Antarctica
VOCAB - Overview
• Pancake Ice• Pack Ice• Glaciers• Ice Shelf• Crevasse• Ice Sheet• Calving• Ice Core
• Katabatic Winds• Research Station• Remote Sensing• Convergence Zone• Vinson Massif• Krill• Plankton• Ozone
Who will we “meet”?
• Amundsen• Scott• Shakelton• Byrd• Vaughn
Physical Antarctica…..
• Continent accounts for 1/10 of ALL earth’s land
• Fringed by Pack ice• Cold, dry climate • Glaciers • ice Shelves• Ice Sheets• Pancake Ice
Land of Antarctica (and ice sheets!)
• Antarctica has 1/10 of all the earth’s land
• Due to the ice, it is the highest continent
• The ice caps on the land can be up to 7,000 feet thick!
• If the ice were to melt, the land would rise 260 feet!
• The weight of the ice sheets on the south pole gives the earth a slight pear shape
Pack Ice
• Icebergs mix with ice in the water.• During the winter – the pack ice makes
Antarctica ‘grow’. In the summer with more sunshine, the continent seems to ‘shrink’.
Climate
• Southern Hemisphere – warmest time is Nov – Jan…..(warm is relative!)
• Precipitation varies – some places have adequate snowfall – others are classified as desert!
• -30C = -22 F• -60 C = -76 F
Katabatic Winds
Glaciers
• Glaciers move between 360 and 3,600 feet a year
• Best way to travel to the interior…..BUT
Beware of the Crevasse
Calving & Icebergs
Ice Shelves• Ice that “hangs out” over the edge of the continent• Ice more than 6000 feet thick near land• Thin out as they reach farther out• Often ‘calve’ or break off• In March 2000 a piece THE SIZE OF CONNECTICUT
broke off the Ross Ice shelf
Pancake Ice
Ice Review…
• Ice Sheet• Ice Shelf• Pack Ice• Pancake Ice• Iceberg• Calving• Crevasse
As in ice….
Convergence Zone• Area where the frigid Antarctic waters meet the
warmer waters of the Atlantic, pacific and Indian oceans – clash of these waters causes severe storms along Antarctica’s coastline.
• BUT….it also causes a turnover of water, raising nutrient rich water to the surface – to feed millions of krill, who become food for whales and fish…(then the fish become food for penguins, etc….)
Question 1
Icebergs mixed with ice that has formed in the freezing waters around Antarctica
A) Convergence zone
B) Pack ice
C) Glaciers
D) Ice shelf
E) Pancake ice
F) Crevasse
G) Krill
H) Calving
Question 2
Large crack in glacial ice
A) Convergence zone
B) Pack ice
C) Glaciers
D) Ice shelf
E) Pancake ice
F) Crevasse
G) Krill
H) Calving
Question 3
Small shrimp like creatures
A) Convergence zone
B) Pack ice
C) Glaciers
D) Ice shelf
E) Pancake ice
F) Crevasse
G) Krill
H) Calving
Question 4Ice that extends out over the ocean
A) Convergence zone
B) Pack ice
C) Glaciers
D) Ice shelf
E) Pancake ice
F) Crevasse
G) Krill
H) Calving
Question 5
Where frigid waters around the Antarctica meet warmer waters
A) Convergence zone B) Glaciers
c) Ice shelf d) Pancake ice
e) Crevasse f) krill
Question 6
Slow moving, frozen river of ice
A) Convergence zone
B) Pack ice
C) Glaciers
D) Ice shelf
E) Pancake ice
F) Crevasse
G) Krill
H) Calving
People & Antarctica
• Exploration• Mineral wealth• Scientific wealth• Claims & Treaty
Exploration
• First sighted in 1820’s by sailors – who couldn’t get closer due to wooden ships!
• Explorers reached the Ross Ice Shelf in the 1840’s
• No one actually set foot on the continent until 1895.
• Roald Amundsen (Norway) & Robert Scott (Britain) led expeditions….
Amundsen and Scott
• 1911-1912 –Both Amundsen and Scott reached the south pole, but Scott and his four companions died on the return trip.
• Further exploration of the interior waited until the 1920’s when airplanes were built that could withstand the severe climate. (Richard Byrd)
Shackleton
• Sail from England August 8th 1914
• Depart whaling station, South Georgia December 5th 1914
• Entered pack ice December 7th 1914
• Endurance trapped January 18th 1915
• Endurance crushed, ship abandoned October 27th 1915
• Endurance sinks November 21st 1915
Shackleton – Part II• Launch boats for Elephant
Island April 9th 1916• Boat journey to South
Georgia April 24th - May 10th 1916
• Shackleton, Worsley, and Crean reach Stromness whaling station May 20th 1916
• Three crew members rescued from a beach on South Georgia May 21st 1916
• Remainder of the crew rescued from Elephant Island August 30th 1916
Claims and Treaty
• Many tried to claim pieces of Antarctica– Whaling– Minerals– National pride
• Us & Soviet Union refused to make claims and refused to acknowledge claims of other nations arguing that actual settlement had not occurred…….
Quick Review…..• What does it take to be a country???• Clearly defined territory• Population• Government• SOVEREIGNTY!
Treaty - 1961
• 12 countries originally• To date - 46
Cold Science!
Remote Sensing
Science
• Meteorology• Oceanography• Geology• Astrophysics• Biology• Seismology• Glaciology• meteorites• Yes…I said
Meteorites……….
Meteorites!
• What better place to spot them……• Stay tuned for a reading ☺
Wildlife
Ozone
Ice Core
McMurdo
• Largest Station• 1200 people in the
summer• 200 in the winter
The South Pole
• Amundsen Scott South Pole Station
Tourism……
• As usual….it brings problems
A nice place to visit – but would YOU want to live there?
Icebreakers & Lake Vostok
Trivia….
• Mt.Vaughn (Col. Norman Vaughn)….
• Singing Icebergs….• Alaskan Storm cracks
Antarctic Iceberg….• 8 Below and the Real
Story……
Coming Soon……
Question 7
Exploration of Antarctica has gone very slowly because:
a)The continent has no value to the rest of the world
b)The continent is still reachable only by boat
c)No living creature can survive in Antarctica
d)Its climate and distant location make such activity difficult
Question 8
Antarctica’s most important resource is its:
a)Krill
b)Lead and zinc deposits beneath the ice cap
c)Wealth of scientific knowledge to be gained
d)Vast oil reserves in the coastal region
Question 9
The process by which a section of ice breaks off the edge of a glacier.
a) Katabatic winds
b) Remote Sensing
c) Ozone
d) Ice Core
e) Calving
Question 10
A certain kind of oxygen that forms a layer around the earth in the atmosphere; it blocks out many of the most harmful rays from the sun
a) Katabatic winds
b) Remote Sensing
c) Ozone
d) Ice Core
e) Calving
Question 11
The strong fast cold winds that blow down from the interior of Antarctica
a) Katabatic winds
b) Remote Sensing
c) Ozone
d) Ice Core
e) Calving
Question 12
The method of getting information from far away.
a) Katabatic winds
b) Remote Sensing
c) Ozone
d) Ice Core
e) Calving
Icebergs…..• Is this amazing??• Antarctica Frozen Wave Pics
- Nature is amazing!• The water froze the instant
the wave broke through the• ice. That's what it is like in
Antarctica where it is the• coldest weather in decades.
Water freezes the instant• it comes in contact with the
air. The temperature of the• water is already some
degrees below freezing. • Just look at how the wave
froze in mid-air!!!
Awesome Icebergs
• Icebergs in the Antarctic area sometimes have stripes, formed by layers of snow that react to different conditions.
• When an iceberg falls into the sea, a layer of salty seawater can freeze to the underside. If this is rich in algae, it can form a green stripe.
• Brown, black and yellow lines are caused by sediment, picked up when the ice sheet grinds downhill towards the sea.
• Blue stripes are often created when a crevice in the ice sheet fills up with melt water and freezes so quickly that no bubbles form.
The End!!! ☺
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