Nathan

Q.1 WHAT TRANSPORT DO PEOPLE USE? Antarctica has many different types of transport. It has transport in the air, on the land and in the water. They have ice breakers which are big ships that are designed to break through the ice. In Antarctica people use 6 wheel vehicles that are made for the snow and ice. People also use helicopters and planes to get to places quickly, they have some airports that have to be groomed so planes can land on them. Some people use a special type of vehicle that can go on land and in the water. The most common type of transport is the quad bike, people use it to travel around the bases. People use rubber duckies to get from the ship to the shore but they can also be used for sightseeing around Antarctica.

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Q.2 WHAT ARE GLACIERS?

Glaciers are a large amount of ice slowly moving downhill. 10 precent of the world’s land area is covered by glaciers. Glaciers start of as snowflakes, when the snow compresses together the weight of the snow slowly crushes it into ice. That happens all around and eventually makes the ice form together. The ice slowly grinds down a hill and picks up even more snow and ice when it is moving down the hill. They can get so big, from the size of a football field to a river 161 km long. Glaciers store about 69 precent of earth’s fresh water and if all of them melt the sea would rise 70 meters. Glacial ice can be very old, some glaciers are 100,000 years old.

Q.3 ICEBERGS!

Icebergs are pieces of ice that float around Antarctica and they are fresh water, not salt water. Icebergs come in all shapes and sizes, from ice cube size chunks to ice islands the size of a small country. Most icebergs break off from glaciers or ice shelves. Icebergs travel with the ocean current and get blown by the wind. In the winter sea ice freezes around the icebergs and makes them stuck until the spring comes, when the sea ice breaks up and the icebergs begin to move again.