1. World Geography May 20 th, 2011

2. " Ice is the beginning of Antarctica and ice is its end… Ice creates more ice, and ice defines ice. Everything else is suppressed. This is a world derived from a single substance, water, in a single crystalline state, snow, transformed into a lithosphere composed of a single mineral, ice. This is earthscape transformed into icescape " -Environmental Historian Stephen Pyne, 1980s

3. Only major landmass on earth without permanent human settlements.

4. Dense Ice Sheets Average thickness of ice caps in central South Pole = 5,600-7,200 feet Many areas the ice creates so much pressure that land sinks below sea level Weight makes the earth slightly lopsided!

5. Ice and Climate Ice reflects most of the sun’s rays back into space (rather than absorbing the heat), making temperatures freezing Guess… average annual temperature at one research station?

6. -71 degrees F, -57 degrees C One of the coldest temperatures on earth? -128.6 F, -89.3C

7. Glaciers Moister, warmer conditions near coast allow glaciers to flow over land (may move 360 to 3,600 feet per year)

8. Ice Shelves Massive permanent extensions of ice over the ocean… break into icebergs

9. Interacting with the Land 1820s: first sighted by sailors from Russia, Great Britain, and U.S. 1840s: explorers reach Ross Ice Shelf 1895: first foot step on continent 1911-1912 major expeditions across Antarctic ice sheets (one group of 5 dies on return trip) 1920s: more exploration as airplanes (resistant to Antarctic cold) are built

10. Slicing the “Pie” Through mid-1900s Argentina, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, UK all claimed parts U.S. and Soviet Union refuse to claim or recognize claims

11. Resources and Sharing the Bounty Whales, seals, oil, gold, iron Some coal left unmined… why? Too expensive to mine and export! Greatest wealth? Scientific information 1961: 12 countries ratified Antarctic Treaty for peaceful use of the continent for research (no military activity, nuclear, or disposal of radioactive waste!) Ancient life forms (450,000 year old ice!) tell us what earth was like a long time ago!