The Ross Sea Trivia Quiz

Answer: New Zealand

New Zealand claims the Ross Sea is part of its territory because it is surrounded by the Ross Dependency which New Zealand's Antarctic claims. Under the 1961 Antarctic Treaty, most nations do not recognize any territorial claims in Antarctica, although most are quietly respecting of such claims.

Answer: False

The Ross Sea is actually quite warm and home to a large variety of creatures. The sea is heated by warm ocean currents that carry nutrients into its water. This allows a diversity of animals to live there including penguins, seals, whales, sea birds, plankton, fish and the famous colossal or giant squid.

Another thing that helps the wildlife is that lack of human activities in the region means the sea is free from pollution.

Answer: Between Victoria and Marie Byrd Lands

The Ross Sea lies off the coast of Antarctica and is the Southernmost major sea on Earth. The Ross Sea is technically a bay because it curves inward toward land and is connected to an ocean, in this case, the Southern Ocean.

Marie Byrd Land is one of the most remote parts of Antarctica and lies to the east of the Ross Sea. Victoria Land is to the west and is very mountainous and rocky.

Answer: James Ross

James Ross discovered the sea in 1841 on his Antarctic expedition. He also discovered the nearby Mount Erebus which he named after his ship, and the Ross Ice Shelf. Ross was less successful in his attempts to explore the land as he had difficulty navigating the ice and glaciers.

He had previously been able to explore much of the waters around Antarctica because the Erebus was a bomb vessel that was capable of destroying the thick ice in the waters.

Answer: Geological studies

Beginning in the 1970s, holes were drilled on the floor of the Ross Sea to study the geological make up of the region. Nowadays, the Ross Ice Shelf Project is heavily involved in studying climate change, in particular the melting of ice caps and the effects of increased global temperature and storms on ice.

Answer: Antarctic Toothfish

The Antarctic Toothfish live in large numbers in the Ross Sea. However, as the fishing industry increased its presence in Antarctica, the toothfish population fell dramatically. This in turn caused the whale population to also decrease in the area. The toothfish live almost exclusively in the Ross Sea but some smaller population have been discovered in other parts of Antarctica.

Answer: Gould Coast

The Gould Coast lies just a few hundred miles from the South Pole. It was named after Laurence Gould who was the right hand man to Richard Byrd. The Gould Coast is the coldest part of the sea and is typically covered with ice for most of the year.

Answer: McMurdo Sound

The McMurdo Sound is a very icy body of water that is littered with ice chunks. This makes it very difficult to sail from the Ross Sea to the Ross Ice Shelf via this way but it does connect the two. It is a very windy and cold place. McMurdo Station is located on its shores on Ross Island. McMurdo Station is a large American research facility and is the largest settlement in Antarctica.

Answer: True

It was called Iceberg B-15 and broke away from the Ross Ice Shelf in 2000. It was roughly the size of Jamaica before it split up once it entered warmer waters in 2005. Iceberg B-15 allowed climatologists to study the effects of storms and warm air and water and how they contribute to calving.

The calving of Iceberg B-15 from the Ross Ice Shelf caused a decline in the seal and bird population in the area.

Answer: Roosevelt Island

The Ross Archipelago is a chain of small islands in the eastern Ross Sea that form the boundary of McMurdo Sound. The largest and northernmost is Beaufort Island.

Roosevelt Island can also be found in the Ross Sea but it is not part of the Ross Archipelago. It is entirely covered with ice which makes it appear invisible to the naked eye at sea level despite its large mountains.