Image courtesy of Sally E. Walker

From: Sally Walker
Antarctica, October 10, 2008

Arrival on Ross Island, Antarctica

About an hour before we were scheduled to land, we started descending and the weather was clear. We next spotted the snow-and-ice covered Transantarctic Mountains (TAM), and our spirits lifted: we were going to land in Antartica!

The Transantarctic Mountains are one of the longest mountain belts on Earth, formed by plate tectonic rifting that started in the Jurassic and continues today. These mountains separate the Precambrian rocks of east Antarctica from the Paleozoic and younger rocks of west Antarctica. Only the peaks (called nunataks) are visible, as glacial ice nearly devours the 3000-to-4900 meter elevation of these mountains. These peaks look like someone frosted a chocolate cake with a little too much white icing!

Antarctica possesses 90% of the Earth's freshwater locked up in ice sheets such as the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) and East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS). As I flew over the TAM, I saw large finger-like glaciers wedged in the valleys that connected the EAIS with the Ross Ice Shelf. If the WAIS melted, for example, it would raise sea level at least by 5 m or up to 17 meters; in that case, New York City's Statue of Liberty would need water wings!

Soon, the massive C-17 aircraft touched down like a feather on the frozen ocean of the Ross Ice Shelf. As I emerged from the plane, an immediate piercing coldness ripped at my cheeks, breathing was difficult because of the sharp coldness, and the treeless landscape of Antarctica gave me an immediate sense of isolation. This was like no other place I had ever experienced--was I on another planet?

The strange red boxy Delta vehicles confirmed that I must be on a different planet! To make matters worse, I was startled to see a volcano rising from Ross Island, puffing steam in the direction I was headed! Ross Island was formed by three volcanoes, but fortunately only one, Mt. Erebus (visible in the last little picture on the postcard) is active. A century ago, Shackleton and his expedition climbed this lava lake-filled volcano that once in a while belches out cinders and small amounts of ash. I wasn't sure I wanted to stay on an island with the southernmost active volcano in the world!

Mt. Erebus Volcano Observatory

Sea Ice

Ice Shelf

Warming on the Antarctic Peninsula

Go to the next postcard

Postcards from the Field: Polar Fossil Mysteries

You might also be interested in:

Traveling Nitrogen Classroom Activity Kit

Check out our online store - minerals, fossils, books, activities, jewelry, and household items!...more

The Cryosphere

The cryosphere includes the parts of the Earth system where water is in its frozen (solid) form. This includes snow, sea ice, icebergs, ice shelves, glaciers, ice sheets, and permafrost soils. Approximately...more

Antarctica

Antarctica is unique. It is the coldest, windiest, and driest continent on Earth. The land is barren and mostly covered with a thick sheet of ice. Antarctica is almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle...more

Plate Tectonics

Many forces cause the surface of the Earth to change over time. However, the largest force that changes our planet's surface is the movement of Earth's outer layer through the process of plate tectonics....more

Glaciers and Ice Sheets

For a glacier to develop, the amount of snow that falls must be more than the amount of snow that melts each year. This means that glaciers are only found in places where a large amount of snow falls each...more

Sea Level

Measuring sea level, the level of the ocean surface, continually over many years allows scientists to calculate whether sea level is changing. This helps us to understand how much sea level rise is happening...more

Ice Shelves

Ice shelves are a part of the Earth's cryosphere. Ice shelves are usually extensions of glaciers or ice sheets that cover the land. An ice shelf is a part of an ice sheet that extends from land out over...more

Volcanic Ash

Ash is made of millions of tiny fragments of rock and glass formed during a volcanic eruption. Volcanic ash particles are less than 2 mm in size and can be much smaller. Volcanic ash forms in several ways...more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA