Antarctica as an Educational Resource
The wait......
The continent of Antarctica presents a palette of superlatives and contrasts. It is, for example, the coldest and the driest and the windiest and the highest continent on earth. Yet it still supports a range of organisms that extends from microbes and plants to animals. How the extreme physical conditions evolved and how organisms are adapted to cope with them provides an abundance of resource material for the science prescription. To this may be added some unique aspects of Antarctic history and various socio-political elements which reflect on broader issues, thus integrating, in Medawar’s terms, the art of the soluble with the art of the possible.
As an educational resource, Antarctica is extremely broad in scope with the potential to contribute to a number of study areas. The focus of this webpage and thus the majority of the examples used, however, will centre on Antarctica as a resource for biology and in particular on the various adaptations organisms living in Antarctica have evolved to meet the unique conditions.
Introduction
Antarctica is a continent of superlatives and of contrasts. It is, for example, the coldest and the driest and the windiest and the highest continent on earth. Yet it still supports a range of organisms that extends from microbes and plants to animals. How the extreme physical conditions evolved and how organisms are adapted to cope with them provides an abundance of resource material for the science prescription. To this may be added some unique aspects of Antarctic history and various socio-political elements which reflect on broader issues, thus integrating, in Medawar’s terms, the art of the soluble with the art of the possible.
As an educational resource, Antarctica is extremely broad in scope with the potential to contribute to a number of study areas. The focus of this webpage and thus the majority of the examples used, however, will centre on Antarctica as a resource for biology and in particular on the various adaptations organisms living in Antarctica have evolved to meet the unique conditions.