8. Issues in Cold Environments - Antarctica Case Study Flashcards
Give some background information about Antarctica.
Antarctica is the last pristine wilderness left on the planet (an area that has been unaffected by large-scale human activity), and so we need to protect it. Within the Antarctic Circle (66° S latitude), most of the Antarctic polar region is on the huge land mass of Antarctica - it is the largest wilderness area on Earth, covering 14 million km², making it larger than Europe. Addtionally, Antarctica contains 90% of all the ice on Earth - around 70% of all the Earth’s fresh water supplies.
Explain why Antarctica has a fragile ecosystem.
- There’s very little available water in Antarctica for plants to grow. Inland areas recieve less than 166mm of precipitation per year (which is low enough to classify it as a desert) and most precipitation that falls is frozen
- As Antartica is very cold (the average temperature is -49 C) and recieves very little sunlight (because of the Earth’s tilt), this means that very few plants and animals can survive here, and the ones that do have to be specially adapted. Antarctica’s plant life is mainly made up of mosses and lichens, and only two species of flowering plants grow. There’s abundant bird life, e.g. albatross and penguins.
- There’s abundant sea life, e.g. fish, seals and whales.
- The sea ecosystem is also fragile - if the population of one species decreases it affects other species in the food chain, e.g. if the population of krill decreases it would affect the whale population as some whales feed on them. The Patagonian Toothfish is an example of an endangered species of fish found in the South Ocean south of the Ross Shelf of the Antarctic ice sheet.
Antarctica has lots of valuable resources. Explain these.
Although Antarctica appears to be barren it has a lot of nautural resources:
- There are around 300 species of fish and eight species of whale in the waters around Antarctica. The Weddell and Ross Seas are both rich in fish.
- Antarctica has attractive scenery - it is aesthetically outstanding
- There are large underground deposits of coal and iron ore in the Transantarctic Mountains
- There are large reserves of oil underneath the **Southern Ocean **around Antartica
These resources mean Antarctica is an attractive area for fishing, tourism, mining and oil extraction.
Antarctica is also very attractive to scientific researchers because it’s unique.
The Antarctic is protected by the Antarctic Treaty. Explain this.
Since Antarctica has a fragile ecosystem the impact of any development on the environment could be devestating.
To try and protect the Antarctic from environmental damage, the Antarctic Treaty was set up in 1961. 12 countries agreed to set aside disputers over who owns Antarctica and came up with laws to protect it.
The treaty includes many protocols and conventions that control or prohibit certain activities.
Explain Oil Extraction and Mining in relation to the Antarctic Treaty.
Due to the possible huge environmental impact of oil extraction and mining in the area they’re currently banned.
The **Madrid Protocol **(part of the Antarctic Treaty) came into force in 1998, banning all mining activity and oil extraction. The ban is in force for 50 years - it’s due to be reviewed in 2048.
However, some people think the ban may be lifted in 2048 due to the need for minerals and oil (caused by depletion of reserves in the rest of the world).
Explain Whaling in relation to the Antarctic Treaty.
Whaling was allowed in the Antarctic, but caused a decrease in whale populations, e.g. it’s estimated that there were 250,000 blue whales in the Antarctic a century ago, now there are fewer than 1000.
In 1994 the whole Antarctic area was declared a whale sanctuary and commercial hunting was prohibited - however, some whaling is still allowed for scientific research.
Talk about tourism, scientific research and fishing in Antarctica.
Currently, tourism, scientific research and fishing are allowed in and around Antarctica.
In the 2007-2008 season 46,000 tourists visited the area.
There are around 5000 scientific researchers in the Antartic in summer, and about 1000 in winter.
Fishing is huge in the Southern Ocean, e.g. over 16,000 tonnes of Patagonian tootfish were caught in 2000.
Explain how tourism is controlled in Antarctica to reduce its environmental impact and to make it more sustainable.
The Antarctic Treaty prohibits discharging of oil or plastics from cruise ships.
Tour operators have to stick to Antarctic Treaty rules, but they’re most self-regulated by the IAATO (International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators). The IAATO imposes restrictions on tourist activity to reduce the environmental impact, for example no more than 100 passengers are allowed on shore in one place at a time and only one ship is allowed at a landing site at a time.
Explain how scientific research is controlled in Antarctica to reduce its environmental impact and to make it more sustainable.
The Protocol on Environmental Protection came into force in 1998 as part of the Antarctic Treaty. It includes rules that protect Antarctica from damage caused by scientific research, e.g. scientists have to remove most of their waste from the Antarctic, and treat sewage before they dispose of it into the sea.
Explain how Fishing is controlled in Antarctica to reduce its environmental impact and to make it more sustainable.
The Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources came into force in 1982 as part of the Antarctic Treaty. It includes quotas (limits) on fish catches such as the Patagonian toothfish, krill and icefish.
Is this really sustainable?
Not everyone thinks that tourism should be allowed. The number of visitors is expected to increase to 80,000 per year by 2010, which would increase the environmental impact of tourism.
It’s very difficult to police the seas in the Antarctic so a lot of illegal fishing occurs despite the quotas, eg. in the 2003-2004 season it was estimated that 2622 tonnes of Patagonian toothfish were caught illegally.
