The World’s Great Scientific Wilderness (Antarctica)

General Knowledge: Antarctic continentGeneral Knowledge: Antarctic continent

• Coldest, driest, windiest, highest, and least accessible continent

• Winter population 1000 people, 10,000 in summer

• 10,000 tourists visit for a few days in summer• Ice covered for the last 25 million years• Less than 1% of continent is ice free• Once the home of dinosaurs, trees and plants

General Antarctic InfoGeneral Antarctic Info

• The Antarctic is the most rigorously protected region of the world

• The protection is legally backed• International inspection teams monitor

compliance with the Antarctic Treaty• Man’s footprint on Antarctica is practically

invisible• More “pollution” enters the region through the

atmosphere than is generated there

Misconceptions about the AntarcticMisconceptions about the Antarctic

• The Antarctic Treaty will expire• Mining is only banned for 50 years• Developers are working on plans for Antarctica • The Antarctic has been polluted by workers and

scientists• Penguins fall over backwards when planes fly

overhead!

Antarctica: surrounded by oceanAntarctica: surrounded by ocean

• 50 million seals & 15 million penguins call this ocean home

• Regional fishery: Many countries commercially fish the Southern Ocean

• History of over-exploitation by the commercial fisheries • Fishery for krill and fish regulated by science-backed

international body under Antarctic Treaty• Pirate fishing is common

Imortant Antarctic discoveriesImortant Antarctic discoveries

• Destruction of the ozone layer was first observed at the South Pole

• Ice cores show a 400,000 year link between greenhouse gases and climate

• Ice cores record the global impact of the Industrial Revolution

• Lakes discovered beneath the Antarctic ice sheet are believed to contain life forms millions of years old

Antarctic ImpactsAntarctic Impacts

• Antarctic is interconnected with the whole Earth• Antarctic studies are essential to understanding global

weather, climate, • Climate feedbacks involving ice, snow, sea ice and

ocean currents provide the greatest challenges in predicting the future

The Antarctic TreatyThe Antarctic Treaty

• Antarctica is “a natural reserve devoted to peace and science”

• The Antarctic Treaty manages the region’s wildlife• Mining is forbidden • The Treaty runs indefinitely• Forty-four countries have acceded to the Antarctic

Treaty (80% of the world population)• All 44 countries have to agree to Treaty revisions

Polar Differences - The Arctic Polar Differences - The Arctic

• The Arctic has cities, towns and universities• Indigenous poeples share the region with new settlers• Arctic land is under the jurisdiction of a sovereign

nations• Scientists regularly work in the Arctic• There is far more science activity in the Arctic as

compared to the Antarctic