Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
2
A keystone in a changing
world
BRYAN STOREY
Ferrar had returned all right and had made a great find in the
western mountains of fossil plants in some coal shale beds which
means that the South Pole has at one time had an abundant
vegetation.
Edward Wilson, 1902
In contrast to today, Antarctica has not always been the cold, isolated continent
sitting astride the South Pole. The mountains that protrude through the thick veneer
of ice provide a past record that is very different to today, an intriguing glimpse of a
continent that has preserved a remarkable record of how our Earth has changed
through geological time, and how Antarctica amalgamated and combined with
other continental fragments and drifted apart to form new ocean seaways. Despite
Antarctica being almost completely covered in ice, with less than 0.5% of the continent
exposed rock, we know a great deal about how the Antarctic continent has changed
through time from the oldest rock, estimated by geologists to be about 3930million
years old, to the geological processes that are operating today. Our understanding has
developed through the tireless efforts of early explorers who paved the way for modern
day geologists visiting and sampling all accessible rock outcrops to unravel the
mysteries of the hidden continent. Initially geologists travelled from rocky outcrop
to rocky outcrop by sledge using reliable and trustworthy dog teams to be replaced
in later years by mechanised motor toboggans and air support.
Geologists working in Antarctica have provided important knowledge and data
in support of the theory of plate tectonics. They discovered fossil plants and animals
that matched similar
finds in countries that were once part of the much larger
Gondwana supercontinent. Our knowledge of Antarctica has been further enhanced
by developing geophysical and remote sensing techniques that provide an insight
into the geology and form of the continent beneath the ice. These techniques include
 
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