This page includes a series of four Antarctica StoryMap Collections introducing Antarctica, launched as a complete collection in September 2021. They are suitable for UK key stage 3 to GCSE (age ~14 to 16). However, they can easily be adapted by a teacher for older age groups and form the basis of discussion. The Antarctica […]
Antarctica StoryMaps Series Read More »
The outlet glaciers of the Greenland Ice Sheet are receding, calving more icebergs, and flowing faster. Further in land, the ice sheet is thinning, and there is more surface melt. The Greenland Ice Sheet is drained by outlet glaciers that flow through deep fjords to the ocean. In the image below, you can see an
Glacier recession around the Greenland Ice Sheet Read More »
The Antarctic and Arctic regions are polar opposites in more ways than one. These two regions have differences in the volume of ice, their climate, their seasonality, and much more. One important feature which separates the Arctic and Antarctic regions is their sea ice, and in particular how it changes over the year and its
Differences between Arctic and Antarctic sea ice Read More »
Glacial troughs and fjords are deep erosional features calved into bedrock marking glacial activity [1,2]. The most characteristic difference between a trough and a fjord, is that a fjord ends in a coastal region, and is flooded by sea water [3]. These landforms can be located in a series of geographical locations and are characterised
Troughs and Fjords Read More »
Accounts from under-represented groups and their relationships with Antarctica are still rarely acknowledged in stories about the continent’s human history[1]. Instead, there is a continued focus on the heroic era with mainly European male explorers. Whilst still critically important, literature is filled with their accounts, and therefore this page will focus on the encounters from
Women and Minorities in Antarctica Read More »
This article about Antarctica’s tourism has been written by Laura Boyall and Benjamin Samingpai. A trip to Antarctica is not a common holiday destination for many people. However, since the 1950s, there has been a growing number of individuals travelling to the southernmost continent. And then from the 1980s, the growth has been exponential with
Tourism in Antarctica Read More »
This page introduces some of the ways in which people live, work and visit Antarctica, and how we govern this mighty, and beautiful, continent. You can also explore our People in Antarctica StoryMap Collection for an interactive timeline on the history of people in Antarctica, Antarctic Geopolitics, Tourism and Living in Antarctica. See also our
People in Antarctica Read More »
By Dr Tom Slater, University of Leeds, UK How does mass balance vary over Greenland? The mass balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet is the net difference between ice gains through snowfall, and ice losses through melting at its surface or underneath its floating ice tongues, and through the calving of icebergs from glaciers flowing
Greenland Ice Sheet mass balance Read More »
The Greenland Ice Sheet is one of two continent-scale ice masses on Earth, with the other being the Antarctic Ice Sheet. The Greenland Ice Sheet is the largest ice mass in the Northern Hemisphere. It lies from 59°N to 83°N, between the Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean [1]. Almost 80% of Greenland’s landmass is covered
An introduction to the Greenland Ice Sheet Read More »
Ellipsoidal Basins is a geographical term used to describe deep, elongated lakes, formed by subglacial activity beneath past ice sheets [1]. Examples of these basins include the Great Lakes and Finger Lakes of North America [1,2]. These basins were formed either where the ice was topographically constrained (Finger Lakes), had vulnerable, softer, geology (the Great
Ellipsoidal Basins Read More »
