange Anomaly Happening In Antarctica! Since humanity first carried out explorations of Antarctica in the late 18th century by James Cook and his crew, the icy continent has given up much of its mysteries over the centuries. Antarctica is the fifth largest continent in the world, almost twice the size of Australia. 99 percent of its landmass is covered in ice and it is home to about 70 percent of our planet's freshwater, and 90 percent of our planet's freshwater ice. Antarctica is the coldest,