ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Science

Human activity is expanding in Antarctica and threatens its biodiversity

Most of the continent is still considered wilderness but only has a few biodiversity features

Fermin KoopbyFermin Koop
July 16, 2020
in Environment, Environmental Issues, News, Science
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

Antarctica is by the most pristine and least polluted continent on the planet. It has no towns, agriculture, or industry. But that doesn’t mean it’s unaffected by human activity.

According to a new study, mankind has left a big footprint over the years, in Antarctica, going far beyond the scientific stations and ecotourism.

Esperanza Station, Hope Bay, Trinity Peninsula, on the northernmost tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Explorers and scientists first arrived on the shores of the continent more than 200 years ago. Since then, expeditions have crisscrossed the many kilometers of Antarctica’s ice sheet multiple times, leaving behind widespread impacts.

A study mapped that footprint for the first time, showing it’s much extensive than previously thought.

“We have been nearly everywhere,” Steven Chown, a professor at Monash University in Melbourne and senior author of the study in Nature, told AFP. “But these visits are often brief or to places covered in ice. The impacts in these areas are very small, negligible.”

The study looked at about 2.7 million records of human activity, spanning over 200 years and used it to quantify the extent of Antarctica’s wilderness and its representation of biodiversity. Up to 99.6% of the continent can still be considered wilderness, but only has a few biodiversity features, the researchers found.

This doesn’t mean that no damage has been done. The areas that have the least human impact don’t include some of the most important biodiversity of Antarctica, Chown explained. As it turns out, high human impact areas, including research facilities and tourism, usually overlap with areas important for biodiversity.

For example, of the continent’s bird areas that are critical for conservation efforts, only 16% are inside zones that the researchers identified at “negligibly impacted areas” — the rest have been affected. Meanwhile, land-based life can mostly be found in a few ice-free areas that comprise less than half of the continent’s surface, or approximately 45,000 square kilometers.

RelatedPosts

Thousand-year-old penguin poop points to devastating colony collapse at the hand of volcanic eruptions
A hundred years later, Captain Scott’s Discovery expedition can offer important climate change insights
New study shows that Antarctica is seismically active — we just haven’t listened close enough
Robot Underwater Gliders show How Antarctic Ice is Melting

“Biodiversity is the basis for all life. It inspires us to be better people and to have greater appreciation of our place in the world—just think of albatrosses,” said Chown. “Antarctic biodiversity helps us understand what life may be like elsewhere in the Universe. Microbes can live by scavenging hydrogen gas from the air—remarkable!”

Pristine areas, free from human interference, cover less than 32% of Antarctica, and the figure is declining as human activity escalates, the study found. That’s why researchers called for an urgent expansion of Antarctica’s network of specially protected areas, which can reverse this trend and secure the continent’s biodiversity

Specially protected areas currently cover less than 2% of Antarctica but include 44% of identified species, including seabirds, plants, lichens, and invertebrates. Most of these areas were established in 1961 under the Antarctic Treaty System, which governs the continent and protects against human development. Given the scale of human impact, it’s high time for a revision of that list.

The study was published in the journal Nature.

Tags: antarctica

ShareTweetShare
Fermin Koop

Fermin Koop

Fermin Koop is a reporter from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He holds an MSc from Reading University (UK) on Environment and Development and is specialized in environment and climate change news.

Related Posts

Geology

Antarctica has a huge, completely hidden mountain range. New data reveals its birth over 500 million years ago

byJacqueline Halpin
1 week ago
Anthropology

People living in Antarctica are developing a new accent

byRupendra Brahambhatt
1 year ago
Scientists deploying the Icefin robot in Antarctica.
Climate

Meet Icefin, the torpedo robot that studies the Doomsday Glacier from down below

byRupendra Brahambhatt
2 years ago
Climate

So one of Antarctica’s regions has lost thousands of billions of tons of ice

byFermin Koop
2 years ago

Recent news

This Startup Is Using Ancient DNA to Recreate Perfumes from Extinct Flowers

May 21, 2025

Jupiter Was Twice Its Size and Had a Magnetic Field 50 Times Stronger After the Solar System Formed

May 21, 2025

How One Man and a Legendary Canoe Rescued the Dying Art of Polynesian Navigation

May 21, 2025 - Updated on May 22, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • How we review products
  • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Science News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Space
  • Future
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Physics
      • Matter and Energy
      • Quantum Mechanics
      • Thermodynamics
    • Chemistry
      • Periodic Table
      • Applied Chemistry
      • Materials
      • Physical Chemistry
    • Biology
      • Anatomy
      • Biochemistry
      • Ecology
      • Genetics
      • Microbiology
      • Plants and Fungi
    • Geology and Paleontology
      • Planet Earth
      • Earth Dynamics
      • Rocks and Minerals
      • Volcanoes
      • Dinosaurs
      • Fossils
    • Animals
      • Mammals
      • Birds
      • Fish
      • Amphibians
      • Reptiles
      • Invertebrates
      • Pets
      • Conservation
      • Animal facts
    • Climate and Weather
      • Climate change
      • Weather and atmosphere
    • Health
      • Drugs
      • Diseases and Conditions
      • Human Body
      • Mind and Brain
      • Food and Nutrition
      • Wellness
    • History and Humanities
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • History
      • Economics
      • People
      • Sociology
    • Space & Astronomy
      • The Solar System
      • Sun
      • The Moon
      • Planets
      • Asteroids, meteors & comets
      • Astronomy
      • Astrophysics
      • Cosmology
      • Exoplanets & Alien Life
      • Spaceflight and Exploration
    • Technology
      • Computer Science & IT
      • Engineering
      • Inventions
      • Sustainability
      • Renewable Energy
      • Green Living
    • Culture
    • Resources
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Editorial policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.