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Of all the regions of the Earth, Antarctica is the most desolate the most inaccessible. It is the only continent that different nations agreed that they should share. But as natural resources have continued to deplete, some nations are looking towards Antarctica as a source of additional resource.

The great potential of the region in terms of iron, coal and oil has moved the focus away from protection and conservation towards a focus based on exploitation. International confrontations due to the exploitation of the natural resource may gradually replace the existing cooperation of international scientific studies. You will gain a deeper understanding about antarctic cruises by checking out that resource.

The scientists based in research centers in the Antarctic have praised the decades of international cooperation and sharing in bases such as the main U.S Antarctic facility. They speak of people bound by the hostile environment, an explorer spirit, and a love for science, working together through cold and hot wars.

Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd’s vision of Antarctica and his efforts have lead to a park being dedicated to him near the National Science Foundation McMurdo Headquarters that are responsible for all of the U.S Antarctica operations. Admiral Byrd led five expeditions across and was the first to fly over Antarctica and the South Pole. Byrd envisioned the Antarctic as a place where nations could work together peacefully for the common cause of science and that it should be a region that set an example of successful international cooperation. But now that the world has become dependent on energy and our industries consume the Earth’s natural resources, are these ideals likely to remain? This site teaches you about antarctica vacations.

Little is known about the potential mineral supply to be found in the Antarctic but there is growing interest. The situation has changed from being a scientific issue to a political one. The existence of large quantities of minerals and also oil may lie waiting to be discovered under the frozen landscape and beneath the treacherous seas.

Other continents which have already produced large quantities of oil reserves and mineral deposits are geologically very similar to Antarctica. U.S. small scale exploratory off shore drilling has proven that hydrocarbons are likely to be deposited in the region. Large amounts of iron and coal have already been discovered and concentrations of uranium, tin, lead, gold, titanium, copper, cobalt, nickel and chromium have also been found on land.

Exploitation of the Antarctic has always been uneconomical due to the environmental conditions but this has now changed. Both environmentalists and the Antarctic’s scientific community have becoming increasingly worried because exploiting the region has become more feasible due to the advanced technology and the increase in value of the materials.

The idea of exploiting Antarctica for minerals is something that worries many environmentalists all around the world because it is a region that has remained unspoilt and unpolluted by man. The exploitation of the region will certainly conflict with the environment and the International Institute for Environment and Development and the Sierra group are both aware of the prospects of this happening.

They would like full studies of the environmental damage of any exploitation will cause alongside the exploration to see what resources are available in the Antarctic. However they are concerned that the results of the assessments will encourage the exploitation. Oil drilling causes a lot of concern because of the chances of oil spills. Seals and bird life in the Antarctic is clustered along the coast and may be easily affected. Oil spills in Antarctica could cause more damage than elsewhere because in colder climates oil degrades at a much slower rate.

A lot of the current activity in the Antarctic is tied to the 1959 landmark treaty that designated the continent as a scientific preserve. The treaty was signed by twelve nations and they administer activities in the region and have ensured that the region is free of militarization and the dumping of nuclear waste. The treaty has side stepped the various overlapping territory claims but countries including Great Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Chile, and Argentina.