Geography Antarctica Essay

-The Life of a Glass Sphere

 

 

          Hey there, I see you take an interest in Antarctica so you might want to listen up to what I have to say.  I am, believe it or not, Glass Sphere #3856092 of the A-II mooring!!!  Hmmmm… didn’t really get the kind of reaction I would have hoped for from a person as dignified as you.  Maybe you’re a tad on the dopey side.  Oh well, you can call me the name my mother, Glass Sphere #3457720 of mooring D-IV, gave me.  It is Sir Federico DePommsy the 3rd, of Earlshire Castle.  Umm, maybe even that is a bit much to remember.  Just call me Fred.

 

          So here I am ready to tell you the tale of my adventure around Antarctica and even on it as well!  Yes I know you think, “On it? How can a glass sphere get on to the continent, when I’m only supposed to float in the ocean?” There will be more on that later, but for now I’ll tell you how my adventure all started.

 

          I got to be here after a group of researchers decided to monitor the physical properties of the water in the current, in the area of the Drake Passage, Antarctica.  Obviously, I signed up for the job, and along with many other candidates, were chosen and set up upon different moorings.  As I have already stated, I am from mooring A-II.

 

          My job was to measure how cold, salty, fast and in what direction the water current was flowing.  It was a simple job.  Too simple in fact!  When I signed up upon the contract for my new job it had something stating that in the event that a sphere may be lost, then the researchers weren’t liable.  Well of course now I know why that was there.  It was because 1 out of 50 spheres go missing every couple of months.  Sure enough reports at the end of the year were that 7 had gone missing. 

 

          Well anyway here I was one day when all of a sudden this great big stupid whale not looking where it was swimming, slams into me and the next second I have become detached from my mooring.  I couldn’t do anything because I’m just a sphere, so I just watched as I began my drifting away on what would in the future be remembered as one of my great adventures.

 

          So anyway, as I mentioned, I started drifting from Drake’s Passage, which is located to the West of Antarctica in the Bellingshausen Sea.  I started to drift towards the north to northeast, direction in a clockwise circling motion of Antarctica.

 

          In case your wondering later on, my sphere case was specially fitted with a zooming camera on the inside so it makes it possible for me to take pictures and look around for up to 750m.  This way I am able to search below me into the dark depths of the ocean, or above me, and look at any icebergs or other features on the actual continent of Antarctica.

 

 

          After I left Drake’s Passage, I started to observe many wonderful things.  I decided to have a good look below me first and what I saw was pretty interesting.  I was observing all these different types of little plant things and other little organisms.  I had a quick scan through the encyclopaedia stored in my computer microchips, and was able to identify much of these tiny plants as Phytoplankton.  Phytoplankton is the primary food source to many of the sea creatures that under water.  A widely know form of Phytoplankton is Algae.  Thousands of species depend on this food source, as through the great food web, it is required to keep all animals alive.

 

          Just then I noticed a small crustacean like creature nibbling upon the plankton.  I found it to be krill.  Krill is a small crustacean that feeds on plankton and in turn is the main food source for many species such as fish, seals, penguins, sea birds and even larger creatures like whales.

 

          As I was fascinated with these little creatures and plant organisms, I wasn’t watching were I was drifting.  Suddenly I looked up and SMACK!  I collided with this great chunk of ice know as an iceberg. 

 

          As I got out of the way I narrowly missed colliding with another smaller iceberg right next to the first.  As I recovered from this close encounter, I noticed many ice bergs floating around.  Quickly I accessed my database and what I found nearly fried my circuit board.  Each year icebergs are formed from collapsed ice cliffs and the ice sheet of Antarctica, and every year there are literally thousands of them floating around the place before they move to warmer water and melt.  I never knew that so many icebergs were around.  I must really watch out for myself, or an iceberg won’t just knock me around next time, but maybe even drown me!  Hang on I can’t drown!  Well you get the jest anyway, don’t you?

 

          Anyway, the iceberg caused me to drift in another direction for about 30 seconds before I straightened up and was able to keep going in the northeast direction.

 

          By now I had floated all the way around to the Argentine Claimed zone of Antarctica and suddenly I remembered that the Ronne Ice Shelf was situated just 1-2 thousand kilometres south to southeast.  I immediately started in that direction.  Just in case you’re wondering again, as I’m a sphere with a computer chip inside, I do not take any notice of time.  So a 1-2 thousand kilometre journey, would be like 3 days to you and seem to take forever, but for me, time doesn’t matter as I don’t see things in time periods, it’s all continuous and I am very, very, patient.

 

          Just then I remembered.  The Ronne Ice Shelf is not the really awesome one, it’s the Ross Ice Shelf that I’m thinking about, and that’s basically round the other side of Antarctica. 

 

          So I decided that I would just have to check into that later on when I got that far.  I continued to drift in the usual pattern but now I was circling around to the east and I came upon the zone claimed by the British. 

 

          As I started on my way I continued to observe things but I can’t really remember much as at this time, there were bouts of very strong winds which would sweep out to sea and as I was close to the coast, I would get fresh blasts of them.  My highest reading was up to 80 km/h and along with the wind came a blizzard, which reduced visibility to only 8 metres.

 

          After the blizzard cleared up, I came closer to the coast.  I adjusted my camera eye to look up out of the water and onto Antarctica.  It was a good time to look because there seemed to be a rather large gathering of penguins upon the continent.  They appeared to be Emperor Penguins.

 

 As my lens zoomed closer in I could see tiny little chicks nestled inside the pouches above the male emperor penguins feet.  They look pretty warm in there.  I can’t say I’m that warm at the moment.  It is close to -50 degrees Celsius in the water.  I think the lowest ever reading the water has gotten to before, was about -89.6 degrees Celsius to be exact.

 

          All of those land animals up on Antarctica are amazingly adapt to the cold.  They can endure anything from around -20-30 degrees Celsius to +15-20 degrees Celsius. 

 

          Saying goodbye to the penguins I headed east once more.  More icebergs can be seen floating around which I avoid.  Then all of a sudden I hear this weird sound.  I can’t see where it’s coming from but it’s there.  It’s getting louder!!  Ahhhh, it just passed by me but there isn’t anything around that can be seen.  Wait, I’ll just check below me. Wow!  Whales!  Of course.  There is a family of killer whales swimming around playfully making that noise.  I can see about 3 large adult sized ones and a couple of baby whales as well.

 

Well I think I’ll just drift on and leave them to it.  I’m coming up to the Norwegian claimed zone of Antarctica now.  I think I can see a ship a short way away.  I better remain hidden from them or they’ll see me and disrupt my adventure. 

 

          On the ice I can see movement.  No penguins this time but massive elephant seals!  The adult ones are about 6-7 metres long and look as if they weigh like a ton!  Well actually they weigh about four tonnes.  It looks like I have come at a time of action.  Two of the male elephant seals are fighting for dominance over a harem of females.  There are about 50 females and only 2 males.  Why don’t they just share??  Oh well, that’s the animal kingdom for you.

 

A little further on there are more seals!  This must be a big gathering or something.  This breed is made up of fur seals.  They are much smaller than the elephant seals, but like the elephant seals they look as if they breed in huge harems.  I’ve heard that fur seals have the thickest coat of fur of any animal on Antarctica.  They are twice as numerous as the elephant seals as well as being smaller.

 

          Goodbye seals!  I’m drifting into Australian claimed zones now.  But hang on that wasn’t the last of the seals.  No I am now seeing all different breeds not only up on the ice but below me, swimming around for food.  It looks as though there is a mixture of Crabeater, Weddell and Leopard seals.      

 

          Up on the ice another breed of penguins has showed up.  They are the fabulous King penguins with these funny little yellow tufts of fur or something over the heads. 

 

          Watch it!  A seabird just swooped at me!  It looks like an albatross.  There are about 35 species of seabirds that visit Antarctica or Islands around in the subantarctic.  This one seems to have come from afar in search of something to feed on.  Well sorry Mr. Albatross but you won’t get far at digesting a glass sphere even if you could catch me!

 

          Another thing I have forgotten to mention are the great slabs of ice floating permanent all over the fringe of Antarctica.  These are the ice shelves of course.  They cover over 45% of the coastline.  But the reason I haven’t really mentioned them is because I don’t want to waste time on these ordinary ice shelves.  I want to see the Ross Ice Shelf.

 

          I have basically come and gone through the Australian zone and while I was thinking I have also drifted through the French zone as well.  I’m almost up to the New Zealand claim where once I arrive, will move inwards to where the Ross Ice Shelf is.

 

          While I have been drifting around this large and vast continent, I’ve noticed that the East side of Antarctica has about 88% of the ice sheet and that the West is smaller with the highest mountain peak.  Apparently the air is so cold in some parts that it cannot carry any moisture and so this is why there is little rainfall at all on this continent.

 

          This is great I’m almost there!  I will finally be able to see the Ross Ice Shelf!  Hang on what’s happening??  Oh no!!  Why god, why?  Every year the water around Antarctica freezes to ice for about 6 months.  That is what’s happening. 

 

          I’ve still got to go about 2-3 thousand kilometres to the ice shelf.  Well here I go, full speed ahead!  It doesn’t actually work well enough.  I barely go 400 kilo meters before the water is freezing and I am stuck in a pile of ice!

 

          Oh well, so close yet so far.  I’ll just have to wait a while.  Remember!  I am very patient so half a year means nothing to me.  In the mean time I’ll do what I have always wanted to do.  Sit back and observe the formation of Antarctica’s ice. 

 

          Well, after 4 months I have watched the formation of ice.  What happens is as snow accumulates, it forms deeper layers and as time goes on and the snow can’t melt, it finally turns to ice under the other layers of snow.

 

          Well just 2 months and this place should start to melt away I hope.  In the mean time I’ll put my systems on standby and have a little nap.

 

          Ahhhh!  I had a nightmare!  I was stuck in this ice and some of my screws came loose and before I knew it my circuit board was all shorting out because of a leakage of water! 

 

          I better not overreact.  Looks like while I was on standby the ice just melted away.  No wonder!  I was out for a month more than I was supposed to be.

 

          Well off I go still in perfect condition.  Just a short 2500 kilometre drift till I finally, after so long, get to see the Ross Ice Shelf!

 

          Passing into New Zealand waters I turn right and head north towards my destination.  Within a matter of 143 hours I had arrived.  Although at this moment I had to wait and extra 5 hours for a blizzard to break up before I could see it.

 

          At last there is was.  The great Ross Ice Shelf!  All of this was named after James Clark Ross himself as well as the sea right beside it, the Ross Sea.  He was the one who discovered this huge ice shelf, which in later days, provided the easiest access to the South Pole for other explorers.

 

          Well that was quite inspiring!  Off I go can’t stay too long.  Never thought the Ross Ice Shelf could get me bored so quickly.

 

          Well from the Ross Ice Shelf I continued back to good old Drake’s Passage.  I saw the usual.  You know, penguins, seals, whales and seabirds.  Fish, and fossils.  More icebergs and ice shelves.  It’s all the same. 

 

          As I round the corner I have finally had enough and want to stop at my ancient mooring.  I can’t wait to see the look on Sphere #345394871 glassy face, when I tell her what I’ve been up to the past year or so.

 

          As I get there though I find I can’t stop.  The only time I realise I have ever been able to stop was when I was frozen into the ice for 6 months.  Noooo, I can’t stop.  There’s the mooring but I can’t stop! 

 

          After an hour I finally give up with my winging and let the water flow me on yet another lap of Antarctica.  I see the usual again.  A few extra ships went by and even a helicopter.  I think I even saw a human base once but I decided to stay well away.

 

          Anyway I had the frustrating experience of once again floating past my good old mooring, and then one day while I was drifting down the coast in the Australian claimed zone, a fresh wave of wind and a current in the water both pushed me away from the coast further than I have ever been before.  Before I knew what was happening, I was drifting away from Antarctica into warmer water until I finally lost sight of it altogether.

 

          I was alone in the ocean.  After days on end I though I saw a glimpse of main land.  And there it was again.  Antarctica!! But wait a second.  It that is Antarctica why is the water and whether getting warmer?  It should be freezing by now.

 

          Oh my god!! Could it be?  Australia?  What an adventure.  First a few casual laps of Antarctica, before I get to go sight seeing in Australia!

 

          Well it didn’t quite work that way.  I expected to start drifting around the coast of Australia like I did in Antarctica, but alas I basically just drifted into the main land and beached myself.  According to my GPS, I should be on a stretch of beach near the town of Yambuk.

 

          I’m going to be here forever.  The date, not that it really matters is 27/8/85.  I’ll be here forever till my battery runs down.  It only has a life of average 18 years! 

 

          Three days later though some guy came walking alone on the beach.  I thought he wouldn’t see me but lucky enough he did and picked me up.  He had quite a struggle lifting me.  Not because I am that heavy, I think he was a bit of a weakling. 

 

          With luck he didn’t drop me and now I am nestled inside his bag being carried off to who knows where!  This is the end of my fantastic Antarctic journey!