Antartica as a global common

Question 1

Geography of Antarctica:

Answer 1

• Most of Antarctica is south of the entire Antarctic circle
• Coastline fringed by ice shelves

Question 2

The Southern Ocean:

Answer 2

• Named the fifth world ocean in Spring 2022

- Extends from the coast of Antarctica to 60 degrees south latitude

Question 3

What is the Antarctic convergence zone?

Answer 3

Cold northern waters from the Antarctic meet with warm axel Antarctic waters

Question 4

When did whaling begin?

Answer 4

19th Century

Question 5

What are whales killed for?

Answer 5

Oil
Whale bone
Meat

Question 6

What did the IWC do?

Answer 6

International Whaling Commission
Ended most whaling in 1985
Most nations agreed to halt whaling operations
Created the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary; an area where all commercial whaling was banned
Japan has continued to hunt whales stating its for scientific research

Question 7

What effects does climate change have on Antarctica?

Answer 7

• Change in the distribution of penguin colonies
• Melting of snow and ice has increased colonisation of plants
• Decline in the abundance on Antarctic krill

Question 8

How does the melting of ice shelves cause sea levels to rise?

Answer 8

Ice shelves melt, but do not add to the volume of water, this causes the glaciers behind the shelves to follow and melt at a quicker rate

Question 9

How is climate change contributing to Antarctic sea ice expansion:

Answer 9

• Increases rain and snow forms a cooler, more dense layer, over the Southern Ocean
• Storms increase the amount of freshwater in the ocean, diluting the saltwater, raising the temperature needed to create ice. Sea ice forms.
• Increased melting of continental ice creates more icebergs, which aids sea ice formation

Question 10

Does Antarctica have mineral resources?

Answer 10

Known to have mineral deposits, however they are not sizeable or economically viable to be significant enough to begin mining.

Question 11

How global agreements and organisations have influences what happens in Antarctica?

Answer 11

Number of whales is recovering by 3% globally since 1970 due to the ban on commercial whaling put in place in 1986

Question 12

Give some criticisms of the IWC + examples:

Answer 12

• Voluntary committee, meaning members can choose to leave (e.g. Japan in 2018)
• Countries can still object to regulations (e.g. Norway and Iceland)
• Countries can exploit loopholes in regulations (e.g. China whaling for ‘scientific purposes’)