LINKS
If you are interested in linking a site to the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition web page, please email us at secretariat@asoc.org.
Antarctic Treaty Secretariat
Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties Official Websites
SCAR has put together a comprehensive list, including maps of all the 2004 overwintering stations.
Antarctic Treaties and Working Groups
- CCAMLR Secretariat- Secretariat for the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources: http://www.ccamlr.org/pu/e/cc/sec/intro.htm
- U.S. Department of State and National Science Foundation Website of the "Antarctic Treaty Document Database." A searchable database to enhance public access to the Antarctic Treaty documents.
http://aspire.nvi.net/help.htm
- International Polar Year
The Polar Regions are remote areas of the Earth that have profound significance for the Earth's climate and ultimately environments, ecosystems and human society. However we still remain remarkably ignorant of many aspects of how polar climate operates and its interaction with polar environments, ecosystems and societies. To have any hope of understanding the current global climate and what might happen in future the science community needs a better picture of conditions at the poles and how they interact with and influence the oceans, atmosphere and land masses. Existing climate models do not work well in the polar regions and have for example failed to predict the dramatic break-up of Antarctic ice shelves observed in recent years. The three fastest warming regions on the planet in the last two decades have been Alaska, Siberia and parts of the Antarctic Peninsula, Thus the Polar Regions are highly sensitive to climate change and this raises real concern for the future of polar ecosystems and Arctic society.
There have been a number of major international science initiatives in Polar Regions since the first International Polar Year in 1882-83 and all have had a major influence in overhauling our understanding of global processes in these important areas. These initiatives have involved an intense period of interdisciplinary research, collecting a broad range of measurements that provide a snapshot in time of the state of the polar regions. The last such initiative was the International Geophysical Year in 1957-58, involving 80,000 scientists from 67 countries.
It produced unprecedented exploration and discoveries in many fields of research and fundamentally changed how science was conducted in the polar regions. Fifty years on, technological developments such as earth observation satellites, autonomous vehicles and molecular biology techniques offer enormous opportunities for a further quantum step upwards in our understanding of polar systems. An IPY in 2007-2008 also affords an opportunity to engage the upcoming generation of young Earth System scientists and to get the public to realize just how much the cold ends of the sphere we all live on really do influence us. To ensure that researchers get the opportunity to work in both polar regions or work summer and winter if they wish, the Polar Year will actually run from March 2007-March 2009.
General Information about Antarctica
- WeatherUnderground
How cold is it today? Check out the current weather conditions as most Antarctic Stations at WeatherUnderground
Science General
- Antarctic Wildlife Research Unit
Home Page of the University of Tasmania's School of Zoology's Antarctic Unit. The Unit is working on research involving top-level predators in the Antarctic Ocean: http://www.zoo.utas.edu.au/awru/
- Polar Research Program of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography: http://prp.ucsd.edu/AMLR.htm
- U.S. Antarctic Science Program
National Science Foundation - Department of Polar Programs:
http://www.nsf.gov/dir/index.jsp?org=OPP
- United States National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation administers US Operations in Antarctica.
http://www.nsf.org
Sub-glacier lakes
Ocean
- Centro Ecoceanos
http://www.ecoceanos.cl/
- Deep Sea Coalition
Help protect deep sea life! Draw a deep sea creature now!
http://www.savethehighseas.org/deeptrouble/
- NAUSICAA
French National Sea Experience Center, in Boulogne-sur-Mer (Northern France), is a Science Center entirely dedicated to the relationship between Mankind and the Sea. Its goal is to incite the general public to discover the sea and to love it, while raising its awareness on the need for a better management of marine resources. A database of interesting Marine links:
http://www.nausicaa.fr/
Whales/Whaling
Wildlife General
- Falklands Conservation
Monitors and protects the exceptional wildlife heritage of the Falkland Islands. The Islands are one of the last great wilderness sites on Earth and form a unique bridge between the Antarctic and South American continent.
http://www.falklandsconservation.com/
Birds
- American Bird Conservancy
American Bird Conservancy (ABC) is dedicated to the conservation of wild birds and their habitats in the Americas. The fundamental role of ABC is to build coalitions of conservation groups, scientists, and members of the public, to tackle key bird priorities using the best resources available. ABC collaborates on plans and policy for bird conservation and has launched various campaigns treating particular bird conservation areas. You can read a new report "Sudden Death on the High Seas: Longline Fishing" at: www.abcbirds.org/policy/seabirds.htm
- BirdLife International
The NGO has Initiated a Global Seabird Conservation Coordination Project, with its primary focus the impact that longline fisheries have on seabird populations.
http://www.birdlife.net/
- Penguin
Great site with information on the different penguin species as well as the critter's behavior, evolution, and biology and even a section on "penguin myths!" http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Penguins/home.html
Fish/Fishing
- Coalition of Legal Toothfish Operators
A coalition of legal, liscensed Toothfish Fishery Operators who follow the CCAMLR Catch Regulations for Patagonian Toothfish
http://www.colto.org
Krill
- The Antarctic Krill Conservation Project is a cooperative effort by conservation organizations worldwide dedicated to the protection of Antarctic krill to conserve the region’s marine ecosystem. Core partners are the Pew Charitable Trusts and National Environmental Trust along with ASOC.
http://www.krillcount.org/
Seals
- Seal Conservation Society
The Seal Conservation Society helps with that protection by promoting the conservation, welfare and study of the 33 living pinniped species.
http://www.pinnipeds.org/
Website chronicles the ongoing investigation of the feeding behavior of Weddell seals: http://bio.research.ucsc.edu/people/williams/antarctic/index.html
Environmental Groups not already mentioned above
- Greenpeace
Greenpeace has been campaigning against environmental degradation since 1971 when a small boat of volunteers and journalists sailed into Amchitka, an island in Alaska where the US Government was conducting underground nuclear tests. This tradition of 'bearing witness' in a non-violent manner continues today.
Greenpeace has played a pivotal role in, among other things, the adoption of:
- A ban on toxic waste exports to less developed countries.
- A moratorium on commercial whaling.
- A United Nations convention providing for better management of world fisheries.
- A Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary;
- A 50-year moratorium on mineral exploitation in Antarctica.
- Bans on the dumping at sea of radioactive and industrial waste and disused oil installations.
- An end to high-sea, large-scale driftnet fishing.
- A ban on all nuclear weapons testing - our first ever campaign."
http://www.greenpeace.org
- IUCN - The World Conservation Union:
Founded in 1948, The World Conservation Union brings States, government agencies and a diverse range of non-governmental organizations in a unique world partnership: over 800 members in all, spread across some 125 countries. In 1994 IUCN established the Antarctic Advisory Committee (AAC) as a means of focusing IUCN's involvement with Antarctic conservation issues. Specifically, the AAC was to take advantage of IUCN's structure to work with nations to achieve ratification of the Antarctic Environmental Protocol, and to keep nations focused on the importance of protecting Antarctica's environment. The Antarctica Project's Director has been the chair of the AAC since 1995, and members of ASOC serve on the Committee.
http://iucn.org/
- The Polar Artists Group (PAG)
A non-profit, International society of polar artists dedicated to promoting awareness of the polar regions. The PAG links polar artists and scientists by conservation and promoting awareness of the polar regions, and effects of climate change on the environment and people through art, education, and special projects. The Polar Artists Group links directly with International Polar Year research and helps meet IPY outreach and public awareness. http://polarartists.com
- Sierra Club
America's oldest and largest grassroots environment organization was established in 1892 by its founder John Muir. The Sierra Club actively promotes conservation by influencing public policy through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying and litigation.
http://www.sierraclub.org/
Eco-Tourism
- Expedition Trips
ExpeditionTrips.com is an excellent resource for adventure travelers of all ages and has been voted “Best of the Web” by Forbes 5 times! Antarctica specialists to help you plan the perfect Antarctica cruise. Staff has traveled to Antarctica over 100 times and offers the largest variety of Antarctic ships.
http://www.expeditiontrips.com/antarctica-cruise.asp
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