The Race Is On to Exploit a Melting Antarctica
After more than a century of protection from exploitation by military and commercial interests, a number of countries are positioning themselves to seize greater influence in Antarctica on the day its protective treaties expire.
Antarctica at night. (Andreas Kambanis / CC BY-SA 2.0)
Antarctica at night. (Andreas Kambanis / CC BY-SA 2.0)
After more than a century of protection from exploitation by military and commercial interests, a number of countries are positioning themselves to seize greater influence in Antarctica on the day its protective treaties expire.
Simon Romero reports at The New York Times:
“The newer players are stepping into what they view as a treasure house of resources,” said Anne-Marie Brady, a scholar at New Zealand’s University of Canterbury who specializes in Antarctic politics.
Some of the ventures focus on the Antarctic resources that are already up for grabs, like abundant sea life. China and South Korea, both of which operate state-of-the-art bases here, are ramping up their fishing of krill, the shrimplike crustaceans found in abundance in the Southern Ocean, while Russia recently thwarted efforts to create one of the world’s largest ocean sanctuaries here.
Some scientists are examining the potential for harvesting icebergs from Antarctica, which is estimated to have the biggest reserves of fresh water on the planet. Nations are also pressing ahead with space research and satellite projects to expand their global navigation abilities.
Building on a Soviet-era foothold, Russia is expanding its monitoring stations for Glonass, its version of the Global Positioning System. At least three Russian stations are already operating in Antarctica, part of its effort to challenge the dominance of the American GPS, and new stations are planned for sites like the Russian base, in the shadow of the Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity. […]
Antarctica’s mineral, oil and gas wealth are a longer-term prize. The treaty banning mining here, shielding coveted reserves of iron ore, coal and chromium, is expected to come up for review by 2048 and could be challenged before then. Researchers recently found kimberlite deposits hinting at the existence of diamonds. And while assessments vary widely, geologists estimate that Antarctica holds at least 36 billion barrels of oil and natural gas.
Continue reading here.
— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.
Your support is crucial...As we navigate an uncertain 2025, with a new administration questioning press freedoms, the risks are clear: our ability to report freely is under threat.
Your tax-deductible donation enables us to dig deeper, delivering fearless investigative reporting and analysis that exposes the reality beneath the headlines — without compromise.
Now is the time to take action. Stand with our courageous journalists. Donate today to protect a free press, uphold democracy and uncover the stories that need to be told.
Editorial Cartoons
In the real-life version of the dystopian novel "1984" we seem to be caught in, Trump is our very own idiosyncratic version of Big Brother.
Author Dahr Jamail reflects on Alaska's unprecedented heat wave and a climate crisis that will only grow more dire in the coming decades.
In a dramatic demonstration of geology’s in-depth response to surface change, the submerged bedrock of that part of the southern continent is springing up at a rate of nearly 2 inches a year.
For more than a century, scientists believed that only humans could cross the hostile oceans to reach the frozen continent, but some strands of alien kelp tell another story.
Scientists complete the most detailed mass observation of the southern continent so far, and deliver ominous findings.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.