Antarctica teems with wild life like blue whales, emperor penguins and leopard seals from its towering mountain ranges to the seas; and is set aside as a wilderness preserve by international agreement. Since it was signed in 1998, drilling for oil and mining operations are prohibited for a minimum of 50 years on this continent, which is the most frigid and unspoiled ecosystem on the planet. A very strong priority has been given to conservation instead of development. Threats to the wildlife like dogs and pesticides are forbidden. Read this site if you want great antarctica tours information.

This accord is entitled the Environment Protection Protocol and is part of the Antarctica treaty. This agreement has been set by the nations of the world to keep Antarctica free of commercialism and industrial development. The treaty was approved in 1991 by 26 leading nations including the United States, Russia, China, India, Japan, Argentina, Brazil and most major European countries who had interests in the area.

The regulations set forth by this treaty ended over 15 years of lobbying by environmental groups and put as stop to diplomatic talks. In addition to making the mining and drilling of natural resources illegal, all of the scientific stations in Antarctica must dispose of their trash properly. Scientific stations and tourist ships are also not allowed to dump an raw sewage in to the Arctic waters.

Explorers from the likes of Norwegian Roald Amundsen, who was the first man to reach the South Pole in 1911, had to rely on sled dogs for their transportation. But the treaty bans dogs completely because in recent years, dogs have killed Penguins amongst other native birds. The treaty also bans non-sterile soil, pesticides, and polystyrene packaging anywhere in Antarctica. You will find that further information on adventure antarctica tours is on that site.

The land of the Arctic is covered by ice that is on average 1 mile in thickness and only supports the most basic plant life, like moss and grass by shorelines. Almost three-quarters of the Earth’s fresh water is in the Antarctic ice. Many kinds of sea life also live in or near Antarctica.

While it’s one of the coldest places on this earth, it is also the most fragile. Growth is extremely slow in constant sub zero temperatures. Any disturbance may take years to recover. For instance, a footprint in a bed of moss may remain the same for 10 years.

The original Antarctic Treaty, signed in 1959 placed a ban on all nuclear testing and military activity in and around the continent. The treaty also declares Antarctica independent of any nations and also establishes guidelines for research. Even though there is no nation that claims ownership of the continent, every inch is claimed by overlapping countries.

Once scientists learned in the early 1980′s that oil, coal, gold, copper, zinc, iron, manganese, uranium and more were present in and around Antarctica, environmental entities started to pressure their governments for regulation of land use. When oil became scarce in the 1970′s, a few organizations began talking about extracting oil from Antarctica. With the price of oil going up and technology becoming more advanced, it’s possible that further interest will be felt.

Each of the 26 nations that uphold the treaty have their own jurisdictions. Should one country’s citizens violate any of the rules and its government will not mediate the situation, other nations will put pressure on the government to solve it. Many are in agreement that the treaty constitutes an environmental success story.

You may be surprised to know that Dallas, Texas has something in common with the South Pole: they both reach 100 degree temperatures in July. Granted, at the South Pole the 100 degrees is below zero. If you were to stand outside naked, you’d be frozen in a single moment. When you would like to get more information on antarctica cruise expeditions check out this site.

Currently, dozens of people spend half a year down there at the time, having to contend with isolation, little to no sunlight, and nothing else to do. As a crew they work to maintain the U.S. polar base and operate telescopes and other scientific devices located at the research station. As communications and technology see advancements, their job is changing.

Recently North American astronomers were able to communicate and operate with the South Pole Observatory’s Telescope using a satellite. This made history as the first time a South Pole telescope was controlled from another continent. The hope is that astronomers will someday be able to use the telescope from the comfort of the warm, comfortable, regular office.

People on Antarctica have to deal with the coldest, driest, and windiest environments on Earth. They also have to be careful of breathing difficulties as the result of the high altitudes at the South Pole. It is the harsh and severely cold climate that makes it only possible for cold-adapted plants and animals to survive on this continent. These include penguins, seals, and various forms of algae and tundra vegetation. Read this site if you want antarctica cruise ship information.

The crew that stays the long six months of winter in Antarctica are called “winter-overs.” These crews are provided with a very large video collection, a small exercise room, various computers, a pool table, and wonderful food. Interestingly, they are well-known to be very silent about any occurrences between February, the time that the station battens down for winter, and October, when a military transport arrives to return them to civilization.

One challenge faced by this crew is that the research program at the South Pole has continually grown and the research station is facing a great challenge in having a steady and consistent electrical supply. The computers, telescopes, lasers and other electrical powered equipment use more energy than the station’s three oil-burning generators are able to produce. However, they are not able to keep up, which causes the winter-overs to have to deal with insufficient power, as well as confined living arrangements, and cold buildings.

Traditions are fun ways to while away the hours while in Antarctica. In order to be part of the “300 Club,” there needs to be temperatures less than 100 degrees below zero. This is when winter-overs get the sauna temperatures up to 200 degrees. Then, they run from the 200 degree sauna out into the 100 degree below temperature air, and then back inside.

They also look forward to the annual airdrop. Every June, a U.S. Air National Guard military transport plane will fly over the South Pole to drop deliver pallets of food, mail and other supplies. The winter-overs must then run outside and use heavy equipment to quickly get the vital and highly anticipated deliveries back into the station. For six months, airdrop is the nearest the winter-overs will come to any physical contact with the rest of the world.

For the full six months that they are there, they will not view a tree or wander more than one mile from the pole. They look forward to the one week of vacation they get at McMurdo Station, a U.S. Antarctic base. While here, the winter-overs are able to camp out in the 25-degree climate, bake in the sun, and relax in t-shirts and jeans.