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GS&GG - Antarctica C/S Flashcards

1
Q

ANTARCTIC CONVERGENCE ZONE (ACZ)

  1. Where is the boundary for it?
  2. How wide is it?
  3. Why does it vary?
  4. What happens here?
  5. What is it driven by?
A
  1. At 60 degrees > cold N flowing waters meet warmer S flowing waters
  2. 32-48km
  3. Latitude + seasons
  4. Sinking cold water > upwelling currents > high marine productivity
  5. West wind drift
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2
Q

CLIMATE OF ANTARCTICA

  1. What are the conditions
  2. Average + lowest temp
  3. Mean wind speed + gales
  4. What is it classed as > ecosystem?
  5. What does the accumulation of snow + frost lead to?
  6. Where are temps coldest (exact)?
A
  1. Coldest, windiest + driest continent
  2. -49 degrees C + -89 degrees C
  3. 50mph + 200mph
  4. Polar desert > low precipitation (50mm) > has to be < 250mm annually to qualify for
  5. Thick ice sheets
  6. Inland (Vostock)
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3
Q

LOCATION AND GENERAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION

  1. Location
  2. Name of the ocean + surrounding oceans
  3. What decides the limit
  4. What area of ice + thickness
  5. % of Antarctica covered by ice
  6. What is the name of the only area without ice
  7. What is the coast fringed with? + example
A
  1. South 60 degrees
  2. Southern ocean (Antarctic, Pacific, Indian below 60 degrees)
  3. Antarctic Treaty
  4. 14mn km^2 + 4km thick
  5. 99%
  6. Antarctic Peninsular
  7. Ice shelves > Ross Ice Shelf
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4
Q

ANTARCTIC PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

  1. Name of the mountains + height
  2. What type of marine system is there?
  3. What does upwelling lead to in the environment?
  4. What type of conditions are on the Peninsular?
A
  1. Transatlantic Mountains - >4000m
  2. Diverse marine ecosystem, high biodiversity
  3. Brings nutrients which supports phytoplankton > food for krill
  4. Microclimatic conditions > melting of ice
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5
Q

What are the 5 key threats to Antarctica?

A
  1. Climate change
  2. Fishing
  3. Scientific research
  4. Tourism
  5. Mineral resources
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6
Q

CLIMATE CHANGE THREAT

  1. Why is it not straight forward?
  2. What is happening to the ice sheet that you would not expect?
  3. Why are ice sheets vulnerable ?
  4. How much has globally sea level risen by?
  5. How much have temperatures increased and what x higher is it for Antarctica?
  6. How much has the Southern Ocean temp increased by since 1995 and what’s this due to?
  7. What species have been impacted?
  8. What has incr CO2 done for the marine system?
A
  1. Due to extreme latitudes
  2. Thickening > reduces sea level by 1/10th m annually
  3. Slide into the sea
  4. 5m
  5. 0.5cm (5x higher)
  6. 1 degree C > Antarctic Circumpolar Current Warming
  7. Penguin colonies + krill
  8. Ocean acidification > corrosive to shells > loss of organisms + disruption to food webs
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7
Q

FISHING

  1. When was the exploitation of blue and right wales and what was it for?
  2. When did it end + why?
  3. Who are now exploiting rock cod and krill
  4. What damage are fishing ships causing?
  5. What is happening to Krill currently?
  6. What does krill contain that makes it so attractive?
A
  1. Nineteenth century > oil, baleen, meat + bonemeal
  2. 1985 > dangerously low stocks
  3. Russia and Japan
  4. Destroy marine habitats + contaminate the water by dumping waste
  5. Sudden demand + unstable fishing practises > underpin the food web (seabirds, penguins, seals + orcas)
  6. Protein healthy food supplement + omega-3 fatty acids
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8
Q

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

  1. When was Antarctica first inhabited?
  2. How many countries have research organisations based there?
  3. What do they extract for research purposes?
  4. What are the scientists trained on?
  5. What activity causes damage?
  6. What has to be transported there for scientists?
A
  1. 100 years ago
  2. 30
  3. Ice cores
  4. The environment + wildfire
  5. Vehicle exhausts, construction of buildings
  6. Food
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9
Q

TOURISM

  1. How many annually in 1980 compared to 2014-15?
  2. How is waste dealt with?
  3. What type of attractions are there?
  4. What type of tourism it is?
  5. What are they briefed on?
  6. How many sites are there?
  7. What are the rules?
  8. What has happened in terms of wildlife?
  9. What are some long term concerns?
A
  1. 2000 (1980), 36,000 (2014-15)
  2. Barrelled + transported home
  3. Glacial landscapes, wildfire, historic sites
  4. Seasonally
  5. Code of conduct
  6. 200
  7. Do not work on areas of fragile vegetation, no litter
  8. Penguins unaffected + bird colonies have had some disturbances
  9. Difficulty of enforcement, future development of land based tourism
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10
Q

MINERAL RESOURCES

  1. What is it also known as? Examples?
  2. How large are the deposits?
  3. Why is it difficult to access?
  4. What is an environmental strategy against mining?
  5. What happened in the 1970s and 1980s?
A
  1. Mineral deposits e.g. coal, oil, titanium, gold + silver
  2. Large
  3. Hostile environments > inaccessibility + ice sheets
  4. Banning of commercial mining (growing pressure)
  5. Some members trying to formulate a new mineral convention (not enforced)
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11
Q

ANTARCTIC GOVERNANCE > GENERAL INFO

  1. What type of common is it?
  2. What does this mean in terms of its government?
  3. What have several countries done?
  4. What are some areas recognised by?
  5. Which two key areas haven’t maintained a claim?
A
  1. Global common
  2. No government to manage it and protect its interests
  3. Made claims on segments (legality not clarified)
  4. Research zones + scientific bases
  5. USA and Russia
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12
Q

COMMISSION FOR THE CONSERVATION OF ANTARCTIC MARINE LIVING RESOURCES (CCAMLR)

  1. What type of convention is it? + when
  2. Aim?
  3. Support from?
  4. What type of approach does it take?
  5. Achievements? (4)
A
  1. International in 1982
  2. Conserve Antarctic marine life
  3. NGOs > Greenpeace + WWF
  4. Ecosystem > sustainable harvesting + effects of fishing on the whole system
    • challenges illegal fishing
    • established worths first MPA (Marine Protected Area) (94,000km^3 of S ocean)
    • managing vulnerable marine ecosystems > regulating bottom fishing
    • reduction in sea bird mortality
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13
Q

INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION (IWC)

  1. When was it set up?
  2. Aim?
  3. Issue with them?
  4. What was the secondary thing set up by them and when?
  5. What is the name of the sanctuary set up and when is it and size?
  6. Opposed by?
A
  1. 1946
  2. To conserve whale stocks
  3. No authority + temporary prohibition
  4. 1982 Whaling Moratorium
  5. 1994 Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary = 50mn km
  6. Japan for ‘scientific research’
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14
Q

NGOs

  1. What do they provide?
  2. Examples?
  3. Name of the group?
  4. What is one of the key achievements + examples?
  5. What does the untouched environment provide?
  6. What do they recognise in terms of the changing world?
A
  1. Conservation
  2. Greenpeace, WWF, Friends of the Earth
  3. ASOC - Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition
  4. Designation of Marine Protected Areas (MPA) > Ross Sea, Antarctic Peninsula
  5. ‘Laboratory’ to research climate change
  6. Pressure due to commercial fishing + climate change
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15
Q

ANTARCTIC TREATY SYSTEM (ATS) GENERAL INFO

  1. Why created?
  2. How many nations signed the treaty to not claim sovereignty+ examples + when?
  3. What determines if members can sign up + how many?
  4. What are the 3 aims?
A
  1. Due to a lack of sovereignty
  2. 1959 > 12 nations > Russia, USA, Norway, UK
  3. Only UN members > 52
    • guarantees free access and research rights to all countries
    • prohibits military activity
    • bans dumping of nuclear waste
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16
Q

ANTARCTIC TREATY SYSTEM

PROTOCOL ON ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION > MADRID PROTOCOL

  1. When was it?
  2. Reason for it?
  3. What drove the protocol?
  4. When was it put into action + by how many?
  5. When does it run out?
  6. What are some of the agreements?
A
  1. 1990
  2. Growing pressure to exploit mineral resources
  3. Campaigns by NGOs
  4. 1991 > 45 signatures
  5. 2048
    • ban all mineral resource activity and exploitation
    • promote monitoring to minimise environmental impacts
    • environmental impact assessment of all activities
    • no removal or interference with flora and fauna
    • introduction of non-native species is prohibited
17
Q

ANTARCTIC TREATY SYSTEM

PROTOCOL ON ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (CONT)

  1. What is its key objectives?
  2. Rules?
  3. What are there key restrictions surrounding?
  4. Objective?
  5. What has it also established?
A
  1. Waste management
    • certain types of waste must be removed
    • rules for storage + disposal
    • removal of waste from past activities
  3. Fuel > discharge of sewage, oil and garbage is prohibited
  4. Protect AONB
  5. Liability for environmental emergencies

Geography Human (31 decks)

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