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Antarctica
ASSESSMENT FOR LE SOCIAL STUDIES
Focus Area 1: Why is Antarctica an
important environment?
1/3

The Southern Ocean around Antarctica accounts for about 10% of the Earth’s
surface. It supports a huge number of the world’s marine mammals and other
important marine life. That’s partly because the nutrient-rich waters and
constant summer sunlight encourage the blooming of phytoplankton –
microscopic marine plants that are the foundation of the ocean food chain.
The Antarctic also plays a vital role in regulating our climate. Just like the Arctic
sea ice in the northern hemisphere, the white Antarctic ice cap deflects some of
the sun’s rays away from the Earth. And it plays a crucial role in regulating
ocean currents, as the ice-cold water meets warmer water at its surface and
drops to the depths.
Antarctica is one of the world's most important ‘natural laboratories’ (hence all
the scientists braving the conditions there). It has revealed a lot about the
impact people are having on our natural world. It was British Antarctic Survey
scientists who first identified the hole in the ozone layer in the 1980s, revealing
the damage done to our atmosphere by man-made chemicals.
This is showing
that Antarctica is
important
because it is
protecting and
preserving the life
that is residing in
Antarctica.
This is also showing
how Antarctica is
important because
of how it helps with
the control of the
climate around the
world.
Focus Area 1: Why is Antarctica an
important environment?
2/3

This shows
that
scientists are
currently
studying the
organisms in
Antarctica
in order to
gather
knowledge
about
advances in
health and
prevention
of global
warming.
The ice sheet contains one of the most detailed records of our climate for the past several hundred thousand years. By
examining how the ice sheets formed and moved, scientists can create models of how climate might be changing now—
and what effect those changes could have on the rest of the world.
Astronomy at the bottom of the world takes advantage of a high elevation, a thinner atmosphere, a drier climate and a
virtual absence of particulate, noise, or light pollution. Astronomers can see farther, and more clearly, from Antarctica than
from anywhere else on Earth.
Antarctica's incredibly harsh climate is very similar to the climate on Mars. NASA tests equipment in the Dry Valleys and other
harsh Antarctic settings as part of the preparation for planetary expeditions.
Antarctica is one of the most extreme environments on Earth, yet scientists have discovered a vast and rich ecosystem
there. Life can be found thriving even in the outer crust of rocks in the Dry Valleys and in the depths of the perennially icecapped brine lakes. By researching how life exists there, scientists can gain clues to discover the potential for life in extreme
environments beyond Earth.
The summer ozone "hole" is the most extreme over Antarctica. Scientists in Antarctica are studying the effects of ozone
depletion where they are most obvious in order to understand how ozone depletion will effect the rest of the world. Their
work may yield critical information on tissue damage, protection, and potential adaptations to an atmosphere with less
ozone.
Polar organisms exhibit many adaptations for surviving the extreme environment of Antarctica. Such adaptations as the
"antifreeze" manufactured by Antarctica fish and insects, may have important pharmaceutical applications. Scientists
studying animals in Antarctica are adding to our knowledge in a large number of areas including evolution, the impact of
global warming, and potential health advances.
Resources are restricted in Antarctica; buildings must use energy efficiently and withstand the extreme environment for a
prolonged period of time. Building strategies in this environment can inform building practices throughout the world,
particularly as we move toward housing models with greater efficiency and smaller environmental impact.
As scientists conduct research, other scientists can study those scientists! Investigations of emotional, mental, and physical
responses to living and working in such an extreme environment can inform the way astronauts prepare for extended space
exploration.
The polar environments change dramatically throughout the year, and climate change has a tremendous effect on
seasonal cycles for flora and fauna in Antarctica. By studying those changes, scientists can investigate the potential effects
of climate change on ecosystems across the globe.
This shows how
scientists are able to
analyse the
environment in
Antarctica in order to
predict how climate
change will effect us
later on
Scientists are also
studying the effects
of global warming
throughout
Antarctica, learning
how this could
affect climate
change around the
world.
Focus Area 1: Why is Antarctica an
important environment?
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http://www.anpc.com/an
other-blog/
This picture is showing how
Antarctica is a very valuable
place for scientists to gather
information.
Focus Area 2: What impact do
people have on this environment? 1/3
Some Antarctic species have been taken to the verge of extinction for
economic benefit. Others have been killed incidentally or disturbed,
soils have been contaminated, untreated sewage has been
discharged into the sea and rubbish that will not decompose or break
down for hundreds of years has been left behind in even the remotest
parts.
 Recently attitudes have changed as we begin to realise that there
are few untouched and unvisited places left on earth and that they are
tremendously important to humanity.
 Antarctica's clean air, water and ice of are of importance to
science for understanding how the Earth's environment is changing
both naturally and as a result of human activity. Tour operators are
tapping a huge and ever increasing demand to visit the Earth's last
great wilderness.
 Both science and tourism have the potential to damage the very
qualities that draw them to Antarctica.

This is
showing
how both
scientific
research
and
common
tourism
are able
to cause
major
problems
with small
actions
This is showing
how people
have already
taken
advantage of
the new
resources
given to them,
which is
causing
dramatic
effects in
Antarctica.
Focus Area 2: What impact do
people have on this environment? 2/3
This cartoon is pressing
on the fact that people
are causing the climate
to fluctuate around the
world, because of global
warming being affected
by the heat-containing
gases we produce.
Focus Area 2: What impact do
people have on this environment? 3/3
http://www.ecophotoexplorers.
com/antarcticastations.asp
This map shows how
Antarctica has changed
from untouched to a
scientific research area,
with nearly all of Antarctica
being monitored this very
second.
Focus Area 3: Is the global community doing enough
to make sure that this area is sustainable?
1/3
On the other
hand this
shows how
people are
ignoring the
need to
control the
resource
distribution
and
consumption,
instead
causing issues
such as
starting to
press species
towards
extinction.

Fishing and tourism are the only significant economic activities in the Antarctic
at present. Over 27,000 tourists visited Antarctica in the 2005/06 summer and the
industry is growing rapidly (IAATO, 2006). The multiple stresses of climate change
and increasing human activity on the Antarctic Peninsula represent a clear
vulnerability (see Section 15.6.3), and have necessitated the implementation of
stringent clothing decontamination guidelines for tourist landings on the
Antarctic Peninsula (IAATO, 2005).

Fishing is, however, the only large-scale exploitation of resources in Antarctica,
and since 1982 Antarctic fisheries have been regulated by the Convention on
the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which takes
climate change into account in determining allowable catches. However,
before the CCAMLR came into force, heavy fishing around South Georgia led to
a major decline in some stocks, which have not yet fully recovered. The illegal,
unregulated and unreported fishing of the Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus
eleginoides) is of concern because it could act alongside climate change to
undermine sustainable management of stocks (Bialek, 2003). Furthermore, those
fishing illegally often use techniques that cause the death of by-catch species;
for example, albatross and petrels, which are now under threat (Tuck et al.,
2001).
This shows
how
communities
are already
making sure
that the
consumption
of resources
from
Antarctica is
kept under
control
Focus Area 3: Is the global community doing enough
to make sure that this area is sustainable?
2/3
http://www.discoveringantarctica.o
rg.uk/alevel_img/bas_10003596.jpg
This picture is of the Fossil
Bluff waste dump before it
was removed from
Antarctica
Focus Area 3: Is the global community doing enough
to make sure that this area is sustainable?
3/3

Sustainability is a major concern for the future of Antarctica and for the marine life in
the surrounding Southern Ocean. While the Antarctic Treaty reserves the continent for
peace and science, there are many threats to the future of Antarctica. Climate
change, and the introduction of non-native species, threaten to impact flora and
fauna of Antarctica. (As set out in section on the Impacts of Climate Change, melting
of the Antarctic ice sheets could affect other parts of the world with rising sea levels.)
Numbers of tourists are increasing, for example there were approximately 7,500
visitors in 1996 - 7 and over 36,000 in 2008-9. The overall trend towards continued
increases in tourist numbers could have localised and/or wider regional impacts on
the Antarctic environment in the future.

Although exploitation of Antarctic minerals is prohibited indefinitely, could exhaustion
of minerals elsewhere leave Antarctica as the only viable option in future mineral
exploitation? Perhaps if mining techniques were improved to make them more
environmentally friendly and future melting could increase accessibility and ease of
drilling would the Antarctic Treaty Parties lift the ban on mining in the future? Mining
would certainly throw into question the sustainable use of Antarctica and would
change the mandate of a place for peace and science under the Antarctic Treaty.
This is showing
how the global
community is
ensuring that
the minerals in
Antarctica are
kept and not
used, which is
keeping
Antarctica in
more of an
untouched
state