Title of the Article: The Making of Antarctica's Hidden Frojds
Source: Science Daily.
As the 3rd quarter began we started to talk about the Grand Continent named Pangaea. The super continent had all of the today's continents in one 'larger' continent - and this was estimated to be about 300 million years ago. We also discussed how the movement of the tectonic plates can affect speciation as well as evolution. The 11th grade class was taught that many species got separated when the tectonic plates moved, thus speciation occurred where one specie began to 'evolve' and adapt to the new area it was headed to, while the original specie did not go through the same change. The constant change and movement of the plates is responsible for the great diversity of animals we have today. I chose to write about this article since it related to the unit we were studying. Even though it does not mention anything related to speciation, it elaborates on the fact that between 20-30 million years ago erosion occurred in the Antarctic, however it is not visible (without digging) since the evidence can be found beneath the massive Lambert Glacier (which covers a large segment of the isolated continent).
"Glaciers can carve deep valleys quickly -- and did so on Antarctica before it got so cold that the most of it got covered by one or two miles of thick, stationary ice." I find it fascinating how our planet will never remain the same - but with the momentum of the tectonic plates it will alter. The research done by this team has been a challange for them. As mentioned in the article: scientists mostly hike the area before coming up with its topography - while collecting some rock samples and sending them back to the lab. It is difficult in Antarctica's case since 97% of its composition is ice.
By Mihajlo
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