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edX

Antarctica: From Geology to Human History

Victoria University of Wellington via edX

Overview

Explore the continent of Antarctica and more than 500 million years of geological history and 250 years of geographical discovery and scientific endeavour.

In this course, you will learn through lectures filmed on location on Ross Island and in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica.

Cliff, an Antarctic veteran, with 12 seasons on the ice, will introduce you to some of our planet’s most remarkable landscapes—the Dry Valleys, the Transantarctic Mountains and the world’s southernmost volcanic island. At a remote field camp, he interviews fellow geologists studying fossil-rich sediments—from a time when Antarctica was 20°C warmer than today—to see what Antarctica’s past climate can reveal about what the future might hold.

Rebecca, a science historian and writer who has written extensively about Antarctica, visits Captain Robert Scott’s huts on Ross Island and interviews conservators from the Antarctic Heritage Trust and scientists and logistics staff working at Scott Base and McMurdo Station. You’ll learn about the explorers and scientists from around the world who have been drawn to work and sometimes risk their lives here—from James Cook’s first venture below the Antarctic Circle, to the British scientists who discovered the ozone hole, to the first women to work on the ice.

Taught by

Dr. Rebecca Priestley and Dr. Cliff Atkins

Reviews

4.0 rating, based on 1 Class Central review

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  • It's a good and fun course, I also wish it had been longer. It gives a nice introduction to Antarctica's exploration history, geology, and scientific experiments. There isn't much of a depth though, so I'd like to see an advanced sequel. However, this is not a disadvantage, the course is really an excellent introduction, giving you the human aspect of Antarctica, and emphasizes the burning issues. Good job, VictoriaX!

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