Daily Pacing Guide: Physical Environment of Antarctica

This pacing guide should be used in conjunction with the PowerPoint “Introduction to the Polar Regions”. Supplemental material that is paired with this lesson is included below. Not all information from the PowerPoint is included in this guide, as it is meant to support, not replace, the PowerPoint-guided lesson.

Introducing the Physical Environment A Quick Review

o The purpose of this section is to reinforce topics from the previous lesson, as well as to answer any questions that students may have about the previous material. Some important information to review is that:

The Arctic is a frozen ocean and the Antarctic is a frozen continent. The Arctic is found in the northern hemisphere, while Antarctica is found

in the southern hemisphere. The Southern Ocean surrounds Antarctica and it is larger than the Arctic

Ocean. The geopolitical status of the Arctic and Antarctic are very different.

There is no treaty to govern the Arctic; however, the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) and the Madrid Protocol govern Antarctica. Territorial rights and claims are suspended under the ATS, so Antarctica belongs to everyone!

Polar Regions at Their Coldesto Pictures are in Celsius o Antarctica (left): average temperature at the south pole is -60ºC (-76ºF) in the

winter and -28.2ºC (-18ºF) in the summero Arctic (right): average temperature at the north pole is -40 ºC (-40F) in the winter

and 0ºC (32ºF) in the summero Important to note that temperatures may vary depending on where you are

located. Some locations can be warmer or colder than others.o Why are they so cold?

High albedo (reflectivity) of snow and ice means that little energy actually reaches the ground or ocean

More information, including the information above, can be found at: http://polardiscovery.whoi.edu/poles/weather.html

Why is the Antarctic colder than the Arctic?o For every 1 kilometer you rise in elevation, the temperature decreases by 6.5ºC

(20.3ºF)

Polar Deserts Deserts

o 250 mm = about 10 in

Sea Ice Formation The World’s Ice

o High mountain ranges = Himalayas, Andes, and the Swiss Alps

Frazil Ice Imageo This is an image of frazil and pancake iceo Frazil ice is the first stage of sea ice growth. it is similar to a fine slush

Pancake, Grease, and Nilas Ice Imageso From frazil ice, there are 2 pathways to make an ice sheeto Pathway 1: pancake ice

Circular pieces of ice Range in size (30cm to 3m in diameter) Can be up to 10cm thick

o Pathway 2: grease ice nilas ice Grease ice is a more of a thick slushy consistency Nilas ice is an elastic crust of ice

Ice Sheet Imageo Form through an accumulation of snowfall and buildup of iceo Nimrod Glacier flowing through the Transantarctic Mountains on the Antarctic

Ice Sheeto For more information, visit: http://nsidc.org/cryosphere/sotc/ice_sheets.htmlo Similar process in Arctic and Antarctic

Winter Sea Ice v Summer Sea Ice Imageo Antarcticao During a heavy ice year, sea ice can double the size of Antarcticao Amount of ice varies yearly

Sea Ice Extent Imageo March: end of Arctic winter, end of Antarctic Summero September: end of Arctic summer, end of Antarctic winter

Sea Ice Phenomena Brinicle Videos

o “Brinicles: Icicles o’ Death”, by SciShow 3-minute video on brinicles and brinicle formation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1SO0jL4H40

o “Brinicles Formation Time-lapse Video”, by BBC Earth Unplugged Start at 21 seconds, end at 42 seconds

Short video showing a brinicle in action Brinicles move faster than the starfish, so the starfish end up frozen in the

brinicle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf8b_IQv-

rw&feature=youtu.be&t=21s

Polynya Formation Imageo Coastal polynya formation

Winds from the continent push newly formed ice away from the coast The latent heat from the ocean keeps new ice from forming in this

location Brine forms and the cold, high salinity water sinks

May form a brinicle or it may noto Open ocean polynya formation

Downwelling (movement away from the surface) of cold water and upwelling (movement toward the surface) of warm water causes a polynya to for

Sensible heat is released and keeps the polynya open

Polynya Imageso Left: open ocean polynyao Right: coastal polynya

Integrated Questiono Give students a few minutes to talk and determine their answer.o Ask if they agree or disagree with each other’s answers. Why or why not?o ANSWER: Polynyas are used by animals that need open water access (marine

mammals need oxygen; swimming; food) and they are used by animals that need access to areas above the sea ice (food; breeding; animals that need both land and sea some seals)

Polynya Imageso All of these animals live in the Arctic, but the same concept still applies

Top left: elder ducks in a polynya Bottom left: narwhals Top right: common elder duck Bottom right: polynya filled with common elder ducks

o Reinforce that these animals all live in the Arctic

East v. West Antarctica Familiar image from last lesson; satellite image from NASA

o There are really 2 Antarcticas: east and westo Point out East and West Antarctica using the compasso Also point out the Antarctic Peninsula and the Transantarctic Mountains

Plan View of the Continent from A to B Imageo We are going to follow this line to see a cross section of Antarctica from A to B

o This will really show the difference between East and West Antarctica, which are separated by the Transantarctic Mountains

Cross Section Imageo This is a cross section of the continent

Gray = land, white = ice sheeto East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) is 9X larger than the West Antarctic Ice Sheet

(WAIS)o EAIS has an average thickness of 2,226m and a maximum thickness of 4,776mo WAIS has a maximum thickness of 1,306mo Most of East Antarctica is above sea level, while most of West Antarctic is below

sea levelo This image will be coming back in an assignment, so if you have any more

questions about this we will work on it toward the end of the lessono For more information about this concept, visit:

https://discoveringantarctica.org.uk/oceans-atmosphere-landscape/ice-land-and-sea/ice-sheets-and-glaciation/

Mountain Imageo This is an image of the Transantarctic Mountainso It was taken by NASAo This shows that not all of Antarctica is covered by ice and snow

Allan Hills Imageo This is an image of Allan Hills, located in the Transantarctic Mountainso It is a dry valley, with little to no snow or ice

Integrated Questiono Give students a few minutes to talk and determine their answer.o Ask if they agree or disagree with each other’s answers. Why or why not?o ANSWER: East Antarctica! By looking at a map or satellite image, you can tell

that East Antarctica is much larger in size. As we discovered in the cross-section image earlier, East Antarctica also has the thickest ice sheet, being over 9X larger than the West Antarctic Ice Sheet

Volcanos and Highest/Lowest Elevations Mt. Erebus Map

o Mt. Erebus is one of Antarctica’s many volcanoso It is located on Ross Island, as seen here

Mount Erebuso Image 1: this is what it looks like from the side

Notice the smoke coming out of the topo Image 2: this is what the lava lake inside of the volcano looks like

Mt. Erebus Side-by-Side Imageo Left: satellite imageo Right: same image with heat sensitivity

You can see the lava lake located at the top of the volcano

Eruption Imageo This was taken during an eruptiono You can see on the inset image thermal activity (lava lake)

Antarctic Region Mapo Point out Vinson Massif (highest elevation), located in West Antarcticao Point out the Bentley Subglacial Trench (lowest elevation), located right below

the Massif

Vinson Massifo Massif means mountainso The Seven Summits are the highest elevations on each of the continents

Land vs. Sea Ice Discussion Discussion

o Have students discuss the following questions (5-7 minutes, depending on how the discussion is progressing)

What is the difference between land ice and sea ice? What happens when sea ice melts? What about land ice?

o Have students share what they discussed and correct any incorrect answers if needed

Land Ice vs. Sea Ice Imageo Land ice is any ice that is found on land

Glaciers Snow Polar ice sheets

o Sea ice is any ice that is found floating in the ocean Formed from ocean water Sea ice

o Ask: does sea ice or land ice impact sea level? Why or why not?

Beaker Imageo Left: because sea ice already floats on the water, it does not impact sea level rise

when it melts in the ocean It was already displacing water, so it does not impact sea level at all

o Right: because land ice sits on land and not in the water, it adds to sea level when it melts and causes sea level to rise

o For more information and for instructions on how to complete the experiment pictured, visit: http://teachoceanscience.net/modulepopup/barrier_islands_and_sea_level_rise/melting_ice/

Activities Worksheet: “Exploring Antarctica and the Southern Ocean”

o Outside resources, notes, etc. can be used to complete this worksheet.

Null Schoolo Once students finish the worksheet, have them visit https://earth.nullschool.net/

The “S” in the httpS is extremely important the website may not load without it

Have students explore Antarctica using the various tools providedo This activity may be done as a class, in groups, or individually. Whichever option

works best for the class.

Exit Ticket Have students complete and turn in the exit ticket before they leave.