Antarctica — Take a Second Look

Unless you have a heart of stone, the beauty of Antarctica leaves you breathless and in awe. The wildness of the place transcends that of Alaska, touches your soul deeply and reminds us of an earth still unharmed by human intervention.

The beauty extends beyond the visual. A sense of serenity prevails as we travel through iceberg studded fjords and pass by frozen granite peaks surrounded by storm-chased dark clouds. Rather than distracting from the experience, the deafening noise of the penguin rookeries just adds to the other-worldly realization that we are visiting a very special place.

One of several Chilean research bases in the *Palmer Archipelago* on the Antarctic Peninsula.

Between 50,000 and 60,000 people come here every year. Many are scientists working on research bases, but most are carefully managed tourists. While this sounds like a lot of people, keep this in mind: Antarctica is enormous in size. If the continent’s ice-covered mountains and ice sheets were draped across the North Pole and the Arctic, they would reach as far south as Oslo in Norway and Anchorage in Alaska. In winter, the Antarctic continent increases to twice its size.

Only 0.4% of the frozen continent is not covered with ice. There is no permanent human habitation anywhere on the continent. With measured wind speeds of up to 300 km/h, a desert climate and temperatures dropping as low as -89 degr. C (-128.2 degr. F), it is no surprise that Antarctica has drawn as many adventurers to its shores as it has repelled.

Currently, there are 77 scientific bases operating in Antarctica, requiring much needed logistical support. From fuel to vegetables to books to garbage, everything must be brought in and taken out by airplanes and ships. The agreement covering all activities on the continent (including tourism) is a surprisingly short piece of inter-governmental legislation. The “Antarctic Treaty System” ratified in 1959 is an agreement originally signed by 12 countries committing Antarctica to be a “Natural Reserve Devoted to Peace and Science”. It forbids military activities on the continent and the exploitation of all lands and waters south of 60 degr Southern Latitude. The Treaty represents a blueprint for the “Peaceful Use, Freedom of Scientific Investigation and Cooperation” and is a rare example of how countries of the world can work together to achieve a common goal.

By now, 56 countries are signatories of the Treaty. Decision-making privileges have been granted to 29 of these nations as they are engaged in substantial scientific research activity on the Antarctic continent. While scientific research initially focussed on the geology and biological diversity of the region, in recent years the research emphasis has shifted to almost exclusively deal with climate change and its effect on the Antarctic glaciers and eco systems.

Of course, as in most geographic regions around the globe, important threats are the driving force behind significant changes in the Antarctic. From the illegal exploitation of natural resources (e.g. fishing, sealing, whaling) to the introduction of exotic and invasive species and indirect human influence (e.g. pollutants, ozone depletion, climate change and ocean acidification), the Antarctic is witnessing profound changes. Just last week, on February 6th, the warmest air temperature in the history of weather monitoring in the Antarctic has been recorded at the Argentinian scientific base on the Antarctic Peninsula: 18.3 degr C (65 degr. F). Warming ocean currents destabilize huge ice shelves, causing icebergs the size of small countries to calve off while disrupting local ecosystems; some penguin colonies are seeing a 70% decline in populations; krill, the building block of all marine life in the Antarctic food chain, are no longer produced in sufficient quantities to support squid, fish, seals, penguins and whales; melting ice sheets change the salination of ocean water while raising sea levels world-wide. The list goes on.

While some political leaders deny the destructive power of climate change and use the ignorance of the voting public to pursue their own destructive agenda, the rest of the world is moving on, trying frantically to save threatened species and curb greenhouse gas emissions. No ecosystem on earth collapses in isolation – everything is interconnected. But as the success of the Montreal Protocol of 1987 (which was designed to curb the use of substances that destroy the earth’s ozone layer) has shown, positive change can happen fast. Amazingly, politicians listened to the scientists’ warnings and the Protocol was ratified by all countries on earth. Since then, the agreement has not only halted the disintegration of the ozone layer but also contributed to its gradual healing.

The *Palmer Archipelago* features a healthy polulation of humback whales.

The wind at the bow of the ship is ferocious and bitingly cold. As I hang on to my camera with one hand, I clutch the railing with my other, trying not to get blown off the deck. I have no idea how many photos I have taken this morning, but I know one thing: probably not enough. The scenery around me is so striking, so mindblowingly beautiful that I want to capture it all. Given my frozen hands and feet despite winter boots and gloves, I have been out here for too long, but I am so lucky to witness this place that every minute is precious, and I don’t dare look away and miss something. Who knows, maybe a killer whale will surface right beside me or an albatross will swoop down, playing in the displaced air mass of the ship. I know this for sure: the last few days may have been my first time in this part of the world, but it will not be my last time in the Antarctic. This place feeds my soul like no other place on earth.

More pictures can be seen on this website on the page “Gallery Archive - Antarctica I”.

~ RT