Ch 3 - Journey to the end of the Earth

Ch 3 - Journey to the end of the Earth

Reading with Insight

1. ‘The world’s geological history is trapped in Antarctica.’ How is the study of this region useful to us?

A. The geological phenomena of separation of the landmass into various continents and water bodies almost six hundred and fifty million years ago marks the beginning of the human race on the Earth. Mammals started existing after dinosaurs became extinct which happened once the landmarks separated.

2. What are Geoff Green’s reasons for including high school students in the Students on Ice expedition?

A. Geoff Green took high school students on an expedition to one end of the Earth to make them realize the impact that human intervention could have on nature. He wanted the future policy – makers to experience how difficult it would be to sustain life with the rising temperatures. He wanted them to see the melting ice shelves so that they could estimate the trouble that mankind was headed to.

3. ‘Take care of the small things and the big things will take care of themselves.’ What is the relevance of this statement in the context of the Antarctic environment?

A. The statement holds great importance in context of the Antarctic environment. For instance, the phytoplanktons in the region serve as food for marine birds and animals. The depletion of the ozone layer affects the phytoplanktons and the carbon cycle. This can obstruct the existence of marine life. So, if the process carried on by these small grasses is taken care of, the processes of the bigger animals and birds can be taken care of.

4. Why is Antarctica the place to go to, to understand the earth’s present, past and future?

A. Antarctica is the place to go to to understand the earth’s past, present and future because it gives us an idea of how the earth was millions of years ago. The melting sheets of ice give us an idea of the future also.

2. Answer the following question in about 125-150 words.

Question 1.
How the programme, ‘Students on Ice’ was an attempt to equip future generation with knowledge to save Earth?
Answer:
The objective of the ‘Students on Ice’ programme was to take the High School students to the limits of the world and provide them with inspiring opportunities in education to enable them to understand and respect our planet. According to Geoff Green, the High School students are the future policy-makers and through this programme they would be able to save this planet from the ecological hazards and the harmful effects of global warming. Antarctica, with its simple ecosystem and lack of biodiversity, is the perfect place to study how little changes in the environment can have major repercussions. The school students’ impressionable minds can study and examine the Earth’s past, present and future by their voyage to Antarctica.

Question 2.
The world’s geological history is trapped in the Antarctica. How is the study of this region useful to us?
Answer:
The Antarctic landmass dates back to 650 million years. It was an amalgamated southern supercontinent called Gondwana. This landmass centered around the present-day Antarctica. Human beings did not exist as their civilization is only 12,000 years old. The climate at that time was warm and landmass flourished with a vast variety of flora and fauna. The study of this region shows that Gondwana prospered for 500 million years. But then the dinosaurs got wiped out and mammals began to appear. The landmass disintegrated into countries and India, the Himalayas and South America was formed. This left Antarctica frigid at the bottom of the earth. Today, it stores the key to the significance of cordilleran folds and pre- Cambrian granite shields, ozone and carbon layers as well as a study of the evolution and extinction. This can help us to understand in a better way the formation of continents and mountains like the Himalayas as we find them in the modem world. Its ice-folds hold over half-million-year-old carbon records that are so crucial for the study of the Earth’s past, present and future, thus trapping the world’s geological history in Antarctica.