Class 12 English Notes Chapter 3 (Journey to the end of Earth) – Vistas Book

Detailed Notes with MCQs of Chapter 3 of Vistas, 'Journey to the end of the Earth' by Tishani Doshi. This chapter is quite significant, not just as a travelogue, but for the profound environmental message it carries. Pay close attention, as questions from this chapter often test your understanding of its deeper themes and specific details.

Chapter 3: Journey to the End of the Earth - Detailed Notes

1. Introduction & Author's Perspective:

• Author: Tishani Doshi, an Indian writer and dancer.
• Context: The chapter recounts her journey to Antarctica aboard a Russian research vessel, the Akademik Shokalskiy.
• Purpose of Journey: She travelled as part of the 'Students on Ice' programme, headed by Canadian Geoff Green.
• Initial Impression: Doshi begins by describing the vastness and isolation of Antarctica, emphasizing its profound impact on her understanding of the Earth's past, present, and future.

2. The Journey:

• Starting Point: Madras (Chennai), India.
• Duration & Complexity: Over 100 hours of travel involving a car, aeroplane, and ship.
• Crossings: Nine time zones, six checkpoints, three bodies of water, and many ecospheres.
• Arrival: Reaching Antarctica felt like stepping into a giant ping-pong ball – devoid of human markers (billboards, buildings), offering an uninterrupted, stark white landscape. This immediate visual and sensory experience highlights the continent's pristine nature and its difference from the human-dominated world.

3. Antarctica: A Window into the Past & Future:

• Geological Significance (Gondwana):
  • Antarctica holds clues to Earth's geological history. 650 million years ago, a giant southern supercontinent called Gondwana existed.
  • India and Antarctica were part of this landmass. Climate was warmer then.
  • Gondwana broke apart around 150 million years ago, shaping the globe as we know it today.
  • Studying Antarctica helps us understand pre-human Earth and the forces (like continental drift) that shaped our world.
• Climate Change Indicator:
  • Antarctica is crucial for understanding the impact of human activities. It has a simple ecosystem and lacks biodiversity compared to other regions.
  • It holds 90% of the Earth's total ice volume. Even small changes here have massive global repercussions (rising sea levels).
  • The continent acts as a pristine laboratory to study climate change effects like ozone layer depletion (clearly visible over the region) and global warming (melting glaciers, collapsing ice shelves like the Larsen B).
  • The author stresses that Antarctica is the place to go "to understand the Earth’s present, past and future."

4. Human Impact:

• Geological vs. Human Timescale: Humans have existed for a relatively minuscule period (about 12,000 years) compared to Earth's geological history (millions of years).
• Rapid Domination: Despite this short time, humans have established dominance over nature, causing significant environmental damage through population growth, resource depletion, and pollution.
• Consequences: Global warming, climate change, biodiversity loss are direct results of human activities. Antarctica starkly reveals these consequences.

5. 'Students on Ice' Programme:

• Founder: Geoff Green.
• Objective: To take high school students to the ends of the world (like Antarctica) and provide inspiring educational opportunities that foster a new understanding and respect for our planet.
• Why Students? Green believes students are the future policymakers and are at an age where they are ready to absorb, learn, and act. Unlike "celebrities and retired rich curiosity-seekers" who might only 'give back' in a limited way, students can internalize the experience and potentially drive change throughout their lives.
• Experiential Learning: The programme emphasizes learning through direct experience – seeing glaciers retreat, ice shelves collapse, and understanding the interconnectedness of planetary systems firsthand.

6. Key Observations & Experiences in Antarctica:

• Immense Silence & Scale: The overwhelming scale and silence put human concerns into perspective. It fosters a sense of humility and connection to the planet.
• Microscopic Life (Phytoplankton):
  • These single-celled plants are vital. They use the sun's energy to assimilate carbon and synthesize organic compounds (photosynthesis).
  • They sustain the entire Southern Ocean's food chain.
  • They are crucial for the global carbon cycle and produce a significant amount of Earth's oxygen.
  • Threat: Scientists warn that ozone layer depletion affects phytoplankton activity, which in turn impacts marine life, the carbon cycle, and global climate.
• Walking on the Ocean:
  • The Akademik Shokalskiy gets wedged into thick ice between the peninsula and Tadpole Island.
  • The captain decides to turn around but instructs passengers to walk on the frozen ocean surface (a meter-thick ice pack).
  • This experience provides a direct, tactile understanding of the Antarctic environment.
  • Observing seals sunning themselves on ice floes reinforces the reality of the ecosystem existing under their feet.
  • It highlights the fragility – realizing they are walking on frozen seawater, with 180 meters of living, breathing saltwater beneath. It underscores the idea that small changes (like warming) can drastically alter this environment.

7. Central Themes:

• Interconnectedness: Everything on Earth is linked – climate, ecosystems, geology. What happens in Antarctica affects the rest of the world.
• Climate Change & Human Responsibility: The chapter is a stark warning about the consequences of human actions on the planet.
• Past, Present, Future: Understanding Earth's geological past (Gondwana) is key to understanding present climate changes and predicting future scenarios.
• Perspective: Antarctica's vastness forces a shift in perspective, highlighting the relative insignificance of human timescales and concerns against the backdrop of planetary history.
• Hope & Action: The 'Students on Ice' programme represents hope – educating the next generation to become environmentally conscious leaders.

8. Significance of the Title:

• Literal: A journey to the geographical South Pole region, the "end" of the inhabited world.
• Metaphorical: A journey to understand the potential "end" or catastrophic future of the Earth due to climate change, and also a journey back in time to understand the Earth's origins and history embedded in the Antarctic ice.

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs):

1. What was the name of the Russian research vessel the author travelled on?
   a) The Gondwana Explorer
   b) The Akademik Shokalskiy
   c) The Antarctic Voyager
   d) The Geoff Green Expedition

2. The 'Students on Ice' programme aims primarily to:
   a) Provide adventure holidays for wealthy students.

   • b) Offer students a chance to see penguins and seals up close.
     c) Foster environmental awareness and create future policymakers by showing them Antarctica's fragility.
     d) Conduct scientific research using student volunteers.

3. What ancient supercontinent does the author mention, of which India and Antarctica were once part?
   a) Pangaea
   b) Laurasia
   c) Rodinia
   d) Gondwana

4. According to the author, what percentage of the Earth's total ice volume is stored in Antarctica?
   a) 50%
   b) 70%
   c) 90%
   d) 100%

5. Phytoplankton are crucial to the Antarctic ecosystem primarily because they:
   a) Are the main food source for polar bears.
   b) Form the base of the entire Southern Ocean's food chain and perform photosynthesis.
   c) Help in the formation of glaciers.
   d) Are responsible for the aurora australis.

6. What specific event allowed the passengers, including the author, to walk on the ocean?
   a) A planned excursion using smaller boats.
   b) The ship getting stuck in thick ice, forcing them to disembark onto the ice pack.
   c) Reaching a designated safe zone for ice walking.
   d) An emergency evacuation drill.

7. Tishani Doshi describes her initial feeling upon reaching Antarctica as being like stepping into:
   a) A freezer
   b) A giant ping-pong ball
   c) A white desert
   d) A historical museum

8. Geoff Green believes students are the ideal participants for the programme because they:
   a) Are physically fit for the harsh conditions.
   b) Pay lower fees than adults.
   c) Are the future generation who can absorb, learn, act, and influence policy.
   d) Complain less than older travellers.

9. The author emphasizes that studying Antarctica is crucial for understanding:
   a) Extraterrestrial life possibilities.
   b) The Earth's geological history and the effects of climate change.
   c) Techniques for deep-sea oil drilling.
   d) The migration patterns of birds.

10. A major threat to the phytoplankton mentioned in the chapter is:
    a) Overfishing by humans.
    b) Predation by whales.
    c) Further depletion of the ozone layer.
    d) Volcanic activity under the ice.

Answer Key:

1. b) The Akademik Shokalskiy
2. c) Foster environmental awareness and create future policymakers by showing them Antarctica's fragility.
3. d) Gondwana
4. c) 90%
5. b) Form the base of the entire Southern Ocean's food chain and perform photosynthesis.
6. b) The ship getting stuck in thick ice, forcing them to disembark onto the ice pack.
7. b) A giant ping-pong ball
8. c) Are the future generation who can absorb, learn, act, and influence policy.
9. b) The Earth's geological history and the effects of climate change.
10. c) Further depletion of the ozone layer.

Make sure you revise these points thoroughly. Understanding the connection between Antarctica's past, its present state, and the potential future driven by human impact is key to mastering this chapter. Good luck with your preparation.