THE JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE
EARTH
Tishani Doshi
EARLY this
year, I found myself aboard a Russian research vessel — the Akademik Shokalskiy — heading towards the coldest, driest, windiest
continent in the world: Antarctica. My journey began 13.09 degrees north of the
Equator in Madras, and involved crossing nine time zones, six
checkpoints,
three bodies of water, and at least as many ecospheres.
1.In which
Russian research vessel did the researcher sailed to Antarctica?
-The Akademik Shokalskiy
2.How is
Antarctica described?
-the coldest, driest, windiest continent in the
world.
3.From where
did she kick off her voyage?
-13.09 degree
north of Equator in Madras
4.Describe the
journey to Antarctica?
-Involved crossing nine time zones, six checkpoints,
three bodies of water and at least as many ecospheres.
By the time I
actually set foot on the Antarctic continent I had been travelling over 100
hours in combination of a car, an aeroplane and a ship; so, my first emotion on
facing Antarctica’s expansive white landscape and uninterrupted blue horizon
was relief, followed up with an immediate and profound wonder. Wonder at its
immensity, its isolation, but mainly at how there could ever have been a time
when India and Antarctica were part of the same landmass.
5.How much time
did it take to reach Antarctica?
-100+ hours.
6. By what
means she could reach there?
- combination of a car, an aeroplane and a ship
7. What was her
first emotion on facing the Antarctica’s expanse of white landscape?
- Her first
emotion on facing Antarctica’s expansive white landscape and uninterrupted blue
horizon was relief, followed up with an immediate and profound wonder. Wonder
at its immensity, its isolation.
8.What fact she
shares about India and Antarctica history?
- That India and Antarctica were part of the same landmass.
Six hundred and fifty million years ago, a giant amalgamated southern
supercontinent — Gondwana — did indeed exist, centred roughly around the
present-day Antarctica. Things were quite different then: humans hadn’t arrived
on the global scene, and the climate was much warmer, hosting a huge variety of
flora and fauna. For 500 million years Gondwana thrived, but around the time
when the dinosaurs were wiped out and the age of the mammals got under way, the
landmass was forced to separate into countries, shaping the globe much as we
know it today.
9.What was the
name of the giant amalgamated supercontinent?
- Gondwana
10.How were the
things different( when the earth plate was one single piece) by that time?
- Humans hadn’t arrived on
the global scene, and the climate was much warmer, hosting a huge variety of
flora and fauna. For 500 million years Gondwana thrived
11.At what point
of time the landmass was forced to separate into countries?
- when the dinosaurs were
wiped out and the age of the mammals got under way, the landmass was forced to
separate into countries
To visit
Antarctica now is to be a part of that history; to get a grasp of where we’ve
come from and where we could possibly be heading. It’s to understand the
significance of Cordilleran folds and pre-Cambrian granite shields; ozone and carbon; evolution and
extinction. When you think
about all that
can happen in a million years, it can get pretty mind-boggling. Imagine: India
pushing northwards, jamming against Asia to buckle its crust and form the
Himalayas; South America drifting off to join North America, opening up the
Drake Passage to create a cold circumpolar current, keeping Antarctica frigid,
desolate, and at the bottom of the world.
12.Why to visit
Antarctica?
-. It’s to understand the significance of Cordilleran folds
and pre-Cambrian granite shields; ozone and carbon; evolution and
extinction
13.What is the
importance of Antarctica for mankind?
- you can predict, about all, that can happen in a
million years, it can get pretty mind-boggling to know the past, present and
the future of the planet and history of human development and its impact on the
ecology.
14.How is the
Himalaya formed?
- India pushed
northwards, jamming against Asia to buckle its crust and form the
Himalayas
15.How is the
Drake Passage originated?
- South America drifting off to join North America,
opening up the Drake Passage.
16.What is the
effect of Drake Passage on the world climate?
- the Drake Passage creates a cold circumpolar
current, keeping Antarctica frigid, desolate, at the bottom of the world.
For a
sun-worshipping South Indian like myself, two weeks in a place where 90 per
cent of the Earth’s total ice volumes are stored is a chilling prospect (not
just for circulatory and metabolic functions, but also for the imagination).
It’s like walking into a giant ping-pong ball devoid of any human markers — no
trees, billboards, buildings. You lose all earthly sense of perspective and
time here. The
visual scale ranges from the microscopic to the mighty: midges and mites to
blue whales and icebergs as big as countries (the largest recorded was the size
of Belgium). Days go on and on and on in surreal 24-hour austral summer light,
and a ubiquitous silence, interrupted only by the occasional avalanche or
calving ice sheet, consecrates the place. It’s an immersion that will force you
to place yourself in the context of the earth’s geological history. And for
humans, the prognosis isn’t good.
17. How much
percent of Earth’s ice stored in Antarctica?
- About 90% of
total Earth’s ice.
18. What
earthly sense lost when one lives in Antarctica?
- It’s like walking into a giant ping-pong ball
devoid of any human markers — no trees, billboards, buildings.
19. How much
big size are the icebergs found on Antarctica?
- icebergs as big as countries (the largest
recorded was the size of Belgium).
20. Find a word
means same as ‘odd, strange, weird or unreal’.
-
21. Find a word
means same as ‘omnipresent/everywhere’?
- ubiquitous
22. Find a word
means same as ‘sanctify/bless/set apart’?
-
Consecrate
23. Find a word
means same as’ forecast/projection/diagnosis’?
-prognosis
24. When is the
ubiquitous silence of the Antarctica interrupted?
-
only by the occasional avalanche or calving ice sheet
25. What are
you forced to do if you fully engrossed to study Antarctica?
- It will force you to place yourself in the
context of the earth’s geological history. And for humans, the prognosis isn’t
good.
Human civilisations have been around for a paltry
12,000 years — barely a few seconds on the geological clock. In that short
amount of time, we’ve managed to create quite a ruckus, etching our dominance
over Nature with our villages, towns, cities, megacities. The rapid increase of
human populations has left us battling with other species for limited
resources, and the unmitigated burning of fossil fuels has now created a
blanket of carbon dioxide around the world, which is slowly but surely
increasing the average global temperature.
26. How much
span of time does the human existence on earth scaled on geological clock?
- Barely
a few seconds on the geological clock.
27. What have
we managed to do in such an insignificant time of our existence here on earth?
- To
create quite a ruckus, etching our dominance over Nature with our villages,
towns, cities, megacities
28. Find a word
means same as ‘disturbance/rumpus/commotion’?
- ruckus
29. How had
population explosion resulted in degrading the natural ecology?
- The rapid increase of human
populations has left us battling with other species for limited resources
30.How is
global temperature is increasing according to the study?
- the
unmitigated burning of fossil fuels has now created a blanket of carbon dioxide
around the world, which is slowly but surely increasing the average global
temperature.
Climate change is
one of the most hotly contested environmental debates of our time. Will the
West Antarctic ice sheet melt entirely? Will the Gulf Stream ocean current be
disrupted? Will it be the end of the world as we know it? Maybe. Maybe not.
Either way, Antarctica is a crucial element in this debate — not just because
it’s the only place in the world, which has never sustained a human population
and therefore remains relatively ‘pristine’ in this respect; but more
importantly, because it holds in its ice-cores half-million-year-old carbon
records trapped in its layers of ice. If we want to study and examine the
Earth’s past, present and future, Antarctica is the place
31.How is
Antarctica considered to be a crucial element in the debate on environmental
change?
-For two reasons, Antarctica
has never sustained a human population and therefore remains relatively
‘pristine’ in this respect; and second, it holds in its ice-cores
half-million-year-old carbon records trapped in its layers of ice
32. How does
Antarctica remain pristine?
-As Antarctica has never sustained a
human population and therefore remains relatively ‘pristine’ in this respect
33. Find a word
means same as’ immaculate/spick and span/spotless’?
-pristine
34. Why is
Antarctica considered to be the tool of study of the present, past and future
of the Earth?
- Because it holds in its ice-cores half-million-year-old carbon
records trapped in its layers of ice
Students
on Ice, the programme I was working
with on the Shokaskiy, aims to do exactly this by taking high school
students to the ends of the world and providing them with inspiring educational
opportunities which will help them foster a new understanding and respect for
our planet. It’s been in operation for six years now, headed by Canadian Geoff
Green, who got tired of carting celebrities and retired, rich,
curiosity-seekers who could only ‘give’ back in a limited way. With Students on Ice, he offers the future generation of policy-makers a
life-changing experience at an age when they’re ready to absorb, learn, and
most importantly, act.
35. What does
the ‘Students on Ice’ programme aims at?
-
providing them with inspiring educational opportunities which will help them
foster a new understanding and respect for our planet.
36. Who is
Geoff Green?
-The
head of the mission, and guide to the researchers at Antarctica.
37. Why does
Geoff Green say that the “celebrities,
retired rich, curiosity-seekers give back in a limited way”?
-These
people just visit Antarctica and study the things but on planning and execution
part they seem inept and bungling. So Geoff left hopeless from carting them.
38. Why does he
turn towards students, what are the qualities of students?
- By providing
them with inspiring educational opportunities, students will be able to foster a new understanding and respect for
our planet.
39. How will
the students contribute in interest of the planet earth? What are his hopes
from students?
- Students on Ice, he offers the future generation of policy-makers a
life-changing experience at an age when they’re ready to absorb, learn, and
most importantly, act.
The reason the
programme has been so successful is because it’s impossible to go anywhere near
the South Pole and not be affected by it. It’s easy to be blasé about polar
ice-caps melting while sitting in the comfort zone of our respective latitude
and longitude, but when you can visibly see glaciers retreating and ice shelves
collapsing, you begin to realise that the threat of global warming is very
real. Antarctica, because of her simple ecosystem and lack of biodiversity, is
the perfect place to study how little changes in the environment can have big
repercussions. Take the microscopic phytoplankton — those grasses of the sea
that nourish and sustain the entire Southern Ocean’s food chain. These
single-celled plants use the sun’s
energy to
assimilate carbon and synthesise organic compounds in that wondrous and most
important of processes called photosynthesis. Scientists warn that a further
depletion in the ozone layer will affect the activities of phytoplankton, which
in turn will affect the lives of all the marine animals and birds of the
region, and the global carbon cycle. In the parable of the phytoplankton, there
is a great metaphor for existence: take care of the small things and the big
things will fall into place.
40. What are
the limitations to reach to South Pole?
-
41. Find a word
means same as ‘relaxed/indifferent/unconcerned/nonchalant/carefree’?
- blasé
42. When will
we realize that there is a threat of global warming?
- when you visibly
see glaciers retreating and ice shelves collapsing, then will begin to realise that the threat of global
warming is very real
43. Why is the
Antarctica a perfect place to study about the environmental changes?
- Antarctica, because of her simple ecosystem and
lack of biodiversity, is the perfect place to study
44. How does
Microscopic phytoplankton generates its food? How important is this plant on
Antarctica?
-. These single-celled plants use the sun’s energy
to assimilate carbon and synthesise organic compounds in that wondrous and most
important of processes called photosynthesis
45. What will
be the upshot even of slightest depletion of Ozone layer?
- even a slightest depletion in the ozone layer
will affect the activities of phytoplankton, which in turn will affect the
lives of all the marine animals and birds of the region, and the global carbon
cycle
46. “Take care
of the small things and the big things will fall into place” elucidate in the
context.
- our relation with the nature is reciprocal. It is
like give and take. More ostensibly it can be said, what you sow, so shall you reap. If we care
for the nature, in return we will be taken care of. If we strive towards
maintaining the ecology of the planet, the planet will provide countenance
substantively. If we take a step towards
betterment of the nature, in return it will take 99 steps in providing us the
better place to live.
My Antarctic
experience was full of such epiphanies, but the best occurred just short of the
Antarctic Circle at 65.55 degrees south. The Shokalskiy had
managed to wedge herself into a thick white stretch of ice between the peninsula
and Tadpole Island which was preventing us from going any further. The Captain
decided we were going to turn around and head back north, but before we did, we
were all instructed to climb down the gangplank and walk on the ocean. So there
we were, all 52 of us, kitted out in Gore-Tex and glares, walking on a stark
whiteness that seemed to spread out forever. Underneath our feet was a metre-thick
ice pack, and underneath that, 180 metres of living, breathing, salt water. In
the periphery Crabeater seals were stretching and sunning themselves on ice
floes much like stray dogs will do under the shade of a banyan tree. It was
nothing short of a revelation: everything does indeed connect.
47.Where does
the Shokalskiy get locked?
- into a thick white stretch of ice between the
peninsula and Tadpole Island
48.Find a word
means same as ‘passageway/walkway’?
- gangplank
49.How was the
experience of the team at peninsula and Tadpole Island?
-. It was nothing short of a revelation, they could
learn the great plan of the planet. The natural cycle has been designed in such
a manner that the dependency is almost indissoluble.
50.Describe the life-cycle at Gore-Tex?
- there was a metre-thick ice pack, and underneath
that, 180 metres of living, breathing, salt water. In the periphery Crabeater
seals were stretching and sunning themselves on ice floes much like stray dogs
will do under the shade of a banyan tree. It was nothing short of a revelation:
everything does indeed connect.
Nine time
zones, six checkpoints, three bodies of water and many ecospheres later, I was
still wondering about the beauty of balance in play on our planet. How would it
be if Antarctica were to become the warm place that it once used to be? Will we
be around to see it, or would we have gone the way of the dinosaurs, mammoths
and woolly rhinos? Who’s to say? But after spending two weeks with a bunch of
teenagers who still have the idealism to save the world, all I can say is that
a lot can happen in a millionyears, but what a difference a day makes!
Please answer to
the above question with your understanding of the planet and its ecology.
NOTE-MAKING
JOUNEY TO THE END OF THE EARTH
STUDENTS
ON ICE Prgm:
a. Taking high-school students to Antarctica
b. Provides inspiring educational opportunities.
c. Helps them foster a new understanding in respecting the planet.
d. Being policy-makers will be ready to absorb, learn to plan for the betterment of the planet.
ANTARCTICA-THE
HIST KEEPER
a.
Part of
GONDWANA housing Antarctica and India together
650 million years ago
b. Holds record of the past, present and future.
c. Is a significance of Cordilleran folds and pre-Cambrian granite
shields.
d. Gives details about ozone and carbon evolution and extinction.
HUMAN
IMPACT
a. 12000 years paltry stay created a ruckus.
b. Dominated over nature with cvillages, towns, cities, megacities.
c. The rapid increase in human ppln left other species battling for
survival.
d. Reason to create a blanket of corbon dioxide due to
unmitigated burning of fossil fuels.
ANTARCTICA
AND CLIMATE Spctn
a. What if west Antarctica ice sheets melt.
b. Will it disrupt the present Gulf Stream ocean current.
ANTARCTICA:
A COMPLT WORLD WITHIN THE WORLD
a. Remains pristine as never sustained human population
b. Maintains global warming as a huge depositor of solid ice.
c. Holds Phytoplankton – the basis of its own ecosystem.
d. Even a slightest change in its ecology can have big
repercussions.
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Abbreviations
|
Full
form
|
|
Prgm
Spctn
Ppln
COMPLT
HIST
|
Programme
Speculation
Population
Complete
history
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