Thursday, February 21, 2008
Activity
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Take Action
617- 300- 5400 (NOVA phone number)
800- 949- 8670 (St. Francis College Science department)
Phone Calls
Some trends were:
1. A lack of caring from people, especially the younger crowd.
2. People wanting a financial change, lower prices, especially Oil.
3. Most people wanted whatever helped them.
4. Younger people said yes, older people said no, Regarding Drilling for Oil in Antarctica.
The Scott Polar Research Institute
Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his 4 crew members died while returning from the South Pole in 1912.
There main focus is to research issues in Antartica both in environmental sciences and social sciences.
Some of the groups that are involved in the issues are:
Glaciology and Climate Change Group
Glacimarine Environments Group
Polar Landscape and Remote Sensing Group
Polar Social Science and Humanities Group
Circumpolar History and Public Policy Research Group (HiPP)
Lynn Cox
B15
Captain James Cook
James Cook was born on October 27, 1728 in Marton, Yorkshire, Britain. He made many discoveries for Great Britain, and he completed two successful trips around the world. Along with many other journeys, he was given secret orders to search for an undiscovered continent in the south that only geographers believed existed. In on one of Cook’s journeys he came closer to Antarctica than any other European explorer, and circled the continent in his ship the Resolution. Even though he couldn’t sight any land, he returned to England and was made a captain. His journey was unsuccessful because, when he reached the Artic Ocean, his passage was blocked by walls of ice. Cook was stabbed to death by Hawaiian natives while investigating a boat theft on February 14th, 1779. Cooks journey, though unsuccessful, inspired many other explorers and Antarctica was discovered in 1840. ~ Nicole Melso, Christie Rosenzweig, and Willie Welde
I now once more hoisted English Coulers and in the Name of His Majesty King George the Third, took possession of the whole Eastern Coast [of New Holland] from the above Latitude down to this place by the name of New South Wales.
—from Capt. Cook's Journal, Wednesday, 22 August 1770
John L Cope
Cope sent a message from Port Stanley to the Falkland islands
“Sailing from here Dec. 20 with full equipment and dogs. Hope to land at Graham’s Dec. 25. All the party well. Expect to hear from us in eighteen months. Good-bye.”
The goal of the mission was to use the 18 months to chat the western shores of the Weddeil Sea and in carry out scientific work in the Antarctic.
Jules Verne never thought that an expedition be commander John Lachian Cope, which had five ships and a crew, would be able to solve the mysteries of the unknown parts of the south polar seas.
Tourism in Antartica
http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=1cfd5294697afe5cbcd9
Task: Call Quark Expeditions and ask to speak to the director or assistant director. Write a summary of your findings and then analysis your feelings. Submit all of your work to the blog master.
You have to have great experience. You have to the learn ecology to do this project. Pay attention to the ice you could slip and fall or the ice will break and you will either die or get seriously hurt. Wear protecting clothing and warm comfy clothes to keep you safe. Watch the wildlife they could kill you and you will die.
Roald Amundsen
On December 14, 1911, Amundsen and four others stood at the South Pole, a month before Robert Scott. This expedition was an incredible masterpiece of organization. In September of 1909 when the news reached Amundsen, he changed his original plan of traveling to the North Pole because he thought that the South Pole had more to research. So when he got down there he found Antarctica. He died in 1928.
Global Warming
http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/places/videos/video_antarctica_antarctica.html
Information:
Fingerprints of global warming are indicators of the global, long-term warming trend observed in the historical record. They include heat waves, sea-level rise, melting glaciers and warming of the poles.
Harbingers are events that foreshadow the impacts likely to become more frequent and widespread with continued warming. They include spreading disease, earlier spring arrival, plant and animal range shifts, coral reef bleaching, downpours, and droughts and fires.
They has been coastal flooding and sea levels has raised. The sea level has risen 10 to 25 cm in the last 100 years. In the next 100 years the sea level is suppose to rise 49 cm.
Also temperatures have increased about 0.3 to 0.6°C during the last 150 years (Nicholls et al., 1996). Since 1975, the increase of the 5-year mean temperature is about 0.5°C - a rate that is faster than for any previous period of equal length in the instrumental record (NASA, 1999).
Glaciers have melted, Since 1850 the glaciers of the European Alps have lost about 30 to 40% of their surface area and about half of their volume. Similarly, glaciers in the New Zealand Southern Alps have lost 25% of their area over the last 100 years
Information Against Global Warming:
Against Global Warming:
1. 1940-1970 scientist believed that there would be a “global cooling” meaning another ice age.
2. Global cooling is just as threatening as global warming
3. Global Warming, as we think we know it, doesn't exist.
4. We are wasting time, energy and trillions of dollars while creating unnecessary fear and consternation over an issue with no scientific justification
5. It was then theorized that since humans were producing more CO2 than before, the temperature would inevitably rise. The theory was accepted before testing had started, and effectively became a law.
Geographical Research
Ice cores can reveal patterns of mean air temperature, evidence of major volcanic eruptions and, by analysis of the air trapped in ice bubbles, data on the composition of the atmosphere.
The researchers say that the release of an "enormous, forceful volume" of freshwater, like that which occurred millions of years ago, could impact the stability of the East Antarctic ice sheet and disrupt the Southern Ocean circulation, contributing to regional and global climatic changes. The effects could "alter the delicate balance of the Earth's ecosystems" they warn.
Facts:
The fifth largest continent
Located in the earths southern hemisphere
Less than 5% of Antarctica is not covered in ice
Over 14 km of land
It’s about 1.3 times the size of Europe
Some of 98% of Antarctica is covered by the Antarctica ice sheet
It’s the world’s largest ice sheet
Its climate is subartic to artic
Robert Scott
Student: Derrick Boone, Candace Fox
Consequences
In spring of 1902 the dogs became useless. They were useless because they began to weaken and were shot and fed to the other dogs. Also some of the men were getting sick and dying from starvation.
Strengths
They had a crew of 50 men and 19 dogs.
Swimming in the Antarctic
Task: report on the physiology needed to swim in arctic and Antarctic waters. Research what other swimmers that have attempted this feat or similar feats. What are the hazards of swimming in these waters? How do you train to swim in cold water?
Students: James Cameron, Andrew McLaughlin, Dom Varsalone
Responses: This is a very remarkable feat because not many people are able to do this. The people take many risks when they take on this task because they could catch hypothermia, pneumonia, frostbite, drown or even die. Lynn Cox narrowly escaped a shark attack and this was at a very young age. It was probably very difficult to train for a stunt like this. You would probably need to swim in cold water to get your body somewhat used to the temperature.
James Clark Ross
Student: Brian Johnson
The strength and significance of his exploration
Strength: In the expedition to Antarctic, Ross discovered the Ross Sea, and Victoria Land and much of Graham Land. Ross also discovered Mount Erebus. The Victoria Barrier was later named after.
Negative: In November of 1841, they sailed again from new Zealand, to solve the Great Barrier Mystery and failed do to bad weather
Accomplishments: The voyage gave Ross a distinguished place among the most successful votaries of science, and the brightest or aments of the British Navy. He received gold medals from geographical societies in London and Paris, in 1844 he was knighted, and in 1848 he was elected a fellow of the royal society.
Audio Interview
Task: search the internet and find an audio interview about Antarctica which can be included on our blog. This interview must comply with the international copyright laws and should be no more than 3 to 4 minutes . The interview we chose was Arctic change 'faster than people imagined
This presentation can be found at:
http://www.earthsky.org/article/international-polar-year
Students: Eric Gibbs, Jesse Martin, Chris McGill
Geographical Changes
What are the world consequences?
Students: Jackie Gibson and Nimita Chauhan
About 98% of Antarctica is covered by the Antarctic ice sheet. That is about 90% of the world’s ice, and if all the ice melted sea levels would rise 60 meters.
Western Antarctica is covered by the west Antarctic ice sheet there is concern that it could collapse and that would make the ocean levels raise.
Antarctica covers 5.4 million square miles, making it the 5th largest continent.
In 2004, an underwater volcano was found in the Antarctic Peninsula, recent evidence shows this volcano may be active
Antarctica is home to more then 70 lakes.
Ernest Shackleton
Ernest Shackleton was born on February 15, 1874. He was originally from Yorkshire. The expedition he went on was called "The NIMROD Expedition". This expedition of the South Pole lasted from 1907 to 1909. In 1907 they left New Zealand traveling to the South Pole.
There were three parties on the expedition. One would go west, one of which would go east, and the other would go south. On January 9, 1909 they reached the southernmost point in their journey and planted the flag then headed back for home.
Citation: http://www.south-pole.com/
Group members: Lou Farese, Connor Phillips, Dan Bowen
Various Sources:
Sir Ernest Shackleton first crossing of the Antarctic continent, a feat he considered to be the last great polar journey of the "Heroic Age of Exploration." In December 1914, Shackleton set sail with his 27-man crew, many of whom, it is said, had responded to the following recruitment notice: "Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages. Bitter cold. Long months of complete darkness. constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success. —Ernest Shackleton."Ice conditions were unusually harsh, and the wooden ship, which Shackleton had renamed Endurance after his family motto, Fortitudine Vincimus—"by endurance we conquer," became trapped in the pack ice of the Weddell Sea.
Just The Facts!
Students: William Watson, Christie Rosenzweig
General:
Fifth-largest continent
Surrounded by the southern seas
5.4 million square miles
The coldest and windiest continent in the world.
The average annual precipitation Antarctica receives is the lowest of any continent.
The Antarctic Peninsula rises 5440 feet above the ice.
The Southern Seas and the Coastline:
The majority of the Antarctic coastline, which is over 17,968 miles long, is easily recognizable due to the presence of ice formations like ice shelves, ice walls, and ice bergs.
Mountains and Ice Sheets:
The continent is split in two by a large mountain range known as the Transantarctic mountains
Ice thickness averages around one mile.
Highest point in Antarctica is Vinson Massif, which is 16,050 feet high.
Temperature and Climate Change
The average temperature goes up 1.22 degrees Celsius every decade.
Some species living in Antarctica are on the verge of extinction. Others have been killed, and are in danger because there have been hundreds of expeditions down there, leaving behind: contaminated soil, new organisms, nonbiodegradable materials, and pollution in the ocean.
With the Ozone layer hole widening, there is an increase in UV rays, which may cause a rise in the phytoplankton population (this may affect the food chain).
Global warming may cause the ice-shelves that some species depend upon to break and leave those animals helpless.
According to a BBC News article from 13 Jan 2002, the Antarctic is getting mysteriously colder rather than warmer, and the animal life is decreasing at about 10% each year.
There are toxic chemicals drifting from thousands of miles away into Antarctic ocean, and polar bears are just one of the species being affected by this.
Wasn’t Discovered until 1820
No one lived in Antarctica until 1897
Has the world’s largest glacier, Lambert Glacier
Only 5% of Antarctica is not covered in ice
If all the ice in Antarctica were to melt, the sea level worldwide would rise 200 feet
There are active volcanoes in Antarctica
70% of the world’s fresh water is in Antarctic ice.
There are no polar bears in Antarctica
Main landforms include Glaciers, desert, mountain, plains, plateaus, and valleys
To keep it clean, there are protective areas in Antarctica which sometimes are banned from human areas
The cold and dry parts of the “Dry Valley” regions of Antarctica are so close to that of Mars that NASA did testing there for the Viking mission
Antarctica’s fish have survived in water ranging from +2 degrees and -2 degrees(freezing point of water)
Antarctica is the best place to find meteorites
The largest land animal in Antarctica is a wingless midge (and insect), which is less than 1.3 cm long
Due to the vast dryness, it rarely rains or snows in Antarctica
Antarctica is known as an area of peace; no war has been thought there, no sovereignty rules.
The continent is divided into the east and west side
Antarctica has no trees or bushes but it does have algae
Climate Changes and Affects on Environment
Student: Collin Downey
Global warming, a highly debated topic, is probably one of the largest factors in the climate changes in Antarctica. For example Many Ice shelves in Antarctica, which have been growing for several hundreds of years have just started to “disintegrate” Probably due to the air pollution from the last hundred years. When these ice shelves fall they go into the water adding levels to the sea level and causing the water to overflow. This highly affects the wildlife of Antarctica. About seven ice shelves that have been monitored since the 1970’s have lost about 13,500 km. This would greatly affect the rise of ocean levels and the dangers that wildlife will now have to face daily.
Throughout the years, sediment samples have been taken from the Antarctic soil. Over these years scientists have noticed a great change. This change may affect wildlife in Antarctica forever. Some proof of this would be in the Adelies island where for the last 600 years penguins have nested. Within the past 25 years there has been a very sharp decline in the amount of penguins nesting there. With this sharp decline there could be a large decrease in the penguin population. This could very well lead to the penguins becoming an endangered species, or even worse, extinct.
Movie Review
Crittercam- March of the Penguins
Movie Review
Students: Chris Canova, Randy Miller, Jake Thompson
Summary- This video shows the life and trials of a selected few penguins. It displays close up footage of the penguins and how they hunt, feed, and raise their young. The movie also shows instances of penguin death, such as when a few penguins fell down a ice ravine and when a seal attacked the colony.
The video is very slanted towards the protection of the penguins, and the preservation of their natural habitat. Another point of view may be that global warming isn’t even happening, and that we shouldn’t worry so much about the penguins.
Yes, there is another way to look at the issue presented in this video, such as the fact that the penguin’s habitat is in fact not diminishing, and they aren’t in danger everyday, but this viewpoint isn’t very supported.
No, there was no information that was slanted towards the director viewpoint, however, the director showed many video clips that supported his viewpoint, and almost none that went against it. For example, they showed clips of dead penguins when they were talking about the penguins and their declining numbers.
We determined that this information was accurate by researching some of the ideas presented on the internet. All of the information was confirmed by the internet.
Review By: Fancis Perri
While I was watching my movie on Pengiuns, I discovered that there is a big issue called B15. It is the Largest Iceberg, and it is 28 miles long. It's exitsistance is because of Gobal Warming over the years. It is effecting many of the animals way of getting food, and possibly killing them. It is a big issue down there, but a issue that people besides Anart. needs to know about.
Antarctic Wildlife Geography Risks
The rise of the ocean temperature in the Antarctic effects the population of such species as penguins, seals, whales, etc. The ocean located west of the Antarctic Peninsula has risen more than a degree in the last 40 years since the 1960s. This will cause catastrophic effects for the wildlife that live there. Even a small fragment of increase in temperature can influence the environment in a huge way. This can endanger many different types of animals by slowly destroying over time their habitat and population. The world consequences are the extinction of many species. The loss of these animals could also impact the lives of others, destroying the food chain. It is imperative that something is done about the wildlife situation in the Antarctic.
The History of Antarctica
Students: Maddie Lilly and Tim Bagirov
From the time period of 1996 to 2006, a decade, Antarctica's ice is being lost due to some fast flowing glaciers and basins. Antarctica was first referred to, in the 17th century as Terra Aus trails Incogmita, which means unknown Southern land. At 14.4 million km squared, it is the 5th largest continent. The first confirmed sighting known was in 1820 by the Russian expedition of Mikhail Lazarev and Fabian Gottliebcon Bellingshausen. 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice, which averages at leas 1.6 km in thickness.
The Explorers - One
Students: Michael Basher, Peter Reid, Bob Methlie
Facts Found:
1. He commanded three voyages of discovery for Great Brittan.
2. Sailed around the world twice.
3. Led to the establishment of colonies through the Pacific.
4. Took a scientific expedition to Tahiti to observe a solar eclipse by Venus, and it was successful.
5. October 1769 he was the first European to land of New Zealand
6. On his famous ship the Resolution Cook sailed further than any European to Antarctica.
7. 1778 He became the first known European to reach the Hawaiian Islands.
8. First European to land on Vancouver Island in British Columbia.
Internet Source: http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95oct/jcook.html