Antarctica - Global Systems

Question 1

Driest continent

Answer 1

Annual precipitation is only 50mm per year

Question 2

Windiest continent

Answer 2

Winds can reach 200mph and avergae 50mph (not slowed by surface friction)

Question 3

Clodest continent

Answer 3

Avergae temps -49C with lowest -89C

Question 4

Highest continent

Answer 4

Avergae height of 2300m

Question 5

Mountains

Answer 5

Mt vinson massif, 4892m at highest peak

Question 6

Size

Answer 6

• 1 1/2 times the size of USA

- 98% covered by ice sheet at 1 mile deep

Question 7

Population

Answer 7

1000 people in winter and 5000 people in the summer

- most transiet populaiton

Question 8

Antarctic convergence zone

Answer 8

Marks the edge of Antractica

• approx 40km wide
• seperating TWO distinct hydrological regions

Question 9

Key things on antractica

Answer 9

• Ronne Ice Shelf (North), Ross ice shelf (South)
• transantartic mountains
• McMurdo research station (US)
• Vostok climate station (Russia)
• antarcita peninsula - cape horn = 850km

Question 10

What happens at the ACZ

Answer 10

• sea water cooled at Antarctic so is heavier and sinks northward
• meets deep water south - water from equaltoial regions result in an upwlling of the deep waters to the surface
• this brings many dissolved nutrients bringing fish
• water moves along gradiens - as the water becomes colder it also becomes more dense and sinks
• oceans have this accelerated further by the change in water salinity (thermohaline circulation)

Question 11

Ablation

Answer 11

Process that removes snow, ice or water from a glacier or snowfield

Question 12

Nunatak

Answer 12

An exposed, often rocky element of a ridge, mountain or peak not covered with ice or snow wihtin an ice field or glacier

Question 13

Tourism Activities

Answer 13

• kayaking
• hiking
• Climbing
• small boat crusing

Question 14

Animal distancing

Answer 14

• emperor penguin = 50m

- non breading = 5m

Question 15

Visitor stats

Answer 15

• 35% visitors from the USA
• 75K visitor 2019-2020
• 18K never leave cruise
• cost $75K
• 1% fly to centre

Question 16

Tour guides and ships

Answer 16

• 1 guide to a max 20 tourists
• max 100 people on land at one time for 1-3 hours, 1-3 landings a day
• 1 ship at a landing site
• up to 500 on a ship

Question 17

Negatives

Answer 17

• invasive species
• impact of breeding birds
• oil spills
• no walking on lichin = erosion

Question 18

Economic pressures on antarctica

Answer 18

1. Fishing and whaling
2. Mineral exploitation
3. Tourism and scientific research

Question 19

Environmental pressure on antarcitca

Answer 19

Krill

• high rates of fishing
• 100,000 tonnes in 1999
• 210,000 tonnes in 2012
• used for dietary supplements as oil capsules
• mostly used in livestock food

Question 20

Environmental pressure on antarctica - climate change

Answer 20

• peninsula has had the most rapid warming on earth
• last 50 years warmed by 3C = 3x higher then elsewhere
• distribution of penguine colonies changed
• increased plant colonisation
• long term decline in krill
• changes to ice cover
• glacial retreate

Question 21

Environmental pressures on antarctica - ice caps

Answer 21

• since 2009, 278 billion tons of ice has melted from antarcitica per year
• 1980s lost 44 billion tons a year

Question 22

Thwaites Glacier

Answer 22

• Western Antarctica
• 80 miles, around 3,900 feet deep
• it holds enough freshwater to rise sea levels 50cm
• holds back potential further glacial movement
• will increase storms and storm surges if melted

Question 23

Who owns antarctica

Answer 23

No one

• claims since 1959 are not relevant
• antarctic treaty signed 1959
• gaurantess free access to antarctica for scientific reasearch and the exchange of ideas

Question 24

Antarctic treaty

Answer 24

• 14 article treaty signed by 12 nations in 1959

- an agreement between countires to prevent antarctica from becoming a scene of international discord

Question 25

1982 - moratorium

Answer 25

- 1970 the blue whale population was less than 6,000 - greenpeace antiwhaling campaign - confronting whaling fleets in the high seas - 1982, IWC delivered a moratorium on commercial whaling, a ban on all whaling unless for scientific purposes - Japan, Norway and Iceland ignore this - japan collects whales for ‘science’ then sold for food - japan hunts 300 whales a year - whales fetch up to $1 million

Question 26

Southern ocean whaling sanctury

Answer 26

- 1994 - bans all types of commercial whaling in antractica - dispute over legality with japan ignoring this - allow whales to recover from over exploitation - it facilitates recovery of depleated populations - protects feeding and breeding grounds - provides economic benefits - protetcs multiple species - whales can play their role in the ecosytem - increases public awareness

Question 27

Convention of the conservation of Antarctic Marine living resources

Answer 27

- aim in preserving atarctic marine life - aims to reduce the impacts of krill fishing - helped to manage vulnerable ecosystems - reduced seabird mortality - BUT have failed to deliver increased protecttion for the fragile ecosystem

Question 28

Convention for the conservation of antarctic seals 1972

Answer 28

- aim to protect the stocks of antarctic seal from commercial exploitation - species of seals are not allowed to be killed - 1978 enforced - seal populations have now recovered - 17 parties in the CCAS - they give a permisable limit on catch for species and when catch can start again

Question 29

Antarctic environmental protocol (madrid protocol)

Answer 29

- keep the continent clean and unspoiled - prohibits drilling or mining of any minerals - it is a ‘natural reserve, devoted to peace and science’ - requirs assesment of activities prior to them happening - CEP - an expert advisory body that provide advice and formulate recommendations - prevents human impact

Question 30

NGO - ASOC

Answer 30

Focus on wildlife and marine conservation - reduce the exploitation - convince governments to join protocols - monitor the impact in antarctica

Question 31

NGO - SCAR

Answer 31

Coordinate the scientific reasearch that is going on - set up by the initial 12 nations - Anticlimnow (predic of conditions from climate change), Anticon (reserach - conservation and management of international policies), instant (antarcticas role in global sea level change)