Transboundary Ice Resources

1. Transboundary Ice Resources Cody McCann and Arthur Ryzak Source: www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/09/sn_icexv/ Source: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/antarctica/5011121/

2. Overview Antarctica • Basin • Treaty System • Ice Resources - Freshwater • Ice Resources - Other • Conclusion

3. Antarctica Basin • Total Area: 14 million km2 • 98% of terrain is covered in continental ice sheets, other 2% is barren rock • 62% of world’s freshwater is ice above Antarctica land mass • Winter and Summer Temperatures Source: www.theresilientearth.com/?q=content/ice-sheet-loss-cut-half Source: wattsupwiththat.com/2009/04/18/what-happens-when-you-divide-antarctica-into-two-distinct-climate-zones/

4. Antarctica Basin • Natural Resources • Precipitation • Volcanos • Climate Change Source: hearthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=8239

5. Antarctica Treaty System • No single nation owns any part • Antarctic Treaty – Dec. 1, 1959 - 12 Original Countries - 14 Articles - Jurisdiction of the treaty is all areas including land and ice shelves south of 60 degrees south latitude • Currently 28 Consultative countries, 22 Non-consultative countries

6. Antarctica Treaty System • Antarctica Treaty System - defined as “the Antarctic Treaty, the measures in effect under that Treaty, its associated separate international instruments in force and the measures in effect under those instruments” • Conservation of Antarctic Seals - June 1972 • Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources - May 1980 • Environmental Protocols - 11thAntarctic Treaty Special Consultative Meeting , Oct 1991

7. Antarctic Freshwater Resources • 24,000,000 km^3 of Ice • 900 km^3/yr Iceberg Generation • 4,000 km^3/yr Total Water Consumption (Global) • 24 km^3/yr Total Water Consumption (Australia) Source: virtualantarctica.com Source: ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/waterdistribution.html

8. Ice Transport Theory • Search, Locate • Breakout, Hookup • Insulate • Transport • Terminal Dock • Terminal Extraction • Distribution Source: Dassault Systems Source: allfamouswonders.com/oceania Source: Grand Banks Iceberg Management

9. Ice Transport Challenges • Diminishing Resource • Break-Up • Roll Stability • Melting • Salt Intrusion • Towing Capacity • Local Delivery Challenges Source: darkroastedblend.com/2007 Source: darkroastedblend.com/2007 Source: commons.wikimedia.org

10. Ice Transport Policy Issues • Who owns them? • Environmental Impact Assessment • Wind, Precipitation, and Evaporation • Ocean Currents • Total Polar Ice Mass • The Law of the Sea • Liability Source: http://globalpoliticalawakening.blogspot.com Source: www.flickr.com/photos/greenpeaceuk

11. Ice Transport - Future Work • Desk Work • Statistical Analysis of icebergs as function of distance from mother shelf and oceanographic parameters • Computer Modeling of stresses and strains to investigate breakup • Bench Scale Tests • Pilot Tow Source: florence20.typepad.com Source: web.mit.edu/12.000

12. Antarctic Ice Resources – Climate Research • Direct record of past climates • US National Ice Core Laboratory Core Drilling at Newall Glacier, Antarctica Antarctic Ice Core with Ancient Air Bubbles 160,000 Years of Climatic History Source: National Ice Core Laboratory

13. Antarctic Ice Resources - Energy • Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) • Cold Air / Warm Water Conversion • Hydropower? Source: globalresearch.ca Source: National Energy Laboratory Hawaii (NEHLA)

14. Antarctic Ice Resources – Unknown • Russian Federation Scientists within meters of breaching Lake Vostok – sealed for the past 25 million years • Russian Federation announced an Antarctic strategy involving complex investigations of the Antarctic mineral, hydrocarbon and other natural resources • China recently established Kunlun Research Station Source:news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012

15. Conclusions “New questions about equitable management are presenting challenges that may reshape the political context of the continent in the next decade. During the forthcoming period of change, the challenge is to ensure that Antarctica is managed in the interests of all humankind, in a manner that conserves its unique environment, preserves its value for scientific research, and retains its character as a demilitarized, non-nuclear zone of peace” (BrundtlandReport) • Antarctica is a unique land governed by treaty rather than national boundary. • The water resources of Antarctica are vast, but relatively inaccessible. • As global water scarcity increases, developers will look for new sources. • As interest turns to Antarctica, equitable management may be a challenge. Source: smithsonianmag.com

16. Discussion Questions • What, if any, challenges to utilizing icebergs as a fresh water resource seem insurmountable? • What are some potential uses of the Antarctic ice resources that have not been discussed here? • With population increase and climate change affecting water resources, do you think that countries will try to reinforce their claims over the resources of Antarctica? • Do you think that Antarctica will always be able to be independent and void of governments or countries, why or why not?

17. References Suggested Readings • Husseiny, A.A. (1978). Iceberg Utilization. “Proceedings of the First International Conference and Workshops on Iceberg Utilization for Fresh Water Production, Weather Modification and Other Applications held at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA, October 2-6, 1977”. • Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty (2011). Key Documents of the Antarctic Treaty System. http://www.ats.aq/documents/keydocs/vol_1/vol1_Volume_1_Complete_Document_e.pdf References • Bader, Henri (1973). “A Critical Look at the Iceberg Utilization Project,” Iceberg Utilization. “Proceedings of the First International Conference and Workshops on Iceberg Utilization for Fresh Water Production, Weather Modification and Other Applications held at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA, October 2-6, 1977”. • Hult, John (1973). “Water Rights and Assessments: Proposals involving Antarctic Icebergs for the Colorado River Basin, California, Mexico and other arid lands,” Rand Corporation Report P-5271. • Kim et al. (2011). “Iceberg detection using full-polarimetric RADARSAT-2 SAR data in West Antarctica,”2011 3rd International Asia-Pacific Conference on Synthetic Aperture Radar, APSAR 2011, p236-239. • National Geographic News, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/02/120206-russia-lake-vostok-antarctica-drilling-science-glacier/ • National Ice Core Laboratory Science Management Office, http://nicl-smo.unh.edu/icwg/. • Spandonide, Bruno (2009). “Iceberg Freshwater Sustainable Transportation, a New Approach,” Proceedings of the Nieteenth (2009) International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference Osaka, Japan, June 21-26, 2009. • Stolfi, R. et al. (1973). “Ice Moving in Sea Water,” Iceberg Utilization. “Proceedings of the First International Conference and Workshops on Iceberg Utilization for Fresh Water Production, Weather Modification and Other Applications held at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA, October 2-6, 1977”. • United Nations (1987). Brundtland Report, Ch 10. http://www.un-documents.net/wced-ocf.htm • Weeks, W.F. and Campbell, W.J (1973). “Antarctic Icebers as a Fresh Water Resource,” Polar Record, Vol 16, No 104.