Antarctica Facts
Where as the most dramatic rise in temperature occurred in the world?
Antarctica
What penguin species is the largest?
Emperor
How long have global temperatures been increasing?
100 years
What happened to Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship on their second expedition?
It was destroyed by the ice
What is hypothesized to happen as ice melts in Antarctica?
Flooding/Rising oceans
Antarctica is the most ___________ continent on Earth.
Undiscovered
What is Antarctica's only indigenous (native/homeland) land animal?
The common fly
What would happen to costal towns all around the planet is the ice continues to melt at such an alarming rate?
Flooding, hurricanes, tsunamis, etc.
What international paper was signed 50 years after Shackleton's expeditions?
The Antarctica Treaty
Where is the hole that may be contributing to increased temperatures over Antarctica?
The ozone layer
Antarctica is commonly known as the world's largest ____________.
Desert
What is the primary food supply for most animals in Antarctica?
Krill
What is responsible for diminishing the penguins' primary food source?
Warming waters
How many nations now share the peaceful use of Antarctica for scientific study? (hint: above 30, below 50)
47
Scientists state that melting _________ water is contributing to the further melting of the ice.
Fresh
Does fresh water or salt water evaporate the fastest?
Fresh
Why are whales moving closer inland?
Water is warmer
What else contributes to increased glacier melting, besides warmer water rising?
Warming of the newly exposed rocks that extends beneath the ice
In what year was the ozone hole discovered?
1985
In what year did Sir Ernest Shackleton lead one of the first expeditions to Antarctica?
1909
What percent of the world's freshwater is held in ice in Antarctica?
70%
What animal's reproductive success is effected by changes in temperature in Antarctica?
Starfish
What can an ice core from Antarctica tell us?
How the ice changed over the last 40,000 years
What was unusual about the ozone hole measurement in 2009?
The ozone hold did not grow/stopped growing
What studies did Dr. K conduct in Antarctica involving the glaciers?
Seismic (vibrations from glaciers)