Antarctica is the World’s southern-most continent.
It is a land made up of mainly ice (99% of the
continent is covered in ice sheet) and is uninhabited aside from a few
thousand scientific researchers.
It is a land mass with mountains and volcanoes
beneath and protruding above the ice, but it also has lots of sea ice
which changes in size and distribution throughout the year.
The lowest ever temperatures recorded on Earth
have been recorded here, at
Vostok, Antarctica, where it dropped to nearly -89.2 °C
These temperatures make it a truly EXTREME environment, very dangerous for humans to visit and live. In addition, for many months during the year there is 24 hours of darkness or 24 hours of light as the Earth orbits the sun. You can also witness the Aurora Australis or southern lights here, and a huge range of wildlife from emperor penguins, seals to Whales.
The environment is also incredibly sensitive.
It can take many hundreds of years for rubbish
to decompose because of the extremely low temperatures, and the food
chain is also delicate because most of the marine life rely upon Krill
as their primary source of food.
Find out more from the British Antarctic Survey
Research all aspects of Antarctica at coolantarctica!
Antarctica
is becoming an increasingly popular destination for tourists.
Indeed, tourist numbers have gone from 9,000 in
1992-93 to 46,000 in 2007-8 with over 100 companies being involved
Visitors are mainly from rich nations (39% American, 15% British) and
tend to fly to New Zealand or Chile or Argentina and set sail from
there.
Few visitors
go on the ice as it is too hazardous, however, there are some very
accessible sites and boats tend to stop there preferentially.
These are Honey pot sites and the animals get
disturbed from their usual feeding and breeding routines.
In addition, many ships have run aground and had
accidents and oil spills are an increasing hazard.
Waste from tourist boats is also a problem, and
by law ships are required to discharge waste well away from the edges of
Antarctica.
The
IAATO (International Association
of Antarctic Tour Operators) is an organisation which rules the
companies and tries to be environmentally friendly.
They regulate the boat companies and try to
ensure a sustainable future for the ice continent.
Indeed,
Boats are limited to 500 passengers which should reduce the impact of
tourism.
-
In addition, Tourism has to follow the
rules of the Antarctic treaty, signed in 1961, where
many countries promised to
demilitarize Antarctica, to establish it as a zone free
of nuclear tests and the disposal of radioactive waste,
and to ensure that it is used for peaceful purposes
only;
-
to promote international scientific cooperation
in Antarctica;
-
To set aside disputes over territorial
sovereignty.
The
Antarctic Act of 1994 is a UK act which supports the Antarctic Treaty of
1961 and makes environmental damage in Antarctica by any British citizen
punishable by law.
The US has
its own permit system, formed in the
Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, protects native mammals,
birds, and plants and their ecosystems. The law applies to all U.S.
citizens and makes it unlawful to;
-
take native mammals or birds
-
engage in harmful interference
-
enter specially designated areas
-
introduce species to Antarctica
-
introduce substances designated as
pollutants
-
discharge designated pollutants
-
import certain Antarctic items into the
USA
Violation of this can result in a 1 year
jail sentence or $11,000 fine!
Coolgeography.co.uk
by Rob Gamesby is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Contact - robert.gamesby@st-marys.newcastle.sch.uk