antartica as a global common

Question 1

Antarctica facts (15)

Answer 1

• Majority located in the Artic circle
• continent is fringed by ice shelves
• largest ice shelf is the Ross shelf followed by the Ronne shelf
• Antarctica is the 4th largest continent
• Mountainous and rocky terrain mostly covere`d by glacial ice
• average height is 2,300m above sea level
• 97% of continent is covered by ice
• contains 90% of the worlds land ice
• only exposed land are the Nunataks and land in the Antarctic Peninsula
• Transantarctic range has many peaks over 4,000m
• the highest mountain is Vinson Massif at 4,892m
• The Antarctic Convergence zone is 32 to 48 km wide
• Upwelling currents here are very rich in marine productivity- especially Antarctic krill
• current blocks warmer water travelling south
• The West Wind Drift is the flow around Antarctica in an eastward direction blown by westerly winds

Question 2

12 fishing threats

Answer 2

Fishing has replaced whaling in modern day

• Russian and Japanese exploitation of southern Ocean for Rock Cod and Krill
• This raises concerns as krill is central in the Antarctic food web
• Fishing ships may directly destroy marine habitats and contaminate water by dumping waste
• Krill are being caught as a healthy protein in East Asia and krill oil as a healthy food supplement worldwide
• Krill oil is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and astaxanthin for antioxidant health supplements
• capsules can retail for as much as £40 for 100 capsules of red krill oil
• sudden recent demand has resulted in unsustainable fishing practices
• A decrease in the krill population can result in a decrease in the number of seabirds and penguins which eat them.
• This can decrease the populations of seals like the leopard seal and killer whales which eat penguins
• Antarctic rock cod is so depleted they can’t be fished 
• Sea birds are drowned as they get trapped in fishing lines

Question 3

12 whaling threats

Answer 3

• Whaling has been dates as far back as the 16th centaury in many countries:  New Zealand, Australia, Norway, Greenland, Canada, Alaska, Europe, America, Iceland, and Sweden 
• 19th century: Norwegian, British and American exploitation of Blue and Right whales for oil and baleen
• 20th century: : Norwegian, British and American exploitation of Blue and Right whales for meat and bonemeal
• By 1985 most commercial whaling decreased due to dangerously low stocks
• Blue whales in the Antarctic are less than 1% of what their  population was originally.  
• West pacific whale is one of the worst affected whale, with only about 100 left. 
• 20,000 humpback whales left 
• Muscles and barnacles on boats to Antarctica threaten native species 
• Rats have been brought to Antarctica on whaling boats and threaten sea bird life 
• It took 5 years to eradicate them 
• Japan has killed 8201 Minke whales for “scientific purposes” in the Antarctic since the moratorium set by the IWC in 1982
• International whaling commissions banned commercial whaling in 1986 

Question 4

whats a global common

Answer 4

Global commons is a term typically used to describe international, supranational, and global resource domains in which common-pool resources are found.

Global commons include the earth’s shared natural resources, such as the high oceans, the atmosphere and outer space and the Antarctic