antarctica - threats Flashcards

1
Q

how many threats are there to antarctica?

A

four

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2
Q

when was antarctica discovered and why is this a significant date?

A

the 29th century and it was when exploration first started

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3
Q

what are the four threats?

A
  • fishing and whaling
  • climate change
  • search for minerals
  • tourism and research
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4
Q

when did whaling begin?

A

in the 29th century

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5
Q

what products come from whales?

A

oil and whalebone

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6
Q

what was created for whaling?

A

special whaling stations

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7
Q

what organisation was created to stop whaling and when?

A

the international whaling commission (IWC)

1946

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8
Q

when did whaling basically stop?

A

1985

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9
Q

who did not take part in the IWC and what was there reason?

A

japan, still whale to this day

say its for scientific purposes

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10
Q

what did the IWC set up?

A

a whale sanctuary 50km2 around antarctica in which whaling is prohibited, japan still do it though

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11
Q

what is the most fished creature?

A

krill (over 2000 tonnes in 2013)

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12
Q

what is krill used as in asia?

A

a healthy protein and supplement

krill oil

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13
Q

why is krill so important in antarctica?

A

it is the main basis for the food chains

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14
Q

what has been put in place to stop fishing?

A

there are now legal limits on how much fish can be caught

however still illegal fishing

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15
Q

is the search for minerals a future threat or ongoing?

A

future threat

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16
Q

why is the search for minerals a future threat at the moment?

A

as it is currently banned for any commercial mining to take place

17
Q

what resources are in Antarctica and where?

A

coal and iron ore - transatlantic mountains

oil under southern sea

18
Q

what will put pressure on the search for minerals?

A

the demand for resources due to industrialisation and development

19
Q

what convention was created dealing with the search for minerals?

A

the mineral convention in 1988
tried to get new rules in terms of mining but its was never allowed
however this shows that change may one day occur

20
Q

when was the first ship expedition for tourism launched?

A

1958

21
Q

what can travel to the area cause?

A

air and water pollution

ships can hits icebergs causing oil spills

22
Q

who can tourism threaten the area?

A

-trampling, litter
(fragile ecosystem due to climate)
-nonnative species can be brought in e.g. bacteria on shoes altering the food chains etc

23
Q

what does summer tourism season coincide with?

A

breeding season

24
Q

what plan do all toursim cruises have to follow?

A

the lindblad plan which tries to reduce impacts

eg sites only be visited every 2-3 days

25
Q

why is there a big debate to whether climate change is actually occurring at the antarctica?

A

the east side seems to be growing in size whereas the west decreasing

26
Q

how much is the temp increasing and on what side?

why is the figure significant?

A

3 degrees on the western side

much higher than the average global temp rise

27
Q

what has the rise in temperature on the western side caused?

A

-change in distribution of penguins
(adelie replaced by chinstrap due to adaptation to open water)
-colonisation of plants has increased

28
Q

how much has krill declined since climate change?

A

80% from 1970s

29
Q

what is ocean acidification?

A

co2 in the air dissolve sin the oceans and reacts with salt water to form carbonic acid which reduce the calcium carbonate

30
Q

how does ocean acidification affect antarctica?

A

less calcium carbonate means that plankton cannot create their shells (less of them)
leading to less krill