The Importance of Antarctica according to Tishani

According to Tishani Doshi in her lesson Journey to the end of the Earth, there is a lot to be learned from a study of the Antarctic Continent. What can be learned can itself be divided into three parts:
1. The past: including the formation of the continents, the flora and fauna of the past, and the climate patterns that existed in the past.
2. The present: we can see how human industrial activity, burning of fossil fuels is impacting the planet Earth
3. The future: we can predict what the future annual global mean temperature will be like.

The past

A study of the Antarctic continent will reveal how the continents were formed, how a giant supercontinent called Gondwanaland once existed. We can also learn about how our Earth was formed by studying the rock formations in the Continent, the significance of Cordilleran folds and pre-Cambrian granite shields. The study will also reveal much about the flora and fauna that existed in the past. A study of the ice-core samples will reveal much about the amount of carbon dioxide that existed in the atmosphere in the past which in turn reveal how hot it was in the past. They say that greater levels of carbon dioxide indicate higher global temperature.

The present

Antarctica can also tell us about how healthy the planet is in the present time. We can learn about the impact of industries and fossil fuels on the planet. The impact of climate change is leading to the melting of ice and this can be seen more clearly in Arctic and Antarctic continents. The impact of climate change on the ecology can be studied through its impact on phytoplankton that nourishes the "entire Southern Ocean's food chain." Phytoplankton is highly sensitive to climate change. An increase in a few degrees of temperature is enough to wipe off the Phytoplankton resulting in a collapse in the food chain.

The future

Studying the Antarctic continent can help us learn more about the future of our planet. A study of the ice-core samples and their carbon content can tell us how hot it was in the past and how much more hot it will be in the future. Data analysis of temperature patterns in past and as revealed by the carbon dioxide contained in the ice-core samples could help predict, project future climate patterns. Melting of ice would lead to an opening of Drake's passage which in turn would lead to a disruption of the Gulf Stream. This in itself would have a catastrophic impact on the climate of the planet. According to Tishani, "for humans, the prognosis isn't good."