Antarctica Teachers’ Notes
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Antarctica Teachers’ Notes Published in collaboration with the British Antarctic Survey Antarctica Contents Page Page Worksheet 8 Introduction 2 The Antarctic climate 23 Worksheet 1 Worksheet 9 The nature of Antarctica 3 The ozone hole 28 Worksheet 2 Worksheet 10 Discovery of Antarctica 6 Geospace 32 Worksheet 11 Worksheet 3 Terrestrial and freshwater Living and working in Antarctica 8 lake ecosystems 36 Worksheet 4 Worksheet 12 Science in Antarctica 11 Marine ecosystems 39 Worksheet 13 Worksheet 5 Management and conservation The Antarctic Treaty System 14 of marine species 42 Worksheet 14 Worksheet 6 Environmental protection Geology in Antarctica 18 of Antarctica 46 Worksheet 7 Worksheet 15 Antarctic ice 20 Tourism in Antarctica 52 1 Introduction BAS Antarctica is a fascinating and beautiful place. It is the photographs, satellite images, maps, diagrams and written world's last great wilderness and has a profound effect on summaries of particular issues. Most of the resources use the world's climate and ocean systems. Antarctica is materials which are unavailable elsewhere and have been therefore a unique natural laboratory for the study of specially prepared by the British Antarctic Survey for the global processes, such as climate change and ozone pack. The worksheet tasks and resources have been depletion. The study of Antarctica is becoming increasingly designed to cater for a wide range of student abilities. popular with UK secondary schools and colleges. Some are easy, others difficult. However, there is little educational material available. The pack is designed to be flexible. One option is for teachers to select a topic and ask students to complete all The Antarctic Schools Pack is intended for students in the the tasks in the worksheet. In this way the pack can be 16 –18 age range studying at secondary schools, sixth-form used for independent study. As all the resources are colleges and colleges of further education in the UK. The designed to stand on their own, an alternative option is aim of the pack is to provide students with expert, new for teachers to select specific tasks and resources and then and relevant information about Antarctica, and to set this incorporate them into their existing teaching schemes. information out in an accessible and exciting way. To assist teachers in lesson planning, these Teachers' The pack is designed to be interdisciplinary and to be Notes have been produced to accompany the pack. used as part of A-level and Scottish Higher studies. It will The notes provide guidance on the key skills and be of interest to students studying geography, biology, ideas introduced by each topic, summary background environmental science, physics, chemistry, geology, information, and answers to the tasks set in the government and politics, leisure and tourism, and general worksheets. studies. However, it is likely that the pack will be of the The Antarctic Schools Pack is provided copyright-free greatest use to A-level geography students studying for educational use by schools and colleges. Wherever Antarctica as a wilderness region. possible, worksheets and resources have been designed The pack has been devised and written by scientists at for multiple photo-copying. the British Antarctic Survey, with the help of an It is hoped that the Antarctic Schools Pack will enable educational consultant, and experts at the Scott Polar students to learn about and appreciate this unique and Research Institute and the Foreign & Commonwealth wonderful continent designated as a natural reserve Office. devoted to peace and science. Each of the 15 topics comprises a double-sided If you or your students have any comments about worksheet and three double-sided pages of resources. The the Antarctic Schools Pack or would like further worksheet provides an introduction to the topic and a information please write to the Information Officer, series of tasks that can be undertaken by students on their British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, own, in small groups, or as a class. The resources provide Cambridge CB3 OET. a wide variety of materials, including scientific data, 2 The nature of Antarctica Worksheet 1 Few students have a realistic concept of Antarctica. This Key ideas worksheet introduces them to the continent, and explores • Perceptions of Antarctica their perceptions and knowledge. Antarctica is the largest • Size, height and remoteness of Antarctica wilderness on Earth. The continent covers over 14 million km2, • Introduction to physical characteristics and climate but less than 0.5% of the land is ice-free. The Southern Ocean • The Southern Ocean and sea ice encircles Antarctica and forms around 10% of the world’s • Climate change ocean area. In winter, over half of the Southern Ocean freezes • Ownership and governance of Antarctica over forming pack ice covering 20 million km2 of the sea. Human activities in Antarctica • Human activities in Antarctica are regulated by the Antarctic Treaty, which came into force in 1961. This unique Key skills international agreement ensures that Antarctica is used for • Map and satellite image interpretation and measurement peaceful purposes only and the environment is protected. The • Data gathering and analysis Treaty puts aside territorial claims. Scientific research is the • Note taking major activity undertaken in Antarctica, although in summer, • Summarising text, data and images fishing and tourism also take place. Eighteen countries operate permanent year-round research stations on the continent and nearby islands. About 5000 scientists and support staff work at these stations during the summer (UK winter), falling to around 1100 in winter. About 10,000 tourists a year visit Antarctica. There are no native peoples in Antarctica. Model answers to tasks ✔ Task 1 Antarctica lies at the bottom of the world, with the South America is the closest continent to Antarctica (965 km away geographical South Pole lying near the centre of the continent. from the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula). It is the fifth largest continent in the world. It is completely surrounded by the Southern Ocean. Part of the UK (Northern Ireland, Wales, Western Scotland and Western England) lies mid-way up the very left margin of the map. Task 2 Antarctica is approximately circular in shape. The The right and left margins of the map should follow the Greenwich average diameter of this circle is 4500 km, giving a radius of Meridian, so the eastern part of the UK should be visible on the 2250 km. The area of this circle is: very right margin. However, the right margin has been cut to fit the map on the page and the UK is not visible. r2 = 3.14 x 22502 = 15.89 million km2 Task 4 Two of the cities furthest apart in Europe are Lisbon This figure compares favourably with the widely published area of (Portugal) and Moscow (Russia). They are 3913 km apart. The nearly 14 million km2. flight time between them on a jet airliner is approximately 5 hours. Assuming Antarctica to be a circle, then its circumference is: About 0.5% of Antarctica is not covered by ice. 2 r = 2 x 3.14 x 2250 = 14,130 km The highest point on the Antarctic continent is Vinson Massif (4897 m). Mapping experts at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have worked The average elevation of the continent is 2300 m. out that the length of coastline is approximately 36,750 km, considerably more than the rough calculation. This is because the Task 5 From the answer in Task 2, the area of Antarctica is coastline is irregular and is not a perfect circle. For example, there approximately 15.89 million km2. The ice sheet has an average are two large embayments – the Weddell Sea and the Ross Sea – thickness of 2450 m. The volume of this cylinder is given by: and also the narrow Antarctic Peninsula projects out towards South America. r2 h = 3.14 x 22502 x 2450 = 38.94 million km3 Task 3 In this unusual map projection, lines of longitude This figure compares with a widely published estimate of 30 million emerge from the South Pole. There are 12 of them, 30° apart. km3. The difference between the calculations is because the The vertical (upwards) longitude is the Greenwich Meridian (0°W given average thickness of the ice of 2450 m is for the average or 0°E) and the vertical (downwards) longitude is 180°W height of the grounded ice sheet in Antarctica. This figure (180°E). Thus from the South Pole to South America you go excludes ice shelves, which float on the sea surface. The average northwards along longitude 60°W; from the South Pole to Australia height of the Antarctic ice sheet, including ice shelves, is you go northwards along a line of longitude between 120° 2160 m. If the area of Antarctica is nearly 14 million km2 and and 150°E; and to Africa northwards along a longitude close the average height is 2160 m then the volume is about 30.24 to 30°E. million km3. continued ➤ 3 The nature of Antarctica The immense weight of the ice sheet has depressed the land food for a huge web of other organisms living in the Southern surface beneath by as much as 800 m, so that if the load were Ocean ecosystem. removed the land surface would eventually rise, despite the rise in sea level caused by the melting of the ice. The rebound of the land Sea ice prohibits access to much of Antarctica by ship, except for a would be a very slow process taking thousands of years. For few months in summer. Scientific research vessels and tour ships example, the UK land mass is still slowly rising after the end of the only visit the continent between November and March, and fishing last ice age in Europe over 10,000 years ago.