Antarctica – Coldest and Least Friendly Place on Earth

Geography - Antarctica

• Icy continent at the South Pole. • Covered by permafrost (permanently frozen

ground)• Surrounded by water• About 1 1/2 times larger than the United States• Has the world's largest desert is on Antarctica• 98% of the land is covered with ice• Has about 87% of the world's ice.

Climate – Antarctica

• Coldest, windiest, and driest place on Earth. • The coldest temperature ever recorded on

Earth was at the South Pole; it reached -128.6°F !

• On average, most of Antarctica gets less than 2 inches of snow fall each year.

• Why do you think that Antarctica is so much colder than the Arctic?

• Antarctica is a continent surrounded by an ocean which means that interior areas do not benefit from the moderating influence of water.

• With 98% of its area covered with snow and ice, the Antarctic continent reflects 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.

• Antarctica has a higher average elevation than any other continent on Earth which results in even colder temperatures.

ICE

• Thickest ice is 15,000 feet thick. That’s

• About 5,000 feet in a mile

• Estimate how many miles thick the ice can be in Antarctica.

• How thick was the ice at your house a few weeks ago?

People - Antarctica

• No permanent human residents (because of the extreme weather, which includes freezing temperatures, strong winds, and blizzards).

• There are about 4,000 seasonal visitors to Antarctica (mainly scientific expeditions).

• How about some Antarctica jokes ?

HA HA HA HA HA HA

•

Q: What's a penguin's favorite salad?

•

A: Iceberg lettuce.

•Q: What did the sea say to the iceberg ?

•A: Nothing, it just waved.

•Q: What do penguins eat for lunch?

•A: Ice burg-ers.

•Q: Who's the penguin's favorite Aunt?

•A: Aunt-arctica

Walking Across Antarctica

What did you learn?

Goal for this part of the unit:

• Research Project on Penguins

17 species of penguins – You get TWO• Adelie• African• Chinstrap• Emperor• Erect Crested• Fairy• Fjordland Crested• Galapagos• Gentoo• Humboldt• King• Macaroni• Magellanic• Rockhopper• Royal• Snares Island• Yellow Eyed

Penguins of Antarctica

Here’s what you will learn . . .

Physical description

Diet

Habitat

Other interesting features

Here’s how you will demonstrate what you have learned . . .

IF ……. BUT

Example on

Questions?

Line up …let’s pick penguins to research.