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!!! ☺