Discovering Antarctica Interactive teaching and learning resources on Antarctica from RGS-IBG in partnership with BAS and supported by UK FCO.
Check out all of Antarctica’s Geographical facts and figures.
Using the information you have found answer the following three questions:
- Where is Antarctica?
- What is Antarctica like?
- Why Antarctica is as it is?
Word document. See Antarctica: The frozen continent.
What do you know about Antarctica already?
An introductory warm up quiz for the Discovering Antarctica website.
Word alternative to interactive activity. See Wilderness Challenge.
Imagine you took these pictures.
Where you are standing, how would you describe what it is like to be there?
Word alternative to interactive activity. See Being There.
How big is Antarctica?
Compare the size of Antarctica to the sizes of the other continents. Find out how time of day is decided on Antarctica, where sunrise and sunset can take a very long time to come around!
Word alternative to interactive activity. See Sizing up Antarctica.
During the winter months, Antarctica’s surrounding waters freeze over. Sea-ice stretches out over the surface, making the continent much bigger.
See how Antarctica has changed its shape and position over the last 180 million years
From Antarctica, the other continents and the rest of the world don’t seem quite as familiar!
A bird’s eye view and a cross-section through Antarctica, to help you find out more about Antarctica’s ice sheets.
Imagine you are part of a team making a one minute trailer for a movie based in Antarctica.
Imagine you are a location scout and a wannabe scriptwriter for a Hollywood movie company.
write an acrostic for the word ANTARCTICA, using adjectives that describe what it is like.
Use the chart to evaluate whether two tour operators are running responsible and ‘eco’ holidays to Antarctica.
People hold many different views on what Antarctica should be like in the future. What do you think?
Decide which of these applications should be allowed under the Antarctic Treaty System.
What impacts are tourists having on the environment and wildlife in Antarctica?
What measures can be taken to reduce the environmental impacts of tourism on Antarctica?
As a journalist, write a balanced news article or report considering whether tourism in Antarctica is currently sustainable.
Base map of the Antarctic Peninsula, for key physical features activity.
Data for average October ozone measured above Halley Research Station and the global amount of CFC-11 released annually (1956 to 1992)
Monthly average weather data for research stations in Antarctica.
Real coverage of Antarctic Peninsula ice shelves measured at different time periods.
Student's spreadsheet for conducting descriptive statistical analyses
Antarctica base outline map suitable for A4 printing.
Climate data and diary extracts from Rothera Research Station.
Information sheet about the equipment used by researchers on remote Pine Island Glacier.
Introductory quiz, check your knowledge about glaciers in Antartica.
can you put the key terms and definitions for glaciers in the correct order?
Information and pictures for Rothera Research Station, on Adelaide Island in the Antarctic Peninsula.
Take a trip back in time! Find out what scientists have already discovered from ice cores.
Newsflash about the the Larsen B ice shelf collapse in 2002.
Areas in Britain where sea level increases could have a significant impact.
Write a letter to the United Nations explaining why you want action NOW to prevent predictions of sea level rises from happening.
Metals minerals meteorites - information factsheets about Antarctica's resources.
Information about how various places around the world could be affected by rising sea levels.
Cross section of a valley glacier introducing some of the key features and terminology that is used when studying glaciers.
Suspect profile from the "A Time to Krill" activity. Who killed the krill?
Suspect profile from the "A Time to Krill" activity. Who killed the krill?
Suspect profile from the "A Time to Krill" activity. Who killed the krill?
Suspect profile from the "A Time to Krill" activity. Who killed the krill?
Suspect profile from the "A Time to Krill" activity. Who killed the krill?
Suspect profile from the "A Time to Krill" activity. Who killed the krill?
Antarctica's Food Web and trophic levels, explanation and diagram.
20% of our protein comes from fish, but some fish stocks are dropping to dangerous levels.
Find out about some of the ways animals adapt to the extreme Antarctic environment.
Complete this Antarctic food web activity by putting the animals in their correct positions on the diagram.
Information about the work of contemporary researchers in Antarctica.
Blank base map of Antarctica for students to use in projects.
Complete the timeline and learn about what it takes to get all the way to Rothera Research Station in the Antarctic Peninsula. You’ll need to think of everything before you’re allowed to venture out to collect your data as a fully-fledged Antarctic scientist.
Word alternative to interactive activity. See Prepare to travel south.
What are the differences and similarities between the North and South Poles?
An investigation of the collapse of ice shelves in relation to climatic variables.
ArcScene software is not normally used in schools and is an extension to the ArcGIS package. The example investigates ice elevation and bed elevation data in Antarctica.
Produce a modern version of the South Polar Times newspaper!
Diagram showing the earth’s atmosphere and its different layers.
Data collected on January 12, 2009 near Rothera Research Station.
Data collected on January 12, 2009 at Ryder Bay, northern Marguerite Bay, Antarctica, near Rothera Research Station.
Data collected on January 12, 2009 at Ryder Bay, northern Marguerite Bay, Antarctica, near Rothera Research Station.
Data collected on January 12, 2009 at Ryder Bay, northern Marguerite Bay, Antarctica, near Rothera Research Station.
Data collected in January 2009, Antarctic Peninsula, Alexander Island, Charcot Island.
Data collected in January 2009, Antarctic Peninsula, Alexander Island, Charcot Island.
Data collected in January 2009, Antarctic Peninsula, Alexander Island, Charcot Island.
Data collected on January 1, 2009 at Rothera Research Station, Adelaide Island, Antarctic Peninsula.
Data collected on January 1, 2009 at Rothera Research Station, Adelaide Island, Antarctic Peninsula.
Data collected on January 1, 2009 at Rothera Research Station, Adelaide Island, Antarctic Peninsula.
Data collected on January 1, 2009 at Rothera Research Station, Adelaide Island, Antarctic Peninsula.
Mapping wind speed and direction in Antarctica using ArcGIS and a complicated data set.
All the graphs from the Using your data page. Once you’ve collected data, it’s time to examine it!
Write to a friend or member of your family about living and working on a research station in Antarctica.
Map showing the current facilities and stations in Antarctica with an overlay of selected Historical Sites and Monuments (HSMs). The selection on the map includes the major British Heritage Sites and others that are mentioned in the rest of the "Bases for understanding" section.
A collection of images from the "South Polar Times", an in-house magazine produced during the Discovery expedition to Antarctica by the explorers themselves.
Part three: 1943 - 2000. There have been over 300 major Antarctic expeditions since Antarctica was sighted for the first time.
Part two: 1901 - 1942. There have been over 300 major Antarctic expeditions since Antarctica was sighted for the first time.
Part one: 1772 - 1900. There have been over 300 major Antarctic expeditions since Antarctica was sighted for the first time.
Rothera Research Station is the British Antarctic Survey’s centre for marine science. Experienced divers explore all year round. In the winter months, the sea freezes so divers have to cut a hole in the ice before they can dive down below the frozen surface.
Rothera Research Station is the central hub of the British Antarctic Survey field science programme. Each season, up to 30 field teams are flown out to locations all over the Antarctic Peninsula to gather data from specific remote sites.
Atmospheric studies have been going on at Rothera for over 30 years, providing vital information about the changes going on in the atmosphere above the Antarctic Peninsula. Weather balloons are launched every day, giving scientists an unbroken record of long and short-term trends.
International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008 was the largest internationally co-ordinated research programme for 50 years. It was an intensive period of interdisciplinary science focused on the Arctic and Antarctic.
"Poles Apart: Arctic and Antarctic Fact File". Information from International Polar Year, 2007-2008
International Polar Year (IPY) 2007–2008 was the largest co-ordinated international scientific effort for 50 years. From ice sheets and space science to Arctic communities and the creatures of the Southern Ocean, IPY included more than 200 Arctic and Antarctic projects and harnessed the skills of 50,000 people – including scientists, students and support staff – from 63 nations.
Polar science is hugely important to help us to understand how the Earth works. During International Polar Year 2007/08, 50,000 participants from over 60 countries studied key issues such as weather and climate and the impact on human societies.
Technology plays a big part in Antarctic science. As new and improved gadgets and techniques are developed, collecting or analysing scientific data becomes easier and quicker.
Antarctica has no native human population, but each year around 4,000 people from over 30 countries live and work on research stations on the continent. Of about 50 permanent stations, about three quarters operate right through the year.
Antarctica can be a very dangerous place. All staff working for the British Antarctic Survey have to undergo lengthy medical tests before they can work in one of the research stations. Nevertheless, people based in Antarctica still have to take care to avoid risks to their health as evacuation is often impossible.
Read about 12 key events in Antarctica’s discovery and exploration. Red dots on the map show where they took place.
- Decide what you think are the five most important of these events. - Use the co-ordinates to find the matching red dots for each on the map. - Use arrows and words to label captions on your map to describe your five most important moments in Antarctica’s history. - Compare your map with your neighbour – have you chosen the same events?
A letter found blowing in the Antarctic wind.
The breakout in March 2008 of the Wilkins Ice Shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula is the latest drama in a region that has experienced unprecedented warming over the last 50 years. In the past 30 years seven floating ice shelves retreated, with very little of their area now remaining. The changes give us clues about the impact of climate change across Antarctica in the coming centuries.
‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ composed by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1798.
Design a graphic novel guide to give advice to people planning a holiday in Antarctica, or design a poster giving visitors advice about how they should behave while there.
Tourist image with speech bubbles... add your reasons to visit Antarctica as a tourist.
What impacts are tourists having on the environment and wildlife in Antarctica?
What measures can be taken to reduce the environmental impacts of tourism on Antarctica?
As a journalist, write a balanced news article or report considering whether tourism in Antarctica is currently sustainable.
A spreadsheet of Antarctic tourism data, from 1992 to 2005.
The future of tourism. Rising tourism is threatening Antarctica’s pristine wilderness - an article by Andrew James.
Write to a friend or member of your family about living and working on a research station in Antarctica.
During the winter months, Antarctica’s surrounding waters freeze over. Sea-ice stretches out over the surface, making the continent much bigger.
Support document for the Overfishing activity.
This task is designed to analyse the relationship between the numbers of IUU caught toothfish and time. From this you may be able to infer whether the management of the Southern Ocean has been a success.
See Mineral resources.
"Download the role cards and prepare for a meeting to discuss whether the ban on mining in Antarctica should be lifted."
People hold many different views on what Antarctica should be like in the future. What do you think?
As a journalist, write a balanced news article or report considering whether tourism in Antarctica is currently sustainable.
Launch an enquiry into Antarctica’s Resources and consider what might happen to Antarctica's supplies if things carry on as they are.
Discuss the view that the preservation of Antarctica as a site for peace and science is merely a romantic idea and is very unrealistic in modern times.
Peer mark your work using the mark scheme.
"Think about these users of Antarctica … put them where you think they should go in the Venn Diagram."
This newspaper is reporting on what might happen to Antarctica in the future. According to Laura Leaf, Antarctica will …
This newspaper is reporting on what might happen to Antarctica in the future. According to Sidney Suit Antarctica will …
At the moment, the Antarctic Treaty determines what people can or cannot do on the continent, but there is always a risk that governments will abandon the treaty. Discussions on opening up Antarctica for mining resources like coal and oil, or using it for a dumping ground for waste should never happen. The ban on these activities must be permanent. Antarctica is too precious – it should have guaranteed protection for another thousand years, not fifty.
How do you personally feel about this view of the future? Happy? Angry? Disturbed? Or do you feel something else?
Most people couldn’t care less about Antarctica and know little about it. Some might have seen a TV programme about one of the heroic explorers like Shackleton, but they know little about the scientific research that goes on there, or how beautiful it is. To most, it’s like another planet - a cold, distant place, home to penguins. For them, signs of global warming and the gradual destruction of the last clean environment on Earth are easy to take.
Beneath the ice, Antarctica may be hiding a treasure trove of minerals, including vast oil fields beneath the Ross and Weddell Seas.
Antarctic fish are highly sought after by biotechnology companies, companies that invent new medicines, foods or industrial products from living organisms.
Metals minerals meteorites - information factsheets about Antarctica's resources.
Map of Antarctica showing the seven countries that have territorial claims on the continent.
Decide which of these applications should be allowed under the Antarctic Treaty System.
Activity to consider how greater international co-operation might help in solving global problems.
Read ‘Territorial claims: a slice of history’ then answer questions.
A snapshot of the Antarctic Treaty System.
