ANTARCTICA
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: about 14,000,000 km2; land area: about 14,000,000 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US;
second-smallest continent (after Australia)
Land boundaries: see entry on Disputes
Coastline: 17,968 km
Maritime claims: see entry on Disputes
Disputes: Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctic Treaty
Summary below); sections (some overlapping) claimed by Argentina,
Australia, Chile, France (Adelie Land), New Zealand (Ross Dependency),
Norway (Queen Maud Land), and UK; Brazil has noted possible Latin claims;
the US and USSR do not recognize the territorial claims of other nations
and have made no claims themselves (but reserve the right to do so); no
formal claims have been made in the sector between 90o west and
150o west
Climate: severe low temperatures vary with latitude, elevation, and
distance from the ocean; East Antarctica colder than West Antarctica
because of its higher elevation; Antarctic Peninsula has most
moderate climate; warmest temperatures occur in January along the coast
and average slightly below freezing
Terrain: about 98% thick continental ice sheet, with average
elevations between 2,000 and 4,000 meters; mountain ranges up to 4,897
meters high; ice-free coastal areas include parts of southern Victoria
Land, Wilkes Land, the Antarctic Peninsula area, and Ross Island on
McMurdo Sound; glaciers form ice shelves along about half of coastline
and floating ice shelves constitute 11% of the area of the continent
Natural resources: none presently exploited; coal and iron ore;
chromium, copper, gold, nickel, platinum, and hydrocarbons have been
found in small uncommercial quantities
Land use: arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; pastures 0%;
meadows and forest and woodland 0%; other 100% (ice 98%, barren rock
2%)
Environment: mostly uninhabitable; katabatic (gravity) winds blow
coastward from the high interior; frequent blizzards form near the foot
of the plateau; cyclonic storms form over the ocean and move clockwise
around the coast, as does a circumpolar ocean current; during
summer more solar radiation reaches the surface at the South Pole than
is received at the Equator in an equivalent period; in April 1991 it was
reported that the ozone shield, which protects the Earth's surface from
harmful ultraviolet radiation, had dwindled to its lowest level ever over
Antarctica; subject to active volcanism (Deception Island and isolated
areas of West Antarctica); other seismic activity rare and weak
Note: the coldest, windiest, highest, and driest continent
PEOPLE
Population: no indigenous inhabitants; staffing of research
stations varies seasonally;
Summer (January) population--4,120; Argentina 207, Australia 268,
Belgium 13, Brazil 80, Chile 256, China NA, Ecuador NA, Finland 16,
France 78, Germany 32, Greenpeace 12, India 60, Italy 210, Japan 59,
South Korea 14, Netherlands 10, NZ 264, Norway 23, Peru 39, Poland NA,
South Africa 79, Spain 43, Sweden 10, UK 116, Uruguay NA, US 1,666,
USSR 565 (1989-90);
Winter (July) population--1,066 total; Argentina 150, Australia
71, Brazil 12, Chile 73, China NA, France 33, Germany 19, Greenpeace 5,
India 21, Japan 38, South Korea 14, NZ 11, Poland NA, South Africa 12,
UK 69, Uruguay NA, US 225, USSR 313 (1989-90);
Year-round stations--42 total; Argentina 6, Australia 3, Brazil 1,
Chile 3, China 2, France 1, Germany 2, Greenpeace 1, India 2, Japan 2,
South Korea 1, NZ 1, Poland 1, South Africa 1, UK 5, Uruguay 1, US 3,
USSR 6 (1990-91);
Summer only stations--34 total; Argentina 1, Australia 3, Chile 5,
Finland 1, Germany 4, India 1, Italy 1, Japan 1, NZ 2, Norway 1,
Peru 1, South Africa 1, Spain 1, Sweden 2, UK 1, US 3, USSR 5 (1989-90)
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: none
Type: The Antarctic Treaty, signed on 1 December 1959 and entered
into force on 23 June 1961, established for at least 30 years a legal
framework for peaceful use, scientific research, and deferral of legal
questions regarding territorial claims. Administration is carried out
through consultative member meetings--the last meeting was held in Madrid
(Spain) in April 1991.
Consultative (voting) members include seven nations that claim
portions of Antarctica as national territory (some claims overlap) and
nonclaimant nations. The US and other nations have made no claims, but
have reserved the right to claim territory. The US does not recognize the
claims of others. The year in parentheses indicates when an acceding
nation was voted to full consultative (voting) status, while no date
indicates an original 1959 treaty signatory. Claimant nations
are--Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the
UK. Nonclaimant consultative nations are--Belgium, Brazil (1983),
China (1985), Ecuador (1990), Finland (1989), Germany (1981), India
(1983), Italy (1987), Japan, South Korea (1989), Netherlands (1990), Peru
(1989), Poland (1977), South Africa, Spain (1988), Sweden (1988), Uruguay
(1985), the US, and the USSR.
Acceding (nonvoting) members, with year of accession in parenthesis,
are--Austria (1987), Bulgaria (1978), Canada (1988), Colombia (1988),
Cuba (1984), Czechoslovakia (1962), Denmark (1965), Greece (1987),
Hungary (1984), North Korea (1987), Papua New Guinea (1981), Romania
(1971), and Switzerland (1990).
Antarctic Treaty Summary:
Article 1--area to be used for peaceful purposes only; military
activity, such as weapons testing, is prohibited, but military personnel
and equipment may be used for peaceful scientific and logistics purposes;
Article 2--freedom of scientific investigation and cooperation
shall continue;
Article 3--free exchange of information and personnel in
cooperation with the UN and other international agencies;
Article 4--does not recognize, dispute, or establish territorial
claims and no new claims shall be asserted while the treaty is in force;
Article 5--prohibits nuclear explosions or disposal of radioactive
wastes;
Article 6--includes under the treaty all land and ice shelves
south of 60o 00' south, but that the water areas be covered by
international law;
Article 7--treaty-state observers have free access, including
aerial observation, to any area and may inspect all stations,
installations, and equipment; advance notice of all activities
and the introduction of military personnel must be given;
Article 8--allows for jurisdiction over observers and scientists
by their own states;
Article 9--frequent consultative meetings take place among
member nations;
Article 10--treaty states will discourage activities by any
country in Antarctica that are contrary to the treaty;
Article 11--disputes to be settled peacefully by the parties
concerned or, ultimately, by the ICJ;
Articles 12, 13, 14--deal with upholding, interpreting, and
amending the treaty among involved nations.
Other agreements: more than 150 recommendations adopted at
treaty consultative meetings and ratified by governments
include--Agreed Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and
Flora (1964); Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (1972);
Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
(1980); a mineral resources agreement was signed in 1988 but was
subsequently rejected by some signatories and is likely to be replaced in
1991 by a comprehensive environmental protection agreement that defers
minerals development for a long period.
ECONOMY
Overview: No economic activity at present except for fishing off
the coast and small-scale tourism, both based abroad. Exploitation of
mineral resources is unlikely because of technical difficulties, high
costs, and objections by environmentalists.
COMMUNICATIONS
Airports: 37 total; 27 usable; none with permanent hard-surface
runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 5 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
DEFENSE FORCES
Note: none; Article 7 of the Antarctic Treaty states that advance
notice of all activities and the introduction of military personnel must
be given
