Ethics of Observation in the Polar Regions

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 415-433
Author(s):  
Alexandra L. Carleton
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Human Security ◽  
Satellite Observations ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
Security Concerns ◽  
High Level ◽  
Peaceful Purpose ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Scientific Endeavour

Whilst satellite observations over the Polar Regions yield vastly beneficial scientific knowledge, ethical questions complicate their use in the context of the Polar Regions, in particular, questions about military or strategic advantage vis-a-vis human security concerns. The Antarctic Treaty System is committed to use of its space for peaceful purposes which, in the fulfilment of high-level science, seems plausible. Yet where military endeavour is coupled with such scientific endeavour, or where global security concerns seek an entree to the knowledge acquired by such observation, the question of whether either Pole can remain free from human non-peaceful purpose is bedevilling.

scholarly journals BRICS in polar regions: Brazil’s interests and prospects

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 326-340
Author(s):  
Paulo Borba Casella ◽  
◽  
Maria Lagutina ◽  
Arthur Roberto Capella Giannattasio ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Legal Regulation ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Arctic Council ◽  
Public Power ◽  
Promising Tool ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
International Power ◽  
Global Affairs ◽  
The Antarctic

The current international legal regulation of the Arctic and Antarctica was organized during the second half of the XX century to establish an international public power over the two regions, the Arctic Council (AC) and the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS), which is characterized by Euro-American dominance. However, the rise of emerging countries at the beginning of the XXI century suggests a progressive redefinition of the structural balance of international power in favor of states not traditionally perceived as European and Western. This article examines the role of Brazil within the AC and the ATS to address various polar issues, even institutional ones. As a responsible country in the area of cooperation in science and technology in the oceans and polar regions in BRICS, Brazil appeals to its rich experience in Antarctica and declares its interest in joining the Arctic cooperation. For Brazil, participation in polar cooperation is a way to increase its role in global affairs and BRICS as a negotiating platform. It is seen in this context as a promising tool to achieve this goal. This article highlights new paths in the research agenda concerning interests and prospects of Brazilian agency in the polar regions.

Bioprospecting in Antarctica and the Arctic. Common Challenges?

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-174
Author(s):  
David Leary
Keyword(s):  
The Arctic ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Contact Group ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
History Of ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Antarctic Treaty System

Abstract Bioprospecting is occurring in the Arctic and Antarctica. This paper considers evidence on the nature and scale of bioprospecting in the Polar Regions. The paper then aims to draw out some of the critical issues in this debate by examining recent developments in the context of the Antarctic Treaty System. After an introduction to the history of the debate on bioprospecting in the Antarctic context it examines the recent Report of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (‘ATCM’) Intersessional Contact Group to examine the issue of Biologocal Prospecting in the Antarctic Treaty Area tabled at ATCM XVII in Kiev in June 2008. The paper then concludes with some brief thoughts on the relevance of the Arctic experience to the debate in relation to Antarctica and whether or not there is an ‘Arctic Model’ for a response to the bioprospecting question in Antarctica. It is argued that rather than there being one Arctic model there is in fact a spectrum of models and experiences to choose from.

The Future of Antarctica under the Environmental Protocol

1993 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-174
Author(s):  
Beth C. Marks ◽  
James N. Barnes
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection ◽  
International Cooperation ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Wildlife Refuge ◽  
Wilderness Area ◽  
The Future ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
Scientific Laboratory ◽  
The Antarctic

The continent of Antarctica holds immense value as a wilderness area and a repository of scientific knowledge. This report maintains that the Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty on Environmental Protection, signed in 1991, is a positive first step in ensuring that Antarctica preserves its status as a global scientific laboratory, wildlife refuge, and arena for international cooperation.

Governing the antipodes: international cooperation in Antarctica and the Arctic

Polar Record ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 230-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oran R. Young
Keyword(s):  
Effective Means ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Military Operations ◽  
Arctic Council ◽  
Governance Systems ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Face ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic

ABSTRACTThe Arctic and the Antarctic appear to be polar opposites with regard to many matters, including the systems of governance that have evolved in the two regions. Antarctica is demilitarised, closed to economic development, open to a wide range of scientific activities, and subject to strict environmental regulations under the terms of the legally binding Antarctic Treaty of 1959 along with several supplementary measures that together form the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS). The Arctic, by contrast, is a theatre of military operations, a site of largescale industrial activities, a homeland for sizable groups of indigenous peoples, and a focus of growing concern regarding the environmental impacts of human activities. The Arctic Council, the principal international body concerned with governance at the regional level, operates under the terms of a ministerial declaration that is not legally binding; it lacks the authority to make formal decisions about matters of current interest. Digging a little deeper, however, one turns up some illuminating similarities between the governance systems operating in the antipodes. In this article, I pursue this line of thinking, setting forth a range of observations relating to (i) the history of governance in the antipodes, (ii) institutional innovations occurring in these regions, (iii) issues of membership, (iv) jurisdictional concerns, (v) the role of science, (vi) relations with the UN system, (vii) institutional interplay, and (viii) the adaptiveness of governance systems in the face of changing circumstances. The governance systems for the polar regions are not likely to converge anytime soon. Nevertheless, this analysis should be of interest not only to those concerned with the fate of Antarctica and the Arctic but also to those seeking to find effective means of addressing needs for governance in other settings calling for governance without government.

John Arnfield Heap, CMG

Polar Record ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-267
Author(s):  
Mike Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Polar Regions ◽  
Innovative Development ◽  
Polar Research Institute ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Antarctic Treaty System ◽  
Research Institute

John Heap's whole working career was one devoted to the polar regions, primarily the Antarctic — as scientist, then as a distinguished, internationally respected polar diplomat, and finally to holding the Directorship of the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge (Fig. 1). Much of the stability and innovative development of the Antarctic Treaty System during the crucial period of the 1970s and 1980s can be attributed to Heap's long tenure as Head of the UK Delegation to successive Antarctic Treaty meetings.

scholarly journals Enhanced tropospheric BrO concentrations over the Antarctic sea ice belt in mid winter observed from MAX-DOAS observations on board the research vessel Polarstern

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1823-1847
Author(s):  
T. Wagner ◽  
O. Ibrahim ◽  
R. Sinreich ◽  
U. Frieß ◽  
U. Platt
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Elevation Angle ◽  
Lower Troposphere ◽  
Satellite Observations ◽  
Research Vessel ◽  
Optical Absorption Spectroscopy ◽  
First Year ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
The Antarctic

Abstract. We present Multi AXis-Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) observations of tropospheric BrO carried out on board the German research vessel Polarstern during the Antarctic winter 2006. Polarstern entered the area of first year sea ice around Antarctica on 24 June 2006 and stayed within this area until 15 August 2006. For the period when the ship cruised inside the first year sea ice belt, enhanced BrO concentrations were almost continuously observed. One interesting exception appeared on 7 July 2006, when the sun elevation angle was < about –2.8° indicating that for low insulation the photolysis of Br2 and/or HOBr is too slow to provide sufficient amounts of Br radicals. Before and after the period inside the first year sea ice belt, typically low BrO concentrations were observed. Our observations indicate that enhanced BrO concentrations around Antarctica exist about one month earlier than observed by satellite instruments. The small BrO concentrations over the open oceans indicate a short atmospheric lifetime of activated bromine without contact to areas of first year sea ice. From detailed radiative transfer simulations we find that MAX-DOAS observations are about one order of magnitude more sensitive to near-surface BrO than satellite observations. In contrast to satellite observations the MAX-DOAS sensitivity hardly decreases for large solar zenith angles and is almost independent from the ground albedo. Thus this technique is very well suited for observations in polar regions close to the solar terminator. Furthermore, combination of both techniques could yield additional information on the vertical distribution of BrO in the lower troposphere.

scholarly journals Comparing ERA-Interim clouds with satellite observations using a simplified satellite simulator

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (23) ◽  
pp. 17601-17614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Stengel ◽  
Cornelia Schlundt ◽  
Stefan Stapelberg ◽  
Oliver Sus ◽  
Salomon Eliasson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Optical Thickness ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Cloud Fraction ◽  
Satellite Observations ◽  
Vertical Position ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Cloud Optical Thickness ◽  
High Level ◽  
Thermodynamic Phase

Abstract. An evaluation of the ERA-Interim clouds using satellite observations is presented. To facilitate such an evaluation in a proper way, a simplified satellite simulator has been developed and applied to 6-hourly ERA-Interim reanalysis data covering the period of 1982 to 2014. The simulator converts modelled cloud fields, for example those of the ERA-Interim reanalysis, to simulated cloud fields by accounting for specific characteristics of passive imaging satellite sensors such as the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), which form the basis of many long-term observational datasets of cloud properties. It is attempted to keep the simulated cloud fields close to the original modelled cloud fields to allow a quality assessment of the latter based on comparisons of the simulated clouds fields with the observations. Applying the simulator to ERA-Interim data, this study firstly focuses on the spatial distribution and frequency of clouds (total cloud fraction) and on their vertical position, using cloud-top pressure to express the cloud fraction of high-level, mid-level and low-level clouds. Furthermore, the cloud-top thermodynamic phase is investigated. All comparisons incorporate knowledge of systematic uncertainties in the satellite observations and are further stratified by accounting for the limited sensitivity of the observations to clouds with very low cloud optical thickness (COT). The comparisons show that ERA-Interim cloud fraction is generally too low nearly everywhere on the globe except in the polar regions. This underestimation is caused by a lack of mid-level and/or low-level clouds, for which the comparisons only show a minor sensitivity to the cloud optical thickness thresholds applied. The amount of ERA-Interim high-level clouds, being higher than in the observations, agrees with the observations within their estimated uncertainties. Removing the optically very thin clouds (COT <0.15) from the model fields improves the agreement with the observations for high-level cloud fraction locally (e.g. in the tropics), while for the mid-latitude regions, the best agreement for high-level cloud fraction is found when removing all clouds with COT <1.0. Comparisons of the cloud thermodynamic phase at the cloud top reveal a too high relative ice cloud frequency in ERA-Interim, being most pronounced in the higher latitudes. Indications are found that this is due to the suppression of liquid cloud occurrence for temperatures below −23 ∘C in ERA-Interim. The application of this simulator facilitates a more effective use of passive satellite observations of clouds in the evaluation of modelled cloudiness, for example in reanalyses.

scholarly journals Polityczne i prawne aspekty prowadzenia badań naukowych w rejonach polarnych

2019 ◽  
pp. 335-347
Author(s):  
Aleksander Świątecki ◽  
Dorota Górniak ◽  
Marek Zdanowski ◽  
Jakub Grzesiak ◽  
Tomasz Mieczan
Keyword(s):  
Legal Status ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
International Community ◽  
Scientific Activity ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
The Political ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic

The Arctic and Antarctic have been of great interest to the international community for a number of years. The still unresolved problem regardingpolar regions is the still partially regulated legal issues concerning the management of these areas. Both the Arctic and Antarctica are areas of potentiallygreat scientific, economic, political and military importance. The political and legal status of polar areas is not uniform. Currently, there is no legalinternational document that would regulate issues related to the management of the Arctic region. The political and legal status of Antarctica wasdetermined in 1959 in Washington. The Antarctic Treaty regulates in detail the activities in this region. Territorial claims are a particularly importantproblem. A number of countries prove their territorial rights to both the Arctic and Antarctic. The Arctic division is discussed within five countries,without the participation of the international community, while the Antarctic Treaty arrangements have put these issues on ice until 2049. Internationalcooperation in the field of research of polar regions has a long history and is confirmed by bilateral and international agreements. Conducted researchin the Arctic and Antarctic relate to various scientific problems. Investigations of processes taking place on Earth on a global scale are of particularimportance, both in historical and prognostic perspective. The history of Polish polar research is rich, multi-faceted and dates back to the second half ofthe nineteenth century. Contemporary Polish polar research focuses on a number of problems: glaciology and periglacial phenomena, climatology,geomorphology, hydrology, and geo-ecosystems dynamics. Polish scientific activity, in these regions, significantly develops our positive relations withthe international community.

Biological Prospecting in Antarctica – A Solution-Based Approach to Regulating the Collection and Use of Antarctic Marine Biodiversity by Taking the BBNJ Process into Account

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-60
Author(s):  
Katharina Heinrich
Keyword(s):  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Extreme Environments ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
United Nations General ◽  
Antarctic Marine ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
Convention On Biodiversity ◽  
The Antarctic

Areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) are covering nearly two-thirds of the world’s oceans and are rich in biological diversity. These also include the Polar Regions, where marine organisms adapted to extreme environments and led to increased scientific interest and activities, including bioprospecting activities. As a result, marine biodiversity is increasingly threatened. Thus, the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) was established to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity but left ABNJ and bioprospecting activities widely unregulated. In Antarctica, for instance, bioprospecting has raised concerns, and the matter has been discussed since 2002. As a result, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 69/292 concluded the establishment of a new international legally binding instrument (ILBI) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity for ABNJ. However, the inclusion of the Antarctic Treaty Area remains unclear. In light of the current BBNJ negotiations, the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) only acknowledges the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) as the appropriate framework to regulate these activities in Antarctica. Further, it seems to aim for regulation under the ATS, if at all. Therefore, this paper discusses a solution-based approach for possible regulation of the collection and use of Antarctic marine biodiversity. The negotiations and achievements of the current BBNJ process will be taken into account, as they might provide support for the regulation of these issues in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.

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