Earth Science 7- Antarctica/ Australia/ New Zealand Period 1

Earth Science 7-Regions

Antarctica

Earth Science 7-Regions

Earth Science 7-Global Regions Index

Regions:

Queen Maud Land,Graham Land,Wilkes Land,Marie Byrd Land,and Victoria Land.

Latitude:

90 degrees north

Longitude:

0 degrees east

Average Elevation:

7,000-8,000 Ft. 

Highest Spot:

Vinson Massif: 16,066 Ft. 

Lowest Spot:

Bentley Subglacial Trench, 8,333 Ft. below sea level. 

Large bodies of water:

Ross Sea, Weddell Sea, Amundsen Sea, Southern Ocean,  and the Onyx River  .

Major topographic features:

Ross Ice Shelf, Transantacrtic Mountains, Prince Charles Mountains, and the Ellsworth Mountains. 

Bordering Oceans:

The Southern Ocean

Weather at McMurdo Station:

Average Monthly Temperature:

-15.119 degrees Celsius 

Highest Monthly Temperature:

-13.692 degrees Celsius 

Lowest Monthly Temperature:

-20.908 degrees Celsius

Average Monthly Precipitation:

0.665 of an inch

Climate Zone:

EF, ice cap, perennial ice.

Factors that Affect Antarctica’s Climate

Antarctica is generally mountainous with elevations ranging from 6,600 Ft. to 13.200 Ft.. Because temperature decreases with altitude, Antarctica’s elevation is a factor of why it’s so cold. Another factor of Antarctica’s climate is that Antarctica lies south of 60˚ latitude, where it’s difficult for the sun’s rays to reach Earth. Plants (or absence of) are another factor of Antarctica’s climate. This is because Antarctica is a desert (due to Antarctica containing cold, dry air) and the definition of desert is any barren land with very little rainfall, extreme temperatures (hot or cold), and sparse vegetation, so even vegetation (or lack thereof)can help determine Antarctica’s climate. Even the waters surrounding Antarctica play a role in determining Antarctica’s temperatures and precipitation. The Southern Ocean, an ocean bordering Antarctica, is home to the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, the most powerful current on Earth, which flows east completely around the Earth in a great circle just to the north of Antarctica. This current tends to bring cold water to the south, near Antarctica, and warmer water to the north. Also, because water cools slowly and heats slowly, it will keep cool because Antarctica is generally freezing and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current brings cold water to the already cold water. The cold water will also affect the climate of Antarctica because one, the water is surrounding Antarctica, which is basically a island made out of ice, and two, because of sea breezes and land breezes etc. However, ocean currents that keep the waters cold don’t just show up by themselves; prevailing west winds “drag” ocean currents, primarily westerlies, along beneath them. And why do the winds head toward Antarctica? Because Antarctica is in a low pressure zone and winds spiral out of highs and into lows. Low pressure also means that Antarctica is very cold and dry, and that affects the climate a great deal.

Geology

Key

Ag - Silver

Au - Gold

Co - Cobalt

Cu - copper

Cr - Chromium

Fe - Iron

Mb - Molybdenum

Mn - Manganese

Ni - Nickel

Pb - Lead

Ti - Titanium

U - Uranium

Zn - Zinc

Minerals:

Quartz veins, beryl, tourmaline, garnet, coarse mica, iron ore, copper ore, molybdenum ,cobalt, chromium, manganese, uranium, platinum, gold, and diamonds are some minerals thought to be found under Antarctica's ice.

Rock Types:

(Mafic granitoid) Precambrian igneous, and Precambrian metamorphic rocks can be found in central Antarctica and the Prince Charles Mountains, and Permian and Triassic sedimentary rocks can be found west of the Transantarctic Mountains. Undated red sandstone can be found along the coast of Wilkes Land and George V. Land. Antarctic bedrock containing detrital zircons, erratics, and recycled microfossils can be found in the Prydz Bay, Wilkes Land, Ross Sea, and Marie Byrd Land sector .

Mining Resources:

A treaty protecting Antarctica has prohibited mining for 50 yrs in the 1959 Antarctic Treaty .However if mining was allowed, Quartz veins, beryl, tourmaline, garnet, coarse mica, iron ore, copper ore, molybdenum,cobalt, chromium, manganese, uranium, platinum, gold, and diamonds would be mined, because they are the available minerals that appear in Antarctica.

Tectonic Plates

Antarctica resides on the Antarctic Plate and has all passive margins. There are a few convergent boundaries, near the southern tip of South America, and a few transform boundaries, near southwestern border of the Australian Plate and the bottom of the Pacific Plate.

Volcanoes

Antarctica has a wide variety of scattered volcanoes, usually consisting of other smaller volcanoes. Some volcanoes include:

• Mt. Takahe
  • Mt. Takahe is made of various shield volcanoes, calderas, and pyroclastic cones. The latest activity on Mt. Takahe constructed cinder cones on the southern side of the volcano, and tuff cones and cinder cones on the lower southwest and northeast side.
• Mt. Erebus
  • Mt. Erebus is composed of stratovolcanoes, calderas, and pyroclastic cones. Mt. Erebus is the world's southernmost historically active volcano.
• Mt. Berlin
  • Mt. Berlin consists of two coalescing shield volcanoes and two calderas. Berlin Crater is the westernmost and highest volcano. It displays active fumaroles, which are openings in the Earth's crust, along the western and northern rims.
• The Pleiades
  • The Pleiades volcano is made of a small trachytic stratovolcano, called Mt. Pleiones, along with several lava domes and cinder cones. Mt. Pheiones and the Pleiades appear to be one of the youngest volcanoes in Antarctica.
• Mt. Melbourne
  • Mt. Melborne is a large stratovolcano with a lot of scoria cones, lava domes, viscous lava flows, and lava fields. It is likely that the most recent eruption happened a few hundred years ago.

All of the above volcanoes seem to be rhyolitic volcanoes, because they aren't anywhere near a boundary. In conclusion the only possible way they could form is a continental hot spot.

The following volcanoes are some examples of the many volcanoes resting on the the Antarctic plate but not mainland Antarctica itself.

• Buckle Island
  • Buckle Island is part of a volcanic island arc, called the Balleny Islands, off the coast of Victoria Land. The volcano itself is a stratovolcano. No detailed geological studies exist for Balleny Islands volcanoes.
• Young Island
  • Young Island belongs to the same volcanic island arc as Buckle Island. The volcano itself is also a stratovolcano, like the volcano on Buckle Island.
• Peter I Island
  • The volcano on Peter I Island is a shield-like volcano with a 100m wide crater. There is not a lot of info known on this particular volcano.
• Penguin Island
  • Penguin Island's most prominent features are Deacon Peak, a basaltic scoria cone about 300 years old,and the Petrel Crater maar, which is about 100 years old. The Penguin Island volcano itself is a stratovolcano. There appears to be some fumarolic activity.
• Deception Island
  • Deception Island is actually a caldera flooded by the sea. A lot of vents along ring fractures suggests that the island may have been active during historical times.
• Paulet
  • Paulet is composed of lava flows capped by a cinder cone. Scientists have reason to believe that Paulet has had activity with the last 1000 years. Residual heat keeps the island ice-free.

Most of these volcanoes are rhyolitic, except for Penguin Island and Deception Island, which are basaltic volcanoes due to the fact that they formed on a rift valley, a product of a divergent boundary.

All the above volcanoes are dormant unless specified otherwise. Please take note that the absence of information is due to the fact that most scientists or geologists don't really want to go to Antarctica.

Earthquakes

Antarctica has very few significant earthquakes, or the earthquakes are just not recorded due to the lack of seismograph stations. However there are some earthquakes recorded. On January 5, 2001 there was an earthquake recorded near Lake Vostak , and on January 16 2012, two earthquakes, a 6.6 and a 6.2, struck Antarctica.

Links:

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ay.html

http://discoverer.prod.sirs.com/discoweb/disco/do/article?urn=urn%3Asirs%3AUS%3BARTICLE%3BART%3B0000220721

http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/antarctica%20environment/climate_graph/vostok_south_pole_mcmurdo.htm

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Reference&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=SUIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CCX3425900016&mode=view

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/global/climate_max.htm

http://school.eb.com/all/eb/article-9109381?query=Antarctica&ct=null

http://search.proquest.com/docview/104980260/135082B249310463061/2?accountid=14063

http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=S1028421-0-7244&artno=0000010095&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=Antarctica%20Minerals&title=Antarctica%3A%20Tourism%27s%20Last%20Frontier&res=Y&ren=N&gov=N&lnk=N&ic=N

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/NewsDetailsPage/NewsDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=News&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=SUIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CA271721286&mode=view

http://search.proquest.com/docview/281430250/1350AE6D1AB3784CEB5/1?accountid=14063

http://go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=DA-SORT&inPS=true&prodId=GPS&userGroupName=tlc209178764&tabID=T003&searchId=R2&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=1&contentSet=GALE%7CA71569342&&docId=GALE%7CA71569342&docType=GALE&role=ITOF

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/NewsDetailsPage/NewsDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=News&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=SUIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CA277295791&mode=view

Regions:

Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales, and South Australia. [28]

Latitude:

27 degrees south. [29]

Longitude:

133 degrees east. [30]

Average Elevation:

1,000 Ft. [31]

Highest Spot:

Mount Kosciuszko, 7,350 Ft. [32]

Lowest Spot:

Lake Eyre, 49 Ft. below sea level. [33]

Large Bodies of Water:

Murray River, Darling River, Murrumbidgee River, Lake Eyre, Gulf of Carpentaria, [34] Timor Sea, Coral Sea, Tasman Sea, and the Great Austrian Bight. [35]

Major Topographic features:

The Great Barrier Reef. [36]

Bordering Oceans:

The Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean [37]

Climate Zones:

The northern parts of Australia are tropical climates, varied between tropical rain forests, grasslands, and part desert. It is ruled by hot sinking air, of the subtropical pressure belt, which moves north and south seasonally.

Highs and Lows:

Seasonal highs and lows range from well above 50 degrees Celsius, to below 0 degrees Celsius.

Rainfall:

The monthly average of rainfall is 4.13 in.

Average Monthly Temperature:

High: 28.6 degrees Celsius. Low: 12.84 degrees Celsius.

Rocks and Minerals:

Australia has a wide variety of rocks and minerals, throughout its landscape. In the north, there is bauxite, iron, and copper. there is also some iron in the south, and some bauxite, in the very southwest. Also, across the nation, there are a couple of oil deposits. In the very south and southeast, there is uranium, silver, coal, lead, and zinc. There is also gold in the southwest.

Tectonic Plates

Volcanoes

Australia has a province of non-active shield volcanoes, that used to spew basaltic lava,called the Newer Volcanics Province. on the very southeast side of itself. The volcanoes have been inactive for 5,600 years, so there have been no recent eruptions. The volcanoes names are,

• Mount Schank
• Mount Napier
• Mount Gambier
• Tower Hill
• Mount Elephant
• Mount Eccles
• Mount Leura
• Mount Noorat
• Mount Buninyong

Earthquakes

Earthquakes can occur in almost any part of Australia. The regions that have the most quakes are the West Australian wheatbelt, and the Flinders Ranges of South Australia. There are three Earthquakes in the history of Australia, that have caused deaths, and they are all significant . One of them was the earthquake in 1902 near Warooka, on the Yorke Peninsula of South Australia, that had a magnitude of 6.0, and it caused two deaths. The second one was the earthquake in 1935 in Queensland that caused one death. But the most significant earthquake was in 1989 at Newcastle, and it had a 5.6 magnitude, and it killed 13 people.

References:

http://school.eb.com/all/eb/article-9110544?query=Australia&ct=null

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Reference&disableHighlighting=true&prodId=SUIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ2171100009&mode=view

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/as.html

http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-mineral-map.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newer_Volcanics_Province

http://www.seismicity.see.uwa.edu.au/welcome/seismicity_in_australia

Links:

http://school.eb.com/all/eb/article-9110544?query=Australia&ct=null

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Reference&disableHighlighting=true&prodId=SUIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ2171100009&mode=view

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/as.html

http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-mineral-map.htm

New Zealand

Earth Science 7-Regions Earth Science 7-Global Regions Index

Regions:

North Island and South Island. [38]

Latitude:

41 degrees south. [39]

Longitude:

174 degrees east. [40]

Highest Spot:

Aoraki-Mount Cook, 12316 Ft. [41]

Lowest Spot:

Pacific Ocean, 0 Ft. [42]

Average Elevation:

6,000-7,000 feet [43]

Large Bodies of Water:

Tasman Sea, [44] Waikato River, Lake Taupo, [45] Foveaux Straight, Cook Straight, and Tasman Bay. [46]

Major Topographic features:

Volcanoe Edmont/Taranaki, Volcanoe Ruapehu, Volcanoe Nuguaruhoe, Volcanoe Tongariro, and Aoraki-Mount Cook. [47]

Bordering Oceans:

Pacific Ocean.[48]

Average Monthly Rainfall:

4.34 inches.[49]

Average Monthly Precipitation:

4.1 inches [50]

Average Monthly Temperature:

High- 19 degrees Celciuis Low- 12.5 degrees Celcius [51]

Climate Zone:

cfc, mild with no dry season, cool summer, and year around equally spread rainfall [52]

Factors that Affect New Zealand's Climate

In New Zealand the elevation is mostly a little above sea level, despite a few mountain tops. This elevation causes the temperature to stay at a hot temperature. Another factor of New Zealand's climate is that New Zealand lies north of 60˚ latitude, where it’s easy for the sun’s rays to reach Earth. This makes the climate of New Zealand warmer. Because New Zealand is in a low pressure zone and winds spiral out of highs and into lows, it affects the temperature a lot. Low pressure zones means that the climate is humid and warm. Because New Zealand is surrounded by water, the island has many sea breezes from all directions. These sea breezes circulate cool air into the climate. The topography of New Zealand causes there to be very diverse climates throughout the region. Some areas are barley above sea level, while others are above 12,000 feet on the peeks of mountains. This means that temperatures can vary a lot. In a valley the climate could be almost 80 degrees and just a mile east could be a mountain with snow at its peak. The island's surrounding winds are prevailing north westerlies. Because the weather in New Zealand is mostly warm and dry, there is a big diversity of plants that grow in New Zealand. Also because there is a good amount of rain there, the plants grow easily. Most of New Zealand is surrounded by the East Australian Current. [53] This current moves warm water in a clockwise fashion down the coast of Australia and New Zealand. This current brings warm weather and water to the island. [54]

Geology

Minerals:

New Zealand has abundant resources of coal, silver, iron ore, limestone and gold. It ranked 22 in the world in terms of iron ore production and 29th in gold production. The total value of mineral production in New Zealand was $1.5 billion in 2006 (excluding oil and gas). The most important metallic minerals produced are gold (10.62 tonnes), silver (27.2 tonnes) and titanomagnetite ironsand (2.15 million tonnes). A 2008 report estimated that the unexploited resources of just seven core minerals (including gold, copper, iron and molybdenum) totalled around $140 billion in worth. Cumming, Geoff (6 March 2010). "Miners press to enter the green zone". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 24 March 2010.[55]

Rock Types:

A great proportion of the southern part of the North Island is formed of rather soft Tertiary rocks. The rocks are very similar in character throughout the area: blue-grey sandstone or mudstone, commonly known as "papa". They form a very characteristic topography of steep slopes and sharp ridges, reflecting the easily erodible nature of the rock. Harder rock types, such as limestone, stand out prominently, particularly in Hawkes Bay and the Wairarapa. [56]

Mineral Resources:

Some towns that have very abundant mining resources are Huntly, Rotowaro, Waihi, Ohai, and Kaitangata.[57]

Plate Tectonics:

New Zealand lays on the Australian plate in the North, and the Australian along with the Pacific plate in the South.

Boundary Types:

The boundary running through New Zealand is a convergent boundary.

Margin Types:

New Zealand’s south eastern and eastern coasts are an example of an active margin. It is an active margin because it is along the plate boundary. The northern, north western, the western, and the southern boarders are examples of passive margins, because passive margins are in the interior of the plate. [58]

Volcanoes:

Although there are many volcanoes located in New Zealand, the only active ones occur offshore and on the Northern Island. Kaikohe-Bay of Islands is a Volcanic Field, some volcanoes are basaltic and some are rhyolitic, Whangarei is a Cinder Cone the volcanoes have basaltic magma, Aukland Field is a Volcanic Field, it is made up of basaltic volcanoes, Mayor Island is a Shield Volcanoe,and is made up of basaltic magma, Taranaki-Egmont is a Stratovolcanoand it has andesitic magma, White Island is also made up of Stratovolcanoes, two overlapping andesitic volcanoes, one of New Zealand's most active volcanoes, Whale Island is an andesitic complex volcano, Rotorua is caldera, Okataina is Lava Domes and is rhyolitic, Reporoa is caldera and is also rhyolitic, Maroa is caldera and rhyolitic, Taupo is caldera and rhyolitic, Tongariro is a Stratovolcano and it is andesitic, it is composed of more than a dozen composite cones, Ruapehu is a stratovolcano and it is andesitic. [59]

• Raoul Island is the emergent part of a large volcano that lies on the Kermadec ridge, a chain of submarine volcanoes. Eruptions have been observed and recorded in 1814, 1870, 1964 and 2006.
• Mt Ruapehu erupted in 1945
• Mt Tongariro is not a single volcano, but a complex of craters that were very active in the eruption that took place in 1896

[60]

Earthquakes:

Earthquakes in New Zealand occur because the country forms part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, which is geologically active. About 20,000 earthquakes, most of them very small, are recorded each year. Only about 200 of these are strong enough to be felt. As a result, New Zealand has very stringent building regulations.[61] The Western coast of the southern island of New Zealand has the most sever earthquakes. [62] Some of the more recent earthquakes are: M 6.3, Christchurch, February 22 2011 M 7.1, Darfield (Canterbury), September 4 2010 M 7.8, Dusky Sound, July 15 2009 T M 6.8, Gisborne, December 20 2007 Some of the significant earthquakes thta have happened in the past are:

• M 6.5, Edgecumbe, March 2 1987
• M 7.1, Inangahua, May 24 1968
• M 7.0, Wairarapa II, August 2 1942
• M 7.2, Wairarapa I, June 24 1942
• M 7.6, Horoeka (Pahiatua), March 5 1934
• M 7.8, Hawke's Bay, February 3 1931
• M 7.8, Buller (Murchison), June 17 1929
• M 7.1, North Canterbury, September 1 1888
• M 8.2, Wairarapa, January 23 1855
• M 7.8, Marlborough, October 16 1848

[63]

Types of Rock and the Relationship to Tectonic Activity:

A great proportion of the southern part of the North Island is formed of soft Tertiary rocks. The rocks are similar in character throughout the area. They are blue-grey sandstone or mudstone, commonly known as "papa". They form a very characteristic topography of steep slopes and sharp ridges, reflecting the easily erodible nature of the rock. Harder rock types, like limestone, stand out prominently, particularly in Hawkes Bay and the Wairarapa, where many earthquakes occur. [64]

References:

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/nz.html

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Reference&disableHighlighting=true&prodId=SUIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ2171600006&mode=view

http://school.eb.com/all/comptons/article-9276082?query=New%20zealand&ct=null

http://www.worldclimate.com/cgi-bin/data.pl?ref=S41E174+2100+93434W

http://www.climatetemp.info/new-zealand/wellington.html

http://oceanmotion.org/html/background/wind-driven-surface.htm

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=15366

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mining_in_New_Zealand

http://data.gns.cri.nz/geoatlas/text.jsp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mining_in_New_Zealand#Mining_towns

http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/tectonic.htm

http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/region.cfm?rnum=0401

http://www.geonet.org.nz/earthquake/historic-earthquakes/

http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/earthquakes/3/3

http://data.gns.cri.nz/geoatlas/text.jsp

Links:

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/nz.html

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Reference&disableHighlighting=true&prodId=SUIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ2171600006&mode=view

http://school.eb.com/all/comptons/article-9276082?query=New%20zealand&ct=null

http://www.worldclimate.com/cgi-bin/data.pl?ref=S41E174+2100+93434W