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Preventing Future Damage To Antarctica
By CruiseDirector | February 3, 2010
Antarctica is the coldest and most desolate of all the regions of the planet. Antarctica is the only place that all nations agreed should be shared. However the realization by many nations that their resources may eventually run out has led many to look at Antarctica as a future source.
Less attention is now being paid to the land of ice, penguins and seals and more attention is paid towards the land of oil, coal and iron reserves. International confrontations due to the exploitation of the natural resource may gradually replace the existing cooperation of international scientific studies.
At the main U.S. Antarctic base, scientists and officials talk of decades of tranquil research and sharing among nations. It is said that people often feel bound by the fact that they all face the challenges of such a hostile environment and their passion for their work, working together whilst the rest of the world experiences conflict and disagreements. Antarctic Cruising
Next to the McMurdo headquarters of the National Science Foundation, which runs U.S. Antarctica activities, is a small, flag-encircled park dedicated to Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd and his idealistic dream. He was the first to ever fly over the South Pole and led five expeditions in the Antarctic. Byrd envisioned the Antarctic as a place where nations could work together peacefully for the common cause of science and that it should be a region that set an example of successful international cooperation. His sentiments are indeed noble, but are they realistic now that they world is becoming starved of energy and minerals?
There is a now lot more interest over the Antarctic as a region as mineral resources but its full potential is not yet known. The Antarctic has now become an issue for politicians and not just scientists, Perhaps, under the full depth of the ice that covers 98 percent of the area and under the deep, icy seas there is a large source of essential minerals and oil. cruise to antarctica
Antarctica and the surrounding region are similar geologically to other regions of the Earth where oil, minerals and gas are found in abundance. Small scale offshore drilling by the United States has hinted at the possible presence of hydrocarbon deposits. The presence of coal on land has been confirmed with other metals and minerals including lead, cobalt, nickel, uranium, titanium, tin, gold and chromium.
Until now the extreme nature of the environment has made the exploitation of the Antarctic an expensive and impossible task. The rising prices of natural resources has made governments look again now that new technology is available, and Antarctic scientists and environmentalists are very worried.
There is also worldwide concern amongst environmentalists because Antarctica is one of the few remaining unpolluted sanctuaries on the planet. The exploitation of the region will certainly conflict with the environment and the International Institute for Environment and Development and the Sierra group are both aware of the prospects of this happening.
They point out that there must be some exploration and studies to see what resources are in Antarctica and to assess the environmental impact of exploiting them. However they are worried the results of any studies will actually encourage development. What causes the most concerns is oil drilling due to the chances of an oil spill. Most life in the Antarctic, such as the birds and seals are gathered on the coasts and would be severely affected. In colder climates oil doesn’t easily break up and degrades at a slower rate, so an oil spill there would be extremely damaging, more so than anywhere else.
A lot of the current activity in the Antarctic is tied to the 1959 landmark treaty that designated the continent as a scientific preserve. The treaty involved 12 nations who now ensure no military activity can take place nor the disposal of nuclear waste. The treaty also sidesteps land claims, some of which overlap. Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, Great Britain claim territory.
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