Antartica Flashcards
Location
5th largest continent, twice the size of Australia, land with ice on top unlike Arctic.
What is the climate like?
Winds up to 329km/h, temperatures down to -68 degrees, recently had a high of 18 degrees.
What lives there?
100m birds and penguins:Adele,Chinstrap, Emperor Gentoo. Only 1000-5000 research scientists.
How is it governed?
No government or nation state, but 7 countries have territorial claims, from the 1700s but not US or Russia.
What is the Antartica Treaty System (ATS)
Signed 1959 by 12 nations(inc US+USSR in Cold War)
Agreed to put all territoral claims asside.
How succussful has the ATS been?
Highly successful:+guarentee research rights to all countries, +prohibted military access (nucleur testing or dumping), any member of UN can join 52 so far.
+1990s-stopped mineral resources being exploited.
+no military disputes
-must be full agreement=slow decisons
-only consultative parties all HICs-“rich mans club”
What 5 threats are there to the Antartic?
Climate Change Fishing and Whaling Mineral Exploitation Tourism Scientific Research
What threat does Climate Change have?TWE
What management is in place?
How does this affect the Antartic Peninsula
The largest long term threat- 10 ice sheets have significantly retreateed in 20yrs. Land ice melting increases global sea level not sea ice, Thwaites Glacier retreated 14km 1992-2011. 2015 Paris Agreement puts global reduction of C02 80% reduction of 1990 emissions, only 1.5 degrees temp rise.
The Peninsula has risen 0.5 degree every decade, 5X global average=krill population 60%decreased, ocean forcing means that warmer ocean water melts the ice.
How does fishing and whaling impact the antartic?
Easily exploitable since the 18th Century, Krill peaked at 500,000 tonnes in 1981/2. Commerical fishing didnt begin till 1970s. By 1980 CCAMLR banned fishing for finfish. Whaling for oil and bone- International Whaling Commission (IWC) IN 1946=whaling finished 1985. In 2019 estimated 227 whales were taken mostly Japan catching whales “scientifically”
How does tourism impact Antartica?
Mostly has a small impact as they only visit in small groups of 20 ish, however in 2018-19 55,000 visited and 45,000 landed. But of the 200 sites visited only 5% showed wear and tear. But over time this could increase.
How does mineral exploitation impact on Antarctica?
Currently this is no threat as it is uneconomically viable to access resources, it costs $100 to get oil and only has a $58 resale value. here is Iron ore, silver, gold, coal, oil. It’s protected by the Madrid Protocol enforced in 1998, to be reviewed in 2048(when views and needs may have drastically changed) but there must be 75% agreement+plus no vetoing which is solid.
What is scientific researches affect?
Overall it is positive, but some sites abuse the environment and dump waste, Belengrad station e.g oil drums, at 220 stations large quantities of litter have been found at 22%. HBCD a flame retardant was found one penguins and marine worms=whole food change has been infected.
What role do NGO’s have?
Holds ATS to account good pressure groups e.g Greenpeace, WWF campaigned against CAMMLR wanting all mining to be banned+A a ‘World Park’
What is the Madrid Protocol?
45 countries signed it in order to:
protect flora+flauna, ban ALL MINERAL resource activity on the continental shelf,prohibit discharge of sewage, restrict using heavy oil as a resource. = many other things It protect 60degress round a 20million km2 protection.
What is CAMMLR?
Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. established 1982 after over-fishing concerns, monitoring and regulating it.
