Is it Really SOS Antarctica?

Welcome to my blog about how humans have affected Antarctica. In my first post, I will explain why I’ve chosen to write about this topic and go through some of the areas I will blog about in the coming months. 

So why have I chosen to blog about Antarctica?

Yesterday, The Guardian had a report about record levels of Antarctic sea ice. Meanwhile three weeks ago, the BBC reported on ‘unprecedented’ melting of the Antarctic Peninsula. Five months ago in May 2014, The Times reported that the amount of melting ice has doubled compared to ten years ago. Are you confused? Well I don't blame you! Antarctic sea ice has appeared in the news at least once a year for the last ten years. The topic pops up so frequently, all reporting different things, that it is hard to comprehend what is actually happening. The fact that Antarctic sea ice is in the news so often makes it apparent that climate change is one of the biggest issues the world is facing today. The impacts of climate change, as seen above, are confusing, but in particular the impact of anthropogenic climate change is more controversial which is why I have chosen to blog about it. I want readers to understand more about Antarctica because it is such a unique and fragile continent (see figure 1).

Figure 1. Antarctica from space shows how unique and fragile the continent really is. Source: The Guardian, 2014

What to expect?

By reading my blog, you will understand the complexity of climate change as throughout the next three months, I will present you with case studies, theories and research, citing from academic journals, books and news articles, that help explain the human impacts on Antarctica. One of the main impacts that humans have on Antarctica is our contribution to melting ice. I will present arguments for and against this view and various others using academic literature and scientific research, debating around these topics. Other effects that I will blog about include ozone depletion, marine/ terrestrial life and tourism. These effects will help me answer the question of whether it really is SOS Antarctica. Furthermore, throughout this blog I will keeps a score of the natural or positive human impacts versus negative human impacts because it is important to distinguish between the different effects. It will also help keep track of whether humans are actually causing Antarctica to become distressed.

This blog will go beyond climate change. I don’t want my readers to think of this blog as a climate change blog. Instead, the aim of my blog is to provide you all with an idea of the alternative ways that humans are affecting Antarctica. 

In this post I have introduced melting ice as one of the key environmental changes Antarctica currently faces. To end, below is a link to an interactive map showing the effect on all continents if all the ice in the world melted, including Antarctica. I would definitely encourage my readers to explore the effect on other continents, but in particular notice the significant loss in land mass predicted in Antarctica – how ironic that the melting of Antarctic ice will reduce its own land mass! That’s all from me today, I hope you enjoy exploring Antarctica with me over the coming months! 

National Geographic Interactive Map