DOCSLIB.ORG

THE ANTARCTICA CHALLENGE: a GLOBAL WARNING and the POLAR EXPLORER

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
THE ANTARCTICA CHALLENGE: a GLOBAL WARNING and the POLAR EXPLORER POLAR WONDERS New Climate Change Discoveries at the Ends of the Earth: PENGUIN SUICIDE | RISING SEA LEVELS | NEW LIFE DISCOVERIES | GLACIER COLLAPSE OZONE HOLE | MYSTERIOUS SEABED RINGS TEACHER RESOURCE GUIDE THE ANTARCTICA CHALLENGE: A GLOBAL WARNING and THE POLAR EXPLORER TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 2 Student Notes on Introduction ....................................................................................................... 3 Video Review – The Antarctica Challenge: A Global Warning ........................................................ 4 Video Review – The Polar Explorer ................................................................................................. 5 Climate Change and The United Nations ........................................................................................ 6 Concept Map ................................................................................................................................... 7 Overview: Antarctica ....................................................................................................................... 8 Overview: The Arctic ........................................................................................................................ 9 Are We in Denial? .......................................................................................................................... 10 Activity: The Climate Change Debate ............................................................................................ 11 About This Guide .......................................................................................................................... 12 1 THE ANTARCTICA CHALLENGE: A GLOBAL WARNING and THE POLAR EXPLORER Focus Introduction Climate Change is arguably Many Canadians believe the Arctic is our territory, when in fact only 25% of the most important the Arctic is within Canada's borders. The biggest share is actually Russian environmental issue facing (40%), and we share the remainder with the U.S. (Alaska), Denmark the world today. The two (Greenland), Sweden, Finland, Norway and Iceland (where it passes through films this guide supports the small offshore island of Grímsey). As far as population is concerned, 80 show how the polar per cent of Arctic residents are Russian. regions – the Arctic and Antarctica – are the At the other end of the world, there is no similar division of territorial bellwether of climate possession. Antarctica is not owned by any nation, but rather is administered impacts throughout the by 48 countries through an agreement known as The Antarctica Treaty. The world. As these areas are document, originally signed by 12 nations on December 1, 1959, prohibits the warming faster than any ownership of any part of the continent by any country and restricts its use to other place on earth, temporary settlements strictly for scientific research. melting ice and collapsing glaciers pose a direct Both regions share a unique distinction: they are warming faster than any threat to humanity place else on earth. The Arctic is warming twice as fast while Antarctica is through rising sea levels warming five times as fast! This rapid warming is causing eons‐old ice to melt and subsequent flooding and pour fresh water into the world seas. Since 90 per cent of the world’s of coastal communities. fresh water can be found in polar ice, the melting of this ice represents a significant contribution to rising sea levels around the world. And while this impacts directly on us, there is also a major change taking place to the polar eco‐systems. Warming temperatures in the Antarctic seas are causing problems for marine life in their attempts to reproduce. Krill and starfish, in particular, cannot reproduce in these warmer waters resulting in a drastic and steady decline in their populations. Compounding this problem is the introduction of whale populations. They actually prefer the warmer waters and their massive consumption of krill is depleting the remaining krill populations at an alarming rate. Further up the food change, penguins and seals in Antarctica rely solely on krill as their food source and as the krill numbers fall so do the populations of penguins and seals. On top of the world, quite the opposite is taking place. The reduction of sea ice caused by warmer temperatures is exposing phytoplankton and Arctic marine flora to more sunlight. Photosynthesis is now taking place where it hadn’t previously resulting in an abundant bloom of new life. The additional life at the bottom of the food chain is not only providing more sustenance for the Arctic’s marine fauna, but is also attracting “exotic species” not usually found in Arctic waters. The two films featured in this resource guide provide startling evidence of these new climate change related discoveries at both ends of the earth from a unique perspective – the filmmakers travelled alongside teams of international polar scientists as they conducted studies and made discoveries directly in the field. 2 THE ANTARCTICA CHALLENGE: A GLOBAL WARNING and THE POLAR EXPLORER Quote Preview Questions "Of all the canaries in the climate coal mine, the polar What recent developments related to climate change are taking place in the regions and the mountain Arctic and Antarctica? How could these changes impact people living in other glaciers are singing the parts of the world? hardest and the loudest. Mark Terry's new climate __________________________________________________________ change documentary The Antarctica Challenge: A __________________________________________________________ Global Warning underlines these realities with some of the latest and increasingly __________________________________________________________ sobering scientific findings, providing further stark __________________________________________________________ evidence as to why governments need to Seal __________________________________________________________ the Deal in Copenhagen." __________________________________________________________ – Achim Steiner, UN Under‐Secretary __________________________________________________________ General and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment __________________________________________________________ Programme. (August 18, 2009) __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ 3 THE ANTARCTICA CHALLENGE: A GLOBAL WARNING and THE POLAR EXPLORER Did You Know… VIDEO REVIEW: The Antarctica Challenge: A Global Warning Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition Respond to the following questions as you watch the film: aboard the ill‐fated ship the Endurance resulted in 1. What is the dominant species of penguin found on the Antarctica his crew being abandoned Peninsula? on the ice for 18 months before being rescued. _______________________________________________ Miraculously, not one life was lost during this ordeal. 2. What kind of creature is krill? _______________________________________________ 3. What factors are impacting on the krill populations in Antarctica? _______________________________________________ 4. What are some of the environmental impacts of climate change in Antarctica? _______________________________________________ 5. What is the largest ice drainage basin in the world and why is it a concern to people in coastal communities around the world? _______________________________________________ 6. What unusual measurements are now being made of the ozone hole? Why is this happening? _______________________________________________ 7. What do seismic readings of glaciers tell us? _______________________________________________ 8. With Antarctica land seeing sunlight for the first time, new flora and fauna are emerging. Describe these new species and explain their origin. _______________________________________________ Analysis: At the conclusion of the film, filmmaker Mark Terry states, “No matter how insurmountable the environmental crisis may seem to be, we have proven that with a globally united effort, we can overcome any challenge.” In a small group, discuss this quote and explore ways we might be able to address the challenges of climate change in our own schools, communities, regions and countries. 4 THE ANTARCTICA CHALLENGE: A GLOBAL WARNING and THE POLAR EXPLORER Did You Know… VIDEO REVIEW: The Polar Explorer Canada’s Northwest Passage was first Respond to the following questions as you watch the film: navigated by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen 1. Who first crossed the Northwest Passage and what obstacles did in 1906. It took him three he and his crew have to face that we don’t today? years to pass through the frozen waters. Today, the _______________________________________________ Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker that bears his
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Romanov News Новости Романовых
    Romanov News Новости Романовых By Ludmila & Paul Kulikovsky №138 September 2019 New Bust to Emperor Alexander III at St. Nicholas Church in Polyarny City A monument to Emperor Alexander III was solemnly opened and consecrated in Polyarny city On the occasion of the 120th anniversary of Polyarny, a solemn opening ceremony of the bust of Emperor Alexander III took place on the territory of St. Nicholas Church. Polyarny is a city in the Murmansk region, located on the shores of the Catherine’s harbour of the Kola Bay of the Barents Sea, about 30 km from Murmansk. The city is home to the Northern Fleet and as such is a closed city. The port was laid down in the summer of 1899 and named Alexandrovsk in honour of Emperor Alexander III. In 1931 it was renamed Polyarny., Parishioners of the church of St. Nicholas the Miracle Worker and Rector Archpriest Sergei Mishchenko, initiated and sponsored the bronze bust of the great Russian Emperor Alexander III. The monument was made with donations from parishioners and in February 2019 was delivered from the workshop of Simferopol to Polyarny. The opening and consecration ceremony was conducted by Bishop Tarasiy of the North Sea and Umba. The St. Nicholas Church, with the bust of Emperor Alexander III standing under the bell tower. Stories from Crimea In 2019, there were two extraordinaire reasons to visit Crimea and Yalta in particular - the 100 years anniversary of several members of the Imperial Romanov family, including Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, leaving Russia from Yalta - and 125 years since the repose of Emperor Alexander III in Livadia.
    [Show full text]
  • History of Antarctica - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia Page 1 of 13
    History of Antarctica - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Page 1 of 13 Coordinates: 67°15′S 39°35′E History of Antarctica From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For the natural history of the Antarctic continent, see Antarctica. The history of Antarctica emerges from early Western theories of a vast continent, known as Terra Australis, believed to exist in the far south of the globe. The term Antarctic, referring to the opposite of the Arctic Circle, was coined by Marinus of Tyre in the 2nd century AD. The rounding of the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn in the 15th and 16th centuries proved that Terra Australis Incognita ("Unknown Southern Land"), if it existed, was a continent in its own right. In 1773 James Cook and his crew crossed the Antarctic Circle for the first time but although they discovered nearby islands, they did not catch sight of Antarctica itself. It is believed he was as close as 150 miles from the mainland. In 1820, several expeditions claimed to have been the first to have sighted the ice shelf or the continent. A Russian expedition was led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev, a British expedition was captained by Edward Bransfield and an American sealer Nathaniel Palmer participated. The first landing was probably just over a year later when American Captain John Davis, a sealer, set foot on the ice. Several expeditions attempted to reach the South Pole in the early 20th century, during the 'Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration'. Many resulted in injury and death. Norwegian Roald Amundsen finally reached the Pole on December 14, 1911, following a dramatic race with the Englishman Robert Falcon Scott.
    [Show full text]
  • Appendix 1 – Crew Lists of HIMS Vostok and Mirnyi
    Appendix 1 – Crew Lists of HIMS Vostok and Mirnyi The crew lists were translated from (CL) but without the pay rates. Five names added from Two Seasons or the post-voyage report on crew status (Moller, 1821) are marked with asterisks. The lists do not give patro- nymics and do not identify any cooks. The statement that Nikita Il’in was of ‘officer rank’ (TS, 1: 9) may simply mean that he was a gentleman but not yet a commissioned officer. The crew status report confirms the presence of a third, unidentified servant on Vostok and so corroborates Bellingshausen’s tally of 189 people without the chaplain (TS, 1: 7–9), in short 190 people. Crew of HIMS Vostok Commanding officer: Junior Captain Bellingshausen Captain Lieutenant: Ivan Zavodovskii Lieutenants: Ivan Ignat’ev; Konstantin Torson; Arkadii Leskov Midshipman: Dmitrii Demidov Astronomer: Ivan Simonov* Artist: Pavel Mikhailov* Clerk: Ivan Rezanov Gardemarine: Roman Adams* Navigator: Yakov Paryadin Warrant officers: Andrei Sherkunov; Pëtr Kryukov Master’s mate: Fëdor Vasil’ev Staff surgeon: Yakov Berkh Surgeon’s mate: Ivan Stepanov Quartermasters: Sandash Aneyev; Aleksei Aldygin; Martyn Stepanov; Aleksei Stepanov Butcher: Grigorii Diyakov Drummer: Leontii Churkin Seamen, 1st Class: Semën Trofimov (helmsman); Gubei Abdulov; Stepan Sazanov; Pëtr Maksimov; Kondratii Petrov; Olav Rangoil’; Paul Yakobson; Leon Dubovskii; Semën 214 Crew Lists 215 Gulyayev; Grigorii Anan’in; Grigorii Yelsukov; Stepan Filipov; Sidor Lukin; Matvei Khandukov; Kondratii Borisov; Yeremei Andreyev; Danil Kornev; Sidor
    [Show full text]
  • Pacific Presences
    LILJE & THOMAS THOMAS & LILJE JELINEK, CLARK, CARREAU, pacific ( EDS ) pacific presences – volume 1 presences Hundreds of thousands of works of art and artefacts from many parts of the Pacific – volume 1 – are dispersed across European museums. Tey range from seemingly quotidian things such as fish-hooks and baskets to great sculptures of divinities, architectural forms and Oceanic Art and canoes. Tese collections constitute a remarkable resource for understanding history and society across Oceania, cross-cultural encounters since the voyages of Captain presences European Museums Cook, and the colonial transformations that have taken place since. Tey are also pacific collections of profound importance for Islanders today, who have varied responses to their displaced heritage, and renewed interest in ancestral forms and practices. edited by Tis two-volume book enlarges understandings of Oceanic art and enables new LUCIE CARREAU, ALISON CLARK, reflection upon museums and ways of working in and around them. In dialogue with Islanders’ perspectives, It exemplifies a growing commitment on the part of scholars ALANA JELINEK, ERNA LILJE European Museums Oceanic Art and and curators to work collaboratively and responsively. & NICHOLAS THOMAS Volume I focuses on the historical formation of ethnographic museums within Europe, the making of those institutions’ Pacific collections, and the activation and re-activation of those collections, over time and in the present. (vol. 1) Sidestone Press Sidestone ISBN: 978-90-8890-589-6 PACIFIC PRESENCES 4A 9 789088 905896 Source Reference Carreau, L., Clark, A., Jelinek, A., Lilje, E. and Thomas, N. (eds.) 2018: Pacific Presences - Volume 1. Oceanic Art and European Museums, Leiden: Sidestone Press.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Download
    OLGA SUVOROVA Forgotten Taonga Māori in Russia: The 1820 Visit of the Bellingshausen- Lazarev Expedition to Queen Charlotte Sound We should treasure the fact, and glory in the fact that despite all the trauma and experience of Europe and Russia, in particular that these treasures, from this little place, collected here by this remarkable sailor, scholar, voyager, geographer, scientist Bellingshausen should have survived and have been kept and treasured in that remote place. Sir Tipene O'Regan1 Russia is a country of extensive and unique collections of all kinds from the Pacific. Over many centuries Russian travellers, explorers and avid private collectors were bringing and exchanging rarities and antiques. The stunning cultural treasures, taonga Māori, preserved and kept on the vast Russian territory are of ultimate importance and enduring value to the world, and especially to New Zealanders as they bear sacred significance and are considered to be ancestors. This article opens the discussion of the urgent need to thoroughly record and study Māori heritage in Russia. It reflects on a particular collection from Queen Charlotte Sound in the South Island of New Zealand brought to Russia by the Bellingshausen-Lazarev expedition two centuries ago. The Dr Olga Suvorova is a Wellington-based linguist, translator and cultural historian. She has a PhD in Cultural Studies (2007) and a Specialist's Degree (Magna Cum Laude, 2003) in Linguistics, Teaching and Translation/Interpreting (English, French, Russian) in the field of Intercultural Communication from Lomonosov Moscow State University. 2 Forgotten Taonga Māori in Russia study also provides a description of previously unstudied taonga in Russia recently attributed to this expedition.
    [Show full text]
  • Culture and Politics of the Family Relationships, Upbringing and Protection Minors As Mechanisms of Stakeholder Relations in Society
    Culture and politics of the family relationships, upbringing and protection minors as mechanisms of Stakeholder relations in society Vladyslav Akulov-Muratov, Olga Budko Part III. Iceland is an island country with moderate climate and a small population, which has chosen and built for itself the northern social model of society with universal health and education systems free of fear for the future due to the high level of social protection and security. Its geographical location, complex mountainous terrain, difficult weather conditions and a mournful history of existence have undeniably imprinted on the way of life, the character and gender relations of the local population, which have spawned the Icelanders‟ habit of calm and measured life in accordance with the requirements of nature. And they left the civilized world that was too active and hasty for them. Therefore, Icelanders are slowly becoming accustomed to the present and little attention is paid to the various conveniences of life offered by the present mankind, because cities (in our usual sense) appeared on the island only in the 1990‟s. Historically formed customs play an important role in the lives of Icelanders: they have not so far abandoned traditional life in villages of the village type on the shores of the island, where houses covered with earth and moss for several hundred years, and the vast majority of inhabitants, like their ancestors , are engaged in cattle breeding, fishing and agriculture. Therefore, the family life of Icelanders is inextricably linked with these types of management. Women in Iceland are volitional, hard-core and considered to be stronger than men.
    [Show full text]
  • January 2021
    A KONRAD-ADENAUER-SIFTUNG PUBLICATION January 2021 Lutz Feldt and Patrick Hébrard | January 2021 1 Copyright © 2021 by Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, dis- tributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publishers, except in the case of brief quota- tions embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. ISBN 978-1-7774289-1-4 Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V. Canada Office Suite 303, 8 York Street Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 5S6 [email protected] Photo credit: Annie Spratt | Unsplash 2 RUSSIA’S AND CHINA’S APPROACHES TO THE ARCTIC: Threats or challenges for the global community? About the authors Vice Admiral Lutz Feldt joined the German Navy in 1965. He was com- missioned in 1968. Sea duty assignments for 13 years with leadership functions on all command levels, including two tours as a commanding officer, provided a wide experience at sea with emphasis on operations, communication and electronic warfare. Shore duty assignments in naval staffs, the Federal Ministry of Defense, in NATO as Assistant Chief of Staff Operations and Logistic. He became Commander Military Dis- trict Coast, a national joined command, Commander in Chief of the German Fleet and Commander in Chief of Naval Staff in Bonn and Berlin. He retired in 2006, after having served in the Armed Forces for 41 years. Since then, Vice Admiral Feldt has taken over several posts of honor: he became President of the German Maritime Institute un- til 2012, he was the President of EuroDefense Germany until 2017, he has been contracted by the European Commission for the Instrument for Stability – Critical Maritime Routes.
    [Show full text]
  • The United States and the “Icebreaker Gap”
    SUGGESTED READINGS The United States and the “Icebreaker Gap” Compiled by P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Troy Bouffard At a time when many of us find ourselves working from home in social isolation, NAADSN has invited various academic subject matter experts to suggest core readings on topics related to North American and Arctic Defence and Security. The internet is filled with perspectives and opinions. These lists are intended to help direct policy shapers, practitioners, and academics to credible open access sources, available online free of charge, that reflect leading-edge research and thinking. The compilers of each list have been asked to select readings that are accessibly written (ie. they are not filled with excessive jargon), offer a diversity of viewpoints, and encourage critical thinking and debate. Melody Schreiber, “Trump calls for an accelerated expansion of the U.S. icebreaker fleet,” Arctic Today, 10 June 2020. President Donald Trump has called for a faster expansion of the U.S. icebreaker fleet than previously planned — including exploring the possibility of arming icebreakers and powering them with nuclear propulsion. In a memorandum directed to several U.S. agencies, Trump set a 2029 target for an expanded icebreaker fleet, and directed officials to consider leasing vessels, including from foreign entities, to ensure some new icebreakers could be available by 2022. The memo focused on national security and commercial activities. It also tasked officials with identifying at least four domestic and international bases for the new fleet. Sherri Goodman, a senior fellow at the Wilson Center and former U.S. deputy under-secretary of defense, said the document acknowledges “the icebreaker gap” in the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Bellingshausen and the Russian Antarctic Expedition, 1819–21. Rip
    614 BOOK REVIEWS Bellingshausen and the Russian antarctic expedition, the expedition which, among other things, give a window into 1819–21. Rip Bulkeley. 2014. Basingstoke: Palgrave life on a 19th century sailing ship. Macmillan. 312 p, illustrated, hardcover. ISBN 978–0– There are some notable observations and insights to be 230–36326–7. £60.00. culled from the pages, according to the reader’s interests. From doi:10.1017/S0032247416000036 my interest in South Georgia, I learned that the sealers used penguin skins to fuel the rendering of elephant seal blubber into oil. Of more significant interest, Bellingshausen was ahead It has become commonplace for books on exploration to have of his time for his suggestion that the South Sandwich Islands titles that include a phrase such as ‘the forgotten explorer’ were a range of underwater mountains that linked with South or ‘the forgotten expedition’. It adds the drama of an untold Georgia, the (fictional) Aurora Islands, the Falkland Islands and and neglected story. For a man who, it has been claimed, mainland South America. discovered a continent, Bellingshausen’s exploits have been Part III assesses the achievements of the expedition in largely overlooked, at least until recently. One problem was that science and geographical discoveries, and, often overlooked, in Bellingshausen did not understand what he had found. He did seamanship. The science was disappointing as the expedition not land and triumphantly claim a territory for his sovereign in was understaffed and underfunded, and publication was inad- the same way that his predecessor James Cook ‘landed in three equate. On the other hand, advance in geography was well- different places, displayed our colours, and took possession of served.
    [Show full text]
  • Chronology of the Key Historical Events on the Black and Azov Seas
    Chronology of the Key Historical Events on the Black and Azov Seas Eighteenth Century 1700 – The Treaty of Constantinople was signed on 13 July 1700 between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. It ended the Russian-Turkish War of 1686–1700. 1701 – Engraver from Holland A. Schoonebeek engraved a map called “Eastern part of the Sea Palus Maeotis, which is now called the Sea of Azov.” On the map there were shown: the coastline of the sea, the grid of parallels and meridians, the compass grid, depths, anchor positions, cities. The map scale is about 1:700,000, the size is 52 Â 63 cm, published in Moscow. 1702–1704 – P. Picart issued in Moscow a map called “Direct drawing of the Black Sea from the town of Kerch to Tsargrad.” On the map there were shown the towns of Bendery, Ochakov, Taman, Trapezund, Tsargrad and there was an inset of the Bosphorus Strait with depths depicted on the fairway. 1703 – Issue of the Atlas of the Black and Azov seas with the navigation chart of the track from Kerch to Constantinople (observation was performed by the ship “Krepost”). 1703–1704 – The “Atlas of the Don River, Azov and Black Seas” compiled by Admiral C. Cruys was printed in Amsterdam; it consisted of a description and 17 maps. 1706 – A lot of new ships were added to the Russian Azov Fleet. S.R. Grinevetsky et al., The Black Sea Encyclopedia, 843 DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-55227-4, © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015 844 Chronology of the Key Historical Events on the Black and Azov Seas 1710–1713 – Russian–Turkish War.
    [Show full text]
  • FOUR ANNIVERSARIES of Vityaz CHANNEL for MOVING Forward World's Laboratory Alexey RAKHMANOV: ADVANCED SHIPBUILDING – a PASS TO
    world's ChAnnel Four lABorAtory For Moving AnniversAries State-of-the-art ships ForwArd oF vityAz for fundamental scientific How to support intensive growth History of the legendary scientific researches of the Institute of the market for internal cruise and research vessel, now the main exhibit of Oceanology p. 8 tourism in Russia p. 30 of the World Ocean Museum p. 22 INFORMATION BULLETIN FOR THE SPIEF-2019 FEATURE ONE THE NATURE UNIFYING THE WORLD Alexey rAkhMAnov: AdvAnCed shiPBuilding – A PAss to the oCeAns p. 6 strength and power at sea addReSS: 115184, MOScOW, bOlSHaya tataRSkaya, bld. 11Б jSc USc’S pReSIdent alexey RakHManOv cHIef edItOR: alIya kaRIMOva execUtIve edItOR: MaRIa aRSenyeva www.aoosk.ru deSIgn and MakeUp: ‘klIMOv deSIgn StUdIa’. tel.:+7 (499) 740-60-18. WWW.klIMOv-deSIgn.RU tHe vIeWS Of tHe aUtHORS May dIffeR fROM tHe pOSItIOn Of tHe edItORIal Staff. tHe fROnt cOveR: fROM www.shutterstock.com shutterstock INForMAtIoN BuLLetIN sPIeF-2019 TIME FOR MODERNIZATION / page 02 Denis MANTUROV, Russian Minister of Industry and Commerce NEW RUSSIA’S FLEET IN THE WORLD OCEAN / page 03 The balance of forces for researching ocean resources ADVANCED SHIPBUILDING – A PASS TO THE OCEANS / page 06 The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum will discuss effective use of ocean resources WORLD’S LABORATORY / page 08 Research of the World Ocean and national security THE ARCTIC NEEDS A FLEET / page 12 How to incite the economic growth of the region SCIENCE WORK PLATFORM / page 14 "Vympel" design bureau designed a floating "science club"
    [Show full text]
  • Day 27 – Task 2
    DAY 27 – TASK 2 Antarctica is Earth's southernmost continent. It contains the geographic South Pole and is situated in the Antarctic region of the Southern Hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. At 14,200,000 square kilometres (5,500,000 square miles), it is the fifth-largest continent and nearly twice the size of Australia. It is by far the least populated continent, with around 5,000 people in the summer and around 1,000 in the winter. About 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice that averages 1.9 km (1.2 mi; 6,200 ft) in thickness, which extends to all but the McMurdo Dry Valleys and the northernmost reaches of the Antarctic Peninsula. Antarctica, on average, is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent, and has the highest average elevation of all the continents. Most of Antarctica is a polar desert, with annual precipitation of 200 mm (7.9 in) along the coast and far less inland; yet 80% of the world freshwater reserves are stored there, enough to raise global sea levels by about 60 metres (200 ft) if all of it were to melt. The temperature in Antarctica has dropped to −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F) (or even −94.7 °C (−135.8 °F) as measured from space), though the average for the third quarter (the coldest part of the year) is −63 °C (−81 °F). Organisms native to Antarctica include many types of algae, bacteria, fungi, plants, protista, and certain animals, such as mites, nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades.
    [Show full text]