Coldest recorded temperature: -135.8?F (-93.2?C). Strongest sustained wind: 199 mph (320 kmph). Littered with hidden pitfalls and pounded by brutal conditions, Antarctica is desolate and dangerous, but it also holds many secrets about rising seas, volcanic activity and microbial life that will determine our planet's future. For the bold scientists at New Zealand's Scott Base, the promise of discovery far outweighs the danger of death.