Antarctica Case Study - Basic Knowledge + Threats

AQA A-Level Geography

What is the climate of Antarctica?

• Polar Desert

• Average temps → -49°C to -89°C

• Mean wind speed → 50mph (up to 200mph)

• Low precipitation → less than 50mm/year

Location of antarctica and general information

→ South of 60°S (South Pole being at 90°S)

→ 60°S is the limit of the Antarctic treaty

→ 8million km² of land in 2 blocks

→ 99% is covered in an ice sheet

→ Coastline is fringed with ice shelves - largest are the Ross & Ronne ice shelves

What is the physical geography of Antarctica?

→ Mountainous and covered in glacial ice

→ High mountain peaks - too steep & winds don’t allow snow to accumulate - small areas of rock accumulate forming nuntaks

→ East/West divided by the Transatlantic Mountains - some peaks 4000m+

→ East is larger, thicker and older

→ Upwelling of cooler water brings in phytoplankton (food for krill)

→ Coastal areas (Especially west of the penninsula) have microclimatic conditions → warm enough for some land to remain glacier free

Key facts on the Antarctic Convergence Zone

• 32-48km wide (varies seasonally)

• Cold flowing northward antarctic waters sink beneath antarctic waters

• High productivity - especially krill

• Natural boundary thats separates distinct hydrological regions

• The largest global surface current is created called the Antarctic Circumpolar Current by the west wind drift

Threats to Antarctica - Whaling

• By 1910 → provided 50% of the worlds catch

• Commercial whaling ceased 1985 as stocks were so low

• 1986 - commercial whaling banned and effort made to try to increase their numbers

• IWC created in 1949

Whaling specific facts

• 1904-1985 → 1.6million whales killed in the Southern Ocean

  • e.g. Fin whales: 725,000

• Blue whale:

  • by 1973 fewer than 1,000 individuals

  • Current population estimation - 2,300 → 3,000

  • Population increasing at rate of 7% per year

Threats to Antarctica - Fishing

• CCAMLR → aims of regulating the explotation rather than outright protection

• Replaced whaling

• Fishing ships detroy marine habitats and contaminate water by dumping waste

• Krill oil - rich in omega-3 → used as a suppliment - leads to overfishing of krill

Fishing specific facts

• Krill numbers have dropped by 80% since 1970s

• 498,000 metric tonnes krill caught in 2023

• ½ a million krill were fished for krill oil 2024

Threats to Antarctica - Climate Change

• Long term threat

• Significant ice retreat & collapse of ice shelves

• If continues: krill populations devastated - affect food chain

• West Antarctica’s sheel thinneer and more vulnreble

• Habitat loss for many animals e.g. penguins

Climate Change specific facts

• 136 billion tonnes of ice lost per year

• Thwaits Glacier - has lost 600 billion tons of ice between 1992 and 2017

• 3°C temp rise in the Antarctic Peninsula since 1950s

Threats to Antarctica - Mineral Extraction

• Mineral deposits of coal, oil, maganese, titanium, gold and silver

  • not economically viable to mine

• Significance of threat → little: commercial mining banned under the Antarctic Treaty

• Threat is rising → global demand for some resources that are on antarctica

• Pressure put on vast reserves - if given access = exploitation

• 2048 → treaty reevaluated & possibly resigned - worlds resources would be running out and more countries willing to exploit Antarctica

• In future: might not be in agreement over the use of antarctica’s resources

Mineral deposits specific facts

• Hydrocarbons thought to exist beneath the Ross and Weddell sea

• Oil reserves in the Weddel Sea - 500 billion barrels - led to geopolitical tensions

• Madrid Protocol - Article 7 - bans the mining of mineral resources exept for scientific purposes

Threats to Antarctica - Toursim → threats and reasons

• The threat:

  • Can drop litter

  • disturb wildlife

  • tarmple plants

  • indroduce non-nativve species/diseases

  • Spillage of fuel ships

• Reasons for tourism growth:

  • Media awareness, bucket list tourism, transport & tech developments, environmental curiosity

Tourism specific facts

• 1996/97 → 7,413 visitors

• 2022/23 → 71,346 visitors