heart of antarctica
math worksheet key
1. Summer visitors to Antarctica are advised to bring clothing and sleeping bags that are rated to minus 35 degrees Celsius. How cold is this in degrees Fahrenheit? -31 degrees Fahrenheit (see formula on worksheet)
2. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Antarctica is minus 128 degrees Fahrenheit (this was in the winter, at the Russian research station Vostok.) How cold is this in degrees Celsius? -89 degrees Celsius (see formula on worksheet)
3. What is the distance from the South Pole to the Antarctic circle, in nautical miles? In statute miles? The Antarctic circle is at 60 degrees South; thus it is 30 degrees away from the Pole
30 degrees X 60 nm/degree = 1800 nautical miles
1800 nm X 1.15 sm/nm = 2070 statute miles
4. Christchurch, New Zealand is the launching point for many expeditions to Antarctica (the U.S. operation supporting the large McMurdo scientific base is based here). Christchurch is 2820 nautical miles from the South Pole. What is its latitude, in degrees? 2820 nm / 60 = 47 degrees from the South Pole
Latitude is measured from the equator, so its latitude is 90 - 47 = 43 degrees South latitude
5. The Antarctic ice sheet is so heavy that it has caused the land beneath it to sink up to a statute mile in some parts of the continent. If 30 feet of compressed ice exerts 15 pounds of pressure per square inch (one "atmosphere"), how much pressure does three statute miles of compressed ice exert?
(3 X 5280) / 30 = 528 "atmospheres"
528 X 15 psi = 7920 pounds per square inch!
6. Antarctica is the world’s highest continent, averaging 7100 feet of altitude. If the ice sheet averages one statute mile in depth, what would be the average height of the continent above sea level if all of the ice melted?
7100 - 5280 = 1820 feet before sea level rise
1820 - 200 = 1620 feet after ice melts and sea level rises