Antarctica Has Astonishing Natural Resources

Only in Antarctica can some research be carried out, so it has been reserved specifically as a place of science. The enormous ice sheet that lies atop practically all the land, and in places exists even as permanent floating ice shelves, stretching hundreds of miles over the ocean, is the most unique facet of Antarctica. The largest ice shelf, called The Ross Shelf Ice, is as big as the entire state of Texas! Moving northbound at 1800 feet per year, scientists are tracking the edge of ice sheet.

With almost two percent of all the water on planet earth, the continent holds about 90 percent of all the ice on earth. The endurance of the great inland ice maintains sea level worldwide. Even just several feet of the ice melted into water would increase the sea levels noticeably, creating tragic outcomes for all seacoasts and seaports on earth.

If all the ice on the shelf were to melt, it would add another 250 feet to the sea level. Not only scientists understand the vast importance of maintaining the ice shelf. It doesn't really matter if the shelf is moving forward or backward. Not only does the ice hold a lot of moisture, but it is also a giant geophysical record that could be up to a million years old.

History actions, like smelting lead and the use of leaded gasoline, show in the ice. Common lead has been measured on the ice surface and tracked since the 1950's. Lead concentration has rapidly increased on the ice shelf. The increased use of leaded gasolines most likely perpetuated this. This offers us the chance to examine the threat of pollution to the planet.

While fish, seals an penguins all had DDT in them, polar snows showed a remarkable lack of these chemicals. Even though they hit the earth every day, particulates from space can be dated by where they are in the ice. Scientist wonder if there are set patterns during which more particles hit the earth. If a pattern can be discerned, space travelers and vehicles could benefit from the information.

Because of the conditions, lichens make up the majority of the vegetation. Mites and springtails are the most common animals found on land. The largest land animal is a wingless fly; no flying insects inhabit Antarctica. Oceans around Antarctica house the Weddell seal, the mammal who travels the farthest south, and a flightless penguin. When investigators took a look at the Weddell seal, they were shocked to learn that it could dive as deep as 1500 feet as it looked for sustenance.

Antarctica does have areas that are ice free, which the Adelie penguins take advantage of by nesting in those area during the summer months and moving north during winter months. Innate biology, and the sun, allow them to draw a straight course for their next location. It took three Adelies ten months to travel the 2400 miles back to their rookery. Six had been transferred. Upon arrival, via plane, at the South Pole, the animals were let go. Once let go, they quickly found the sun?s location and set off on a straight course for home.

The abundance of this part of earth is shown as the living place for the greatest animal that has ever roamed the earth. The highly endangered blue whale is the largest animal ever recorded, and consumes a diet of a ton of shrimp on a daily basis. Numerous more types of fish live in Antarctic seas than do in the Arctic Ocean. Ten percent of the bottom-dwelling fish found in Antarctica can be found somewhere else in the world. This bodes well for the importance of the Antarctic Convergence.

By: vmcmullen
http://www.articledashboard.com