antarctica - threats Flashcards
how many threats are there to antarctica?
four
when was antarctica discovered and why is this a significant date?
the 29th century and it was when exploration first started
what are the four threats?
- fishing and whaling
- climate change
- search for minerals
- tourism and research
when did whaling begin?
in the 29th century
what products come from whales?
oil and whalebone
what was created for whaling?
special whaling stations
what organisation was created to stop whaling and when?
the international whaling commission (IWC)
1946
when did whaling basically stop?
1985
who did not take part in the IWC and what was there reason?
japan, still whale to this day
say its for scientific purposes
what did the IWC set up?
a whale sanctuary 50km2 around antarctica in which whaling is prohibited, japan still do it though
what is the most fished creature?
krill (over 2000 tonnes in 2013)
what is krill used as in asia?
a healthy protein and supplement
krill oil
why is krill so important in antarctica?
it is the main basis for the food chains
what has been put in place to stop fishing?
there are now legal limits on how much fish can be caught
however still illegal fishing
is the search for minerals a future threat or ongoing?
future threat
why is the search for minerals a future threat at the moment?
as it is currently banned for any commercial mining to take place
what resources are in Antarctica and where?
coal and iron ore - transatlantic mountains
oil under southern sea
what will put pressure on the search for minerals?
the demand for resources due to industrialisation and development
what convention was created dealing with the search for minerals?
the mineral convention in 1988
tried to get new rules in terms of mining but its was never allowed
however this shows that change may one day occur
when was the first ship expedition for tourism launched?
1958
what can travel to the area cause?
air and water pollution
ships can hits icebergs causing oil spills
who can tourism threaten the area?
-trampling, litter
(fragile ecosystem due to climate)
-nonnative species can be brought in e.g. bacteria on shoes altering the food chains etc
what does summer tourism season coincide with?
breeding season
what plan do all toursim cruises have to follow?
the lindblad plan which tries to reduce impacts
eg sites only be visited every 2-3 days
why is there a big debate to whether climate change is actually occurring at the antarctica?
the east side seems to be growing in size whereas the west decreasing
how much is the temp increasing and on what side?
why is the figure significant?
3 degrees on the western side
much higher than the average global temp rise
what has the rise in temperature on the western side caused?
-change in distribution of penguins
(adelie replaced by chinstrap due to adaptation to open water)
-colonisation of plants has increased
how much has krill declined since climate change?
80% from 1970s
what is ocean acidification?
co2 in the air dissolve sin the oceans and reacts with salt water to form carbonic acid which reduce the calcium carbonate
how does ocean acidification affect antarctica?
less calcium carbonate means that plankton cannot create their shells (less of them)
leading to less krill
