Class | Subject | Book | Chapter | Session | Questions covered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
XII | English | Vistas (NCERT) | 3 – Journey to the end of the Earth | 2026-27 | 4 of 4 |
Chapter at a glance
Aspect | Key point |
|---|---|
Author | Tishani Doshi |
Journey | From Madras to Antarctica aboard the Russian research vessel Akademik Shokalskiy — nine time zones, six checkpoints, three bodies of water; over 100 hours of travel |
History | Gondwana, a southern supercontinent, existed 650 million years ago, centred around present-day Antarctica; India and Antarctica were once one landmass |
Antarctica | Coldest, driest, windiest continent; 90% of the Earth’s ice; never sustained a human population; ice-cores hold half-million-year-old carbon records |
Programme | Students on Ice, headed by Canadian Geoff Green, takes high school students to the ends of the world |
Lesson | The parable of the phytoplankton: “take care of the small things and the big things will fall into place”; “everything does indeed connect” |
Reading with insight
Question R1
‘The world’s geological history is trapped in Antarctica.’ How is the study of this region useful to us?
Answer
- Antarctica was the centre of Gondwana, the supercontinent that existed 650 million years ago; studying it helps us understand how continents drifted — India moving north to form the Himalayas, South America drifting to open the Drake Passage.
- It helps us understand “Cordilleran folds and pre-Cambrian granite shields; ozone and carbon; evolution and extinction”.
- Its ice-cores hold half-million-year-old carbon records, revealing past climate and helping predict future climate change.
- As it has never sustained a human population, it is relatively pristine, so changes there clearly show human impact — retreating glaciers and collapsing ice shelves.
- Its simple ecosystem shows how small environmental changes have big repercussions.
Thus, studying Antarctica helps us understand where we have come from and where we could be heading.
It reveals the Earth’s past (Gondwana, continental drift, evolution and extinction), its ice-cores record half a million years of carbon and climate history, and its pristine, simple ecosystem shows the effects of global warming and ozone depletion — helping us understand our past, present and future.
Question R2
What are Geoff Green’s reasons for including high school students in the Students on Ice expedition?
Answer
- Geoff Green “got tired of carting celebrities and retired, rich, curiosity-seekers who could only ‘give’ back in a limited way”.
- High school students are the future generation of policy-makers; he offers them “a life-changing experience at an age when they’re ready to absorb, learn, and most importantly, act”.
- Seeing glaciers retreating and ice shelves collapsing makes them realise that the threat of global warming is very real, fostering “a new understanding and respect for our planet”.
- Young people have the idealism and energy to make a difference.
Unlike celebrities and rich curiosity-seekers, students — future policy-makers — are at an age when they can absorb, learn and act; seeing the effects of global warming first-hand gives them a new understanding of and respect for the planet.
Question R3
‘Take care of the small things and the big things will take care of themselves.’ What is the relevance of this statement in the context of the Antarctic environment?
Answer
The statement is drawn from the parable of the phytoplankton — microscopic, single-celled “grasses of the sea” that nourish and sustain the entire food chain of the Southern Ocean. Through photosynthesis they assimilate carbon and synthesise organic compounds.
Scientists warn that further depletion of the ozone layer will affect the activities of phytoplankton, which in turn will affect the lives of all marine animals and birds of the region, and the global carbon cycle. Thus a change in the smallest organism can have huge consequences. If we protect small things like phytoplankton (and the ozone layer), the larger ecosystem and the planet’s balance will be safeguarded.
In Antarctica, tiny phytoplankton sustain the entire Southern Ocean food chain and the global carbon cycle; ozone depletion affecting them would harm all marine life and the climate. Protecting such small things safeguards the whole ecosystem.
Question R4
Why is Antarctica the place to go to, to understand the earth’s present, past and future?
Answer
- Past: It was part of Gondwana; its rocks and folds reveal the geological history of the Earth, continental drift, evolution and extinction.
- Present: It is the only place that has never sustained a human population, so it remains relatively pristine; its simple ecosystem and lack of biodiversity make it ideal to observe how small changes have big effects — e.g. retreating glaciers, collapsing ice shelves.
- Future: Its ice-cores hold half-million-year-old carbon records that help scientists predict climate change — whether the West Antarctic ice sheet will melt or the Gulf Stream be disrupted — and therefore the future of humankind.
Its geology preserves the history of Gondwana and continental drift (past); its pristine, simple ecosystem shows the present effects of human activity and global warming; and its ice-cores with half-million-year-old carbon records help predict climate change and our future.
Topic checklist
- ☒ Geological history and its use (R1)
- ☒ Students on Ice (R2)
- ☒ Parable of the phytoplankton (R3)
- ☒ Antarctica — past, present, future (R4)