Adventure to

AntarcticaMarch 2011

By Todd Latham

Antarctic Explorers

Roald Amundsen

from Norway was the

first to reach the South

Pole in 1911.

Ernest Shackleton

lost his ship but

saved all his men

Robert F. Scott

was a British hero

Robert Swan- The first person to walk to BOTH

the South Pole and the North Pole!– Polar explorer & founder of 2041.com

Facts about Antarctica

• It is bigger than Canada! - 14 million sq. km.

• Nobody owns Antarctica but some countries think they do.

• The most cold, dry and windy place on earth.

• Antarctica is a peaceful and unspoiled wilderness, dedicated to science, with a worldwide agreement that doesn’t allow armies, mining or drilling for oil.

We flew to Argentina

to start our journey...

... you can also get

to Antarctica from

Africa, New Zealand

or Australia!

The bottom of South America –

over 11,000km from Toronto and still 3,900km away

from the South Pole!

There were 72 people from

all over the world on the trip

We left for the bottom of the planet… across the scary Drake Passage.

The waves were bigger than a truck!

What is it like there?

NOT like this!

Did you know that polar

bears live in the far north

and penguins live in the

far south – they don’t live

together!

I’m eating ice that

is 10,000 years old!

We explored on zodiacs

(special boats), learned about

the environment and saw lots of

animals. What kind did we see?

Penguins!

This is a baby Gentoo penguin – one of the most common that we saw… - there were thousands of them and they pooped all over the place!

Did You Know………?

• Baby penguins ‘molt’ - they

shed the feathers they are born with.

When young penguins are still covered in down, they have less chance of survival if it rains and they get wet. The down protects them from the snow; but the rise in global temperatures means that it rains more in Antarctica.

• There are seven kinds of penguins…

Penguins of Antarctica

Adélie

RockhopperMacaroni

Gentoo

King

Chinstrap

Emperor

And seals…Weddell SealFur Seal

Some of them sleep on

icebergs.

They don’t actually eat crabs... They eat krill – a small kind of shrimp:

Crabeater Seal

Not all seals are cute….

Leopard Seal

Leopard Seals

… are big andeat penguins for breakfast!

Facts about Antarctica

• Antarctica holds 70% of the world’s fresh water.

• Many of these huge icebergs have broken away from the land and are slowly melting.

• If a lot of the ice melts, many coastal citieswill go under water and people will lose homes.

Icebergs and glaciers are really, really BIG!

The ice is very old and very thick – in some

places it is over seven times as tall as the

CN Tower!

We saw lots of whales...

WhalesHumpback and Minke whales were a common sight on our expedition.

Their breath stinks!

That’s me!

Would you want to swim in that water?

I DID ! Many of us took the “Polar Plunge”… and went swimming in the ocean --it was really cold!

While nobody owns Antarctica, some people live there… to study

There are about 10,000 scientists and explorers from all over the world who stay in Antarctica each year.

An adventure to better understand the global environment with lots of smart

people… but we need you to help!

International Antarctica

Expedition 2011

• Recycle and reuse things instead of throwing them in the garbage

• Turn off lights when you leave the room

• Don’t leave the water running

• Tell your friends to do those things too

• Keep learning about the environment and maybe you’ll get to go to Antarctica when you grow up!

5 things you can do…

“The world ought to have the sense to leave just one place on earth alone.”

– Sir Peter Scott