Will Antarctica become inhabitable in the near future?

Related:
Covered by ice that is average 1.9 km in thickness
Temperature recorded:-94.7 as the lowest
Antarctica was habitable long time ago and the sea level was 200 feet higher than nowadays
The rate of carbon dioxide is rising 2ppm per year,while there’s more than 1000ppm when
antarctica was inhabitable
There is polar desert in antarctica and Antarctica is the driest place on earth
About 300 liquid lakes are under the icy surface heated by earth’s core
Factors for places being inhabitable
Position on earth
The rate of sunlight depends on it and plants(crops)need sunlight to grow
Temperature
There is a certain range of temperature for humans to live,cold temperature will cause
hypothermia and high temperature will cause hyperthermia
Supplies
Supplies include daily enquiries such as food,water,clothes...etc
Concerns
Global warming
● Global warming is causing a shift of wind,western wind(from those warming tropics )
can cause the warm sea water to melt the ice in western Antarctica and is becoming
more common now compared to the past 100 years,the rate of ice melting is at least
2 to 8 inches in 2100.
Since the ice is melting,it provides moisture for the mosses to grow,the rising
temperature also provides the plants to grow for a longer time
● Carbon Dioxide increasing can provide the plants more food during daytime
● As land cover increases and the snow and ice cover decreases, the area also
absorbs more heat. That could bring an ecosystem shift to Antarctica that is more in
line with what researchers have found in the Arctic.
“Antarctica will always have one enemy: darkness.”
● Sunlight could barely reach Antarctica and it affects the growth of plants
● Since there isn’t enough sunlight to produce heat,the temperature is low
Supplies
● As there isn’t enough sunlight for plants to grow,Antarctica requires supplies to
support(food that is shipped in)
● The world needs food so there may not be enough to send to Antarctica
● The world has already developed tours to Antarctica so the shipping of food may not
be that inconvenient
Treaty Restrictions
● There is an agreement that says that the contracting parties should recommend
measures of the treaty including preservation and conservation of living resources in
Antarctica.

What if,Antarctica become inhabitable and who should

decide who lives there?
(Who decides Antarctica’s territorial claim and the changes of this research area?)
The treaty of Antarctica
The secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty

Brown:Consulting with territorial claims

Red:Consulting with RESERVED rights of territorial claims
Green:Consulting
Yellow:Members without the right to vote
There are 29 members who are able to decide on the change of Antarctica
Background of the Treaty of Antarctica
The improved technology and knowledge of the last 100 years allowed greater
access to the continent, encouraging detailed surveying and research, and the
gradual occupation of Antarctica by scientific stations. By mid-century, permanent
stations were being established and planning was underway for the International
Geophysical Year (IGY) in 1957-58, the first marked multi-nation research program
in Antarctica. By mid-century, territorial positions had also been asserted, but not
agreed, creating a tension that threatened future scientific cooperation.So then 12
countries active in the IGY (Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan,
New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States and USSR) and
there are 9 territorial claims.

Contents of the treaty that may help

● No future activity of any country during the life of the Treaty can affect the
status quo on any rights or claims to territorial power.
So should nations threatened by rising sea levels be
given Antarctica for relocation?
Although we all know that countries such as The Maldives,Kiribati and Palau are
innocent,but is relocating to Antarctica a good idea?
Concerns:
The resources in Antarctica for redevelopment purposes
● Metals
Mining experts said that there are copper bearing plutons that are quite similar to the
Andean porphyry copper bodies
● Fossil Fuels
Coal has been found in the Transantarctic Mountains and Prince Charles Mountains,but the
quality of coal in the transantarctic mountains is low
● Long term resources
As the article said,the enemy of Antarctica is darkness,agricultural activities may not be able
to exist and form a long lasting economy
The population which may face threats of rising sea levels
Land that is currently 300 million people’s residence may flood at least once a year in
2050.
(about one fifth of the chinese population,probably),Antarctica is the fifth largest continent
and its size is 14,200,000 km2,with ice sheets it is roughly the size of the United States and
Mexico together,since there’s still a lot of ice in Antarctica,not sure how much would
Antarctica may decrease in size without the ice
Global Reactions(I am not sure)
Since there’s a variety of resources in Antarctica, probably,countries that claimed their
territory there may not agree with giving these places to other nations as they need those
resources too and is their rightfully owned land(although the treaty do not allow this but who
knows what will happen,it is only until at least 30 yrs so people can actually cancel it in the
near future)