Antartica Case Study

• Antarctica has been warming at twice the global average rate, with an increase in temperature of about 3°C over the past century.
• Sea ice extent around Antarctica decreased by approximately 10% per decade between 1978-2016.
• The melting of glaciers is causing sea levels to rise by approximately 0.1 mm per year.
• Sea ice extent around Antarctica decreased by 25% between 1978-2016.
• Melting glaciers are also contributing to ocean acidification as they release freshwater into the oceans, which lowers pH levels.
• Human activities that occur are: Drilling, Overfishing,
• Natural Resources that occur in Antartica: copper, gold, lead
• Paris Agreement - 2015, 195 countries agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• Kyoto Protocol - 1997, aimed at reducing greenhouse gases but not ratified by USA or Australia
• The average temperature is -40 degrees
• It experiences around 400-600 millimetres of rainfall a year
• Antartica is a fragile Environment
• Increased tourism leads to more waste being produced
• Tourism has increased from 38,000 visitors per year in 2000 to over 40,000 in 2019/20
• Oil spills occur in Antartica due to increase drilling
• Animals and plants are affected by changes in temperatures as they are highly adapted

  to the cold environment.
• Invasive species that are adapted to higher temperatures could grow and colonise the environment.
• The IWC stands of International Whaling Commission
• Whales were hunted almost to extinction between 1950-70's
• The IWC was set up in 1946 to regulate whale hunting
• There is now an international ban on whale hunting but some countries still hunt them illegally
• There is now an international ban on commercial whaling but some countries still hunt them illegally
• The Antarctic Treaty (1959)- established a system of international cooperation to protect the environment and scientific research
• The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (1991)- prohibits the dumping of waste in the Antarctic and the extraction of resources
• ●In 1994, a Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary was set up, banning all commercial whaling in the area. Sanctuaries focus on the protection of calves and females.
• Member states choose freely to be in the IWC, and they can also opt out. The IWC can enforce no penalties for members leaving, such as when Japan made the decision to leave in 2018.
• ●Antarctica can be used for scientific research, but all research has a right to be shared and cooperated on
• The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (1991) bans all activities relating to mineral resources, aside from for scientific purposes. This means there can be no mining or fuel extraction on the continent.
• The Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) is a treaty created in 1980 to protect marine life populations, especially krill.
• CCAMLR are responsible for researching, monitoring, and conservation of the Southern Ocean
• Charities such as Greenpeace and WWF work to enhance the protection of Antarctica
• ASOC’s main focuses are:

  ● Overall environmental protection in Antarctica

  ● Monitoring and extending marine protected areas

  ● Wildlife conservation

  ● Krill conservation

  ● Climate change and the Antarctic

  ● Antarctic governance
• In 2007 the MS Explorer crashed leaving a mile long diseil spill which disrupted Penguin breeding grounds
• Antartica treaty system is a collection to protect Antartica
• The sea levels have risen by 5m
• Krill descresing has affected number of penguins
• between 2012 and 2016, plans for an Antarctic marine reserve failed due to opposition from Russia and Ukraine.
• Large Reserves of oil can be found in the Southern Ocean
• Anatartica is 2300 meters above sea level
• 150,000 tonnes of krill are killed every year