Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Zealand in particular decided to license commercial fishing for Patagonian Toothfish in
1996, and this has led to increased extraction of the species by a host of trawler fleets
registered to New Zealand, Argentina, Spain, Korea, and Russia. While the Convention for
the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) places emphasis on the
sustainable exploitation of Southern Ocean fisheries, scientists fear that the commercial
fishing industry will have a dramatic impact on the Patagonian Toothfish population and
wider implications for the ecological pyramid of the Ross Sea.
Future challenges for this ongoing research into the Southern Ocean include further
identification of species, many of which remain to be discovered by marine biologists.
Hard-to-reach areas such as under floating ice shelves, the deep sea, and so-called novel
environments such as hydrothermal vents, methane seeps, and seamounts serve as a timely
reminder that Southern Ocean science co-exists with ongoing exploration. While the CAML
revealed the richness of these ecosystems, only about half of the Antarctic shelf fauna, much
less a fraction of deep-sea animals, have been identified. Some estimates suggest that it
could take decades to carr basis of claim to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica Treaty
Peninsulay out species identification, including the discovery of new isopods, including
crabs and shrimps inhabiting the Southern Ocean.
In the early part of the 21st century, the CAML reminds us that science has not eclipsed
exploration. We are still continuing to map and survey the Antarctic, and this mosaic of
environments continues to surprise and delight scientists. There continue to be new spaces
of polar exploration.
4. The Lake Ellsworth Consortium
Sub-glacial lakes, including Lake Vostok, have attracted a great deal of scientific interest,
and over 150 lakes have been discovered under the Antarctic ice sheet. In Lake Vostok's
case, we have a feature equivalent in size to Lake Ontario - some 7,500 square miles - and
made possible by geothermal heating from the interior of the Earth. Using radio-echo
sounding, these lakes generate curiosity precisely because they have been isolated for a
considerable period of time, and as a consequence of their isolation possess unique
biological habitats. These environments are, by virtue of their subterranean location,
profoundly influenced by the absence of sunlight, very low nutrient levels, and
extraordinary pressures due to the weight of the overlaying ice. For interested scientists,
these sub-glacial lakes are not only fascinating in their own right in terms of understanding
the Antarctic's evolutionary history, but also potentially important for better understanding
