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Antar ti ca The Lost | Thirty years ago the Antarctic Treaty dedicated the world's last been found on some Antarctic islands. remaining continental wilderness to peaceful scientific research and Although dozens of species of birds fly : international co-operation. Now a new Mining Convention, CRAMRA, - including the Arctic Tern which migrat would form the basis of an international framework to regulate breeding grounds in the north of the Arctic ci commercial mining activities in Antarctica. It would decide which indigenous to the region are the Emperor a Snow Petre] and the Southern Polar Skua. 1 bird must be the Emperor Penguin., which c: feet. It is not territorial and most of its rook coastline, on the sea-ice. Antarctica, including ice-cover, average areas would be opened up for exploration and development and monitor their subsequent effect on the environment and would replace the existing Antarctic Treaty. O ver half the world's.freshwater lies frozen in Antarctica. in altitude. In the interior temperatures can } Trapped inside the ice are samples of the Earth’s atmos- degrees Fahrenheit. Recent conditions ha phere dating back through countless millenia. The waters temperature of minus 126 degrees which wz of the Antarctic are the richest in the world, containing our last these bleak surroundings a few primitive inse untapped food resource, marine plankton. among the scattered moss, algae and lichen Forty-two percent of Antarctica is Australian Territory. Under International law no new Antarctic treaty can be ratified without ' Australian participation. In a last minute about face, Prime Minister N at | @ nN d | ‘* | Hawke pulled out of the mining convention, effectively vetoing it. THERE HAS BEEN A PERMANENT H The existence of a southem polar region had been predicted by the Antarctica since 1943. In that year, the Arge ancient Greek philosophers who called the place Antarktikos - Mayo took formal possession of all Antarcti: “opposite to the Bear”, the major constellation in the northern skies. the 60th parallel between 25 and 74 degrees Antarctica Thirty years ago the Antarctic Treaty dedicated the world's last remaining continental wilderness to peaceful scientific research and international co-operation. Now a new Mining Convention, CRAMRA, would form the basis of an international framework to regulate commercial mining activities in Antarctica. It would decide which areas would be opened up for exploration and development and monitor their subsequent effect on the environment and would replace the existing Antarctic Treaty. Trapped inside the ice are samples of the Earth’s atmos- phere dating back through countless millenia. The waters of the Antarctic are the richest in the world, containing our last untapped food resource, marine plankton. Forty-two percent of Antarctica is Australian Territory. Under International law no new Antarctic treaty can be ratified without Australian participation. In a last minute about face, Prime Minister Hawke pulled out of the mining convention, effectively vetoing it. O ver half the world’s.freshwater lies frozen in Antarctica. The existence of a southem polar region had been predicted by the ancient Greek philosophers who called the place Antarktikos - “opposite to the Bear”, the major constellation in the northern skies. According to Rarotongan legends Ui-te-Rangiora journeyed there with his companions in the craft Te-ivi-o-Atea sometime around 640 CE. A thousand years later, the Spanish called it the “Southern Land of the Holy Ghost” and believed it to be the source of all divine grace in the world. However, when Captain James Cook of the Royal Navy effectively circumnavigated Antarctica without sighting the main- land he concluded it did not exist and even if it did it must be so barren and desolate as not to warrant further investigation, The British Admiralty describes Antarctic waters as those lying south of the 55th parallel of latitude. Around the latirudes between 45 and 65 degrees South is the Antarctic Confluence. This is where the warmer currents of the world’s oceans meet the colder waters of the Souther or Antarctic Ocean. Upwelling of replacement water brings plant nutrients to the surface, resulting in heavy phytoplankton growth. Phytoplankton synthesise sunlight for energy and are the first link in a food chain on which animal plankton and other sub-Antarctic fauna are totally dependant. One of the most important of these is the tiny shrimp kill, or Euphasia Superba. The whalebone or baleen whales feed on this krill by straining seawater through their mouths. They include the fin, sei, humpback and blue whales, The Blue Whale is the largest creature ever known to have inhabited the planet. Their present numbers are so depleted it is doubtful whether another generation of blue whales will even be born, let alone survive to breeding age. There are also the toothed fin whales, the killer whales and other smaller whales which feed on larger marine animals. The Sperm Whale is believed to use an echo- sounding and locating system (concentrated in the gland in its head for which it is so mercilessly hunted), to focus on and stun it’s prey, the giant squid. Seals and birds depend on the sea for food and do not venture further inland than necessary, For almost a century Fur Seals were thought to be extinct in the Antarctic. However, A few colonies have The Lost Continent been found on some Antarctic islands. Although dozens of species of birds fly south of the 60th parallel - including the Arctic Tern which migrates al] the way from its breeding grounds in the north of the Arctic circle - the only birds really indigenous to the region are the Emperor and Adelie Penguins, the Snow Petre] and the Southern Polar Skua. The most truly Antarctic bird must be the Emperor Penguin., which carries its egg on top of its feet. It is not territorial and most of its rookeries are adjacent to the coastline, on the sea-ice. Antarctica, including ice-cover, averages some 8,000ft (2,600m) in altitude. In the interior temperatures can plummet well below 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Recent conditions have been as severe as a temperature of minus 126 degrees which was recorded the 1960s. In these bleak surroundings a few primitive insect-like creatures survive among the scattered moss, algae and lichen. National Claims THERE HAS BEEN A PERMANENT HUMAN PRESENCE in Antarctica since 1943. In that year, the Argentine vessel Primera de Mayo took formal possession of all Antarctic territory lying south of the 60th parallel between 25 and 74 degrees W. A few months later, the British occupied three meteorological stations along the Graham- Palmer Peninsular. In 1936, Britain had recognized Australian au- thority over some 2,360,000 square miles of Antarctic territory, an area almost as large as the Australian mainland. The U.K. retained for itself possession of the Graham -Palmer Peninsular, and the numerous islands of the South Shetlands, South Orkneys, South Sandwich Islands and South Georgia, as well as the Falkland Islands. Much of this area is subject to overlapping claims by Argentina and Chile. Australia, New Zealand, France and Norway agreed among them- selves to lay claim to the bulk of the continent, with the notable exception of a potion of West Antarctica unofficially ceded to the United States. Besides exploration and previous settlement, the sector principle forms a basis for claims of sovereignty in Antarctica, first proposed in the Canadian Senate in 1907. Under this plan the meridians of longitude bordering a country are extended to the pole. This policy has been unofficially followed by the Soviet Union and Canada north of the Arctic Circle. In 1924 the American Secretary of State an- nounced that occupation was the strongest claim to sovereignty. In 1955, the Internationa] Antarctic Committee was formed in Paris where it was decided that the seven claimant nations would restrict their activities to within their asserted boundaries. The other five nations which were to play an active role were the U.S.A., the U.S.S.R., Japan, Belgium and the Union of South Africa. The Inter- national Geophysical Year (I.G. Y.), 1957-58, was the largest interna- tional undertaking of all time and its intense study of Antarctica was one of its foremost achievements. Its success brought an extension into 1959 and the I.G.Y. Antarctic Committee was replaced by a Special Committee for Antarctic Research, set up under the auspices of the Intemational Council of Scientific Unions. On December 1st, 1959, the twelve participating nations signed the Antarctic Treaty in Washington, D.C, Two years later it was ratified in Canberra. The treaty applies to regions lying south of the 60th parallel of