Antarctica

• University of Phoenix – Biology 101.

• 8/28/12

Antarctica – Arctic Biome

• McMurdo Station in Antarctica lies at 77.8 degrees south of the equator and 166.7 degrees east longitude.

• It is 78 feet above sea level.

Climate

• Average yearly temperature is -16.9 Celsius.• Average precipitation is 202.5 mm per year.

Antarctica: Interesting Facts

• Antarctica is the highest, driest, windiest, emptiest, coldest place on earth.

• Antarctica contains no native people.• There are many penguin species here but no

Polar Bears.• The sun never sets in the summer (Jan-Mar) and

never rises in the winter (Jun-Aug).• It is 5.4 million square miles of frozen freshwater!

Antarctica’s Animals

• Famous animals that live here include:• Adele Penguins • Leopard seals• Orcas

Antarctic Food Chain

• Producer = algae and phytoplankton

• 1 consumer = krill• 2 consumer = Silverfish• 3 consumer = Penguins• Top predators = Leopard

seals and Orcas.• Decomposer = bacteria,

crabs

Is Antarctica in Danger?

• As humans seek more sources of oil and minerals, Antarctica is in danger of being polluted.

• Treaties currently have limits on this.

An Antarctic oil spill

Is Man made Global Warming Real?• “The ice shelves in the southern part of the

Antarctic Peninsula appear to be disappearing because of climate change, according to a new report from the U.S. Geological Survey and the British Antarctic Survey.” – USA Today

• “Antarctica is warming, but not melting anything like as much as expected. In fact, during the continent's summer this time last year, there was less melting than at any time in the 30 years that we have had reliable satellite measurements of the region.” – ABC news

• Mt. Erebus is one of a few constantly active volcanoes in the world.

• “Emission rates of SO2, HCl, and HF from the active volcano Mount Erebus, Antarctica, increased between 1986 and 1991;” – Journal of Geophysical Research.

References• http://dainantarcticaanimal.tripod.com/id2.html• http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%

20file/antarctica%20environment/climate_graph/vostok_south_pole_mcmurdo.htm

• http://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/Science-Stories/Research-Voyage-to-Antarctica/Making-a-food-web

• http://faculty.umf.maine.edu/gretchen.legler/public.www/antarcticawebsite/coolf.htm