Cold waters from the Southern Ocean meets warmer oceans from Atlantic and Pacific, cold water is denser so sits at bottom, attracts lots of krill which is the basis for marine ecosystems
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Antarctic Circumpolar Current
Flows clockwise around Antarctica, stops warmer waters travelling down
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Threats to Antarctica
Climate change, whaling and fishing, mineral extraction, tourism
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Climate change - Krill
Ice melts = no algae under ice = less food for krill = population declines 80% since 1970 = less food for penguins, whales and seals
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Climate Change - Sea level rise
Meant to increase by 98cm by 2100, could cause Antarctic ice shelves o become unstable
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Climate change - Emperor penguins
Population reduced by 50%
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Fishing as a threat
Overfishing of target species, e.g. Patagonian Toothfish, effects the whole food web, limits and regulations but there is illegal fishing
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Whaling as a threat
Reduced since IWC in 1986 banned commercial whaling, some continue to kill for 'scientific purposes', Iceland still whales, long recover time as slow breeders
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Mineral extraction currently
BANNED, under the Antarctic Treaty
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Mineral extraction
Believed to be large stores of oil, iron and coal under the ice, expensive and harsh mining conditions
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Tourism - Why it has increased
More disposable income, in search of adventure
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Tourism - Threats
Water pollution from oil spills, disturb wildlife breeding patterns, trampling vegetation, eroding landscape, litter and waste, invasive species
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Main arguments against tourism
Fragile, long recovery period
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UNEP
UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME - UN agency, reports activity to UN, run by CONSERVATION OF ANTARCTIC MARINE LIVING RESOURCES (CCAMLR)
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CCAMLR
CONSERVATION OF ANTARCTIC MARINE LIVING RESOURCES - conserve marine life by allowing sustainable harvesting, challenge illegal fishing, set up first Marine Protection Area
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IWC
INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION - voluntary, no authority to enforce, conserve global whale stocks, some countries ignore e.g. Iceland
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Antarctic Treaty
53 countries, 1. Peaceful use only 2. Free to conduct scientific research 3. Remains a global common
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Madrid Protocol
45 nations, runs until 2048, ban mineral resource activity
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NGO - Greenpeace
Says whaling ban is no properly enforced, Japan continues to whale for 'scientific research'
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