What are the two main ice sheets called?

East and West Antarctic ice sheets

Why is the West Antarctic Ice Sheet considered vulnerable?

Much of it rests on bedrock below sea level

Antarctic Ice Sheet Quiz: Domes, Glaciers and Sea Level

A frozen continent stores enough ice to raise seas by about 58 meters if it all melted, and this Antarctic ice sheet quiz explains how it is structured. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on East and West Antarctica, the Transantarctic Mountains, ice thickness, the Ross Ice Shelf, Thwaites Glacier, Vostok's record cold, subglacial lakes and ancient ice cores.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Water
Roughly what share of Earth's fresh water is in Antarctic ice?
Rise
How much could sea levels rise if all Antarctic ice melted?
Parts
What are the two main ice sheets called?
Divide
Which mountain range separates them?
Unstable
Why is the West Antarctic Ice Sheet considered vulnerable?
Thick
Roughly how thick is the ice on average?
Shelf
Which is the largest ice shelf?
Thwaites
Which glacier is nicknamed the Doomsday Glacier?
Cold
Where was Earth's lowest directly measured air temperature recorded?
Cores
How far back do Antarctic ice cores record climate?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Roughly what share of Earth's fresh water is in Antarctic ice?
Answer: About 70 percent
Most of it is locked away.
Q2: How much could sea levels rise if all Antarctic ice melted?
Answer: About 58 meters
It would take a very long time.
Q3: What are the two main ice sheets called?
Answer: East and West Antarctic ice sheets
The East sheet is much larger.
Q4: Which mountain range separates them?
Answer: The Transantarctic Mountains
They cross the continent.
Q5: Why is the West Antarctic Ice Sheet considered vulnerable?
Answer: Much of it rests on bedrock below sea level
Warm ocean water can melt it from below.
Q6: Roughly how thick is the ice on average?
Answer: About 2 km
In places it exceeds 4 km.
Q7: Which is the largest ice shelf?
Answer: The Ross Ice Shelf
It is about the size of France.
Q8: Which glacier is nicknamed the Doomsday Glacier?
Answer: Thwaites Glacier
Its loss could raise seas significantly.
Q9: Where was Earth's lowest directly measured air temperature recorded?
Answer: Vostok Station
It was minus 89.2 degrees Celsius in 1983.
Q10: How far back do Antarctic ice cores record climate?
Answer: About 800,000 years
Air bubbles preserve old atmospheres.

Antarctic Ice Sheet Quiz – Domes, Glaciers and Sea Level

The Antarctic ice sheet holds about 70 percent of Earth's fresh water; if it all melted, seas would rise about 58 meters. It averages about 2 km thick and exceeds 4 km in places.

The Transantarctic Mountains divide the larger, more stable East Antarctic Ice Sheet from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, much of which rests on bedrock below sea level, making it vulnerable to warming oceans. Thwaites Glacier, the Doomsday Glacier, is closely watched.

Floating ice shelves such as the Ross Ice Shelf, about the size of France, buttress the glaciers. Vostok Station recorded minus 89.2 degrees Celsius in 1983, and ice cores reveal about 800,000 years of climate history. Lakes such as Lake Vostok lie hidden beneath the ice.

What This Quiz Teaches

Science fans will enjoy these questions.

How much ice Antarctica holds
How the sheets differ
Which glaciers matter most
Which records it holds
What ice cores reveal

Did You Know?

Antarctica is the driest continent.
Ice flows slowly toward the coast.
Icebergs calve from ice shelves.
Satellites measure ice loss from space.
Snowfall adds new layers each year.