Antarctica; Taking Another Look

It is the most desolate, coldest, driest, windiest, most inaccessible end of the earth. It was the one place, everyone agreed, that all the nations could share. But now, as man consumes more and more of the resources of his globe, he is turning new eyes to this ancient continent.

The great potential of the region in terms of iron, coal and oil has moved the focus away from protection and conservation towards a focus based on exploitation. There is real concern that the region may suffer as international scientific research is replaced by more nationalistic mineral exploitation which could lead to confrontation.

The scientists based in research centers in the Antarctic have praised the decades of international cooperation and sharing in bases such as the main U.S Antarctic facility. The challenges of the environment are said to bring people closer together, along with their common interest for the science that they undertake.

The U.S. Antarctica activities are run by the Mc Murdo headquarters, part for the National Science Foundation, which has a small flag-encircled park nearby which is dedicated to the efforts and the ideals of Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd. Admiral Byrd led five expeditions in the Antarctica and was the first to fly over the South Pole. He saw Antarctica as a place that should set an example of international scientific cooperation and of a region where nations can live together in peace. But are such noble ideas likely to remain as the world becomes more dependent on the Earth’s minerals and the need for energy increases?

The full potential of the Antarctic as a region of mineral resource is not yet known, but there is growing interest over its potential. The situation in the Antarctic has changed to become more revolved around political situation and less in science. The existence of large quantities of minerals and also oil may lie waiting to be discovered under the frozen landscape and beneath the treacherous seas.

Oil reserves and minerals have been discovered in abundance in other regions of the planet which resemble the Antarctic geologically. U.S. small scale exploratory off shore drilling has proven that hydrocarbons are likely to be deposited in the region. Deposits of coal have already been confirmed with other minerals and metals such as titanium, uranium, gold, copper, lead, cobalt, nickel and chromium.

The hostile environment of the Antarctic has, until now, made its exploitation to expensive to consider. As the prices if resources increase and new technology becomes available, businesses and governments have begun to see the benefits and the scientists and environmentalists are becoming more worried.

With the Antarctic being one of the last regions of the Earth to remain unpolluted and untouched the concern over the mineral exploitation is a big issue to environment groups worldwide. 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 concerned that the results of the assessments will encourage the exploitation. Oil development causes the most concern because of fears about spills. Most Antarctic life, such as birds and seals, clusters along the coasts and could be greatly affected. There is evidence oil does not break up or degrade as fast in cold climates as in warmer ones, environmentalists say, and a spin could prove more damaging in Antarctica than elsewhere.

The landmark 1959 treaty set Antarctica aside as a scientific preserve and controls a lot of the activity that goes on there. 12 nations were originally involved with the signing of the treaty, later Poland joined and together they ensure that the region remains free of militarization and that no nuclear waste dumping takes place. All cases of territory claims that overlap have been side stepped by the 1959 treaty. Countries including Great Britain, Argentina, France, Australia, Norway, Chile and New Zealand all claim land within Antarctica.

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