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