Antarctica
What could the frozen continent of Antarctica possibly have in common with the extremely hot sands of the Sahara? Both are deserts with little rainfall. And yet Antarctica, whose composition is 98% ice, is responsible for 70% of the world’s freshwater. Discover Antarctica’s amazing plants and animals and learn about this continent’s important role in the world’s ecology through the direct links on the Times Launch Point Web site: https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint.
Level 1
Virtual Antarctica: Antarctica is the highest, driest, coldest and windiest continent on Earth. Join the crew of the Livonia on this virtual expedition, where you can read daily logs, explore the terrain and wildlife, learn about current ecological issues and relive the dramatic history of Antarctica’s past.
https://www.terraquest.com/va/index.html
South Pole Adventure: Questions and Answers: Explore the South Pole with the help of Randy and Janice, who answer questions, suggest some science experiments and tell about their Antarctic adventures through travel journals and a slide show.
https://www.southpole.com/qanda.html
Search for Antarctic Spring: What do penguins, fish, seabirds, seals and some whales all have in common? They eat tiny shrimplike creatures called krill, or zooplankton. Learn more about the Antarctic through this brief illustrated account of a scientific research mission.
https://www.utenn.edu/uwa/vpps/ur/ut2kids/penguins/penguin.html
Level 2
Antarctic Timeline of Discovery: Norwegian Roald Amundsen and his team took 57 days to reach the South Pole on Dec. 14, 1911. Trace the history of Antarctic discovery through this detailed timeline, which includes photos, illustrations and biographies of explorers.
https://www.south-pole.com/p0000052.htm
Come Aboard on an Ice Adventure: It takes about 1,000 years for snow to turn into a glacier. Learn more Antarctica as you read about ice-breaking research ships such as the 399-foot Polar Star.
https://www.wenet.net/~uscg/adventures/index.html
Ten Facts About Some Antarctic and Subantarctic Animals and Features: The Antarctic is home to such hardy plants as lichen, moss and more than 500 species of algae. Learn about the amazing plants and animals that flourish on this frozen continent.
https://www-aadc.antdiv.gov.au/data/ten_facts/index.html
Level 3
Glacier: What is a glacier, how does it form and how fast can it move? Find out through this comprehensive site that explains different ice formations, tells what it’s like on an expedition and describes the impact of Antarctica on the world’s weather and oceans.
https://www.glacier.rice.edu/
Information Documents About the Antarctic: The Antarctic Treaty of 1961 mandates that the area south of latitude 60=B0=S be used only for peaceful purposes such as scientific investigation. This collection of articles discusses a range of topics, such as the history of Antarctic exploration and how plants and animals survive the cold.
https://www.icair.iac.org.nz/education/resource/informat/informat.htm
Live From Antarctica: Questions and Answers: What are the difficulties of being a penguin scientist? Why is the biggest hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica? Find out the answers to these and other questions in this well-organized site.
https://passport.ivv.nasa.gov/antarctica/QA/
EXPLORER’S QUEST
The answer to this Internet quiz can be found in the sites at right.
How do fish keep from freezing in the cold Antarctic waters?
CLUE: See South Pole Questions and AnswersFind What You Need to Know: Have a project on California history? Need help doing a math problem? Launch Point now covers more than 80 topics for getting your schoolwork done. Go to https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint/ for the full list of subjects and direct links to the best Internet sites.
Answer to last week’s Quest: Eating Tet means that all members of the extended family spend time with each other.
Launch Point is produced by the UC Irvine department of education, which reviews each site for appropriateness and quality. Even so, parents should supervise their children’s use of the Internet. This column was designed by Eunice Lee, Nancy Jang, Lina Pang and Anna Manring.
