Consider the following statements regarding Antarctica and India's strategic research stations: 1. The Transantarctic Mountain range structurally bisects the continent into two halves: Greater Antarctica and Lesser Antarctica. 2. Mount Erebus, situated within this ecosystem, holds the record as the southernmost active magmatic volcano on Earth. 3. India's operational research bases Maitri and Bharati are managed by the ISRO under the Department of Space. Which of the statements given above are correct? |ForumIAS

[A] 1 and 2 only

[B] 2 and 3 only

[C] 1 and 3 only

[D] 1, 2 and 3

Answer: A

Notes:

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: The Transantarctic Mountains stretch across the continent, dividing it into the geologically distinct East (Greater) and West (Lesser) ice sheets.
Statement 2 is correct: Located on Ross Island, Mount Erebus is an active stratovolcano featuring a persistent lava lake, making it the southernmost active volcano on Earth.
Statement 3 is incorrect: India’s polar stations (Maitri and Bharati, following the decommissioning of Dakshin Gangotri) are under the institutional control of the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), which operates under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.