The Antarctic ecosystem

Abstract

The Antarctic region comprises the continent and surrounding sea south of the Antarctic Convergence, where cold Antarctic upper water sinks and mixes with warmer sub-Antarctic water. The continent, nearly centered on the South Geographic Pole, is isolated by the Southern Ocean from other land masses. The continent's mean elevation is about 2,000 m and 98% of the surface is mantled by 2,000 m or more of glacial ice which flows toward coastal outlets to the sea. The ice sheet is pierced by mountain summits, some approaching altitudes near 5,000 m. The continental shelf mean width is 30 km. On its seaward edge the shelf is at depths of 400 to over 600 m. The total area of ice and snow surface presented by the region is doubled by the maximum extent of sea ice each year. The Antarctic Continent is the principal heat sink of the world weather machine. Upwelling areas of the Southern Ocean recycle nutrients and stimulate the marine ecosystem, and seasonal changes in extent of sea ice contribute to one of the greatest annual pulses in marine organic production. The fish fauna has only 120 species but these belong to 29 families. The zooplankton is rich in several endemic crustacea, notably the Antarctic krill. The only vertebrates on land come from the sea onto shore areas and fast ice, including colonies of breeding penguins and associated birds as well as seals. Closed communities of vascular plants and cryptogams occur on sub-Antarctic islands and the Antarctic Peninsula, but in the entire continental Antarctic the vegetation is desert-like, composed of scattered mosses, lichens, and terrestrial algae. Exposed surfaces of crystalline rocks harbor “endolithic microbial life,” and a few species of invertebrates dwell on favorably exposed soil and under rocks. The ice Plateau is as nearly abiotic or sterile as any area on the earth's surface. The physical and biotic features of Antarctica represent extreme conditions. The continent was untouched by man until the past two centuries and remains nearly pristine. It yields key information about cold environments and global environmental systems including evidences of change, and deserves protection from unnecessary disturbance.