Evil!

France

United Kingdom

Norway

Nazi Germany, between

1939-1942

New Zealand

AustraliaChile

Argentina

In reality, no one country. The United States does maintain a scientific base at the South Pole. This has been the cause of much discussion, particularly over the neutrality of the continent during the Cold War.

Why was the United States allowed to do this?

France

Adelie Land

Lines should be drawn from the South Pole.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Antarctica_territories.jpg

From the previous exercise you should have noticed that

• Antarctica is a contested continent.

• That there are significant overlaps on the territory claimed.

United States Russia China

The United States and Russia, both reserve the right to claim territory if they see fit. China has not delivered a

position on the subject.

There are a number of reasons why countries may wish to have territorial claims

•Antarctica is rich in natural resources. Presently mineral resources can not be exploited, though could this be a possibility in the future.(?)

•It is a unique environment to collect scientific data. The scientific community is highly competitive, it may give a country the ‘edge’ over another, and result in economic success.

•It provides the country with a strategic position in the Southern Hemisphere, think the United Kingdom and the Falklands Islands.

•National pride and history. Is there any point in the United Kingdom maintaining a claim to Antarctica?

With a number of different countries all claiming territory in Antarctica, and others wanting to claim territory, a system was needed.

The Antarctica Treaty System was agreed and signed in 1961.

It is basically a number of Treaties that have been agreed on by signatory countries, that state how the continent should be managed and developed.

US Stamp celebrating the 1961 treaty.

Signatories to the Antarctic Treaty.

Create a set of five postage stamps to celebrate the United Kingdom’s signatory of the Antarctic Treaty.

Each stamp should represent an article from the Treaty.

Remember to include the Queen’s head!

You can draw your stamps, or produce them via ICT.

http://search.ebay.com/antarctic-treaty-stamps_W0QQfromZR40

Antarctica potentially has a huge number of natural resources that can be exploited.

A natural resource is from the environment and can be exploited by humans to their advantage. It has value.

One such natural resource found in Antarctica is oil.

But there is a moratorium on exploiting mineral resources under the Madrid Protocol. It was signed in 1991 by the signatories to the Antarctic Treaty, this bans mining, but is due for review in 2041.

Small, clear, shrimp like organisms that feed on plankton. Krill is Norwegian for ‘whale

food’. Used by the Japanese as a foodstuff, but also widely used as bait by anglers and

food in aquariums.

Used in a variety of industrial processes, including steel production, tanning and as an

anti-corrosive

Would there be any point in extracting minerals from Antarctica?

• Extracting the minerals from below the thousands of metres of ice would be an issue.

• The quality and abundance of some of the minerals, means extraction would not be cost-effective.

• Machinery is likely to malfunction in the extreme temperatures.

• It would be difficult to import workers and machinery, and export the minerals in winter conditions.

• The working conditions would be damn awful!

But conditions in the future may make resource exploitation cost-effective.

• If natural resources run out, their price will increase, this may make drilling for say oil, more cost-effective.

• Many of the world’s natural resources are located in politically unstable regions, not a problem in Antarctica! (?)

Global warming is likely to have a huge impact on the continent. Melting ice sheets would make extraction easier and people would be less concerned about the environmental impact (?)

• Changing climate conditions would also make working on the continent, potentially easier.