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Prior to Journeying to Antarctica, Learn its Background

By: Lisa Fars

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An expedition to Antarctica by an explorer from America has drawn attention to the solitary and mostly unexplored continent. Antarctica sports the world's largest ice mass. It nearly covers the five million square miles of the continent. The thickness of this ice sheet isn't really known. Some scientists suggest it may be 2000 feet thick, others say it is much thicker. All of the continent is covered by the ice sheet, with the exception of the tallest mountain summits and certain coastal deposits of volcanic rock.

Traveling through valleys, the ice moves as a giant glacier toward the sea. The mountain ranges serve as the underpinnings of the expansive central plateau, which ranges from 8,000 to 10,000 feet above sea level and where the South Pole is located.

Geographical areas to the north lend their names to the four quadrants into which Antarctica has been divided. Tourists and explorers know them as the African,, Pacific and American quadrants. The coastlines of both the African and the Pacific quadrants haven't truly been explored. Though the American quadrant coast has been investigated a little, the quadrant coast is far better known. You'll find the Ross Sea sector there.

Wilkes Land, Adelle Land, King George V Land, Oates Land, and South Victoria Land, which have boundaries on the west by Queen Mary Land and the east by the Ross Sea encompasses the quadrant. The Ross Barrier forms a rim on the western Ross Sea. This is a huge sheet of shelf ice that extends over about 160 thousand square miles.

This is where the American explorer has established his base camp, near the Bay of Whales, a naturally carved harbor in the ice cliffs of the barrier. Two volcanoes fill Ross Island, which can be found at the most western edge of the barrier. They are Mount Erebus and Mount Terror. The barrier is over 400 miles long and crosses the Ross Sea to King Edward VII land. Stretching from the ocean to the mountain pass popular by polar explorers, it is 400 miles wide.

Only Antarctica is home to shelf ice, with the barrier being the biggest example of it. This barrier was made when glaciers came down the mountains and ran into the Ross Sea. Ice still hits the Ross Sea from several glacial channels which range from five to fifteen miles in width. One is over a hundred miles long. Explorers are unsure if the Barrier floats or rests on the bottom of the ocean.

The Ross Sea also serves as the Pacific quadrant's western boundary. An area here called King Edward VII land sports impressive rock outcroppings. The Scott Nunataks and the Alexandra Mountains greeted the explorer on his first long flight from the Bay of Whales. He discovered an island, placed fourteen peaks on the map of the territory and spotted the as yet unseen backcountry. His later flights gave geographers vastly important data that could allow them to map the Pacific quadrant's coastline, as well as other valuable information about Antarctica.

Many explorers have visited the American quadrant's Coats Land, Charcot Land and Graham Land, in addition to the Weddell sea area. After a flight, an explorer discovered Graham Land isn't actually part of the continent. It is a separate island. Knowing whether or not to split the continent is today's geographical challenge for Antarctica. The Ross Sea in the quadrant is opposite the Weddell Sea in the American quadrant.

The Antarctic Continent offers so many chances for scientific research. Coastal regions have yet to be completely mapped, as well as the polar plateau and mountain ranges.

Geologists are busy trying to study the land beneath the ice and understand how the glaciers have affected the land itself.

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