The Future Of Antarctica

Of all the continents, Antarctica is the coldest and inaccessible. It is the only continent that different nations agreed that they should share. But now the Antarctica is being considered by many nations as a future source of natural resource as other sources have started to run out.

The aims of conservation and preservation also slowly being replaced with new aims of resource exploitation.Confrontations over the natural resources could well start to replace the peaceful cooperation that has been achieved in the area of scientific research.

At the main U.S. Antarctic base, scientists and officials talk of decades of tranquil research and sharing among nations. Even during times of war in the outside world the scientists feel a great bonding with their colleagues due to them facing the same challenges of the hostile environment, and they also share a passion for the scientific work that that are doing. antarctica travel

The work of Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd and his vision for the Antarctic has lead to a park being dedicated to him outside the National Science Foundation McMurdo building headquarters. Byrd has led five Antarctic expeditions 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 now that the world has become dependent on energy and our industries consume the Earth’s natural resources, are these ideals likely to remain?

No one knows what the mineral potential of Antarctica is but there certainly is more interest. Now the situation has become a political issue rather than just a scientific one. Virgin oil reserves and precious mineral resources are believed to exist in large quantities under the deep frozen treacherous land and dangerous seas.antarctica vacation

Antarctica and the surrounding region are similar geologically to other regions of the Earth where oil, minerals and gas are found in abundance. The US has competed some small scientific offshore drilling and the results of which show a high possibility of hydrocarbon deposits. Coal deposits and iron along with concentrations of metallic minerals including lead, tin, titanium, gold, copper, nickel, chromium and uranium have already been confirmed on land.

Until recently, the harsh environment of Antarctica made exploitation economically unthinkable. 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.

Worldwide environmental groups also are suspicious about mineral exploitation, saying that Antarctica is one of the last virtually untouched, unpolluted sanctuaries on Earth. 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 both realize that mineral exploration is needed but that there must also be an assessment of the environmental damage that the exploitation will cause to the environment. However they are worried the results of any studies will actually encourage development. Drilling oil raises the biggest concerns because of the possible oil spills. A lot of Antarctica’s animal life is found near the coast and is likely to be affected. More damage could be caused by an oil spill in the Antarctic than elsewhere because the rate that oil degrades and breaks up is a lot slower at colder temperatures.

In 1959 a landmark treaty turned Antarctica into a scientific preserve and the majority of what goes on there is tied in to the treaty. The treaty involved 12 nations who now ensure no military activity can take place nor the disposal of nuclear waste. Any overlapping claim to Antarctica territory has been side stepped by the treaty.

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