Question

Climate change is one of the most hotly contested environmental debates of our time. Will the West Antarctic ice sheet melt entirely? Will the Gulf Stream ocean current be disrupted? Will it be the end of the world as we know it? Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, Antarctica is a crucial element in this debate — not just because it's the only place in the world, which has never sustained a human population and therefore remains relatively 'pristine' in this respect; but more importantly, because it holds in its ice-cores half-million-year-old carbon record strapped in its layers of ice. If we want to study and examine the Earth's past, present and future, Antarctica is the place to go.

What is the main significance of the passage?

Options

• Effects of climate change.

• Melting of the ice sheets in Antarctica.

• Study and examine the earth's past.

• To save Antarctica from the human populace.

Answer 1

Melting of the ice sheets in Antarctica.

Explanation:

The text highlights certain facts about Antarctica and emphasises the importance of preserving the million-year-old ice sheets at any cost. As a result, the passage's main issue is the melting of Antarctica's ice sheets.