All About Antarctica
When we think of protecting the oceans, all too often we envisage tropical, tranquil waters complete with a turtle gliding through or maybe a coral reef bustling with rainbow schools of fish. Very few of us think about Antarctica, despite it covering over 14 million square kilometres of Earth whilst housing 16,000 species. While the Antarctic is often thought of as bleak, hostile and lifeless, this continent actually contains enough biodiversity to rival the Galapagos Islands.
Antarctica and the surrounding Southern Ocean are often considered areas of extremes. Between the seasons, the area experiences 24 hours of sunlight a day before being plunged into winter where the sun never even bursts the horizon. The winds swing from non-existent to brutally vicious. The sea ice forms huge natural abstract artworks in winter which vanishes into the icy waters during summer. Amongst all this is 4.5 kilometre thick land ice; that’s half the height of Everest. Yet Antarctica actually forms a desert, with only 10 millimetres of precipitation per year. This means that the continent has taken an astonishing 450 million years to reach its current frozen state. Before this time, the land was thought to be as warm as Melbourne, with lush green forests and dinosaurs surrounding the South Pole.
Over these 45 million years, numerous species have miraculously adapted to actually enjoy living in such harsh conditions and in fact, 98% of the wildlife found here is not found anywhere else on the planet. Many of these are tiny and unusual, for example hundreds of bacteria and microorganisms thrive on the frosty land whilst sea spiders and the marine equivalents of woodlice scuttle across the seafloor. Although important species in the food chain, these are not Antarctica’s star attraction. Half of the world’s penguin species live on the ice including emperor penguins, the largest on Earth. These cheeky creatures have an astonishing breeding pattern where once the female has laid her egg, she immediately waddles off to the sea for a much needed feed, leaving the male in charge of childcare. In order to stop the egg freezing, the male must carefully balance it on the top of his feet… and then stay there for several months. These devoted fathers awkwardly waddle around the ice for months, forgo food and form the famous penguin huddles to help battle temperatures of -50°C and 100 mile an hour winds. Whilst the penguins huddle for survival, the leopard and weddell seals that live here can actually get too hot in the bitter winds and often roll off their icy perch to cool off in the sea. Down in the bright blue depths below the icebergs, the largest creature on the planet also wallows. The blue whale can grow to a mighty 30 metres long whilst weighing 120 tonnes. Its heart is the size of a small car and its tongue weighs the same as your average adult elephant. Yet these gentle giants eat some of the smallest creatures in the ocean; krill. Krill are small crustaceans and the favourite snack of many Antarctic dwellers such as humpback whales, leopard seals, penguins and albatrosses.
Unsurprisingly, we know very little about some of the creatures that live here, particularly their winter behaviour. There are several research stations dotted about the continent and in summer the population swells to a mighty 5,000 scientists. Yet before winter sets in, many of them leave as once the blizzards start, no planes or transport of any kind can reach the area for several months, meaning no new food supplies and no escape route. Combine this with much of the wildlife living under the freezing sea ice, tracking their midwinter habits is almost impossible.
Despite this isolation, humans have still managed to stamp their footprint on Antarctic snow and threaten the future of this last great wilderness. While the continent may seem a harsh and unforgiving corner of the globe, this land of extremes is actually one of the most delicate and vulnerable environments.
Global warming is the most obvious threat to the area. In the last 50 years, the temperature at the pole has increased by 3°C. The melting of sea ice impacts local wildlife as baby krill use these glassy structures as a place to shelter from harsh weather. Without the sea ice, fewer survive until adulthood and therefore less food is available for the predators of the Southern Ocean. Species such as penguins would also lose ancestral breeding grounds and be forced to find a new spot to court potential partners whilst fluffy chicks would have less time to grow and learn before the ice around them melts and crumbles into water. However, it is the land ice that poses a threat to the rest of the world. 90% of the globe’s fresh water is locked inside these thick slabs and once they melt, sea levels across the world will dramatically rise and threaten coastal communities. It is for this reason that scientists have named Antarctica’s ice sheets ‘sleeping giants’.
Other threats include increasing fishing in the region. In past decades, seal populations plummeted as they were hunted for their oily blubber and spotted fur coats, while whales were more famously chased until the 1980s. Although laws are in place to protect these beautiful creatures, some countries seem intent on finding loopholes. As part of the anti-whaling agreement, whales are only allowed to be killed for scientific purposes, however some countries have used this as a disguise to carry on whaling in the high seas. Even smaller creatures such as krill and fish are under threat as global fish stocks collapse. In South America, Antarctic toothfish are now used to replace sea bass while krill is being heavily harvested to provide food for the rapidly expanding aquaculture industry. Increased boat traffic is also deriving from the 20,000 annual tourists who often accidentally cause disturbance and pollution, whether that be plastic, oil or fumes from the ships’ engines. One of the greatest threats from tourists however, is invasive species. Those disembarking from stocky ships and onto the virgin snow do so in boots which may be covered in European, American or Australian mud which is host to a whole range of seeds and bacteria. Although it may sound unlikely, this is often how new plants reach foreign lands and the isolated wildlife in Antarctica is simply not prepared for a sudden new wave of disease-ridden species.
As far back as 1966, WWF’s founder famously said of Antarctica ‘we should have the good sense to leave just one place alone’. It took a few decades for his words to sink in but in 2017, the Ross Sea marine protected area was designated to protect 1.55 million square miles of ocean. At over twice the size of Texas, this is not only the largest marine protected area but the largest protected area in the world. This is the work of 24 countries who all decided this so called ‘Serengeti of the Sea’, which supports most of the life on the continent, was worth saving for the future. This is a great example of how the world can, and is, working together to protect our natural oceans and the environment in general. The Ross Sea is a particularly rich area of ocean, teeming with plankton blooms and saturated with krill and therefore it provides food for many of the marine species on the planet, not just Antarctica, as thousands of whales and birds migrate from the poles and are later seen basking off the sunny coasts of Australia, Chile, Sri Lanka and Sierra Leone.
The protected area is a great start and for once it shows proactive management as oil exploration and overfishing have been prohibited before it even began. Yet no matter how many protected areas we designate, it’s almost impossible for them to protect the ocean from the global impacts of climate change and plastic pollution. This is where you at home come in no matter where in the world you are. Saving Antarctica may seem impossible from your couch yet in reality, opting out of that plastic wrapped snack, turning off unnecessary lights or even choosing to power your TV with a renewable energy supplier can all shape the future of our natural world. If each person in their own living room makes these tiny changes, then our planet’s last great wilderness and its unique species may have hope for the future once more.
By Neve McCracken-Heywood