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Antartctica unit 2
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- 2. Questions - writethe questions & answers in your exercise books Google Docs - • Antarctica is – The north pole – The south pole • Antarctica is – Sea surrounded by land – Land surrounded by sea • Antarctica is the worlds coldest continent, it is also the worlds – Furthest away continent – Windiest continent – Foggiest continent • Antarctica is owned by – Australia – New Zealand – U.S.A. – No one country
- 3. Questions - writethe questions & answers in your exercise books • Antarctica is – Nearly all exposed land with some glaciers – About half ice and half exposed land – Mainly ice with a few areas of exposed land • Antarctica is – The 4th largest continent – The 5th largest continent – The 6th largest continent • Antarctica’s size increases during – Winter – Summer • Antarctica reflects what % of incoming solar radiation back into space by ice and snow • 60% • 70% • 80%
- 4. Which countries and/or continents areclosest to Antarctica? Write this in your exercise books! Note the Andes Mountains go all the way under the sea to join the Transantarctic Mountains
- 5. Transantarctic Mountains • SeparatingEast and West Antarctica is a large, imposing mountain range: the Transantarctic Mountains. • The result of an active fault system, the mountains poke through the ice cap to form an impressive barrier across the continent. They can be thought of as a giant dam holding back the ice sheet. • Where there are gaps in the mountain chain the ice behind the dam spills into West Antarctica in a series of glaciers. • The Transantarctic Mountains are home to Antarctica’s highest mountain, Vinson Massif, and an active volcano, Mount Erebus. • These mountains were a major barrier to explorers who attempted to reach the South Pole from the large ice shelves in West Antarctica.
- 7. Height • The thicknessof the ice of the polar plateau makes Antarctica the highest continent in the world on average. • Antarctica’s average height is 2300 metres above sea level, • Australia’s 340 metres making it the world’s lowest continent.
- 8. Questions - writethe questions & answers in your exercise books • Is Antarctica – The lowest continent – The highest continent • What caused the Transantarctic Mountains – A volcano – An active fault line • The Transantarctic Mountains are like a giant dam that hold back an ice sheet. Ice that spills through are called – Ice Shelves – Glaciers – Crevasses
- 9. Who owns itand why • There are no cities or states in the Antarctic. • The only places where people live are bases or stations, usually operated by national governments. • Seven countries, including Australia, claim territory in Antarctica, but all of these countries have agreed to put their claims to one side and cooperate with other countries in studying and conserving Antarctica for the benefit of the world.
- 11. The Treaty • Thegovernments of Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, the French Republic, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the Union of South Africa, Russia, the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America agreed: • Antarctica shall be used for peaceful purposes only • Facilitation of scientific research in Antarctica • Preservation and conservation of living resources in Antarctica.
- 12. Animal Life • FishBirds Huskies Krill Now Banned • Seals & • Sea Lions Penguins Squid Sponges • Micro Whales Seabed • Organisms Communities Terrestrial invertebrates
- 13. This is Antarcticground algae. Picture size about 1cm
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- 15. Adélie penguins are46 to 75 cm long and 3.9 to 5.8 kg in weight. They are distinguished by the white ring surrounding the eye. Males and females are of similar size and difficult to tell apart. They make nests out of small stones, lay two eggs, and raise up to two chicks per nest, depending on food availability. Adélie penguins breed around the entire coast of Antarctica in places where there is exposed rock Adélie penguins feed mainly on krill
- 17. There are 18species of penguins, 4 of which live in Antarctica. These are Emperor Penguins.
- 19. Chinstrap penguins growto 68 cm long & weigh between 3 and 6 kg. Males are larger and heavier than females The eggs of chinstrap penguins are laid in late November. They generally have two chicks each summer. Chinstrap penguins on land often toboggan – laying on their stomachs, propelling themselves by their feet, and using their flippers. They climb using all four limbs and are able to jump large distances to reach footholds. Chinstrap penguins feed mainly on krill
- 20. Called Chinstrap penguinsbecause of their characteristic band of dark feathers under the chin that appears to be keeping their dark hats on
- 21. The gentoo penguinis a medium sized penguin, standing 75-90cm tall and the females are smaller than males. A bright red-orange bill and conspicuous white eye patches make both adult and juveniles easily distinguishable from any other species of penguin. Gentoo penguins feed on rock cod, amphipods and cephalopods (mainly squid). Females tend to eat more krill than the males, while the males tend to eat more fish than the females.
- 22. Gentoo Penguin -Youcan just about make out under the parent that the egg has cracked and there's an as yet upside down foot as the hatchling struggles out of its shell.
- 23. Antarctic penguins runa constant risk when entering or leaving the water from the almost ever-present danger of their main predator, the leopard seal.
- 24. The leopard seal,the main predator of Adelie Penguins at sea. When they catch one, they play with it just like a cat with a mouse.
- 25. Leopard seal. Itis the only seal that feeds on penguins and other warm- blooded prey
- 28. Weddell seal bathingin the sun near Terra Nova Bay. Their fat protects seals efficiently from the cold, both at sea and outside. They can weight up to 600kg, a good portion of which is fat.
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- 30. The biggest ofthe Antarctic seals, these impressive mammals were heavily exploited for their oil during the 19th and early 20th centuries by sealers, who called the animals 'sea elephants.'
- 31. Draw a food webshowing most of the animals including the krill & phytoplankton & zooplankton
- 32. Krill & Phytoplankton •While there is no grass, trees or shrubs in Antarctica, there are plants. • Called phytoplankton, they live near the surface of the sea where they are able to photosynthesise and turn the sunlight into food for tiny animals called zooplankton. • The most important of these zooplankton are krill, which look like tiny shrimp about 6 cm long
- 33. Whales • Baleen Whales- whale with plates of whalebone along the upper jaw for filtering plankton from the water. • The sperm whale and the killer whale are the two types of tooth whales, while the baleen whales are blue whales, humpback whales, and occasionally minke whales. • Whaling was conducted in Antarctica but has now been banned (Except for scientific purposes)
- 34. In early 2007,New Zealand fishermen trawling in the Ross Sea close to Antarctica hooked the largest squid ever seen: the appropriately named colossal squid. After two exhausting hours the fishermen were able to haul aboard the giant 540 kg, 10-metre-long squid. Why do we know so little about this giant squid?