THE+FOSSILS+OF+ANTARCTICA

> Two hundred million years ago, all of the continents on Earth were joined in one large supercontinent scientists call Pangaea. The formation of Pangaea dried up many shallow seas, which led to the evolution of new species on land. This is the time during which mammals first began to appear. During the Mesozoic Era, around 190 million years ago, Pangaea began to break up. The breakup resulted in two landmasses: Laurasia, the northern group of continents, and Gondwanaland, the southern group of continents. Gondwanaland included South America, Antarctica, Australia, Africa, and India. By the end of the Cretaceous Period 65 million years ago, Africa and South America had moved apart. By 43 million years ago, Australia and Antarctica had separated and moved to their present locations. > How do we know that these events actually happened? You have probably noticed that South America and Africa seem to fit together like puzzle pieces. Because of this fit, many people wondered if the continents once were joined. A German scientist named Alfred Wegener proposed that all of the continents once had been joined in a supercontinent that he called Pangaea. He suggested that Pangaea began to break apart millions of years ago, and that the continents continued to move until they reached their present locations. He called his hypothesis //continental drift.// Today, Wegener’s hypothesis is known as the theory of plate tectonics. Wegener was the first scientist to base his hypothesis on more than the fit of the continents. He collected data on rock formations, fossils, and climates to support his hypothesis. Wegener found the same rock formations and fossils in Africa, South America, and Antarctica. Some of the fossils were of species that grew in only one type of climate, yet the fossils were found on continents with differing climates. How could there be fossils of tropical and temperate climate species in Antarctica, a continent that is permanently covered with ice and snow? Have any fossils been found in Antarctica that can support Wegener’s hypothesis, and thus, the theory of plate tectonics? > [|Top] > Your job in this WebQuest is to discover what fossils have been found in Antarctica, and to identify how those fossils either support or disprove Wegener’s hypothesis and the theory of plate tectonics. You will have to find out what kinds of fossils have been found in Antarctica. You will have to discover how to interpret the meaning of these fossils as indicators of the climate that once prevailed in Antarctica. Finally, you will answer a set of questions about the fossils of Antarctica to demonstrate what you have learned. > [|Top] > Look at the web sites given here to find the information that will enable you to answer questions about Antarctica fossils. > [|Top] > 1 class period for Internet research and answering the set of questions > [|Top] > Read through the following set of questions before you begin your Internet research. As you explore each site, look for answers to the questions. > **//Questions about the Fossils of Antarctica//** > [|Top] **Conclusion** > In the process of completing this WebQuest, you’ve become informed about the fossils found in Antarctica, and what those fossils tell us about the climate and location of Antarctica millions of years ago. You have learned that some dinosaur fossils found in Antarctica were previously found only in the Americas. You have discovered that some Antarctica fossils were of species that could live only in temperate or tropical climates. You have developed research skills as you explored the web sites given and identified the relevant information to answer the set of questions above. Do you agree with Wegener that Antarctica must have had a warmer climate millions of years ago? Do you think that the information you have gathered about Antarctic fossils supports the theory of plate tectonics? > [|Top] **An Internet WebQuest** **THE FOSSILS OF ANTARCTICA** **Introduction** > In this WebQuest, students do some Internet research on the fossils of Antarctica. They learn what fossils have been found in Antarctica, and what those fossils indicate about the climate and location of the continent millions of years ago. Students also learn why so few fossils have been found in Antarctica. Finally, students answer some questions about the fossils of Antarctica, based on their Internet research. > [|Top] > While students are doing their Internet research, they will try to answer the set of questions given. Each web site has some of the answers to the questions, but several of the questions require information from two or more of the web sites. Students should be able to compile information to answer the questions as they read through each web site. Although several of the web sites give detailed information about the types of fossils found in Antarctica, and the geologic time periods represented, students are not expected to become experts in these areas. Instead, they should be able to gain a general understanding of what Antarctic fossils indicate about the climate and location of the continent millions of years ago. From their Internet research, students should also be able to make a reasonable conclusion as to whether these fossils support the theory of plate tectonics. > **Objectives** > [|Top] > Students will use the Internet links given to find out all about the fossils of Antarctica. They will learn about the time periods that each of these fossils represents, and about the climate that these species lived in. Students will identify the relevance of finding certain types of fossils in Antarctica and discuss how the fossils support the idea that Antarctica once had a warmer climate than it does at present. Finally, students will decide for themselves if the fossil evidence from Antarctica supports the theory of plate tectonics. > [|Top] > 1 class period for Internet research and answering the set of questions > [|Top] > As students progress through the list of web sites, you may help them to focus on what they need to know to answer the questions given. Several of the web sites have links to other web sites with relevant information. If time allows, you may want to allow students to explore this subject further. However, many of the sites eventually link back to those listed on the student pages. > [|Top] **Evaluation** Click Here for Rubric > You may assign 10 points to each of the 10 questions for a total of 100 possible points. The answers to the questions are given below. //You may rate the answer to each questions by the following scale: Excellent: 9-10 points; Very Good: 7-8 points; Good: 5-6 points; Satisfactory: 3-4 points; Poor: 1-2 points; and Unsatisfactory: 0 points.// > **//Questions about the Fossils of Antarctica//** > [|Top] **Conclusion** > Using information gathered from the Internet, students should be able to answer the questions given about the fossils of Antarctica. From their research, students should be able to draw some conclusions about the climate and position of Antarctica millions of years ago, and be able to compare that location with its present location. Students should be able to identify the evidence that fossils provide to support the theory of plate tectonics. > [|Top] >
 * An Internet WebQuest**
 * THE FOSSILS OF ANTARCTICA**
 * Introduction**
 * Task**
 * Resources**
 * **[|Marine Fossils from Antarctica.]** Visit this site for an overview of the fossils found in Antarctica and what they reveal about the past climate and geographical location of Antarctica. Scroll down to see photographs of some of the fossils found on Vega Island, an island just off the coast of Antarctica.
 * **[|New Dinosaur Finds In Antarctica Paint Fuller Picture of Past Ecosystem.]** Visit this site to learn why the discovery of a hadrosaur, a duck-billed dinosaur, in Antarctica is an important clue to the climate of the continent 66 to 67 million years ago.
 * **[|Fossils From Mesozoic Era Antarctica.]** Go to this site for a brief discussion of continental drift (now called plate tectonics) and how it affected Antarctica. There is a good map of Antarctica here. Scroll down to see an interactive graphic of continental drift with a key to the continents. Continue to scroll down to see a list of fossils found in Antarctica.
 * **[|When Dinosaurs Roamed Antarctica…]** Visit this site to read about dinosaur and reptile fossils found in the Transantarctic Mountains. These fossils are from the middle Jurassic, about 175 million years ago.
 * [|**The Lost World Discovered?**] At this site you can read an overview of the fossils found in Antarctica from the first expeditions to the present. This site includes a short history of human presence on Antarctica as well.
 * Time**
 * Process**
 * 1) What were the first fossils found in Antarctica? Where and when were they found?
 * 2) What was the first dinosaur fossil found in Antarctica? Where and when was it found?
 * 3) What dinosaur fossil was found on Vega Island in 1986?
 * 4) What are the two reasons the fossil found on Vega Island is of particular importance to understanding the climate and location of Antarctica millions of years ago?
 * 5) The first dinosaur fossil and the fossil found on Vega Island in 1986 were representative of what geologic time period?
 * 6) What dinosaur fossil was found in the Transantarctic Mountains in the summer of 1990-1991? During what geologic time period did this dinosaur live?
 * 7) Besides the fossils already discussed, name the other fossil animals that have been found in Antarctica.
 * 8) Why have so few dinosaur fossils been found in Antarctica?
 * 9) Early expeditions to Antarctica reported on seeing fossils, but they did not collect them. Who first reported seeing fossils of leaves and stems of plants? Who reported finding beds of coal near the South Pole?
 * 10) How do plant fossils and beds of coal support the idea that Antarctica once was warmer than it is today?
 * WebQuest Teacher Page**
 * Task**
 * **List** the types of fossils found in Antarctica and the geologic time period each fossil represents.
 * **Discuss** how these fossils support the idea that Antarctica once had a warmer climate than it does at present.
 * **Identify** the evidence that supports the idea that Antarctica and South America once were connected by a land bridge.
 * **Describe** how the fossils of Antarctica support the theory of plate tectonics.
 * Resources**
 * Time**
 * Process**
 * 1) The first fossils were marine reptiles called plesiosaurs. They were found on Seymour Island in 1982.
 * 2) The first dinosaur fossil was an ankylosaur, found on James Ross Island in 1986.
 * 3) a hadrosaur, a duck-billed dinosaur
 * 4) Hadrosaurs were land animals, about 20 feet tall. This fossil was the first duck-billed dinosaur found outside North and South America, so it provides evidence that once South America and Antarctica were connected, probably by a land bridge. Hadrosaurs were plant eaters. Antarctica must have been covered with vegetation at that time to support large plant eaters such as hadrosaurs; thus, the continent must have had a tropical or temperate climate at that time.
 * 5) The Cretaceous, about 146 million years ago
 * 6) a //Cryolophosaurus,// "frozen crested reptile"
 * 7) Among the fossils found were the following: a hypsilophodontid, iguanodontid, plateosaurid, mosasaurs, a pterosaur, various sauropods, and a //Lystrosaurus.// Accept any answers that students can verify at one of the Internet links given.
 * 8) Very few fossils have been discovered in Antarctica because 98 percent of the continent is covered year-round by ice. Just a few of the islands along the Antarctic Peninsula and the tops of the Transantarctic Mountains are free of ice at times during the year. Only a few of the rocks thus exposed are of late Triassic, Jurassic, or Cretaceous – the geologic time periods during which dinosaurs lived.
 * 9) The Byrd Expedition found fossil plants on the sides of Mt. Weaver. Ernest Shackleton reported seeing coal beds within 200 miles of the South Pole.
 * 10) Coal is formed by plants growing in profusion in swampy areas. Antarctica must once have been located in a more temperate or tropical area to support the growth of enough plants to produce a bed of coal.