Governance of the exploration of subglacial Antarctica
Subglacial lakes, and their surrounding aqueous environments, are known to be viable yet extreme habitats for microbial life that may hold records of climate change spanning hundreds of thousands of years. Since the detection of Lake Vostok in 1996 plans have been developed to access, sample, and mo...
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ftimperialcol:oai:spiral.imperial.ac.uk:10044/1/63886 2023-05-15T14:02:50+02:00 Governance of the exploration of subglacial Antarctica Siegert, MJ Kennicutt, MC Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) British Council (UK) 2018-08-24 http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/63886 https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2018.00103 unknown Frontiers Media Frontiers in Environmental Science © 2018 Siegert and Kennicutt. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. CC-BY Journal Article 2018 ftimperialcol https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2018.00103 2018-11-01T23:38:39Z Subglacial lakes, and their surrounding aqueous environments, are known to be viable yet extreme habitats for microbial life that may hold records of climate change spanning hundreds of thousands of years. Since the detection of Lake Vostok in 1996 plans have been developed to access, sample, and monitor these unique environments. Critical to these plans is assurance that contamination and disturbance is minimized in all aspects of the activity. Precisely how this is achieved has been a matter of international debate for many years culminating in the formulation of a “Code of Conduct” to guide responsible scientific exploration and stewardship of these pristine systems by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic research. The Code of Conduct was first introduced to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in 2011, influencing planning for three exploration programs. In May 2018, following several recent and operational advances, Antarctic Treaty Parties agreed to its use and dissemination, ensuring that subglacial lakes exploration and access is undertaken in a responsible, defensible, and fact-based manner. As our knowledge of subglacial lakes improves, so too will our appreciation of their scientific value and potential vulnerability. In other regions of Antarctica where value and vulnerabilities are high, Antarctic Specially Protected Areas and Antarctic Specially Managed Areas ensure long-term protection whilst allowing scientific access and study. Such governance models will be applicable to the conservation and protection of subglacial lake systems as scientific understanding of their form and functioning advances. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research Imperial College London: Spiral Antarctic Lake Vostok ENVELOPE(106.000,106.000,-77.500,-77.500) The Antarctic Frontiers in Environmental Science 6 |
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Imperial College London: Spiral |
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Subglacial lakes, and their surrounding aqueous environments, are known to be viable yet extreme habitats for microbial life that may hold records of climate change spanning hundreds of thousands of years. Since the detection of Lake Vostok in 1996 plans have been developed to access, sample, and monitor these unique environments. Critical to these plans is assurance that contamination and disturbance is minimized in all aspects of the activity. Precisely how this is achieved has been a matter of international debate for many years culminating in the formulation of a “Code of Conduct” to guide responsible scientific exploration and stewardship of these pristine systems by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic research. The Code of Conduct was first introduced to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in 2011, influencing planning for three exploration programs. In May 2018, following several recent and operational advances, Antarctic Treaty Parties agreed to its use and dissemination, ensuring that subglacial lakes exploration and access is undertaken in a responsible, defensible, and fact-based manner. As our knowledge of subglacial lakes improves, so too will our appreciation of their scientific value and potential vulnerability. In other regions of Antarctica where value and vulnerabilities are high, Antarctic Specially Protected Areas and Antarctic Specially Managed Areas ensure long-term protection whilst allowing scientific access and study. Such governance models will be applicable to the conservation and protection of subglacial lake systems as scientific understanding of their form and functioning advances. |
author2 |
Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) British Council (UK) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Siegert, MJ Kennicutt, MC |
spellingShingle |
Siegert, MJ Kennicutt, MC Governance of the exploration of subglacial Antarctica |
author_facet |
Siegert, MJ Kennicutt, MC |
author_sort |
Siegert, MJ |
title |
Governance of the exploration of subglacial Antarctica |
title_short |
Governance of the exploration of subglacial Antarctica |
title_full |
Governance of the exploration of subglacial Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Governance of the exploration of subglacial Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Governance of the exploration of subglacial Antarctica |
title_sort |
governance of the exploration of subglacial antarctica |
publisher |
Frontiers Media |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/63886 https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2018.00103 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(106.000,106.000,-77.500,-77.500) |
geographic |
Antarctic Lake Vostok The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Lake Vostok The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research |
op_relation |
Frontiers in Environmental Science |
op_rights |
© 2018 Siegert and Kennicutt. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2018.00103 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Environmental Science |
container_volume |
6 |
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1766273234654724096 |