What divides Antarctica into eastern and western regions?

Transantarctic Mountains, mountain system subdividing the Antarctic continent into an eastern (East Antarctica) and a western (West Antarctica) region. The Transantarctic Mountains stretch for more than 2,000 miles (3,200 km) from Victoria Land to the shores of the Weddell Sea.

How Antarctica is divided?

The continent is divided into East Antarctica (which is largely composed of a high ice-covered plateau) and West Antarctica (which is largely an ice sheet covering an archipelago of mountainous islands).

How do cardinal directions work in Antarctica?

The geographic North and South Poles mark the opposite ends of a central axis that Earth spins on. Compass needles are designed to align with Earth’s magnetic field, with the north end of the needle pointing to the magnetic North Pole and the opposite end of the needle pointing to the magnetic South Pole.

How is East and West determined?

West is directly opposite east. The sun’s position in the sky can be used to determine east and west if the general time of day is known. In the morning, the sun rises roughly in the east and tracks upwards. In the evening it sets roughly in the west.

Why is Antarctica so cold?

Both the Arctic (North Pole) and the Antarctic (South Pole) are cold because they don’t get any direct sunlight. The Sun is always low on the horizon, even in the middle of summer. In winter, the Sun is so far below the horizon that it doesn’t come up at all for months at a time.

Does Antarctica have an East and West?

In the most general terms, Antarctica can be divided into three major areas: West Antarctica, East Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula.

What is the difference between East Antarctica and West Antarctica?

In East Antarctica, the ice sheet is thicker and rests on bedrock that is above sea level in most places, whereas in the west the ice is not as thick and much of the underlying bedrock is below sea level. In addition to being the highest continent, Antarctica is also distinctive for being the coldest and the driest.

Where is the true south pole?

The true south geographic pole is located near Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. There are many markers at this site representing the movement of the true geographic pole over the years. The distance between the south geographic pole and the south magnetic pole is approximately 2,858 km.

How are directions decided?

The Earth has a magnetic field which is approximately aligned with its axis of rotation. A magnetic compass is a device that uses this field to determine the cardinal directions. The north pole of the magnetic needle points towards the geographic north pole of the earth and vice versa.

How directions are determined?

Most commonly, directions are provided in terms of whether the place lies north, south, east, or west of where we are currently located (this is known as relative location). North, south, east, and west are known as cardinal directions. We can use the location of the sun in the sky in order to determine direction.

How are east and West Antarctica divided?

Informally, and on a more practical basis, East and West Antarctica are divided by the Transantarctic Mountain Range, which is somewhat aligned with the 0/180 degree meridian. Since the mountains form a barrier in the middle of the ice sheet, ice

What is the defining characteristic of West Antarctica?

The defining characteristic of West Antarctica is that the majority of the ice sheet is “grounded” on a bed that lies below sea level. In his 1968 paper, Mercer called the West Antarctic Ice Sheet a “uniquely vulnerable and unstable body of ice.”

How do you find East Antarctica?

East Antarctica is the part south of the Eastern Hemisphere. Tools for everyone who codes. For nearly all of Antarctica, it’s pretty simple; determine which way is north (using, for example, a GPS device or a magnetic compass together with a chart of the deviation for your area), and then west will be 90° counterclockwise.

Is Antarctica’s West Antarctic ice sheet unstoppable?

The new finding that the eventual loss of a major section of West Antarctica’s ice sheet “appears unstoppable” was not completely unexpected by scientists who study this area. The “Unstable” West Antarctic Ice Sheet: A Primer | NASA Skip to main content LOADING… Loading Text Size The “Unstable” West Antarctic Ice Sheet: A Primer