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Arctic and Antarctica Regions: Position, Environment & Challenges

Article · October 2016

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Arctic and Antarctica

Regions: Position,
Environment & Challenges

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Introduction:

The Antarctica and the Arctic are two separate Lands or continents made of ice located in the Poles of
the Earth; The Antarctica is uninhabited by humans and its located in the South pole of the Earth while
the arctic is located in the North pole and it has humans as one of its inhabitants for close to 20 000
years.

The Antarctica:
The Antarctica is the Earth's southernmost continent, containing the geographic South Pole
located at Coordinates 80°S 90°E. The Antarctic is located at Coordinates 82.8628° S,
135.0000° E, it has a total area of 14,000,000 square kilometers (5,400,000 square miles),
making it the fifth-largest continent in area after Asia, Africa, North America, and South America
respectively. It is also the southernmost continent and the coldest and driest region on earth.
Antarctica is a desert, with an annual precipitation of just 200 mm (8 in) along the coast and far
less in its hinterland. The Antarctica is the place on Earth with the lowest temperature. Its
temperature can go down as much as −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F), though the average for the third
quarter (the coldest part of the year) is −63 °C (−81 °F).
Fig.3: Showing the map of the continent of Antarctica:

Characteristics of the Antarctica: It has no human settlements or human history. However presently
scientist there are many scientist who came in for research purposes living in it scattered across research
stations on the continent. Tourist are now also visiting the continent round the year and on temporary
levels. Antarctica has large population of Penguins, seals, and sea birds living along the Ross Sea
coastline in Victoria Land, and certain animals, such as mites, nematodes and tardigrades and
also light Vegetation also occurs at tundra, while life in the interior of the Transantarctic Range is

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limited to bacteria, lichens, algae, and fungi. Forests once covered the Antarctica. However, with the
gradual cooling associated with the break-up of the historical Gondwana (Gwanduana Land), these forests
gradually disappeared and it is believed that the last trees on the Antarctic continent were on
Transantarctic Mountains. Furthermore many experts believed that many biodiversity including some
extinct and originally unknown species of plants and animals are still buried and preserved under its Ice
Lands and Ice Lakes.

Fig.5: Showing a photo of Ice bag floating in the Antarctica: Fig.5: Showing a photo of Penguins in the Antarctica:

The Antarctica is mountainous, and has an average elevation of 2,300 meters (7,500 feet) making it the
highest continent on Earth. The continent’s highest peak is Vinson Massif which stands at 4,876 meters
(16,000 feet) high, located in the Western part of the continent. Beneath the Eastern part of the
Antarctic it is not extremely very cold as the surface because of the presence of active volcano in
Antarctica ( Mount Erebus) which is 3,794 meters (12,447 feet) in tall located in the Eastern its eastern
part, on the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf ; a place where ice extends far out over the ocean. Antarctica has
one of the world's largest lakes; the Lake Vostok which is roughly the size of Lake Ontario in Canada, but
It lies 4 kilometers (2 miles) below the continental ice sheet and Its waters have been sealed from air
and light under the tremendous pressure of the continental ice sheet for perhaps as long as over 30
million years.

Antarctica is a sensitive indicator of global change. The polar ice cap holds within it a record of
past atmospheres that go back tens or even hundreds of thousands of years, allowing study of
the earth's natural climate cycles against which the significance of recent changes can be
judged.

Politics:

Presently the Antarctica is a de facto condominium, governed by parties to the Antarctic Treaty
System that have consulting status. Twelve countries signed the Antarctic Treaty in 1959, and
thirty-eight have signed it since then. The treaty prohibits military activities and mineral mining,

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prohibits nuclear explosions and nuclear waste disposal, supports scientific research, and
protects the continent's Eco zone.

Territorial claims of the Antarctica:

Presently Seven states maintain a territorial claim on eight territories in Antarctica. These
countries have tended to site their scientific observation and study facilities in Antarctica within
their respective territories. These countries includes Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New
Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom. The Marie Byrd Land located at 90°W–150°W
remains unclaimed. While a total of 30 countries (as of October 2006), all signatories to the
Antarctic Treaty, operate seasonal (summer) and year-round research stations on this icy
continent.

Fig.5: Showing a map of Claims and territories of the Antarctica:

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The Arctic:
The Arctic is located at Coordinates 76.2506° N, 100.1140° W. Unlike the Antarctica the Arctic has
human population on it including some indigenous population that lived on it for thousands of years. It
It is geographically 14. 5 Million square km (5.5 million square miles) in size, consists of the ice-covered
Arctic Ocean and surrounding lands, including all of Greenland and Spitsbergen, and the northern parts
of Alaska, Canada, Norway, and Russia. Its boundary is defined by either the northern limit of stands of
trees on land (the tree line), the line of average July temperature of ~10°C (50°F), or the Arctic Circle,
which is an imaginary line of latitude located at 66 degrees 33 minutes North.

Animals of the Arctic includes reindeer, polar bear, Arctic fox, narwhal, walrus, seal, ox, moose, orca,
and snowy owl and some few others.
Fig.1: A map showing the continent of the Artic in the North Pole:

Characteristics of the Artic: the sun never sets on the summer solstice (June 21st).Some portions of the
continent like the Greenland, are covered with ice sheets; others, like Alaska, have lush tundra. These
areas have large mammals, such as caribou, bears, wolves and foxes, and a variety of plants.

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The Arctic contained large volumes of natural methane in its permafrost (permanently frozen ground) in
the tundra.
Fig.1: A showing a photo of an indigenous person in the Artic: Fig.1 A showing a photo of a Polar Bear in the Artic:

Fig.1: A showing a photo of domesticated animals belonging to the indigenous persons in the Artic:

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Politics:

The Arctic Council is the highest authority governing the Arctic and it is a high-level
intergovernmental forum that addresses issues faced by the Arctic governments and the
indigenous people of the Arctic. It has presently eight member countries namely Canada,
Denmark (Green Land), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States.

Arising problems threatening the Antarctica:

1. Pollution of the atmosphere as a result of man’s activities involving Chlorofluorocarbon also
known as the CFC (organic compound that contains only carbon, chlorine, and fluorine,
produced as a volatile derivative of methane, ethane, and propane) and other ozone depletors
are responsible for the ozone hole which is as big as the size of Europe that has appeared over
the Antarctica for over 30 years, chemicals produced thousands of miles away are found in
Antarctic ice and in the bodies of wildlife. The Increasing Ultra Violet (UV) radiation due to this
ozone hole has the tendencies to cause changes to phytoplankton communities as well as
altering the food chain.

Fig.1: An imagery showing the Ozone hole over the Antarctica:

2. Despite the fact that the Antarctic fisheries have been regulated by the Convention on
the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), but yet Fishing

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 activities here in the Antarctica are conducted on a large scale since the beginning of the
1980s especially around the Bouvet, Kerguelen, Balleny, South Sandwich and South
Georgia Islands. This situation has a potential of a major decline in some native stock of
the Antarctica there by threatening the sustainable management of stocks and putting
species here at threat of extinctions.
3. The development of infrastructure for scientific research and programs such as the
constructions of airstrips, buildings and related facilities such as roads, fuel storage and seaports
among others have their own directly associated impacts on this preserved continent both
physically and in terms of noise and sound pollutions.

4. The incessant taking of the Antarctic animals, plants and organisms species native to the
Antarctica for economic reasons by visitors is threatening the existence of the animals, plants
and organisms native to the Antarctica continent.
5. Discarded equipment, chemicals and oil cans generated by humans in or around the continent
has the potential of degrading the landscape of the Antarctica.
6. Over the years humans kept in introducing Invasive species and Organisms that are not native to
the Antarctica as a result the natural food chain on the continent is altered making the
ecological balance of the Antarctic becomes under threat, for example Rats keeps disturbing the
ground nesting birds.
7. Antarctica's clean air, water, soil and ice of are of importance to science for understanding how
the Earth's environment is changing both naturally and as a result of human activity have been
contaminated as a result of incessant influx of tourist coming to this continent without
appropriate kitting and behaviors involving uncontrolled disposals of used items such as foods,
glasses, woods and chemicals among others.
8. Recent research indicated rhat the Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) who have survived in
Antarctica for nearly 45,000 years, adapting to glacial expansions and sea ice fluctuations driven
by millennia of climatic changes are at risk of going into extinction by the 21st-century climates
change which has distinctive character from the previous climate changes.

Arising problems threatening the Arctic:

1. The quantities of methane contained in the permanently frozen ground (permafrost) in
the tundra on this continent is now showing signs of becoming a global threat, because
as the Arctic grounds (Ice) melts, more methane (one of the most potent greenhouse
gases) is released in the atmosphere, thereby accelerating global warming which
indirectly raises the global temperature that can lead to accelerating catastrophic
climate change.

2. The Arctic is among the places on Earth where the feed-back effects from Global
Warming are first noticed. As the white ice cap is replaced with dark seas, sun light is
less and less reflected by in space, allowing for more warming to happen on the planet.
3. Exploration and mining are the two main issues facing the Arctic region. At present the
Arctic has been opened up for increased exploration of petroleum, gas and mining
activities especially in the Northern Russia and around the Barents Sea, the Mackenzie

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 Valley in Canada and the Alaskan North Slope. Additionally hydro power development,
power lines and windmill parks are also on the increase here.
4. Fishing nets, plastic, lines, hooks etc. carried by the sea can result in great suffering or
loss of life by birds, fish, animals and marine mammals.
5. The CCAMLR should be more effective and adopt new techniques or ideas in
protecting the Antarctic marine living resources as they are presently seriously
affected by man.
6. The introduction of Invasive species and Organisms that are not native to the Antarctica
should be ban/stopped by stakeholders and authorities of the Antarctica.
7. The developments of infrastructure like airstrips, roads, fuel storage and seaports
should be reduced, in fact different nations who established their presence in the
Antarctica should develop the culture of having common user facilities for all on this
continent rather than for each nation having its independent facilities.

Suggestions/Recommendations:

1. Member nations to the parties to the Antarctic Treaty System and countries with
boundaries in the Arctic or the Antarctica regions such as Argentina, Canada, Chile,
USA, Russia, Norway and Green Land among others should give more priority in the
continues cleaning of the Arctic and the Antarctica Oceans and their territorial
waters from abandon Fishing-nets, plastic, lines, hooks and even shipwrecks so that the
marine species from this two regions are protected from the impacts of this man-made
objects dumped in their environments.
2. Parties to the Montreal Protocol should increase on their efforts of preventing the Ozone
layer from Depleting through improving efforts in protecting the methane contained in the
permanently frozen ground in the tundra of the Polar.
3. Prioritizing conservation by relevant stakeholders in the places that could shelter the Adélie
penguins and other unique animals at risk from the climate change such as the Polar Bear
and others.
4. The Seven states that maintain the territorial claims on Antarctica and the office of the
United Nations should use their capacities to ban all Antarctic animals, plants and organisms
species native to the Antarctica brought out of the Antarctica for economic reasons or
activities in any part of the World. In fact this Antarctic animals, plants and organisms
species native to the Antarctica stolen from the continent should be branded as “Blood
Antarctica” just like how the Diamonds from the war affected Diamond rich nations are
branded as the “Blood Diamonds”.
5. Petroleum Explorations and mining activities in the Arctic region should be limited to highly
specialized entities who have the capabilities to design and install facilities that can
withstand the harshly Arctic environment in order to prevent ice bergs from colliding with
their facilities that might result in explosions and incessant pollutions of the region.
6. The studies of the Antarctica and the Arctic regions should be mainstream in to the
educational curriculum of all nations including the tropical nations that have no any direct
relationships with these continents so that the conservation of this polar continents
becomes a Global issue more effectively.

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 7. The Marie Byrd Land of the Antarctica located at 90°W–150°W which remains
unclaimed should be given to all group nations that have no physical presence in the
Antarctica for their usage and or research activities.
8. The Arctic Council and the Seven states that maintain the territorial claims over the
Antarctica should open their doors in accepting other countries that do not share any
form of natural borders with theses Polar continents so that more ideas in saving and
conserving these two icy continents can flow in better than it is now.

Conclusion:

The Antarctica and the Arctic continents are two of the coldest and most preserved places on Earth as
such that in some spots waters have been sealed from air and light under tremendous pressure of
continental ice sheets for perhaps millions of years, thereby becoming a global library to humans to
study the preserved ancient data on major World events that shaped our present World since the past
millions of years. In addition this two continents help regulates the global temperatures, natural
methane emission (chlorofluorocarbons) levels, they both support many natural cycles and yet serving
as habitats to many living species including humans. But however all these are now changing since the
last 100 years as a result of Mans activities of exploration, mining, constructions, over fishing,
introducing invasive species to the continents as well as smuggling of native animals and organisms out
of these continents thereby triggering potential dangers including climate change that if not controlled
would catastrophically change the World in a negative way. In view of these some suggestions and
recommendations were proffered above which if adequately adopted and implemented it would help
save the Earth or otherwise the present human activities going on on these two continents could
become a potential catastrophe that could destroy our World with time if situations remain the same.

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