Human+Impact+-+Steven

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= Global Warming =

Global warming is when the temperature rises. Within 100 years the worlds temperatures will have risen by 0.74oC. Though this isn't a lot if this keeps on going we could end up with a lot of problem. The problem with this is that the Antarctic ice will start to disintegrate. The problem with this is that is sea levels would rise by a couple of meters and the world would be submerged in water. The problem with this is that in most poor countries most people live near the coast. And the problem with that is there are allot of farm-lands and if they get flooded the farmers would have no food to feed themselves. The worst part is that Antarctica would disappear. There are many to stop this some are the ways are like not driving as much and instead walking or riding a bike, recycling, not using as much air conditioners and heaters and many more. = = = How Fishing Can Affect Antarctica =

Sealing
The Covention on the Conservation of Antarctica Seals (CCAS) are concerned about sealing reopening after some exploratory to investigate sealing during the 1960s. Although no commercial sealing has commenced, the CCAS have made a regime providing sealing limits for the Crabeater, Leopard and Weddell seals, a zoning system has closed total protection on Rose seals, Southern Elephant and certain species of fur seals. But the Australians law states no commercial whaling in the Antarctic Treaty area.

Fishing
Fishing though is very popular we need to control and establish Antarctic fish, the Southern Ocean is no exception. The Convention on the Conservation of Antarctica Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) came in action in 1982 as part of the treaty system with the aim of not total protection but to regulate exploitation. From the outset CCAMLR base on the principle are that management of fisheries does not just include targeted species but also should include dependent and associated species and their ecological relationship. As a consequence allot of research and effort has been aimed towards understanding interactions between krill and other predators.

After the convention was established krill fishery did not grow as fast as it had previously. In part due to the withdrawal of the Soviet fleet after the breakdown of Soviet Union, also because of the cost of fishing and value the krill market place means that it is economically marginal. This hesitation in growth of the industry allows some breathing space for those managing fishery. However the economise changing and now demanding for krill as a source of food and a source for aquaculture and fishing bait.

Fish of the Southern Ocean has been a subject of exploratory since the start of the century, however a large-scale of fishing did not develop until the late 1960s when the Soviet Union targeted marbles notothenid and icefish around South Georgis.

Fishery did not recover from it's early peak (400 000 tonnes harvested in 1969-70) and aubsauent rapid decline. The Petagonian toothfish has recently been targeted at a number of locations in subantarcic. Fishery has attracted unauthorised operators from several countries that are working outside regulatory framework. The illegal unregulated (IUU) fishing is another concern because it has a potential to undermine attempts to manage fishing stock sustainably. In 1999 the CCAMLR adopted a catch documentation scheme which will help prevent illegally caught fish entering the market of CCAMLR nation. Also another concern with the IUU is it may involve the use of fishing techniques that can lead to death of non-targeted species as a by-catch.

In particular albatrosses have been taken by inadvertently by long-line fishing. The CCAMLR have introduced a conservation Measure to reduce incidence of seabirds mantality during the long-lining. The Australian Fisheries Management Authority limits fishery around the Heard and Macqucarie Islands trawling to minimise the impact on sea birds. The Australian Antarctica Division has recently established program called the Antarctic Marine Living Resources to provide scientific basis for ecologically sustain management of the Southern Ocean fisheries.

= Managing Waste in Antarctica =

Human waste has a potential affect of the wilderness and aesthetic values, to introduce diseases into wildlife and to alter the balance by raising nutrient levels. Since their establishment people have been treating sewage at the Australian Antarctic. In the early years humans urine were tipped in the sea while they used wood briquette, gas and or caustic soda to burn solid waste. Nowadays these stations now have flush toilet and secondary sewage treatment plants. There are concern that effluent from plants which are released into the sea and could contain organism that are capable of infecting wildlife. Sterilisation of this effluent now is being trialled. Sludge from treatment plants formerly disposed of on the sea ice is now being returned to Australia. Human waste from Antarctic field are brought when ever possible, as a requirement under Madrid Protocol and Australia's Environmental code of the conduct for Australia field activities in Antarctica. Solid human waste is collected in plastic bags and returned to the station for incineration. Urine is collected in drums and disposed of in stations sewage system. Although the direct disposal intide is allowed in coastal sites. Facilities in field range from purpose-built structure or adaptations like toilet at Jack's donga made from an old bulldozer cabin, to drums in the open, but all have one feature in common, spectacular views.

Under Marid Protocol the waste produced at inland camps maybe disposed in ice pits, but provided with certain conditions. After consideration of potential environmental impacts of disposal and burning gas if gas toilets are used. These issues are now considered on planning for a major research program in the southern Prince Charles Mountain. Sewage on the subantarctic Macquarie Island is only macerated before being released into sea. It is considered acceptable practise because of the rapid mixing and dilution which occur in the surrounding ocean. At coastal sites away from stations, waste can be disposed of directly into the ocean. However faeces must be removed from all inland sites for disposal in the ocean. To protect alpine vegetation on the central plateau.

= Ocean Acidification =

More then 10 years ago Australian researchers repeatedly sampled water from specific regions of the Southern Ocean to examine chemical properties, such as the temperature, salinity and physical attributes like the currents and vertical movement of water. The rates at which the water transferred from the sea surface to the deep ocean determines how much heat and carbon dioxide (CO2) can store and therefore regulate the rate and magnitude of the climate change. Scientists identified major pathways involved in the movement of water around Antarctica and between the world's oceans. The work has contributed to improve climate change projections throughout new models that reproduce mixing of water bodies and their effects on the surface warning. Ocean research also shows that around half all CO2 is released by human activities are now found in the worlds ocean and that's about a third of this has been taken up in the Southern Ocean. As CO2 continues to dissolve in ocean it increases ocean acidity, makes it harder for some marine organisms to form there shells. These ecological changes in turn reduces the capacity of the ocean to absorb CO2.

How Does the Water Change?
When (CO2) dissolves in the water (H2O) forms carbonic acid (H2CO3)-(the same acid in sodas). Increasing levels of carbonic acids can interfere with the formation of the calcium carbonate (CaCO3), major structural component of the shells of many important plank tonic organism (free-floating marine planks, animals and microbes different in size from microscope to a few centimetre). Increasing acidity also affects the nutrients in the ocean.

= What Effect Will Ocean acidification Have? =

As it becomes harder for calcium carbonate to form, it will become allot harder for some plank tonic organism to form there shells. If their shells are thinner and or deformed, organisms maybe unable to function properly. Many of these organisms are key component of the food chain- important in the diet of krill, fish, squid, penguin, seals and whales. They're also important in the removal of carbon from the surface waters to deep ocean and release of oxygen into the air. Important metabolic processes, like respiration fish, may also be impaired by acidity as pH reduces the efficiency of oxygen exchange in their gills.

= What Organisms Will be Affected? =

In the Southern Ocean and other open-ocean ecosystem, calcifying organism affected snail-like molluscs called 'pteropod', abundant, single-celled algae called 'coccolithophorid' and protozoan 'foraminifera'. Change in microbial populations are likely to floe onto dependent species throughout the food chain. In the tropical coastal ecosystem coral reefs, comprised of colonise of small animals that secrete calcium carbonate skeletons, are also at risk.

= How Acidic Will the Ocean Get? =

The pH of seawater has historically remained about 8.2, which is slightly alkaline (pure water neutral-pH7). However, CO2 from human activities has caused the pH of the ocean surface water to drop by 0.11 pH units. It might not sound like much, but is equivalent to 30% increase in acidity. Unless CO2 emissions are curbed, pH expected to fall by 0.5 pH units by 2100, 320% increase in acidity.

= How can we Stop it? =

Even if all carbon emissions stop today, we are committed to further a drop of 0.1-0.2 pH units and it will take thousands of years for the ocean to recover. However, actions can prevent conditions, that are corrosive to calcifying organisms, from becoming more wide spread.

= Why is Southern Ocean Research so Important? =

The Southern Ocean contains more CO2 than other oceans because of its cooler water absorbs more CO2 than warmer water. Meaning the impacts of the ocean acidification will appear first in the Southern Ocean.



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