September 2000
Introduction | Oil Exploration | Climate Change | Energy Use | 21st Century
Introduction
The continent of Antarctica is home to a uniquely beautiful and harsh
environment that has changed little in the last 30 million years. The
continent, approximately twice the size of Australia, lies mainly within
the Antarctic circle and is surrounded by ocean. It is covered almost
entirely by a sheet of ice and snow which has an average thickness of
approximately 6,500 feet, comprising slightly more than 90% of the world's
ice and 70% of the world's freshwater resources. This thick sheet of ice
- also known as the ice cap - reflects most of the heat generated by the
sun back into the atmosphere, leaving the continent with an annual mean
temperature of -57º Fahrenheit. Antarctica is the world's coldest
and most pristine environment. The continent is also the driest and windiest
landmass on Earth; with winds reaching speeds of up to 200 miles per hour
and areas where rain has not fallen in millions of years. Antarctica also
is the highest continent on earth, with an average elevation of 7,380
feet.
Oil Exploration
Antarctica's serenely primitive wilderness faces an uncertain future as
debate continues over the question of tapping into the continent's wealth
of mineral resources. Beginning in the early 1950s, scientists began to
notice the value inherent in such an unusual and largely undiscovered
continent and began establishing research stations there. By 1958, the
International Geophysical Year (IGY) saw twelve countries establish over
60 bases, both on and around the Antarctic continent, with some countries
claiming parts of Antarctica as sovereign territory. The countries initially
involved in the scientific body known as the Scientific Committee on Antarctic
Research (SCAR) included the United States, Chile, Argentina, Norway,
France, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Belgium,
Russia and Japan. SCAR now includes Germany and Poland as members of the
organization which aims to coordinate a number of scientific and working
group programs and to further facilitate the sharing and planning of scientific
information relating to Antarctic research, such as Climate Change.
The successful establishment of SCAR and the IGY in Antarctica was due
in large part to cooperation between the countries involved, and led directly
to the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959, which has administered
Antarctic affairs since 1961 when it officially entered into force. The
Antarctic Treaty, signed during mounting Cold War tensions, successfully
banned all military activity, nuclear testing, and the dumping of radioactive
materials on the continent. The 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection
to the Antarctic Treaty, also known as the Madrid Protocol, entered into
force in 1998 and serves as an additional mechanism for ensuring the protection
of the Antarctic environment. The Madrid Protocol goes further than the
original treaty as it designates Antarctica as a natural reserve devoted
to peace and science and places a moratorium on mining and drilling for
oil for a minimum of 50 years. The Protocol sets forth basic principles
and detailed, mandatory rules which apply to all human activities in Antarctica.
The call for an environmental protocol to the Antarctic
Treaty came after scientists discovered large deposits of natural resources
such as coal, natural gas and offshore oil reserves in the early 1980s.
Antarctica is considered to be part of the theoretical super-continent
known as Gondwanaland, which separated near the end of the Paleozoic era
and consisted of South America, Africa and Australia. And, because it
once was completely covered in vegetation, many scientists believe it
may hold one of the last supergiant oil fields yet to be discovered. The
continental shelf of Antarctica is considered to hold the region's greatest
potential for oil exploration projects, and although estimates vary as
to the abundance of oil in Antarctica, the Weddell and Ross Sea areas
alone are expected to possess 50 billion barrels of oil - an amount roughly
equivalent to that of Alaska's estimated reserves. However, Antarctica's
extreme conditions make oil field accessibility in many areas economically
problematic.
Nevertheless, following the energy crisis of the 1970s, several oil companies
looked to Antarctica as a possible solution to future world oil shortages
by announcing plans to exploit the continent's resources. The necessary
conditions for economically-sound oil production projects were beginning
to ripen along with high oil prices and demand, and improved drilling
technology. The prospect that Antarctica's fragile wildnerness could be
tainted as a result of oil exploration and drilling activities resulted
in the mobilization of several conservation groups who were intent on
preserving the continent's status as the most pristine in the world.
On January 28, 1989 the Bahia Paraiso, an Argentine
navy transport ship 
hauling
supplies and tourists, ran aground approximately two miles off the coast
of Antarctica in the vicinity of Palmer Station. Although no one aboard
the ship was injured, the wreck proved to be a setback for the nearby
coastal ecosystem, as a 30-foot gash in the ship's double-walled hull
released some 250,000 gallons of diesel fuel and other petroleum products
into the surrounding area. The effects from the fuel spill on the local
flora and fauna were mostly limited to various sea bird, krill and moss
populations, with few populations seeing mortality rates greater than
20%. Because the Bahia Paraiso spill was reportedly the first known
accident of its kind in the Antarctic region, the accident alarmed environmental
groups, which viewed the incident as a foreshadowing of future accidents
if trends in tourism and ship transport were to continue at their current
pace along the continental fringe.
The devastating March 24, 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill
in Alaska's Prince William Sound two months later sent an even stronger
alarm around the world to dozens of international environmental organizations
for the need to protect Antarctica's unique environment from similar accidents.
Although avoiding altogether the issue of sovereignty claims, the development
of the 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty
is viewed as a model for future environmental treaties which employ the
precautionary principle towards natural resource exploration.
Climate Change
Because of its influence on world weather and climate patterns, Antarctica
lies at the heart of the debate on climate change and has become the premier
location in which to study the effects of global warming. Over the course
of the past 50 years, Antarctica's average year-round temperature has
warmed by about 3-4 degrees Fahrenheit - more than 10 times the average
worldwide increase during that period. As a result of these increases
in temperature (which are not necessarily the result of global warming),
the Antarctic continent has experienced changes in its landscape and ecology.
Scientists are also concerned that with such dramatic increases in the
icy continent's temperature, significant rises in global sea levels could
occur if Antarctica's thick polar ice sheet melts. The West Antarctic
ice sheet alone, if melted, could raise average sea levels around the
world by about 20 feet, resulting in the flooding of low-lying coastal
zones.
Despite the numerous scientific research bases located on the continent,
Antarctica produces negligible amounts of greenhouse gases and is not
considered to be a significant contributer to the problem of global warming.
In 1998, Antarctica produced 0.06 million metric tons of carbon, 100%
of which came from the burning of petroleum fuel products. Carbon dioxide
is the chief culprit among the greenhouse gases, which are blamed for
contributing to a process called global warming. The theory of global
warming states that as carbon dioxide and other 'greenhouse gases' continue
to accumulate in the earth's atmosphere, the earth's natural warming process
known as the 'greenhouse effect' is intensified, thus resulting in higher
global temperatures.
The effects of climate change on Antarctica vary from migrations of seal
and penguin populations to other parts of the continent to abrupt changes
in the glacial landscape. In March, 2000 the Larson B ice shelf in northern
Antarctica - an area the size of Delaware - broke away from the continent
and retreated into the sea. Similarly, in January, 1995, the Larson A
ice shelf calved away from the continent, disappearing into the sea and
bringing with it part of an Argentine base camp. Ice shelf instability
is created as a result of higher sea and air temperatures, and a number
of northern ice shelves have displayed similar trends such as the Wordie,
Muller and Prince Gustav Channel shelves.
Perhaps most vulnerable to the effects of Antarctic climate
change are the continent's wildlife populations. Increasing temperatures,
less ice, and more snowfall have altered the patterns and habitats of
several Antarctic species, such as the southern fur and elephant seals
and Adelie and Chinstrap penguins. 
Although
the past 20 years have seen an increase in the numbers of Chinstrap penguins
on the continent, the opposite is true for the Adelie penguin. As temperatures
have increased, removing significant portions of sea ice, krill (a tiny
shrimp-like crustacean) populations in certain areas have decreased significantly
due to a reduction in the amount of their food source - algae - which
grows on the bottom of sea ice. As krill is one of the mainstays of the
Adelie penguin diet, the Adelie penguin population has decreased by almost
50% in some areas. Rising Antarctic temperatures also have resulted in
more snowfall on the continent; making breeding difficult for the ice-loving
Adelie penguins. Seal populations, on the other hand, have benefited from
the reduction in sea ice as they prefer breeding and feeding in open waters.
Several seal populations in Antarctica have increased their numbers by
over 300% in the last 20 years.
Energy Use in Antarctica
Approximately 4,000 scientists and researchers live in Antarctica during
the austral summer, with about half of these being American. During the
winter months, however, this number is greatly reduced to a total of about
500 people. 
Although
the number of people living on the Antarctic continent remains quite small,
scientists have been blamed for pollution problems ranging from sewage
leaks to oil spills. In July, 1995, approximately 21,000 gallons of oil
were spilled in Argentina's Marimbo base as the result of a poorly constructed
fuel storage system, which consisted of large rubber fuel bladders placed
directly on the snow. Similar incidents have occured on other international
scientific bases, including Russia's Bellingshausen base (known to be
one of the continent's more contaminated sites) and the United States'
McMurdo Station. However, as more attention has been placed on the continent
of Antarctica such spills are rare, and scientists have done much to clean
up and improve waste management procedures on the continent.
Antarctica in the 21st Century
Despite the 1991 Madrid Protocol's 50-year moratorium placed on the exploitation
of Antarctica's natural resources, future economic and population pressures
could pose significant environmental threats to the continent of Antarctica.
An expected and dramatic increase in world demand for energy over the
next 30 years may expose the continent to countries and markets looking
for alternative petroleum supplies. If Antarctica is indeed eventually
opened for oil exploration activities, which many believe it will be,
the potential for oil pollution occurrences such as oil tanker spills,
the dumping of waste oil, natural oil seeps and well blowouts will rise
substantially.
However, the Antarctic Treaty system currently in place offers the internationally-owned
continent an opportunity to temporarily avoid such premature exploration
activities. The continent's usefulness as a scientific tool and international
research station will continue to be taken advantage of and Antarctica
will continue its important role in providing answers to the dilemma of
climate change.
