GG - Antarctica Case Study

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Give some basic facts about Antarctica:

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1

Give some basic facts about Antarctica:

  • It is the coldest, windiest and driest place on Earth

  • It has no permanent population

  • It’s ice covers 97% of the land and contains 70% of the world’s fresh water

  • It is 60x bigger than the UK

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2

Describe Antarctica’s climate:

  • Temperature: Average of -50 degrees Celsius but can reach -89

  • Wind speed: Mean of 50mph from convergent katabatic winds; gales can reach 200 mph

  • Precipitation: Less than 50 mm annually

  • Land height: Average of 2.5 km above sea level

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3

Describe the geography of Antarctica:

  • The eastern ‘half’ is much bigger and the ice sheet that covers it is larger, thicker and older than the western ‘half’

  • It is divided in two by the Transantarctic Mountains

  • Most research stations are on the Antarctic Peninsula, reaching into the Weddell Sea

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4

Give some general reasons for the importance of Antarctica:

  • Home to many rare species

  • Vital for regulating the climate

  • Extreme conditions are useful for scientific research

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5

Describe the ecology of Antarctica:

  • Home to 7 species of penguin and 4 species of albatross

  • The albatrosses take 10 years to sexually mature and lay an egg every 2 years - they are vulnerable to extinction

  • It is also home to a large volume of krill, whales, seals birds and plankton

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6

How has sealing impacted Antarctica?

  • It began in the 18th century, and by 1800, the fur seals had been wiped out, moving interest to the South Shetlands, where they killed 300,000 seals

  • In 1972, the Antarctic Convention banned the killing of Ross and Antarctic fur seals

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7

How has whaling impacted Antarctica?

  • Began in the 19th century and the main targets were Blue and Right whales

  • There was demand of whalebone, oil, meat, and other products

  • As populations in the N. Atlantic, interest turned to the Southern Ocean, mainly from the UK, US and Norway

  • Camps were based in S. Georgia and the S. Sandwich Islands

  • In 1904, Norway built Grytviken, which employed 300 people until it’s closure in 1965

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8

How has scientific research impacted Antarctica?

  • Seasonal and year-round bases are run by 30 nations

  • Snow traps a lot of interesting stuff e.g. volcanic ash and radioactive materials

  • Ice core drilling is key to environmental research

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9

How has resource exploitation impacted Antarctica?

  • The Antarctic contains the world’s largest known coalfield

  • Freshwater can be abstracted from the ice caps

  • There is money to be made from sea life e.g. fish and krill

  • Interest in resource exploitation threatens Antarctica’s fragile environment

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10

How has climate change impacted Antarctica?

  • A 100-mile long crack is forming across the Larson C ice shelf

  • If it collapses, an area the size of Delaware (10% of the shelf) will break off and the rest of the shelf will become more unstable

  • Ocean temperatures have risen by 1 degree Celsius since 1955

  • Emperor penguins have declined by 50% as sea ice melts (where they breed)

  • It is vulnerable to climate change, as well as important in slowing the change

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11

Describe tourism on Antarctica:

  • There are 3 main types:

    • Cruise ships

    • Over-flights

    • Camping trips

  • Tourism has risen from <2000 in the 80s to >45,000 in 2017

  • The most tourists come from the US, Australia and Germany

  • The cost can range from $6000 to$18,000

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12

Give some positive impacts of tourism on Antarctica:

  • Tourists become “ambassadors” for Antarctica and it’s protection as they feel a stronger connection to it

  • They tend to be wealthier and more educated people with a bigger voice when it comes to activism

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13

Give some negative impacts of tourism on Antarctica:

  • Invasive species brought to the vulnerable ecosystems (e.g. bacteria or seeds)

  • Peak tourist season collides with bird breeding season and it may make the birds anxious

  • Erosion/disturbance of fragile environments - footprints can remain on moss for decades

  • Oil spills and noise pollution

  • Enforcing regulations is difficult

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14

What has research found on the impacts of tourism on Antarctica?

The Scott Polar Institute found that tourism on Antarctica is:

  • A well-run industry

  • Guidelines are followed and companies that don’t follow them quickly go bust

  • Research stations leave more litter than tourists

  • Of 200 landing sites, only 5% showed signs of wear and tear

  • Animals were largely unaffected by tourists

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15

How is tourism on Antarctica managed?

  • The IAATO ensures safe travel especially when tourists come ashore

  • The Linblad Plan manages cruise itineraries to spread out visits and their impacts

  • The Polar Code outlines behaviour ashore and health + safety requirements

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16

Describe the rise of adventure tourism on Antarctica:

  • In the 80s and 90s, the average age of visitors was middle-aged/elderly and they didn’t come ashore

  • Nowadays visitors are getting younger and they want to do activities e.g. water-skiing, paragliding and scuba-diving

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17

Describe the increase in the proportion of Chinese tourists on Antarctica:

  • Chinese citizens made up 12% of visitors in 2017, including in cruises and flights that cost ~£16,000

  • They are now the 2nd biggest nationality to visit

  • China’s new regulations monitor visitors and damaging the environment can lead to a 3-year ban from visiting

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18

How has mineral exploitation impacted Antarctica?

  • Minerals such as uranium, silver, gold, titanium, cobalt, iron and copper are abundant on Antarctica

  • It is very inaccessible currently, making exploitation unprofitable

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19

How has fishing impacted Antarctica?

  • The Antarctic Convergence is where the Southern Ocean meets warmer waters, causing upwelling of nutrients, so it is an area rich in marine life

  • Russian ships began exploiting cod in the 60s

  • There is lots of concern over krill fishing (popular as a health food) as it underpins the whole food web

  • Long-line fishing of the Patagonian Toothfish killed lots of storm petrels and albatrosses as they got caught in the lines

  • Millions of tonnes of finfish were caught but the CCAMLR banned fishing of most species in the 80s

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20

Describe the IWC and it’s impacts:

  • The International Whaling Convention was formed in 1946 but came into force in 1985

  • Most, but not all nations agreed to stop whaling (e.g. Japan used a loophole allowing whaling for ‘research’)

  • It was no longer commercially viable anyway

  • In 1994, a 50 million km² area was established where whaling was banned

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21

Describe CRAMRA and it’s impacts:

  • Regulations set up that provided a framework in which mining could occur in 1988

  • However many NGOs fought against this, including Greenpeace, and within 2 years the agreement collapsed, showing the power of NGOs in world affairs

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22

Describe the Madrid protocol and it’s impacts:

  • Negotiated by the UN in 1991

  • Formed after the death of CRAMRA and outright bans mining

  • It also:

    • Designates it as a natural reserve

    • Subjects all prospective activities to environmental analysis

    • Requires people to return their waste

  • It was ratified in 1998

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23

Describe the ATS and it’s impacts:

  • The Antarctic Treaty System is a body of agreements

  • The Antarctic Treaty is the main one, set up in 1959 and includes 12 nations

  • In it’s 14 articles it says that:

    • Antarctica must be used for peaceful purposes

    • Promotes scientific cooperation

    • Sets aside sovereignty disputes

    • Prohibits nuclear activity e.g. waste dumping

    • Provides for inspectors to ensure compliance

    • Requires advance notice of expeditions

    • Sets in place a mechanism for settling disputes and debate

  • It came into force in 1961 and is widely successful

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24

Describe the wider ATS and it’s impacts:

  • It is governed by annual consultative meetings

  • It includes other agreements including:

    • The Madrid Protocol

    • Convention on Antarctic Seals

    • The CAMLR

  • It also includes NGOs, institutions and researchers

  • It has 46 signatories

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25

Describe ASOC and it’s impacts:

  • The Antarctic + South Ocean Coalition is a group of 30 NGOs e.g. Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, and the WWF

  • It’s original aims were to:

    • Prevent mining

    • Open up the ATS to NGOs

    • Conclude the 1st “ecosystem as a whole” treaty on fishing

  • It now has observer status at the ATS and now aims to:

    • Make the Polar Code legally binding

    • Establish a network of natural reserves

    • Manage fisheries sustainably

    • Regulate tourism

    • Monitor Madrid Protocol implementation

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26

Describe SCAR and it’s impacts:

  • The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research

  • Aims to initiate and coordinate scientific research

  • It’s also an advisory body to the ATCM and IPCC

  • The 1st meeting was held in 1958 and has 46 members

  • Most members are from Europe, the Americas and eastern Asia

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