Antarctica—Land wea Insaed Trabol

DISFALA buk Antarctica: The Last Continent hem sei taem olketa astronaut lukim earth from spes, samting long planet bilong iumi wea barava showaot klia nao hem ice bilong Antarctica. “Laet shaen from hem olsem wanfala bigfala white lamp long botom long world,” olketa astronaut report olsem.

Antarctica hem olsem bigfala machine for wakem ice, wea garem samting olsem 30 million cubic kilometer bilong ice. Snow foldaon long land and hem press daon for kamap ice. Gravity forcem ice for isisi go long saedsea, and long there hem foldaon long sea for buildimap olketa maeti ice shelf.—Lukim box long page 20.

Olketa Ice Shelf Gogo for Lus

Bat insaed olketa year wea just go pas, wei for olketa melt kwiktaem mekem samfala ice shelf for kamap smol, and samfala lus evribit. Long 1995 wanfala 1,000-square-kilometer sekson bilong Larsen Ice Shelf wea hem 1,000 kilometer long, hem brek and pisis go long planti thousand iceberg, wanfala report hem talem.

Kam kasem distaem area wea lusim tumas ice hem Antarctic Peninsula. Disfala S-sheip peninsula, wea sem laen kam witim olketa Andes maunten bilong South America, hem kamap 2.5 degrees Celsius moa hot insaed 50 year wea go pas. From diswan, iumi savve sail raonem James Ross Island distaem, wea bifor ice nao satem hem. Wei wea ice lus go mekem moa plant for grow.

From big haf long ice go ahed for melt long area bilong Antarctic Peninsula, samfala scientist no biliv diswan showimaot earth kamap moa hot. Bat, olsem wanfala Norwegian study showimaot, Arctic ice tu hem gogo for lus. (Bikos North Pole no stap antap land, big haf bilong Arctic ice hem sea ice.) Olsem disfala study showimaot, evri change hia fitim wanem olketa ting savve happen taem earth kamap moa hot.

Bat Antarctica duim moa samting winim wei for change followim evri change long temperature hia. Olketa storyim disfala continent olsem “datfala important engine wea draevem big haf long weather bilong earth bilong iumi.” Sapos olsem, then future weather savve change sapos disfala land go ahed for change.

Distaem, wanfala hol wea tufala taem moa big winim Europe hem kamap long ozone layer bilong skae antap long Antarctica. Ozone, wankaen oxygen, hem protectim earth from ultraviolet radiation wea savve spoelem eye and kosim skin cancer. Bikos radiation wea kasem Antarctica kamap moa big, olketa wea duim research mas protectim skin bilong olketa from sun and werem goggles or sunglass wea garem spesol samting long glass for protectim eye. Taem nomoa bae showimaot hao diswan hem affectim wild animal bilong Antarctica.

Softfala Land—Step Isi Nomoa

Heding hia maet fit for welkamim olketa visitor long Antarctica. Why nao olsem? Australian Antarctic Division talem samfala reason. First wan, bikos environment long Antarctica hem no strong tumas, eni change savve spoelem environment bilong hem. Mek-tu, olketa plant grow slow tumas dastawe wanfala footprint antap olketa moss bed bae stap yet ten year bihaen. Olketa plant wea klosap dae no savve protectim olketa seleva from strong wind bilong Antarctica wea savve distroem full sekson bilong plant. Mek-thri, cold wea ova tumas hem minim eni rabis bae tek ten-twenti year for kamap rotten. Mek-foa, pipol no min for duim bat olketa savve tekem go samfala bacteria wea niu long disfala land wea farawe, and there nao putim danger long hem. Last wan, olketa tourist and scientist gogo evritaem long olketa saedsea ples—olketa area wea best wan for olketa animal and plant. From olketa area hia hem 2 percent nomoa bilong land area, hem isi for minim why nao Antarctica maet klosap kamap fulap tumas. Diswan mekem wanfala kwestin for kamap, Hu nao lukaotem disfala big land?

Hu Nao Rulim Antarctica?

Nomata sevenfala kantri nao bossim samfala part bilong Antarctica, disfala full land hem spesol long wei wea hem no garem eni ruler or eni citizen. “Antarctica hem only land long earth wea wanfala agreement midolwan olketa kantri nao lukaftarem,” Australian Antarctic Division report olsem.

Olketa kolem disfala agreement datfala Antarctic Agreement, wea 12-fala gavman nao saenem and startim long June 23, 1961. Start from dat taem, namba bilong olketa nation wea tekpart hem grow winim 40. Goal bilong disfala agreement hem “for mek sure, fitim need bilong evri man, olketa bae iusim Antarctica for olketa goal bilong peace and bae no kamap ples or samting for kosim raoa midolwan olketa kantri.”

Long January 1998, olketa startim datfala Environmental Protection Agreement for datfala Antarctic Agreement. Disfala agreement hem tambuim evrikaen wei for duim mining and lukaotem mineral long Antarctica insaed next 50 year. Hem markem disfala area and olketa laef samting long hem olsem wanfala “land wea olketa protectim for peace and science.” Military, testing bilong olketa samting for faet, and for torowem nuclear rabis hem tambu. Olketa tambuim tu olketa dog for pullim sledge.

Olketa praisem datfala Antarctic Agreement olsem “example bilong wei wea olketa kantri waka gud tugeta wea nating happen bifor.” Nomata olsem, staka problem stap for stretem, wea insaed diswan hem hu nao bae ruler. Olsem example, hu nao bae mek sure olketa followim datfala agreement, and hao? And hao nao bae olketa kantri wea insaed disfala agreement deal witim tourism wea grow kwiktaem tumas—wea hem danger for environment bilong Antarctica wea soft fogud? Insaed olketa year wea go pas nomoa, winim 7,000 ship wea karem tourist visitim Antarctica evri year, and disfala namba bae dabol insaed tu-thri year nomoa.

Olketa nara challenge maet kamap long future. Olsem example, hao sapos olketa scientist faendem gudfala deposit bilong mineral or oil? Waswe, bae datfala agreement stopem greedy fasin saed long selen and pollution wea staka taem join witim diswan? Olketa savve changem olketa agreement, and disfala Antarctic Agreement hem wanfala tu. Tru nao, wanfala sekson bilong hem sei olketa savve “changem or stretem [agreement] long enitaem wea olketa member kantri wan mind for duim olsem.”

And tu, no eni agreement fit for protectim Antarctica from modern world bilong bisnis. Hem bae sorre samting sapos datfala naes “white lamp” long botom long world hem kamap dirty from bigfala greedy fasin and krangge tingting! For spoelem Antarctica hem for spoelem olketa man. Sapos Antarctica teachim iumi eniting, hem wei wea full earth—olsem body bilong man—hem wanfala system wea depend long evri part bilong hem, wea Creator bilong iumi wakem for keepim laef and for enjoyim.

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WANEM NAO WANFALA ICE SHELF?

Hae ap long insaed bilong Antarctica, olketa river bilong ice wea kamap from olketa snow wea foldaon, gogo daon for sea​—⁠samfala gogo wan kilometer insaed wan year, olsem satellite showim. Staka long olketa stream bilong ice hia kam tugeta and mekem olketa big river bilong ice. Taem olketa kasem sea, olketa ice river hia float antap wata for wakem olketa ice shelf, wea barava big wan nao hem datfala Ross Ice Shelf (long daon). Hem kasem ice from winim sevenfala river bilong ice or glacier, hem size bilong France and long samfala ples hem wan kilometer thick.a

Klosap evritaem, olketa ice shelf no savve muv bak. Taem olketa ice shelf kasem ice from olketa river bilong ice, diswan pushim aot end bilong shelf, olsem taem iu skuisim kolget. Long there olketa big ice gogo brek awe (wanfala samting wea olketa kolem calving), and olketa big pis hia kamap olketa iceberg. Samfala iceberg olketa “big kasem 13,000 square kilometer,” The World Book Encyclopedia hem talem. Bat, long olketa year wea just pas, calving hem kamap moa fast and olketa ice long ice shelf muv bak, samfala lus evribit nao. Nomata olsem, diswan no mekem sea level for go ap. Why nao olsem? Bikos olketa ice shelf float finis, and hevi bilong olketa affectim wata level finis. Bat sapos ice long Antarctic mainland hem melt, hem bae olsem iu pourim thirti-million-cubic-kilometer wata insaed long sea! Olkea sea level bae go ap 65 meter!

[Footnote]

[Piksa]

Olketa maeti blok ice brek from Ross Ice Shelf. Olketa ice shelf hia olketa 65 meter hae winim sea level

[Credit Line]

Tui De Roy

[Piksa long page 22]

Wanfala Weddell seal pup

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Foto: Commander John Bortniak, NOAA Corps