Antarctica

• Describe Antarctica


  Covers about 14 Million km", so it's larger than Europe. It contains 90% of all the ice on Earth, around 70% of all Earths fresh water. Though it's all frozen, there's actually very little available water for plants to grow, and the small amount of precipitation it gets (-166 per year) is low enough to classify it as a desert. Most of this is also frozen. It's very cold, average temperatures of -49'C with very little sunshine in winter. This means very few plants and animals can survive, and must be adapted to this environment.
• Area Antarctica covers.


  14 Million km" - larger than Europe.
• Amount of the Earths ice it contains.

  90%
• Amount of fresh water it contains.

  70%
• What's considered to be part of Global Commons?

  The whole of Antarctica, the Southern Ocean as far north as the Antarctic Convergence
• Average temperature


  -49'C
• Precipitation inland Antarctica recieves

  Less than 166mm per year
• Plants and Animals


  Very few can survive there, unless specially adapted.
• Antarctica's plant life


  Mosses and Lichens - only two plants that can grow there.
• Fragile Ecosystem


  Lack of water, warmth and sunlight makes it fragile - easily damaged and takes a long time to recover.
• Antarctic Convergence


  -Upwelling of nutrient-rich cold water.

  -Phytoplankton thrive here, providing plenty of food for krill, forming basis of food chain.
• Marine ecosytem


  -Abundant sea-life, fish, seals, whales to birds like albatrosses and penguins. -Fragile - if the population of one species decreases it affects other species.
• 4 Main threats to Antarctica

  -Climate Change

  -Tourism and Research

  -Fishing and Whaling

  -Search for Minerals
• Climate Change Melting Ice


  -Past 5 decades, west coast of Antarctica has warmed by 3', making it one of the fastest rising temperatures on Earth. Ice is getting thinner as it melts and refreezes.

  -An uneven trend is emerging where the western area is heating up, whereas the Eastern area is cooling down.

  -Causes ice shelves around Weddel Sea and Ross Sea to melt. E.g. Collapse of the Larsen-B ice shelf (2002).
• Climate Change's effect on Ecosystem

  -As ice shelves have retreated, the Antarctic environment has changed dramatically. Species of penguin adapted to sea ice, like the Adelie penguins, have declined as it's melted. They've been replaced by chinstrap penguins which are more adapted to open sea conditions.

  -Antarctic krill depend on environment sea ice provides, so population has declined by around 80% since 1970's. Krill are the main food source for penguins, whales and seals, so decline in krill leads to decline in these populations too.
• Climate Change's Global Impact from Melting Sea Ice


  Global sea levels have risen by around 3mm a year since 1990's - could make edges of ice shelves unstable, increasing rate of melting.
• Ocean Acidification caused by climate change.

  Carbon Dioxide reacts with saltwater to create carbonic acid. Depletes amount of calcium carbonate in the water which affect plankton as they use it to form shells.
• How much have areas along west coast warmed by?

  3'C Fastest rise anywhere on Earth
• Adelie Penguins


  Declined since sea ice has melted.
• Weddell Sea and Ross sea ice shelves

  Melting due to warming
• Antarctic Krill


  population declined by 80% since the 70's as sea ice melts.
• Global sea rise


  Due to Antarctic melting. 3mm a year since 1990's
• Over-fishing


  -Threatens many species e.g. Patagonian Toothfish. Antarctic Krill are most fished creature: 2013 over 200,000 tonnes of krill fished from the Antarctic. Reduced fish and krill populations have knock-on effects on other species in food chain e.g. larger fish and the marine mammals and birds that feed on them.

  -Albatross and Petrels can also get caught in fishing lines and drown.
• Patagonian Toothfish


  being fished unsustainably making it vulnerable to extinction.
• Most fished creature


  Antarctic Krill - in 2013 over 200,000 tonnes were fished. Reduced krill has knock-on effects on other species in the food chain.
• Legal Limits


  Limits how much fish can be caught each year to keep stocks at a sustainable level. However, Illegal fishing still occurs, which is difficult to monitor.
• Whaling


  -Common in the mid 20th century - but declined since 1982 when regulations were brought in to ban all commercial whaling.

  -Some countries still kill whales for scientific purposes, and Japan still does for cultural reasons, as it's something they've always done.

  -Significantly decreased the Antarctic whale population, now slowly recovering. However, whales are slow breeders, so it'll take a while for them to fully recover.
• Minerals


  There is believed to be lots of them in Antarctica. Coal and Iron underground deposits of Transantarctic Mountains.
• Large oil reserves


  Underneath the Southern Ocean
• Mining


  -Has never occurred, it's currently banned

  -This might change due to rising demand, as supplies are depleted elsewhere.

  -This would damage the Antarctic environment
• Why is Mining difficult in the Antarctic?

  Conditions are not favorable because:

  -Isolated location is too far to transport machinery to Antarctica from any other landmass. -The extreme climate makes mining difficult and expensive, as humans aren't meant to be here.

  -Ice on land makes double the amount of drilling necessary to get through ice.

  -Shifting sea ice and ice shelves increases danger.

  -1998 Protocol on Environment Protection to the Antarctic Treaty banned all commercial mining for 50 years.
• Increasing demand for minerals and oil

  Increases the risk of Antarctica being exploited
• Future of Minerals in Antarctica

  -Australia lays claim to half of Antarctic land

  -China, Iran, India, and Russia are all interested in mineral extraction

  -China have taken lead, building research stations to drill through the ice in the centre of Antarctica

  -Any extraction would have potentially massive environmental impacts (unsustainable).

  -Technology that is currently used in the Arctic could be used to develop mining; especially off shore areas.
• Tourism in Antarctica


  -Tourism has boomed in the last 50 years due to ease of travel and increase in disposable income, so people want to travel more.

  -Exposure of idealic or extreme environments in media, such as glacial landscapesand wildlife, has led to more people wanting to go there.

  -They may wish to test themselves in the weather conditions.

  -They may be interested in the historic scights like the huts left behind from the first expeditions to the South pole.

  -Tourist numbers have increased in Antarctic because of people wanting to go to this remote and isolated area before climate change melts it away.

  -They also want extreme stories to tell.
• Risks posed by Tourism

  -Increased shipping and air travel to Antarctica, leading to water, air pollution and noise pollution.

  -Risk of boats grounding or hitting ice bergs, which can cause fuel spills.

  -Tourists an disturb breeding colonies of birds.

  -Trampling damages fragile vegetation and erodes the landscape.

  -Litter and waste disposal damages habitats and can harm wildlife, especially because decomposition rates in cold environments are slow.

  -Non-native species may be introduced e.g. on tourists clothing, which may alter food webs and ecosystems.
• What are the Concerns about Tourism in Antarctica

  -Antarctic ecosystems are extremely fragile and disturbances leave their imprint for a long time.

  -The summer tourist season coincides with peak wildlife breeding periods.

  -Land-based installations and wildlife are disturbed in the few ice-free locations on the continent.

  -Possibility of land based tourism being developed.

  -Demand for freshwater is difficult to meet

  -Visitor pressure is felt on cultural heritage sites such as old whaling and sealing stations and early exploration bases.

  Evidence that over-flying by light planes and helicopters causes soe stress to breeding colonies of penguins and other birds.

  -Unique legal status of Antarctica makes enforcement of any code of behaviour difficult.
• Ship Borne Tourism Management

  -Caters for a niche market of adventure travellers and natural history lovers.

  -Ships are comparitively small, wuth average capacities betwen 50 and 100.

  -Tourists carefully briefed on code of conduct, and they're respectful of environment.

  -Follow the Lindbland Plan, which manages itineraries in a way to ensure that any impacts are negligable.

  -When visiting sites, groups are divided into boatloads of around 20, each led by an expert guide.

  -Sites may be visited only every two or three days to minimise impacts.

  -Captains of ships are required to observe this
• What's done to Reduce Risk of Damage from Tourism

  -Put limits on the amount of people allowed at a time

  -Enforcing zero litter

  -Using small boats when getting closer to land, so as to not disturb the creatures

  -Using safer fuels for boats
• How has Tourism Impacted Antarctica

  -Published findings found that Antarctic environments have been little effected:

  -Antarctic tourism is well-run with a sound record for environmental concern

  -Guidelines are widely accepted by operators and tourists alike.

  -Damage to vegetation is due to natural causes rather than tourists.

  -No litter has been attributed to tourists, they're more concerned about litter around scientific research stations.

  Virtually no stress is caused to penguins by tourists visiting their breeding colonies, though, tern colonies seem to suffer by the disturbance.

  Seals are largely indifferent to presence of humans.

  -Out of 200 landing sites suurveyed, only 5% showed any wear and tear. These need to be rested but at present there is no mechanism to implement this type of management.
• Scientific and environmental research


  -Antarctica is important for scientific and environmental research.

  -This requires lots of facilities (bases, roads and transport).

  -Until the 1980's, waste produced by them was burned or thrown into sea