Antarctica

• There is deep ice and snow that cover 98 percent of Antarcticas surface
• Average temperature is -49 degree Celsius
• There is low precipitation. Snow falls mostly near the coast
• There is little terrestrial life due to abiotic conditions here e.g.temperature
• There is abundant marine life and marine nutrients
• There is a High abundance due to upwelling currents bringing nutrients up from the seabed
• There are large seasonal variations in ice cover due to the temperature change
• There are extreme seasonal changes such as light levels
• High albedo means that most sunlight is reflected, so less energy is absorbed reducing the warming affect presenting sea level rise
• 70 percent of fresh water is stored as ice at the Antarctic
• There are High value minerals that could be exploited
• Krills feaces contain carbon this helps in carbon sequestration
• Unregulated tourism can threaten wildlife through disturbance
• There is a threat of humans introducing pathogens hence protective equipment is worn
• There ar3 regulations with scientific research to limit the impacts of potential pollution disturbing wildlife
• Ozone depletion causes a raise in UV levels this affects planktonic organiss in surface waters
• Overfishing is a threat, the sea surrounding Antarctica contains many species that have been overexplouted in the past. To combat this regulations have been placed and fisheries have been closed
• The Antarctica Treaty of 1959 was set up to protect Antarctica
• Conservation of living organisms include fishing being regulated, fisheries are closed if overfishing occurs
• Control of tourism is being done by having no accommodation, allowing a singular cruise at a time, tourists accompanied by tour guides
• Waste management involves the removal of waste, ensuring sewage is only discharged into sea currents that ensure dispersal
• A conservation effort is allowing no military activities
• A conservation effort is allowing no resource exploitation
• A rise in tmeprerature could cause potential ice melt, if this was to occur it would aid it glacier movemt and speed
• Sea ice cover is increasing this may be to stronger winds, ice melting and refreezing
• Limited buber of tourists prevent disturbance to wikdlife
• Treatment of sewage before being released into sea protects wildlife
• Trial drilling can be used to obtain samples of rock, this helps to determine ores presence and or concentrations
• Lidar scanners and satellite alimentary are both remote sensing systems that can be used to estimate volume of ice in antartica