A N T A R C T I C A

Antarctica is the most southern continent on Earth which, contains the South Pole.  It is situated in the Southern Hemisphere and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean.  It is the fifth largest continent and nearly twice the size of Australia.  About 98% of Antarctica is covered in ice which is an average of 1.9km thick.  On average, Antarctica is the driest, coldest and windiest continent and has the highest average elevation of all the continents.  It is considered a desert and the coldest recorded temperature reached -89°C. There are no permanent resistance on Antarctica, but scattered throughout the continent is anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 researches.  Only cold adapted organisms survive on Antarctica and only certain species of animals. The only plant life that does vegetate tends to be tundra.  Antarctica is governed by parties to the Antarctic Treaty System that have consulting status.  The treaty for Antarctica was signed in 1959 by 12 countries.  The treaty prohibits nuclear explosions and disposal, supports scientific research and protectors the continents ecozone.  Ongoing experiments are conducted by more than 4,000 scientist from many nations. 

Above this diagram illustrates the make up of country ownership of the Antarctic land.

-What to do my exhibition on in regards to Antarctica?-

Looking into the research side of Antarctica and why people are even on the land when its quite obviously not appropriately inhabitable without proper gear and specially built living spaces is a direction that intrigues me. The research that goes on is quite fascinating and I was quite uneducated with the work that actually goes on.  The use of ice cores is apparent as a very important piece of evidence to articulate issues going on in the world and to showcase whats already happened in regards to climate change, global warming.  The idea of educating the public about this research and how its important to us, as both people and as living people on this planet Earth and its past and future well-being is quite important to to understood. I just need to research further into this topic and also discover the best way of confronting the public to educate them about this scientific research.