earth science

Mount Discovery

Mount Discovery is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Mount Discovery rather than just read about it. In short: Mount Discovery (78°22′S 165°01′E) is a conspicuous, isolated volcanic cone, 2,680 metres (8,790 ft) high, lying at the head of McMurdo Sound and east of Koettlitz Glacier, overlooking the northwest portion of the Ross Ice Shelf. It forms the center of a three-armed mass of which Brown Peninsula is one extension to the north; Minna Bluff is a second to the east; the third is Mount Morning to the west.

Key takeaways

Mount Discovery belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Mount Discovery to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Mount Discovery from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Mount Discovery (78°22′S 165°01′E) is a conspicuous, isolated volcanic cone, 2,680 metres (8,790 ft) high, lying at the head of McMurdo Sound and east of Koettlitz Glacier, overlooking the northwest portion of the Ross Ice Shelf. It forms the center of a three-armed mass of which Brown Peninsula is one extension to the north; Minna Bluff is a second to the east; the third is Mount Morning to the west. Mount Discovery was discovered by the British National Antarctic Expedition (1901–04) and named for their expedition ship Discovery.

Location

Mount Discovery lies to the southeast of the lower Koettlitz Glacier. The Brown Peninsula extends to the northeast of the mountain between the Koettlitz Glacier and the Ross Ice Shelf. Black Island and White Island rise from the ice shelf to the northeast of the mountain. Minna Bluff, a long peninsula, extends from the southeast of the mountain. The Eady Ice Piedmont is to the south of the mountain. A ridge extends southwest from Mount Discovery to Mount Morning.

Features Features and nearby features include Mount Morning, and Helms Bluff.

Mount Morning

78°31′S 163°35′E. Dome-shaped mountain, 2,725 metres (8,940 ft) high, standing west-southwest of Mount Discovery and east of Koettlitz Glacier. Discovered by the BrNAE (1901–04) which named it for the Morning, relief ship to the expedition.

Helms Bluff 78°29′S 164°25′E. A prominent north-facing bluff 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi) east of Mount Morning. Mapped by USGS from ground surveys and Navy air photos. Named by US-ACAN in 1963 for Lieutenant Commander Louis L. Helms, United States Navy, officer in charge of the Squadron VX-6 winteringover detachment at McMurdo Station, 1961.

Discovery Glacier 78.3333333°S 164.5°E / -78.3333333; 164.5 A broad glacier, 9 nautical miles (17 km; 10 mi) long, between Hurricane Ridge (Antarctica) and Mount Discovery. The glacier flows north to coalesce with the east margin of lower Koettlitz Glacier. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) (1999) in association with Mount Discovery, which Captain Robert Scott had named after the expedition ship of the British National Antarctic Expedition (BrNAE), 1901–04.

Lake Discovery 78.3333333°S 164.25°E / -78.3333333; 164.25 A lake, 3 nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) long, situated at the north end of Hurricane Ridge on the west margin of Discovery Glacier. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) (1999) in association with Discovery Glacier, a partial source for the lake, and Mount Discovery, the dominant feature in the vicinity.

See also List of volcanoes in Antarctica List of Ultras of Antarctica

References

Sources

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Geological Survey.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Mount Discovery

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Mount Discovery claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Mount Discovery before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Mount Discovery ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Mount Discovery

In research: Mount Discovery appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Mount Discovery in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Mount Discovery is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Central volcanoes, Mountains of Victoria Land, Pleistocene stratovolcanoes, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Mount Discovery outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Mount Discovery in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Mount Discovery means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Mount Discovery out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mount Discovery in simple terms?

Why does Mount Discovery matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Mount Discovery?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Mount Discovery.