1. To Know The Past, Present and Future Of The Planet Go To- ANTARCTICA….

2. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Information about Antarctica begins…….. begins……..

3. Antarctica  Fifth largest of the Earth’s seven continents, located almost entirely south of latitude 66`33 south (the Antarctic Circle) and surrounding the south pole. It is mainly circular in shape with a long arm-The Antarctic Peninsula – reaching out towards South America.  During the winter, Antarctica doubles in size because of the large amount of sea ice that forms at its periphery. The true boundary of Antarctica is not the coastline of the continent itself but the Antarctic Convergence.  Antarctica has no native population.  Antarctica is more than 95% ice covered and contains about 90% of the world’s fresh water. Because of its thick ice cover, it is the highest of all continents, with an average elevation of about 2,300m(7,500ft).

4. Geological History-Antarctica was a central part of the former super continent Gondwanaland. As Gondwana broke apart some 100 million years ago to form continents of the southern hemisphere, Antarctica drifted from the Tropical zone to its present polar position. The discoveries of fossils included vertebrae, teeth, jaws and partial skeletons of mosasaurs and plesiosaurs-large ocean-dwelling reptiles, along with that of dinosaurs about 65 million years ago. The discoveries provided further evidence that Antarctica was a subtropical region millions of years ago, when the continents were much closer than they are today and had connecting marine corridors. The mosasaurs and plesiosaurs were thought to have arrived in Antarctica about 75 million years ago.

5. Drainage and Water Resources- The ice cover of Antarctica is continuously moving. Large tabular icebergs are formed as the edges of the ice shelves and glaciers calve off into the sea. Ice also extents over vast areas of the sea in the form of permanent floating ice sheets; the largest of these formations, the Ross Ice Shelf, is about the size of Spain and Portugal. The general isolation of Antarctica from the remainder of the world has allowed it to avoid the industrial pollution common to the other continents, so the snow and ice there are the purest in the world. Climate- Antarctica is the coldest continent. The lowest temperature over recorded anywhere on Earth-88.3’C was on August 24,1960,at Vostak Station. In the interior, winds as high as 320km/h have been recorded. Antarctica can be classified as a true desert with raging blizzards.

7. Gondwana and Angara Lands

11. Continental Drift

14. Antarctic Glaciers

15. An Introduction To Antarctica Antarctica is Earth's southernmost continent, underlying the South Pole. It is situated in the Antarctic region of the southern hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. It is the fifth-largest continent in area after Asia, Africa, North America, and South America.. EarthcontinentSouth PoleAntarctic region southern hemisphere Antarctic CircleSouthern OceanAsia AfricaNorth AmericaSouth AmericaEarthcontinentSouth PoleAntarctic region southern hemisphere Antarctic CircleSouthern OceanAsia AfricaNorth AmericaSouth America Antarctica, on average, is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent, and has the highest average elevation of all the continents. Antarctica is considered a desert, with annual precipitation of only 200 mm (8 inches) along the coast and far less inland. There are no permanent human residents but anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 people reside throughout the year at the research stations scattered across the continent. Only cold- adapted plants and animals survive there, including penguins, seals, many types of algae and Tundra vegetation. elevationdesert penguinssealsalgaeTundraelevationdesert penguinssealsalgaeTundra

16. Fauna A variety of marine animals exist and rely, directly or indirectly, on the phytoplankton. Antarctic sea life includes penguins, blue whales, orcas, colossal squids and fur seals. Fauna A variety of marine animals exist and rely, directly or indirectly, on the phytoplankton. Antarctic sea life includes penguins, blue whales, orcas, colossal squids and fur seals.penguinsblue whalesorcas colossal squidsfur sealspenguinsblue whalesorcas colossal squidsfur seals

17. Albatross

18. Seal Seal

19. Penguin Penguin

20. Blue Whale

21. Orcas Orcas

22. COLOSSAL SQUID

23. Flora The climate of Antarctica does not allow extensive vegetation. A combination of freezing temperatures, poor soil quality, lack of moisture, and lack of sunlight inhibit the flourishing of plants. As a result, plant life is limited to mostly mosses and liverworts. The flora of the continent largely consists of lichens, bryophytes, algae, and fungi. Growth generally occurs in the summer, and only for a few weeks at most. soilmossesliverwortsflora lichensbryophytesalgaefungisoilmossesliverwortsflora lichensbryophytesalgaefungi

24. Population Antarctica has no permanent residents, but a number of governments maintain permanent manned research stations throughout the continent. The number of people conducting and supporting scientific research and other work on the continent and its nearby islands varies from about 1,000 in winter to about 5,000 in the summer. research stationsresearch stations

25. Threats Of Global Warming

26. Affects Of Global Warming Some of Antarctica has been warming up, particularly strong warming has been noted on the Antarctic Peninsula. West Antarctica has warmed by more than 0.1°C/decade in the last 50 years, and this warming is strongest in winter and spring. Although this is partly offset by fall cooling in East Antarctica. There is evidence from one study that Antarctica is warming as a result of human CO2 emissions. According to NASA, the most widespread Antarctic surface melting of the past 30 years occurred in 2005, when an area of ice comparable in size to California briefly melted and refroze; this may have resulted from temperatures rising to as high as 5 °C (41 °F). Antarctic PeninsulawarmingNASACaliforniaAntarctic PeninsulawarmingNASACalifornia

27. Ozone hole over Antarctica

28. Ozone Depletion Each year a large ozone hole grows over Antarctica covering the whole continent, this hole was at its largest in September and in 2008 was one of the longest lasting on record, continuing until the end of December. The hole was detected by scientists in 1973 and has tended to expand over the years of observation. The ozone hole is attributed to the emission of chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs into the atmosphere, which decompose the ozone into other gases. ozone holeemission chlorofluorocarbons atmosphereozone holeemission chlorofluorocarbons atmosphereozone

29. Fascinating Facts About Antarctica -If Antarctica's ice sheets melted, the world’s oceans would rise by 60 to 65 meters (200 - 210ft) - everywhere -If Antarctica's ice sheets melted, the world’s oceans would rise by 60 to 65 meters (200 - 210ft) - everywhere -Many other Antarctic sea creatures including fish have antifreeze properties in their blood so they don't accidentally get frozen solid! -Many other Antarctic sea creatures including fish have antifreeze properties in their blood so they don't accidentally get frozen solid! - The Antarctic ice cap has 29 million cubic kilometers of ice. This is 90% of all the ice on the planet and between 60 and 70 % of all of the world's fresh water. Only about 0.4 percent of -Antarctica is not covered by ice. -Antarctic fish have lived at between +2°C and -2°C for 5 million years (- 2°C is the freezing point of sea water, below zero because of the salt). They are therefore the best cold adapted animals that there are on the planet - now or ever.

30. Discussion Of The Lesson Early this year…….landmass 1. What are the adjectives used for Antarctica? 2. From where did the journey begin and what did it involve? 3. How did the Antarctica amaze the writer when he first saw it? 4. Explain: How India and Antarctica were parts of the same landmass? Part of the history Six hundred and fifty million years ago………at the bottom of the world. 1. What was Gondwana?How was it like 650 million years ago? 2. What happened to Gondwana 150 million years ago? 3. How do geological phenomena help us to know about the history of mankind? 4. What changes have emerged in the geological phenomena of the Earth in last One Million Years? For a sun worshipping ……….prognosis isn’t good. 1. Explain the comparison of Antarctica to a giant ping-pong ball. 2. Why does one lose all earthly sense of time and perspective here? 3. What is the range of visual scale of Antarctica? 4. How is the silence of the land interrupted? Human civilizations……..Antarctica is a place to go. 1. What is the impact of human civilizations on the Earth? 2. There are climate changes ?Why does the author think the Antarctica is crucial to study their effects?