By Tishani Doshi
A. Answer the following in 30-40 words each.
Ans. The North and the South poles can be called the two ends of the earth. The author travels to Antarctica, southernmost part of Earth, after crossing nine time zones, three water bodies, three ecosystems and six checkpoints. This distance suggests as if the writer reaches Antarctica after crossing the whole planet. The planet also gives the impression of being isolated from the world we live in. It is without human existence, there is no biodiversity, no sign of billboards or trees. It is a place far away from the crowd noise and pollution. Thus, ‘Journey to the End of the Earth’ is an apt title.
Ans. Tishani Doshi’s initial reaction was of relief as she had travelled for over hundred hours. This was followed by wonder at Antarctica’s white landscape and uninterrupted blue horizon, its immensity, isolation and at how there could have been a time when India and Antarctica could have been a part of the same landmass.
Ans. Gondwana was a giant amalgamated southern supercontinent. The climate was much warmer, hosting a huge variety of flora and fauna. Gondwana thrived for about 500 million years. Subsequently, when dinosaurs were wiped out and the age of mammals happened, the landmass separated into countries, shaping the globe as we know it today.
Ans. The Antarctica landmass, that was an amalgamated southern supercontinent called Gondwana dates back to 650 million years. It can help us understand better the formation of continents and mountains like the Himalayas as they are in the modem world. Its ice-cores hold over half-million-year-old carbon records that are vital to study the Earth’s past, present and future.
Ans. Antarctica is the ideal place to study the effect of environmental changes as it has a very simple ecosystem and lacks biodiversity. It is here that one can see the effect of melting glaciers and collapsing ice-shelves and how this is likely to raise the water levels in the sea and the ocean, as a result of which many low-lying regions will be submerged under water.
Ans. The future of the humankind can get in danger if the emission of carbon-dioxide and other poisonous gases go on in the same manner. These gases deplete the ozone layer and allow the ultra-violet rays of the sun to enter the earth’s environment. This causes the rise in temperature of the earth and giving rise to the phenomenon called global warming. Increases temperature can melt the ice of Antarctica, and cause other environmental problems, thus jeopardizing the future of humankind.
Ans. Geoff Green, the founder of The Students on Ice programme, got tired of carting celebrities and retired, rich, curiosity-seekers who could only ‘give’ back in a limited way. With Students on Ice, he offers the future generation of policymakers a life-changing experience at an age when they’re ready to absorb, learn, and act. He believes that giving them the exposure of Antarctica will be beneficial to the environment.
Ans. The microscopic phytoplankton are tiny forms of plant life on the sea. They nourish and sustain the entire southern ocean’s food chain. They are single-celled plants and use the energy of the sun to assimilate carbon supplying oxygen and synthesize compounds. Depletion of the ozone layer that protects us from the harmful rays of the sun adversely affects the activities of the phytoplankton. Any further depletion in the ozone layer will hamper their activity which, in turn, is bound to affect the growth of marine animals and birds and even the global carbon cycle. Thus to save the big organisms the small organisms need to be cared for because even minor changes have huge repercussions.
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