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Imagine you are advising a student expedition on what to take to survive in our extreme environment, what items would you suggest they need and how would they help with the climate and landscape?

Some ideas to consider

• Clothing. Students would need appropriate clothing to cope with the low temperatures, lots of thin layers will be better than one thick layer, because the air can circulate and retain heat. If students become warm, they can strip layers, highly important, because if the temperature drops the sweat can freeze, lowering the body temperature. Students will also need warm gloves and boots. This is highly important because the extremities of the body are first to suffer from frostbite, as blood vessels contract to retain heat near the body’s major organs. Remember students will need more clothing as they move into the continent, as the relief rises and the influence of the sea declines (Continentality) . Students will also need a windproof jacket, to keep out the strong katabatic winds, remember the temperatures will effectively drop with strong winds, known as wind chill. Much heat is lost from the head, so a good hat is needed. The face should also be covered with a scarf, to avoid frost nip on the face.
• Goggles. To avoid snow blindness caused by the sun reflecting off the ice and also to stop ice crystals damaging the eyes during blizzards.
• Vaseline. The air in Antarctica is very dry, so lips and skin can dehydrate quickly, leaving it sore and cracked.
• Travelling equipment. If students are travelling, skis and a sledge would be useful, especially to transport supplies, though these would not be particularly useful if they come across sustrugi. Skis may also offer some protection against crevasses, but students should also take deadmen (strong pegs) and ice axes in case they get into trouble.
• Food. If students intend to stay on the continent for an extended period of time they will need a high calorie diet, the cold conditions and high relief make any physical activity highly exhausting. Students should make sure the diet is balanced and contains they necessary vitamins, otherwise over extended periods malnutrition and scurvy may occur. Students would want to take dehydrated food, this will take up less space and be lighter. Students should also ration their food carefully, allowing for emergencies. In the interior, there is no chance of finding food due to the lack of fauna and flora.
• Fuel. To keep warm, heat food and melt ice needed for water. Dehydration is a huge issue in Antarctica.
• GPS. Blizzards and white outs would be particularly hard to navigate in, but it is best to sit these out.Three would be useful, just in case of a malfunction. A traditional compass and sexton would also be useful, in case technology fails.
• Trent. (next to the city ground)Obviously to sleep in, but will also protect against exposure during poor weather.
• Satellite Telephone. In case of emergencies, but rescue attempts would be extremely difficult due geographical isolation.

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Study resource 18.

Which of the photos shows our extreme environment?

In this case Antarctica would be photograph A, a polar region.

Remember that an extreme environment exhibits a harsh, and challenging, climate and landscape that makes it difficult to sustain human life.

Why would Antarctica be classed as an extreme environment?

• The extremely low temperatures that make it difficult to work and live, humans are at risk of frostbite and hypothermia. Vostok on average in Winter is -60.
• The low precipitation that makes fresh water difficult to find, without fuel needed to melt ice. Remember that Antarctica is a desert.
• The strong katabatic winds that make working and travelling difficult.
• The challenging landscape, covered by a thick ice sheet, that makes it impossible to farm, extract natural resources and travel.
• Natural hazards that occur as a result of the climate and landscape, such as sustrugi, blizzards, whiteouts, crevasses.
• Periods of 24 hour darkness during its winter, because the South Hemisphere is titled away from the sun, making work and travel difficult, but also causing mental problems, such as depression, for humans.
• The remoteness of the area, it is difficult to get to, particularly during winter, because of the cold air temperatures making flights difficult and cold ocean temperatures resulting in pack ice on sea.

How is our extreme environment used by people?

There is a number of ways that Antarctica is used by people.

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