{"id":19220,"date":"2011-04-04T10:00:30","date_gmt":"2011-04-04T08:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/planetsave.com\/?p=19220"},"modified":"2011-04-04T10:00:30","modified_gmt":"2011-04-04T08:00:30","slug":"antarctica-under-stress-from-human-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/planetsave.com\/articles\/antarctica-under-stress-from-human-impact\/","title":{"rendered":"Antarctica Under Stress From Human Impact"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Scientists based in the United Kingdom and the United States have combined to warn the world that Antarctic and the Southern Ocean are currently being stressed by multiple human-related activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough\u00a0 Antarctica is still the most pristine environment on Earth, its marine ecosystems are being degraded through the introduction of alien species, pollution, overfishing, and a mix of other human activities,\u201d said team member Dr Sven Thatje of the University of Southampton\u2019s School of Ocean and Earth Science (SOES) based at the UK\u2019s National Oceanography Centre.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy damaging the ecological fabric of Antarctica, we are effectively dumbing it down \u2013 decreasing its information content \u2013 and endangering its uniqueness and resilience,\u201d added lead author Professor Richard Aronson, a paleoecologist at the Florida Institute of Technology, USA.<\/p>\n

The scientific conclusions are based on an extensive review of a wide variety of human activities in the region and their impacts.<\/p>\n

Some human activity in Antarctica is already monitored as a result of the Antarctic Treaty System \u2013 regulations focused on international relations in respect to Antarctica, entered into force in 1961 and eventually signed by 47 countries, which in short, set aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve \u2013 but there are some threats which are simply not currently addressed by the regulations.<\/p>\n

Pollution is one such threat, but one that can be localised and dealt with by individual communities and enterprises. Global climate change, however, is not something that can be easily fixed, and has the potential to affect the entire Antarctic and Southern Ocean region for many decades to come. Rising ocean temperatures are already having an effect on the sea life which is having to adapt to warmer waters.<\/p>\n

Additionally, ocean acidification, another side effect of the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide, is also set to takes its toll, according to co-author Dr. James McClintock of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Southern Ocean is the canary in the coal mine with respect to ocean acidification.\u00a0 This vulnerability is caused by a combination of ocean mixing patterns and low temperature enhancing the solubility of carbon dioxide,\u201d noted McClintock.<\/p>\n

\u201cSimultaneous action at local, regional and global scales is needed if we are to halt the damage being done to the marine ecosystems of the Southern Ocean,\u201d Dr Aronson added.<\/p>\n

The researchers identified a range of regional historical and ongoing human activities that have damaged or restructured food webs in the Southern Ocean over the past few decades;<\/p>\n