Antarctica Flashcards
What is the size of Antarctica?
14 million square km
How much of the Earth’s ice does Antarctica contain?
90%
How much of the Earth’s freshwater does Antarctica contain?
70%
Why is Antarctica classified as a desert?
It receives less than 166mm of rainfall per year
What is the average temperature of Antarctica?
-49 degrees Celsius
The ecosystem is very ………… .
fragile
What do krill feed off in the Antarctic Convergence Zone?
Microsccopic phytoplankton
What are the four main threats to Antarctica?
- climate change
- fishing and whaling
- search for minerals
- tourism and research
By how much have temperatures risen on the western coast of Antarctica over the past five decades?
3 degrees Celsius
What have rising temperatures caused?
Ice shelves melting around the Ross Sea and Weddell Sea
Why has the population of Adelie penguins decreased?
They are adapted to live in icy conditions - they cannot survive with the melting ice
By how much have the Antarctic krill declined since 1970s?
80%
What is the effect of a declining krill population?
Decline in whale, penguin and seal populations as they depend on the krill as a food source
How much have global sea levels risen since the 1990s as a result of melting sea ice?
3mm per year
Why can climate change cause ocean acidification?
Carbon dioxide in teh air reacts with saltwater, it creates carbonic acid, which depletes the amount of calcium carbonate in the water/
How many tonnes of krill were fished in 2013?
200 000
What do legal limits aim to do?
Keep stocks at a sustainable level (although illegal fishing is difficult to monitor)
When was commercial whaling banned?
1982
The whale population is now slowly …………., even though whales are slow breeders.
recovering
There are believed to be a lot of ………… in Antarctica.
minerals
There are large reserves of …………. underneath the Southern Ocean.
oil
There hasn’t been any ………… - it is currently banned.
mining
What is a reason for the lack of mining in Antarctica?
It is too far to transport machinery
Why might mining occur in Antarctica in the future?
Demand for oil and minerals will increase as supplies deplete elsewhere.
What can tourism cause?
- air pollution from air travel
- fuel spills from ships
Tourists can disturb colonies of ………… .
birds
………… can damage vegetation.
Trampling
………… …………. can harm wildlife.
Waste disposal
………… ………… may be introduced on tourists’ clothing.
Non-native species
Scientific and environmental research requires lots of ………… .
facilities
When was the Antarctic Treaty signed?
1959
What does the Antarctic Treaty set out?
- Antarctica should only be used for peaceful reasons
- Countries should cooperate on scientific research
- Antarctica should remain in the global commons
What was signed in 1991?
The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty
International Whaling Commission (IWC)
- responsible for regulating whaling so that populations stay at a sustainable level
- in 1994, the IWC set up a whale sanctuary in the Southern Ocean
- however, campaigners have criticised the IWC for not monitoring the number of whales in the sanctuary
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
- UNEP is a UN agency and is the main institution that governs the world’s environment
- reports activity in Antarctica to the UN
- programme in Antarctica is run by CCAMLR which aims to stop illegal fishing and conserve the ecosystem
- however, its effectiveness is limited by individual countries protecting their own interests
Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC)
- NGO formed in 1978
- campaigned to make Antarctic Treaty meetings more transparent
- interested in protecting the environment
- monitors environmental change
- monitors effects of climate change by checking melting ice and sea levels
- ASOC campaigns with other NGOs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
