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The United States Antarctic Research Report to the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Number 32 - 1990 (1991) / Chapter Skim
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Highlights of Science Activities, 1 April 1990 - 31 March 1991
Pages 17-21

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From page 17...
... This spectacular release of energy is a supernova. Supernovas, which briefly give off amounts of energy that can rival the energy output of an entire galaxy, may trigger the birth of other stars, provide the energy and physical environment needed to synthesize elements that are heavier than iron, and have a part in redistributing heavy elements in the interstellar medium-gaseous and dust materials between stars.
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From page 18...
... Diatoms, phytoplankton with glass shells made from silica, were among the most abundant phytoplankton in antarctic waters in September 1988, when the seasonal ozone hole was forming. Investigators exposed nine species of diatoms to middle-wavelength UV light, or UV-B, which is most strongly absorbed by ozone, to evaluate chemical changes in the small building-block molecules of DNA, called nucleotide bases.
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From page 19...
... Environmental Impacts of Oil By the end of March 1989 - bout two months after the Argentine transport ship Bahia Caruso ran aground in Arthur Harbor near Palmer Stations estimated 150,000 gallons of diesel and jet fuel had spilled into the ocean. While small relative to major world oil spills, this event could potentially have significant impacts on the biota in the nearly undisturbed area on the Antarctic Peninsula.
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From page 20...
... Ice cores taken from Antarctica and Greenland offer scientists the opportunity to study the buildup of atmospheric carbon dioxide, oxygen isotopes, methane, lead compounds, chlorofluorocarbons, and trace gases over time periods ranging from one year to several centuries. In 1984 Soviet and French glaciologists obtained an ice core from the polar plateau near the Soviet station Vostok.
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From page 21...
... , climate is influenced by solar radiation levels, varying concentrations of gases, and other less-well understood factors. By determining the composition of oxygen, nitrogen, and argon trapped in the ice core to learn more about photosynthesis, respiration, and hydrologic process, investigators hope to describe global interactions among the hydrosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere, and to compare past and present measurements of atmospheric nitrogen, in order to understand climate changes that are presently occurring.
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Key Terms

  • mcmurdo station
  • ozone hole
  • investigators hope
  • dna repair
  • global warming

  • solar radiation
  • west antarctica
  • heavy elements
  • ice cover
  • ozone layer

  • ice core
  • tectonic plates
  • byrd land
  • south pole
  • ultraviolet radiation

  • ice cores
  • vostok core
  • climate changes
  • phytoplankton species
  • life forms

  • marie byrd
  • past global
  • isotope produced
  • food chain
  • changing climate

  • pulsing beam
  • studied chemical
  • antarctic ozone
  • sulfur vary
  • probably reflect


    • This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
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