Of all the continents, Antarctica is the coldest and inaccessible. In the past, it made sense that Antarctica, with little use, could be shared by all nations. However, as our natural resources start to run out, more nations are now looking at Antarctica as an additional source of natural resources.

What was seen as a land of penguins, whales and lots of ice is now seen as a source of oil, iron and coal. The region could see a change from being one that hosts cooperative international scientific research to a region of confrontation and exploitation.

Many of the people who work in scientific research in the Antarctic have often spoke of the atmosphere as one of peaceful cooperation and the sharing between international communities. They speak of people bound by the hostile environment, an explorer spirit, and a love for science, working together through cold and hot wars. antarctica cruise

Located near the Mc Murdo headquarters of the National Science Foundation responsible for the U.S. Antarctica activities there is a park, encircled by flags, which is dedicated to the Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd and his dream. Admiral Byrd led five Antarctic expeditions and was the first man to fly over the South Pole. He envisioned Antarctica as a region of International cooperation in science and as an example of a place where nations work together. His ideas were noble, but how will they be affected by the world’s appetite for energy and minerals?

There is little known about the Antarctic’s mineral deposits but there is now growing interest. Now the situation has become a political issue rather than just a scientific one. Virgin oil reserves and precious mineral resources are believed to exist in large quantities under the deep frozen treacherous land and dangerous seas.cruises to antartica

Oil reserves and minerals have been discovered in abundance in other regions of the planet which resemble the Antarctic geologically. Small scale drilling offshore by the U.S has already hinted that hydrocarbon deposits might exist. Large deposits of coal and iron have been discovered on land, as well as concentrations of chromium, nickel, cobalt, copper, gold, titanium, lead, tin, uranium and other metallic minerals.

Until now the extreme nature of the environment has made the exploitation of the Antarctic an expensive and impossible task. Because natural resources have become more expensive and technology has improved both governments and businesses are now considering it economically viable and environmentalists are now worried.

With the Antarctic being one of the last regions of the Earth to remain unpolluted and untouched the concern over the mineral exploitation is a big issue to environment groups worldwide. The International Institute for the Environment and Development and the Sierra club are both environmental organizations that have seen that there will be a conflict between the environment and the exploitation of the region.

They point out that there must be some exploration and studies to see what resources are in Antarctica and to assess the environmental impact of exploiting them. But they fear the results of fact-finding ultimately could encourage development. Drilling oil raises the biggest concerns because of the possible oil spills. Antarctica’s birds and seal populations are found on the coast and could easily be affected. Oil is known to not degrade or break up as easily in colder climates than in warmer ones, so a spill would be more damaging there than anywhere else.

In 1959 a landmark treaty turned Antarctica into a scientific preserve and the majority of what goes on there is tied in to the treaty. Thanks to the 12 nations who signed the treaty and Poland which joined later, the region has remained free from militarization and nuclear weapons testing. The treaty has successfully side stepped any overlapping land claims. Many countries including Great Britain, Australia, , New Zealand, France, Chile, Norway and Argentina all claim territory within the Antarctic.

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