Geography - Development in Antarctica

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  • Created by: Dan S.
  • Created on: 12-05-13 14:22

Development in Antarctica

Advantages

  • FISHING - Vast amounts of unexploited sea-life surround the waters in Antarctica; could solve hunger issues in places such as Africa.
  • MINING - Vast numbers of natural resoures, coal, iron, natural gas, oil which could be mined; would be very valuable to industry around the world.
  • TOURISM - Small expeditions are becoming increasing popular with more than 5 times the amount of people visiting nowadays than in 1992; for the countries hosting these tours, lots of profit could be generated which could be spent on improving their infrastructure.
  • RESEARCH - Scientists are very interested in exploring the Antarctic region as it is so unexplored that there could be a wealth of information stored there.

Disadvantages

  • FISHING - Over-fishing could become an issue as companies try to exploit the vast profits that could be gained.
  • MINING - Could collapse the Western Antarctic ice sheet which would lead to huge rises in sea levels worldwide.
  • TOURISM - No hospitals nearby means there are risks with health and safety and as more people visit Antarctica litter will be dropped which could cause harm to the animals living there.
  • RESEARCH - Russian scientists have been drilling into an ancient lake buried beneath the ice called Lake Vostok but they have been scrutinised for using poor drilling methods that could expose this unseen lake to pollution and the drilling could distrupt a delicate, untouched ecosystem that has existed there for hundreds of thousands of years.

Evaluation

Overall, there is no real answer to whether the Antarctic should be developed. It has vast amounts of resources such as minerals and fish, but this would damage the 'last great wilderness on Earth'. I believe that the Antarctic should remain untouched.

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