Civil Lines, H.P.

Shahi Marg, Gorakhpur

Session: 2024- 25

Antartica: AN insight

Under The Guidance Of: Submitted

By: Ms. Supriya Rai Kartikey
Gupta
(English Teacher) Class - XII A
Roll No. - 07
 Adm. No. - 8925

Acknowledgement

In the accomplishment of this project successfully,

many people have best owned upon me their
blessing and the heart pledged support, this time
I am utilizing to thanks all the people who have
been concerned with project.

Primarily I would thank God for being able to

complete this project with success. Then I would
like to thank my principal Mrs. and
physics teacher Ms. Supriya Rai who's valuable
guidance has been the ones that helped me patch
this project and make it full proof success his
suggestions.

Lastly, I would like to thank my parents and friends

who have helped me with their valuable
 suggestions and guidance have been helpful in
various phases of the completion of this project.

Certificate

This is to certify that Kartikey Gupta of class XII has

successfully completed the project work of English
on ANTARCTICA: An Insight under the guidance and
supervision of Ms. Supriya Rai, for class XII practical
examination of the Central Board of Secondary
Education in the year 2024- 2025. It is further
certified that this project is the individual work of
the candidate.

Sign of the Internal Sign of the External

Examiner: Examiner:
 Index

Introduction
Antarctica The Frozen Continent
Antarctica: Sources of World’s Geological
History
Evolution and Exploration History
Topography
Ecosystem
Impact of Human Intervention
Research Station
Interesting Facts
Students on Ice Program
References and their links
 Introduction

Antarctica is the Earth’s Southernmost continent. It is

on the South pole. It is surrounded by the Southern
Ocean. It is the fifth largest continent in the world
after Asia, Africa, North America and South America.
About 99% of Antarctica is covered by ice. The ice has
an average thickness of 2 kilometres. It is spread
 within an area of approximately 1,42,00,000 sq.
kilometres. Antarctica has no permanent residents,
but around 1,100 people living there during the winter
and 4,400 during the summer. It is considered a
desert as it receives very little rain or snowfall.

Antarctica : The Frozen Continent

Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, and driest place on

Earth. The coldest temperature recorded at the South
Pole reached −128.6 °F.
 On average, most of Antarctica gets less than 2
inches of snow each year. Antarctica is a continent
surrounded by an ocean, which means that interior
areas do not benefit from the moderating infl uence of
water. With 98% of its area covered with snow and
ice, the Antarctic continent refl ects most of the sun's
light rather than absorbing it.

During the winter, the size of Antarctica doubles as

the surrounding sea water freezes, effectively
blocking heat transfer from the warmer surrounding
ocean. Very few animals can survive in Antarctica.
Only one warm blooded animal remains on the
Antarctic continent during the bitter winter: the
emperor penguin.
 Antarctica: Sources of World’s
Geological History

Antarctica is an isolated island that has a lot to

reveal. There are many geological phenomena that
 tell a lot about the past, present, and future of the
planet. One such event was the breaking of the giant
supercontinent, Gondwana, which gave way to the
present globe, which is marked by different
continents as well as water bodies. Through
geological history, we can also understand evolution
and extinctions. The levels of ozone and carbon in
Antarctica provide crucial insights into the Earth’s
atmosphere and climate.

Even the melting glaciers of Antarctica led us to the

realization of the need to help reverse global
warming. With Antarctica’s limited biodiversity, it is
easy to see small changes having big consequences.
 Antarctica led to continental separation due to the
development of the West Antarctic Rift System, which
divided the continent into East and West Antarctic
Plates.

Evolution and Exploration History

1773: Captain James Cook became the first known

person to cross the Antarctic Circle.
1821: Captain John Davis is thought to have been
the first person to set foot on
Antarctica.
1823: Separate British, French and
American expeditions
sailed along the continuous
coastline of Antarctica, establishing its
status as a continent.
1911: Roald Amundsen and four other crew
members successfully reached the geographical
South Pole.
1923: The beginning of large- scale factory
ship whaling in the Ross Sea.
1947: Operation HIGHJUMP sends the largest
ever expedition of over 4,700 men, 13
ships and 23 airplanes to Antarctica.
1957- 58 (International Geographical Year): 12
nations established over 60 stations
in Antarctica.
 Topography

Antarctica is the fifth- largest continent in the world,

with an area of 14,200,000 sq. km. that is covered by
 a permanent continental ice sheet. The ice is
distributed in two major ice sheets, the East Antarctic
and the West Antarctic, and in addition, there is shelf
ice, extending over the sea water. Antarctic island ice
ranges in thickness up to 5,000 m, with an average
thickness of about 2,400 m, making Antarctica by far
the highest of continents.

Antarctica is cold even during the summer. Much of

the continent is a cold desert with low precipitation
rates. Thus, in contrast to Greenland, only a tiny
proportion of the mass loss from the Antarctic ice
sheet occurs by melting from the surface.

Antarctica is usually divided up into three parts:

East Antarctica: East Antarctica is the largest sector
of Antarctica, including flatter plains, shield areas,
 and mountains.
West Antarctica: West Antarctica is grounded
mostly below sea level; if all the ice disappeared,
most of this would be ocean.
Antarctic Peninsula: The Antarctic Peninsula, also
known as O’Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San
Martín in Argentina, extends 800 miles northward
from Antarctica toward the southern tip of South
America.

Ecosystem

Because of the earth's tilt and orbit around the sun, the
poles receive less energy and heat from the sun. This
results in only two polar seasons— summer and winter.
In summer at the poles, the sun does not set, and in
winter, the sun does not rise. Expeditions take place
close to the South Pole in the ocean around Antarctica’s
summer season.

These dramatic seasonal variations control the

ecosystem, and as a result, Southern Ocean sea life faces
challenging conditions. Ice forms in winter over much of
the sea around Antarctica.
 Summer is a season of long days and warmer
temperatures when plants can grow rapidly and
produce food for the entire ecosystem. High winds
blowing from the continent mix with seawater, bringing
a high level of nutrients required for plant growth near
the sea surface.
The sea here is full of life, from microscopic algae to
shrimp and krill to large predators that depend on them.
The ice is important to the ecosystem because
microscopic single- celled algae of the same kind that
drift in the open water as phytoplankton are trapped
inside the ice as it forms and also grows on the ice’s
underside.

KRILL
 Animals, especially krill, consume this abundant food
supply and multiply to astonishing levels. Some
scientists have estimated that krill in the ocean
around Antarctica weighs more than the entire
world’s human population. Krill, rich in protein and
fat, is food for a large number of animals at the top of
the food chain including penguins, seals and whales.
Impact of Human Intervention

Threats to arctic animals may include the impact of

pollution by industry and the military from the south.

Early Arctic and Antarctic explorers returned home

and described the abundance of seals and whales
they had seen. Whalers and sealers were drawn to
these new waters to hunt the valuable animals.

Hunting was so intense that some species were

driven nearly to extinction, and as a result, sealing
and whaling slowed down only when there were too
few left.
 Human settlements in Antarctica have often left
traces of their presence behind: some are now
preserved historic sites.

Melting sea ice has consequences. In 2005, the ice cap

covering the Arctic Ocean shrank to its smallest size
since researchers began conducting research.
 Research Station

Multiple governments have set up permanent

research stations in Antarctica, and these bases are
widely distributed. The research stations in Antarctica
are constructed on rock or ice that is fixed in place.

Many of the stations are staffed throughout the year.

A total of 42 countries, all signatories to the Antarctic
 Treaty, operate seasonal and year- round research
stations on the continent.

Some of the research stations of Antarctica are:

1. Bharati (India)
2. Maitri (India)
3. McMurdo Station (USA)
4. Amundsen- Scott South Pole Station (USA)
5. Mawson Station (Australia)
6. Showa Station (Japan)
7. SANAE IV (South Africa)
8. St. Kliment Ohridski (Bulgaria)
9. Jinnah Antarctic Station (Pakistan)

India maintains two operational research stations in

the Antarctic, Maitri and Bharti, where scientists are
doing research.
 MAITRI BHARTI
Interesting Facts

The dry valleys in Antarctica are the driest places

on Earth. With such low humidity and moisture
on this portion of the continent, snow and ice
cannot even be accommodated which leaves the
valleys as just a dusty expanse of dirt.

Antarctica is the windiest place on Earth.

Scientists exploring this southern landmass have
reported wind speeds of up to 200 miles per hour.

The Antarctic ice sheet is the single biggest mass

of ice in the world and can sometimes be up to 4
miles thick. The continent as a whole contains
 about 90% of the world’s freshwater.

In January of 1978, Emilio Marcos Palma became

the first human to be born in Antarctica. Since his
historic passage through the birth canal, only 10
other people have been born on the continent.

Deep Lake in Antarctica is so salty that it can

freeze even in temperatures as low as negative 15
degree Celsius.

Although there are low levels of precipitation in

Antarctica, meteorological wonders abound, and
diamond dust is one of them. Diamond dust is
made of tiny ice crystals that precipitate out of
humid air near the earth’s surface.

Another interesting geographic feature hidden

under the ice is Lake Vostok, a freshwater lake
buried under 4 kilometres of frozen water. This
lake is about the size of Ontario.

In March of 2000, an ice chunk broke off the

 Ross Ice Shelf that was 270 km long and 40 km
wide or roughly the size of the state of
Connecticut.

Students on Ice Program

Students on Ice Expeditions (SOI) organize annual

educational expeditions to the Arctic and the Antarctic.
 Its mandate is to provide students, educators and
scientists with educational opportunities. SOI was
founded by an adventurer, environmentalist and
educator- Geoff Green, a veteran expedition leader of 74
Antarctic expeditions and 31Arctic expeditions.

It will help them foster a new understanding and respect

for the planet and for each other. In just 24 years, around
3000 students and educators from 52 countries
participated.

References and their links

1. arcticportal.org

2. grida.no

3. nsf.gov

4. wikipedia.org

5. ncpor.res.in