English: Locator map of the Southern Ocean. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The idea of creating extensive marine reserves in the Southern Ocean, around Antarctica, seems like a no-brainer.
The reserves would protect what is still the most pristine aquatic ecosystem in existence, and they would extend to the ocean some of the international protection that the continent enjoys: the recognition that the south polar region is a world treasure, off limits to the frenzy of resource extraction playing out across the rest of the planet.
In July, at the most recent meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources in Bremerhaven, Germany, there was a nearly giddy sense of optimism that, after repeated failures, the proposal would finally pass. But it failed again, thanks largely to Russia and Ukraine, who raised unfounded legal objections. And while not completely caving in, fishing nations like China, Norway and Japan called for smaller reserves and a “sunset clause” that would allow for future exploitation and essentially render the whole idea of a permanent reserve meaningless.
All this has led the staunchest supporters of the original 875,000-square-mile proposal — chiefly the United States and New Zealand — to do exactly the wrong thing. Instead of going into the next month’s meeting in Hobart, Australia, with renewed determination, the two countries announced last week that they would agree to shrink the proposed reserves by 40 percent, in the belief that something is better than nothing.
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Antarctica
- Antarctica is growing more flowers, and that’s bad newson September 28, 2023 at 6:54 pm
Picture a perfect scene; you’ll probably imagine a field of verdant flowers stretching across a sun-drenched landscape. The once frigid, immaculate expanse of Antarctica is turning into that ...
- US workers in Antarctica can no longer buy alcohol at station’s bars after sexual misconduct claimson September 28, 2023 at 8:26 am
In 2022, 59% of women said they’d experienced harassment or assault while in Antarctica, and 72% said such behavior was a problem.
- Mysterious Pyramid Uncovered From Under the Ice in Antarcticaon September 28, 2023 at 5:52 am
A mysterious pyramid found under layers of ice in Antarctica has sparked a number of conspiracy theories. If a pyramid seems like an unlikely find in a place like Antarctica, that’s because it is.
- The Most Interesting Archeological Finds Discovered in Antarcticaon September 27, 2023 at 6:00 am
Although they haven’t discovered aliens or ancient civilizations (yet), archaeologists have uncovered amazing artifacts from one of the most heroic eras of human exploration.
- Antarctica Logs 'Record-Smashing' Low for Sea Ice, Says NASAon September 26, 2023 at 4:38 pm
"Antarctic sea ice reached its lowest maximum extent on record on Sept. 10 at a time when the ice cover should have been growing at a much faster pace during the darkest and coldest months," said NASA ...
- Antarctica’s Floating Boundary Moves up to Nine Miles with the Tideon September 26, 2023 at 3:10 pm
An international study co-authored by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego has created a detailed record of the grounding line location of the southern Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica, ...
- Yearly peak sea ice around Antarctica hit record low levels: researchon September 26, 2023 at 9:56 am
A key indicator of Antarctic sea ice levels has hit a record low, according to preliminary research. Antarctica’s peak sea ice level this year, 6.55 million square miles, was the lowest in the 45-year ...
- Study finds Antarctica's glacial border migrates for miles with the tideon September 25, 2023 at 11:00 pm
The grounding line of the southern Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica can shift up to 15 km with changing tides, new analysis shows. The research, published today in The Cryosphere, examines the key region ...
- Antarctica’s Shrinking Sea Ice Hits a Record Low, Alarming Scientistson September 25, 2023 at 5:45 pm
It could be the start of “a long-term trend of decline” in the ice due to climate change, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center in the US.
- Antarctica just hit a record low in sea ice — by a loton September 25, 2023 at 4:24 pm
Sea ice levels around Antarctica just registered a record low — and by a wide margin — as winter comes to a close, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). This significant ...
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Marine reserves
- Marine Corps Leaders Struggle with How to Train Female Infantry Officers Amid Worries About Standardson September 28, 2023 at 8:53 am
In 2018, a Marine general who heads the service's training command wrote about his concern that the "pursuit of ensuring fair and equitable opportunity" had allowed a female Marine candidate ...
- Conservationists praise UK for creating largest marine reserve around Pitcairn islandson September 27, 2023 at 5:00 pm
The protected marine reserve, extends from 12 miles offshore Pitcairn Island to the full 200 nautical mile limit, encompassing over 830,000 sq kms of ocean Over 1,200 marine species have been ...
- New mission for Ridley Marine Reserve base has some neighbors fumingon September 24, 2023 at 9:54 am
Vehicle maintenance operation along Kidron Avenue features trucks that idle all hours of the day and night, and has nearby residents fearful of the effects of all the diesel exhaust.
- The Marine Corps finally gets an official top leaderon September 21, 2023 at 11:45 am
The Senate voted Thursday to confirm Gen. Eric Smith to be the top Marine general, ending a monthslong limbo for the Marine Corps.
- What went wrong with the Marines’ Lightning Joint Strike Fighter jet?on September 21, 2023 at 7:55 am
Last December, an F-35B that had not yet been delivered to the Marine Corps crashed at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth in Texas. The jet had been in hover mode over the airfield and ...
- What to know about the Marine Corps jet crash, backyard ejection and what went wrongon September 20, 2023 at 9:47 am
The crash of an F-35B Joint Strike Fighter aircraft in South Carolina over the weekend has raised numerous questions about what prompted the pilot to eject and how the $100 million warplane was ...
- What went wrong with the Marines’ Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning Joint Strike Fighter jet?on September 20, 2023 at 8:32 am
Last December, an F-35B that had not yet been delivered to the Marine Corps crashed at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth in Texas. The jet had been in hover mode over the airfield and ...
- What we know about the Marine Corps F-35 crash. Here’s how long it flew without a piloton September 19, 2023 at 11:35 pm
Grazier said. “There's a lot of unanswered questions.” Last December, an F-35B that had not yet been delivered to the Marine Corps crashed at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth in Texas.
- What we know about the Marine Corps F-35 crash, backyard ejection and what went wrongon September 19, 2023 at 4:26 pm
The crash of an F-35B Joint Strike Fighter aircraft in South Carolina over the weekend has raised numerous questions about what prompted the pilot to eject after experiencing a malfunction and how the ...
- ‘Living laboratories’: Volunteer anglers reel in data as scientists study Oregon's marine reserveson September 18, 2023 at 6:42 pm
The waters of Oregon's marine reserves are off-limits for anglers, but a select group got the chance to fish in the protected areas last week.
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