WATER DOME: THE ANTARCTIC GNOME? 

BY

Glenn Allen Nolen

	

COPYRIGHT © 2001 BY GLENN ALLEN NOLEN

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Dedication

To the men and women who experience the unknown,
You have a unique ability to roam
"Oceans white with foam."*
May god grant you the return home?

Pioneering exploration 
Gives explanation.
For that dedication,
You have our everlasting admiration.

If by chance you lose your life
Exploring On some distant beach.
We will beat the drum and play the fife
Remembering your reach.

May you not, at any time, lose the will to endeavor?
With obstacles, may you always be clever.
May the ties that bind us never
Ever mistakenly sever.
 
Lands beyond
Require that bond.
You have the moniker, bearer of the wand,
It’s for the office and function of crossing each and every pond.

____________________________________________________________
* Irving Berlin, God Bless America. 

i

CONTENTS

Chapter I                                1        
Chapter II                               7 
Chapter III                              12
Chapter IV                               16
Chapter V                                22
Chapter VI                               26
Chapter VII                              36
Chapter VIII                             43
Chapter IX                               68

Appendix I - The Antarctic Treaty        73

Appendix II - Protocol on Environmental
              Protection to the Antarctic 
	         Treaty                     93

Annex I - Environmental Impact
		Assessment                     119

Annex II - Conservation of Antarctic 
		 Fauna and Flora               123

Annex III - Waste Disposal and
		  Waste Management             127

Annex IV - Prevention of Marine
		 Pollution                     132

Annex V - Area Protection and
		Management                     138

Bibliography                             144

 

ii

		Chapter I

I woke that morning cold as ice. 
Wind and rain at an inappropriate hour isn't always nice.
At 4:07 in the morning,
Without any warning,

Lightning flashed.
My electricity crashed.
I made a foolhardy dash
To witness natures bash.

From the window, looking up at the moon;
I wondered, how soon?
Would we return in June?  
Twelve American men have walked on that dune.

A cloud draped it. 
My good nights sleep, that storm front raped it. 
The TV weather person never said: 
A cold blast of arctic air could wake the dead.

Things got insane.
My weather vane
Broke out a windowpane.
Welcome to Maine!

Otherwise, my head 
Would have been in bed.
I would have been laying on a pillow of feather down goose.  
In this weather, no one wants to be outside not even a moose.
 
The weather got surly.
Bad as a Lumberjack is burly.
My hair went from straight to curly.
Man was it squirrelly.

Jumping out of bed that early 
Is not part of my usual routine? 
It didn't matter that my teeth weren't white and pearly.
This morning was meant to alter the scene.

1
My nervous behavior, hours before,
Made me forget to latch the window and lock the door. 
I'm not that much of a bore.
I know the score.

The evening prior, 
My mood was erratic. 
I don't usually tire.
I'm always ecstatic.

Perhaps, my life was entering a tumultuous phase. 
Hopefully, it would only last a few days.
Things should not look bleak and dire,
When your heart is full of fire. 

I stumbled over the bedpost.  
It could have been a ghost. 
My only thought was getting some sleep. 
I wanted it to be deep. 
	
My pillow was cold and damp. 
I threw it to the floor
Overturning a lamp.
Something inside of me was at war. 

Nothing was going right. 
This was a long and forever night.
It was the kind that affects a person right down to the core.
Somewhere someone must have said more.

Turning on my side. 
I tried to hide. 
My feet were tied.
They refused to slide.
 
Trapped under the cover,
I didn't know how to hover.
Kicking loose, 
I felt trapped in a noose. 

2
My mind wandered. 
What had happened to my life? 
Had it been squandered? 
Why didn't I have children and a wife?

I told myself to relax, 
But I never got over that last relationship ending with a fax. 
It was hopeless. 
I was traversing a building rope less.    
	
The storm front passed 
It traveled rather fast. 
I bundled up going for a walk. 
Exercise might keep my mind from having a talk. 

I walked past a school. 
Soon it would be filled with kids
Trying to act cool. 
How many more children must die from huffing lids?
  
Maybe, they won't die from SIDS.
One day they can leave the stage of a pup.
If they are lucky growing up
And enter a world filled with money, business, and bids.

Ask them not to emulate me.
When people act like a ghoul.
I turn my head so as not to see,
And I'm quite possibly the world’s biggest fool.

I rounded the corner by a church. 
Where some people go in search, 
I'd rather my perch 
Be in a birch. 
	
I walked faster. 
Hoping my mind could get past her. 
It was frightening!  
All my muscles were tightening. 

How did it go this far?
Somehow, she left a scar.

3

I walked past a bar
And continued past a golfers par.

As the darkness of the night lifted, 
The light of a new dawn gifted 
Evolving the day.  
I wondered if the morning over Antarctica would be this way. 

Would it be as beautiful as a sunrise over New England 
Or more like Greenland?
Does nature have the gall?
Can it break every wall? 

The explosion of life that occurred 
That morning amazed me 
And dazed me. 
I couldn't say a word.

Everything around me came alive. 
Things began to thrive. 
Had they been dormant since the beginning of time? 
I was watching a poet use rhyme.
 
The morning sky blazed with color. 
After that, everything seemed duller. 
Blending the night and day together
Flowed easily as a feather. 

Never before had I noticed how the darkness and light collide. 
Look how wonderfully they glide 
Managing to find their place. 
They leave no hint of a race. 

That was a picture worth painting. 
As a painter, my work is fainting.
I'd rather write.
From paper, we can assemble a kite.

That first glimmer of light 
Struck the birch trees of white. 
My eyes dazzled in the brilliance of that sight.
It took me to a new height.
4

It made me want to break out in song,
But that would have been wrong.
My voice isn't strong,
And the melody would not have lasted long.

Astonishment filled me with a desire to sit and gaze.
The morning mist lightly kissed the haze. 
A moment without strife,
I pondered the meaning of life.

From the corner of my eye, 
I caught a rainbow. 
Its glow
Chased the burgeoning sky.

The spectrum 
Hit my heart like a drum. 
Seemingly, endless in its flow; 
Does nature know?

My only thought was to get some.
I listened to its hum.
People aren't dumb.
We're just numb.

I couldn't imagine a more beautiful scene. 
There was nothing threatening or mean. 
All thoughts except that morning were cast aside. 
I thanked my guide.

I sat on that hill for hours 
Watching life bloom. 
There were a few birds, and I pictured the flowers.
I was happy as a newlywed bride and groom 

Hoping the happiness doesn't fade too soon,
And that marriage doesn't change the tune. 
Life became new. 
I wondered if the sky was always this glorious blue. 

5
I felt 
Some sorrow. 
What would happen to the sky tomorrow?
Does anyone know how that hand will be dealt?

People are tense
And dense,
But this sense
Was an experience.

6

	Chapter II

Back at home, 
My cellular phone, 
Which wasn't charged to roam, 
Was going off in a fast and furious drone. 

At first, I didn't answer. 
I was still euphoric from the morning pace.
It made me as fleet as Baryshnikov, the dancer. 
How can we not see the world as flowers in a vase? 

Had I grown? 
Was I now beyond the limits of the human race?
What exactly had nature shown?
Was it an ace?
 
I was lost in the cause.
Sooner or later, jaws
Always return to the face.
It happened as I rounded third base.

I was already three hours late. 
Usually, my work is my most precious date. 
There was no reason to hurry,
And I did not worry.
 
Consequently, I didn't scurry. 
There was no reason for me to scramble to and fro.
I enjoyed my rice with curry. 
People do grow.

As the director of a research project 
Attempting to protect 
Our water resources from any given threat, 
I didn't fret. 

I was born to reflect
On the type of protection to select,
My program was rational.
It could combat terrorism domestic or international.

7

Code name: Water Dome.
It could protect water everywhere even at the Vatican in Rome.
Although, filtering water through a comb
Never does remove all the foam.

The project never managed a hit. 
There was always some kind of a snag. 
Protecting our fresh water reserve is not something 
That is manufactured from a kit. 
It was not a laughing matter and not a simple gag.

My funding was about to expire.
Dramatically unless,
I showed some progress.
That prospect made me perspire.

Someone had turned up the fire. 
We couldn't get stuck in the mire.
A needle had to be thread through a wire,
Or I would be forced to retire.
 
Something had to keep the project from being scrapped. 
I was trapped.
We were in a mess.
We had to impress.

I entered my office door. 
The urgent messages made me want to faint to the floor. 
Threats had soared.
Terrorism's head had roared.

Our government had been
Inundated with charges of impending environmental doom. 
There were a few more than ten. 
I didn't make it across the room.

Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Mead 
Were the largest reservoirs in need? 
I was open to any and all predilection.
How were we going to maintain their protection? 

8

With a combined reservoir capacity of 60,000,000-acre feet, environmental terrorism would be difficult to beat.
The turned up heat
Put our program on the hot seat.

These could be a credible threat  
Devastating to the western population of the United States. 
They were more direct than the ones we usually fret. 
We were given dates. 

We set
Our goal,
And we vowed not to let
Terrorists touch anything with a thousand-foot pole.

Environmental infiltration of this magnitude 
Is not only deadly but also rude. 
It could alter the economic and social stability of the region.
I hired a legion.
  
A catastrophe on this scale
Would leave no one to deliver the mail.
I pledged not to fail
Or end up in jail.

My group
Would try to stop the terrorist season.
Could we slam-dunk the hoop?
It is within our mind to reason.

The project wasn't ready. 
Our first two attempts to engage a protective screen 
Over a much smaller object had not gone steady. 
I had gotten obscene.

A colleague of mine named Betty 
Recently complained the project was unstable. 
I thought she was being petty.
So I gave her a label.

9

She was forever more to be known as Mabel. 
She could have been the killer of my fable.
Somehow, long, as I am able.
We are going to save the water table.

I had faith in my research. 
I was going to lurch 
Forward and stumble controllably into the truth. 
I would not leave my cubicle or booth.

The job had to be complete. 
I worked fast and furiously without a treat.
Water resource management is my life. 
Some of my friends call her my wife.

Protecting our water resources 
From environmental catastrophe has been my dream, 
But I never had the ability of constructing enclosures with girder and beam.
Until now, I never had the necessary forces.

As a child,
I dreamed wild
About an ionized particle charge
To use as a containment barge;

Feasibly, it didn't seem right. 
How could we not fight? 
We should be able to utilize all our might. 
We can stop this blight!

Witnessing a fish kill, 
My deliberate will
Was to stop every mill
And build a pill.

I would have gone to any height
Ending the pattern of detrimental spill.
Gaining an insight 
Is my favorite thrill?

My first thought 
Was to box it				  10 

Keeping our streams, rivers, and lakes from becoming toxic. 
That idea never caught.

We not only endanger our self, 
When water becomes toxic, we delve into an unsheltered arena.
Where we might be no better off than a hyena
And downsize to the level of an elf. 

Water resource management is an urgency. 
I call it an emergency.
How then do we protect our fresh water reserve? 
Terrorists can always throw us a curve. 

Monitoring is good,
But shielding is better. 
Should it be something made out of wood? 
Should it be something wetter? 

Why shouldn't we do everything possible and within reach 
Shielding our most precious resource? 
I have a solution, of course, 
Enclose that beach!

Don't contaminate!
We can laminate!
That was the basis for my grant. 
It had a definite slant.

With a few technical schematics outlining my basic premise, 
It made a lot of people grimace.
My personal belief is that I can
Work my plan.
 
And stop the pollution. 
It’s our only viable solution. 
Implementation, however, has proven elusive. 
My dream is solidly conclusive.

11

	Chapter III

Fortunately, the Lake Mead and Glen Canyon Dam threat subsided. 
No one was indicted, 
And no chemical or biological threat collided. 
Our ecosystem still labors unrequited.
 
The American public didn't even know about the scare.
Honestly, I swear 
That raised my hair.
Thankfully, there was no urgent need for water repair.
 
Increased awareness 
Might have led to fairness 
Appropriating governmental monetary enhancement. 
Ultimately, that would lead the project to advancement.

For now, my project was still alive. 
We worked together like bees in a hive. 
With one common theme, 
We alternated our scream. 

The hours were rough. 
My standards were tough.
Taking a drag or a puff 
Was considered illegal. 

Staffers could always bring in their beagle. 
It helped to relieve the stress. 
We didn't strive to impress.
We, therefore, refused a code of dress.

Then came a breakthrough, 
I cannot take the credit.
I give it to you. 
The New York Times and Wall Street Journal said it:

"Water Quality Disaster Avoided through Sheer Luck."
That loosened the government’s buck.
More money flowed, 
And so did our work load.

12
Again, my staff increased.  
We didn't take time to feast. 
We were in a rush to save the deceased.
Perhaps, we could keep casualties under 1,000, at least. 

I prayed we didn't go down in the nude.
Before, another threat ensued.
All it takes is one maniacal dude
Contaminating our food.

Weeks went by, 
We still could not get my invention to fly. 
It took more than a year, 
And as yet we had not enjoyed a beer. 

Still, we had work to do. 
At least now, we had a clue. 
How do you manage something brand new?
It was designed to keep our water sparkling blue.

Shielding nature sounds absurd. 
I'm not the last authority.
Consider me only a small minority. 
Others have that word. 

Plants and animals shield their young. 
Many species have gone to extinction,
But they haven’t been predator flung.
Man has that distinction.

Birds have sung, 
They do it in many a different tongue. 
We are only a peon 
Compared to their sign of neon. 

Plants develop color schemes and hues, 
In various disguises 
Utilizing them as a ruse. 
Evolution has many such surprises. 

Humans have not yet paid our dues. 
It's time to simulate. 

13

We must emulate 
Keeping hydrogen solidly in twos.

The Stealth B-2 bomber and F-117 fighter 
Have made shielding technology available for lighter 
Planning bringing it to a potentially beneficial market. 
Why not park it? 

We can put it at nature’s door.
What else should it be used for?
We certainly should not use it for death and gore.
We can ban them for evermore.

If not to protect the water, 
Use it as fodder
To fire the flame 
Rather than maim.

It does not have to be expensive. 
There is no need to be pensive 
Calculating the cost. 
All hope is not lost.

A plan of action 
Can be developed by my faction. 
We only need a fraction 
Possessing less than 1% of the annual budget. 

I promise not to fudge it 
Or smudge it. 
The numbers will always be true,
And we will keep our water sliding down the slew. 

I'll never neglect
Striving to achieve my responsibility.
I promise to protect
Curing our delusion of invincibility.

Everything will be open for examination.
Shielding is my fascination.
Not keeping our vital water resources from contamination
Would be an abomination.

14

Even with our limited funding, 
We are ready for the celebration. 
Get out your bunting, 
It is time for the inauguration. 

We must prevail. 
Implementation cannot fail.
Another crisis is on the way.
Join in keeping terrorists and pollution at bay.

15

	Chapter IV

Water Dome did not succeed 
In gaining monies for the completion of its job, 
A United States Senator named Bob 
Failed to lead. 

He was good at punting.
Thus, he made the deep guttural sound of grunting. 
Every other politician ran away from the cost.
We wondered if the politicians were sauced.
 
The project never fully began. 
Highway construction enveloped 
The monies necessary to develop
My workable plan.
 
I did not go around the world looking, 
And I did not beg for a dollar.
Man, did I holler 
At my last closed door booking. 

The project shutdown,
I wore a big frown.
We had been on the verge.
All I could do was urge.
 
Experts appearing, 
At that committee of steering,
Knew they would have the last 
Tasting of an incredible blast.
 
It was a tragic gaff.
No one dared laugh.
They must have been daft
Or isolated on a raft,

The program was purged. 
Liquor and me merged.    
Three years, ten months, and nine days passed;
As I lay gassed.

 
16

When out of the wild blue yonder, 
A phone call from someone who promised never to wander
Said: "You were right. 
We need you on a flight." 
 
Within an hour, 
I was flying out of range of the control tower
In a quaking cower. 
My briefing words follow: 

	"National Security Agency, I'm Jake Rollow. 
	Dr. Pate, we have an impending crisis.
	We have left you to your own devices,
	And that no longer suffices.

	A problem between the signatories of the Antarctic Treaty
	Has become seedy."
Sullivan Pate - "Really!
	Is it of similar nature to Kennedy at Dealey?”

Rollow - "During the last Antarctic summer, 
	An expedition discovered wealth." 
Pate - "That's a bummer. 
	It will not be good for Antarctica's health.

	Isn't Antarctica a natural preserve
	And sealed? 
	Antarctica, we must conserve. 
	What is the type of field?”

Rollow - "There are SSSI's and SPA's,*
	But enforcement is a panther without paws.
	Estimates of the diamond fields size range wildly.
	No one has determined its validity, not even mildly.
	
	The South African and De Beer** team
	Have violated the Antarctic scheme
	Put in place by the Treaty and Protocol.
	We need you to build your wall,"
_____________________________________________________________
* Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Specially Protected 
Areas. ** The diamond cartel.	
17

Pate - "But I thought mining was banned."
Rollow - "It was agreed upon by all parties to the land.
	Pursuit of wealth has the ability to taint.
	We don't expect to find one saint.

	Commercialism may spread." 
Pate - "That's a probability I dread.
	The leaders of the expedition must have been vermin."
Rollow - "That is a possibility we cannot as yet determine.

	Intelligence reported
	The expedition was thwarted.
	The presence of the upcoming winter
	Left them no time to map the field to its center.

	Another expedition will receive purvey
	For a complete survey,
	And they will begin harvesting a sample."
Pate - "Sounds like someone needs to be made an example. 
	
	Have they started testing?
	What are the procedures to stop them from nesting?
	Antarctica doesn't need those types of people as guests."
Rollow - "They certainly will be pests.

	Geological experts fear
	The mine could be open and ready for exporting.
	It could be out transporting
	Yellow Knife next year."

Pate - "Yellow,"
Rollow - "It's an Arctic mine."
Pate - "That's not mellow."
Rollow - "You've never heard of the polar bear sign."

Pate - "No,"
Rollow - "Then jewelry shopping you must not go.
	It's a polar bear sketch."
Pate - "Where's the ketch,"

18

Rollow - "On diamonds
	Determining its origin or locale.”
Pate - "My last gal
	Was Rebecca Symonds?

	With her, flowers I couldn't even send."
Rollow - "It produces more than a million dollars a day.
	We don't want Antarctica to go that way.
	Is this something your project can fend?"

Pate - "We can't make it end,
	But we can tend
	To the pollution and bend
	Moving it not into the wind.
   
	Protecting up to 95% of the worlds fresh water resource
	Will require a large force."
Rollow - "Of course,
	You will receive every available horse.

	We cannot let
	This environmental threat
	Continue to persist.
	Your project may be our only hope to resist.

	The majority of the world’s fresh water reserve
	Depends on your capacity to handle a curve.
	This European size dome of ice
	Must stay free from contaminant lice."

Pate - "Agreed,
	Diamond industry development will undoubtedly lead
	To the exploration of every other resource need,
	Our government must take heed.

	Antarctica was once a lush land
	Covered by a vast forest of giant trees.
	Its pristine nature must stand.
	Do treaty violations result in penalties or fees?"

19

Rollow - "Yes, but it may take decades to recoup."
Pate - "That will be someone else's hoop,"
Rollow - "Or more like jumping through poop.
	I’d rather not be in that loop.

	We cannot in good conscience wait
	For an environmental disaster to act,
	You have a short window and gate.
	That is an unmistakable fact.

	You, therefore, have authorization to fully 
	Develop and deploy project - Water Dome.
	You are the one to pulley 
	It completely home."

Pate - "Testing on this vast a scale will require 
	Buying materials and manpower beyond our previous limit.”
Rollow -	"You have the authority to requisition or hire.
	No one can dim it.

	To save this vital Earth holding,
	Use every available piece of molding.
	There is nothing not at your disposal.
	That was your proposal!"

Pate - "I'm not sure we can deploy a shield that large.
	What is our timetable?"
Rollow -	"You are the person in charge.
	You have been given that label.

	Time is uncertain
	Given the brevity of the Antarctic summer curtain.
	Mining operations will be difficult and severe. 
	Intelligence reports indicate that no one is in fear.

	South Africa and De Beer 
	Will provide all the necessary gear
	Allowing for mining to commence.
	I realize it doesn't make sense."

20

Pate - "I need a facility,
	And I will also need a policy of non-resistance.”
Staffer -	"That is a possibility.
	How may I be of further assistance?"

Pate - "I need to contact Drs. Roger O'Malley 
	And Christine Harrow."
Rollow - "My staff will get you something from the galley.
	May God grant Antarctica a clean tomorrow?

	Good luck! Dr. Pate"
Pate - "Wait,"
Staffer -	"Here is all the relevant information 
	Needing to be reviewed on the Antarctic situation.
 
	We reach Washington in approximately an hour. 
	I will contact the individuals you requested.
	What would you like the chef to scour 
	Or has your stomach been molested?"

Pate - "Actually, I'm quite rested.
	My mind is a little tight.
	An hour of sleep will get me vested,
	And I couldn't eat a bite." 

	

21

	Chapter V

Within ten days, we were up and running. 
My staff and I needed cleverness and cunning, 
We had to complete our task. 
After all, our government did ask.

Shortly after,
Dr. Christine Harrow came on board.
She had the kind of personality that was full of laughter.
She was definitely not untoward.

I loved to hear her laugh.
At one point, I wanted to be her better half.
I would have been the iceberg to her calf.
Only that job was taken.

It seemed to me that I had been forsaken.
She had decided on another.
Then she became a mother,
And she gave her daughter a brother.

By that time, she was too far-gone.
She was living the dream:
Marriage, house, happiness, Her kids played on the lawn;
I would have loved seeing her beam.

She would have had the tenderness of a fawn.
I would have loved being with her at dawn.
Dr. Roger O'Malley was once my best friend.
With me things always seem to end.

It didn't keep.
I absolutely tend 
To make people offend.
Somehow, all I do is sweep.
 
I must have issues,
They once in a while make me use a box of tissues.
My feelings and emotions always hide,
Except when I'm on that ride.

22
	
I hardly ever take time to mend.
People ask why,
I don't bend.
They never see me cry.

I conceal pain.
I do it very well.
No one ever sees my stain
Spread and swell.

The three of us
Almost never, 
Usually ever, 
Get in a fuss.
	
We do disagree
Over the miracle I see.
We have known each other since grammar school.
Summers were spent hanging out by the pool.

Christine and Roger,
Once called me a senile codger.
Who couldn't build a nest?
I challenged them to a test.

We made a wager
To find out which one of us could build one the best.  
Roger was once an Air Force Major,
But he failed to build his with zest.

He came in third.
He must not have known how to think like a bird.
Christine was runner up.
Her nest wasn't any bigger than a cup.
	 
My nest had to be brought in by truck.
It could have held an eight-point buck,
Or it could have fit a family of six with any luck.
Big Bird and Barney never would have gotten stuck.

It had a layer of goose down.
Anyone who slept in that would lose his or her frown.

23

My prize was a hospital gown.
That night, the three of us painted the town.

It was all in fun.
We were knee deep in the pun.
I didn't hear a peep after that one.
They knew I was top gun.

Working twenty-four hour days was a grind.
Roger and Christine 
Alternated the scene.  
Keeping their family together put our work behind.

I tried to be kind.
Occasionally, I let loose with a tirade.
It certainly did fade,
But women seemed to mind.

It almost always made 
Me feel sickly,
It would always happen rather quickly.
I'm a man that never could get laid.

I'm one of these men
With whom women never want to lay with in sin,
But I am a joy.
I'd sure be Christine's toy. 

The women I like
Never seem to strike
Lighting an appropriate match.
We almost never attach.

I'm not the world’s greatest talker.
Christine jokes that I'm her only stalker.
I would never mock her.
I'd give the world to rock her.

We worked hard.
We were always on guard
Searching for a breakthrough.
Fortunately, none of us came down with the flu.

24
	
After eleven months,
We never gave in to the headaches, pains, moans, and grunts.
We thought it was almost over.
Christine discovered Dover.

Regulating the frequency discriminator
Gave Christine the title of ultimate eliminator.
We actually made it home at a decent hour,
And I didn't need to turn on lights or power.

All we had left was to enhance
Immediately deploy 
And do our dance.
We ended up at a party given by a coworker Roy.      

25

	Chapter VI

Testing was a nightmare.
We were dazed. 
It left me crazed
And thread bare.

With a rubber ball,
We started small.
Our efforts took all,
Then we hit a wall.
 
The work we gained
Simply slipped away.
My world rained,
As if it were April not May.
 
Gaining no ground,
There was no use testing on a mound.
Had my discovery ever even been found?
My fist really did pound.

Christine decided to try a grape.
She would have been better off shielding it with tape.
Where is Superman when you need his cape?
My world was devastated like a false allegation of rape.

I threw in the towel
Getting this pain in my nape.
It went all the way down through the bowel.
All everyone did was gape.

Anyone around heard my howl.
It was louder than an owl.
It outdistanced every other type of fowl.
Roger attempted to be my pal,

But all my jowl
Could bring forth was a scowl.
What we needed was some type of dowel.
That would hold words together like a vowel.

26

It was useless.
My spirits had gotten as low
As a lion that toothless,
I told everyone to go.

My anger had gotten the best of me.
That's when I locked the door.
When no one could see.
I pounded that floor.
 
Turning out the light
To the lab
That violent night
Took a left jab.

I decided not to fight.
There was no feeling any more.
I had lost my core
And gained a wicked bite.

I was a big huge crab
Possessing an ugly scab.
I was nothing but a bore.
I had a loud roar.  

My project was dead 
And spent on arrival.
It was totally in the red,
And I didn't see any hope of survival.

My staff talked about a revival.
We needed a lot of prayer over the bible.
Moreover, I was liable.
It was my stupid mistake.

I was one God awful fake.
I ranted and raved,
Cussed and misbehaved.
I had totally caved.

My walk was lower than the pavement.
I no longer knew what a wave meant.

27

Ending up in San Francisco atop the Golden Gate,
I was ready to meet my fate.

Luckily, someone had a long reach.
In that fraction of time,
I heard someone preach.
My fall stopped on a dime.

As I let the railing go,
The answer pop into my brain,
It fell as easily as rain
Turning into snow.

I was no longer a leach,
And I didn't feel like drinking bleach.
Thank-you teach!
You saved this fragile peach.

Information raising 
Is utterly amazing.
Sometimes it's as slow as a cow graving.
In other instances it's simply blazing.
  
I remembered a sequence of articles 
Lying in some scientific magazine,
Where was I when it was seen,
Dealing with charged particles.

This was not like cold fusion
Steeped in confusion.
We had to return to basic science,
Or the project would never gain reliance.

After being let out of psychiatric care,
Having a fixated type of stare,
I rushed to the library.
I said: "Hi Barry!

How many books can I carry?"
He warded off my query.
It was a diversionary parry.
My guess, he was weary.

28

His nametag 
Kind of sagged
And his voice lagged.
He was a man living with a nag.

I said: "You're not bonded."
As he finally responded,
"Get rid of that hag.
Toss her out like a bag."
 
He said: "No more than five."
In complete deference, 
I gave in to his position at reference.
I joined the hive.

Wanting Water Dome to succeed,
I felt so alive.
The project might yet thrive.
Had I really been that willing to bleed?

Am I that obsessed with this deed?
How insanely lame 
Is my need?
Do others feel the same?

Can we all win the game?
It wasn't even over a dame.
Maybe, I seek fame.
I wonder who’s to blame?
 
The library closed at ten,
And I would not be able to get back in.
Until, nine tomorrow;
One book, I decided to borrow.

Celebrating got a little scary.
I met this blond woman named Terry
And flew to Las Vegas to marry.
That night, I should have been drinking dairy.

In a drunken stupor,
I almost repeated my mistake with Ms. Cooper.

29

She was as rare a 
Pairing as me and the Duchess of Sarah.

I thought she was such a delight.
Women should have curtsied at her sight.
Two weeks later, she drove away leaving me in the dust.
She's what I call a strong gust.

Typically, I refrain from lust,
But make drinks rife
And pursue I must.
A barmaid isn’t usually the best choice in a wife.

It took two more days to find the appropriate journal.
Research is so damn infernal.
I'm more interested in hands on matters
Testing the movement of a ball and how it affects batters.

The articles author was a colonel.
He was in the army reserve.
His full-time career was devoted to preserve
Lining the nucleus of a cell or its kernel.

Most grandmothers know how to bake confection,
But only he could tell
Me how to engage my project to perfection;
As luck would have it, he wasn't in the mood to sell.

Meeting him was a contrast to his paper.
After hours of convincing,
Jousting and fencing,
He divulged enough information to develop a vapor.

Miraculously, a temp 
Albeit strange water nymph.
With hard work it would not be limp.
And maybe, I would no longer be a wimp.

In classical mythology, 
It would have been a goddess
Floating in a bodice.
In practicality, it was pathology.
30

The treatment of disease made my work jell.
We could guard Antarctica's well.
Had I found the missing link?
Would there be another kink?

I was back in the pink.
I held my breath, and I didn't blink.
Christine and Roger didn't know what to think.
Some of the other staff called me a fink.

They said I could not repair a kitchen sink  
And would not return.
I showed an appropriate amount of concern, 
And explained how I learned.
The meeting almost adjourned.

My demonstration included a protective layer of zinc.
One staffer wouldn't come back without a bribe of a mink.
We got along without her,
But no one else would ever call me sir.

With people, I'm not good.
It wasn’t part of my training. 
Had it been, I could
Have stopped the raining?	

Christine was excellent at smoothing things out.
She talked to the others, and they turned about.
I realize they had doubt.
Hell, I know I'm a lout.

She was my delegate 
Becoming my go between.
I made her my queen.
If only she didn't already have a mate.

We worked closer than ever.
I thought she was a remarkable endeavor.
Everyday, she pulled my lever.
She knew how to be clever.

31
	
I was utterly enthralled,
But her emotions were walled.
I was peeved and a little galled.
At love, I'm always stalled.

Our NSA advisor requested that Colonel Hancock 
Be returned to active duty.
Benjamin wasn't interested in pursuing booty.
He would have been more comfortable in a frock.

He was the kind of leader that would dock
Your monthly pay
Catching someone chasing a female on the clock.
On his watch, men and women didn't play.

He quickly became an integral part of the team
And made an organization out of my scheme.
It appeared I was no longer in charge.
Under Benjamin's control the organization grew large.

Roger, Christine, and Benjamin took total control. 
I lost access to my independent laboratory.
I was their troll
Excelling more at things exploratory.

We were still at the crossroad of a junction.
I was put in charge of the conjunction.
My only managerial function
Was to hold a weekly luncheon.

Shielding at the molecular level
Needed some kind of a bevel.
Combining shielding technology
Could use an attainable chronology. 

I was convinced that we could beat the devil.
One day soon we would revel
Stealing the secrets from an unknown biology.
Perhaps, I would write the anthology.

Imagine enclosing an entire pipeline in a shield
Using only a minuscule field.

32

We already wrap broken legs with magnetic energy.
Now that's what I call synergy.

For six months, we worked on a solution.
The answer never penetrated pollution.
Seeking to shield by the elementary component of an atom,
I consulted a madam.

Looking into her crystal ball,
She told me that I knew it all.
Saying: "One day the mountain will fall.
Stop hitting your head against the wall!"
 
She already knew
It was upon me to find the clue
Binding our work together with glue.
I left and someone went boo!

It was a puzzle.
I no longer wished to drink alcohol or guzzle.
With Christine, I stopped trying to nuzzle.
My only dream was to deliver a muzzle.

We needed to hustle.
My thoughts began to rustle
And intermittently bustle.
Did I have the brainpower or muscle?

A three-minute phone call, 
From National Security Agency advisor Rollow,
Impressed me with how small
I am compared to the people who built Apollo.

I implored my staff to rise to the occasion.
Antarctica was on the verge of invasion.
Don't stop your work,
This is no time for a benefit or a perk.

Pressure was being brought to bear.
The South African and De Beer expedition was moving faster.
That tortoise must have spoken to a pastor.
They started going like a rabbit or a hare.

33

Antarctic observers called them master
Of the quick draw
Concluding the survey and prospecting in an unseasonable thaw;
After many delays, they would soon be the Antarctic blasters.

Icebergs broke free.
Two bigger than the one in 1998 was estimated to be.
That one was ninety miles long. 
One of these got the nickname Kong. 

Soon, Antarctica will have tourists wearing a thong
Down a hotel pool slide,
That's got to be wrong!
Global warming go and hide.

In violation of the Environmental Protection Protocol,
The South African government did not obey the law.
Thus under Article fifteen,
The United States went to emergency response action green.

It was loud enough to have been seen.
It wasn't rated lean.
Could they be weaned?
Or will Antarctica need to be cleaned?

It was my job 
Not to let people or global warming rob
Taking purity from the ice.
Whether it is slowly melting or as hot as boiling rice.

Hypothetically, shielding could also plug the ozone hole.
Making Antarctica habitable was not my goal.
I would have given my soul
Not to have had to travel toward the South Pole.

One shield generator
Could hold back the flood.
Except for the crater,
There would be no need for mud.

Another presidential Executive Order
Told us to start packing.
34

Enclose that Antarctic mines border:
No words were lacking.

With ten per cent of the land surface of the globe,
Was there anyone authorized to wear a heavenly robe?
Down came the answer.
I had to become the world’s greatest dancer.

Precisely then, a miracle ensued,
In my dream Christine appeared to me in the nude
Holding a detailed sketch of the graviton emitter.
Thank God, he permit her.

Nonchalantly, I remit her 
To immediate memory
And put the sketch in emery.
For sainthood, submit her.

Give her anything:
A pair of slimmer knees 
Or a beautiful diamond ring:
Hurry! Don't let it simmer, Please!

Constructing nano tech
Was in a word, heck?
Although, recoupling the ODM Relay
With Christine was as pleasurable as one long lay.

Smooth went the testing.
The graviton emitter and I did our cresting.
Antarctic fauna and flora would be safe nesting.
For us, there would be no resting.     

We took a trip.
Time limitations excluded a ship.
On arrival, I felt like the Antarctic gnome
Protecting his water dome.

35

	Chapter VII

Roger, Christine, Benjamin, and myself
Stepped onto the Ross Ice Shelf.
We landed at McMurdo Station.
It is the unofficial capital of the Antarctic nation.

And it is the most populous little town
Resting on the southern most continent down.
1,900 kilometers from the last tree
For everyone to see,

A non-indigenous spruce
Standing on the island of Campbell.
It doesn't even provide a beneficial glass of juice.
Life is certainly a gamble.

This was no time to ramble.
We needed to scramble.
The remaining thirty-five members of our group
Started unloading the soup.

I could not focus or concentrate.
Was I really part of Antarctica's fate?
The ancient Greeks were the first to proselytize
Talking about the white continent and its hypothetical rise.

The Polynesians, Tongans and Maori:
Each believed in the legend of a dark place.
They described it as a land that was never flowery.
It might have been seen through a not so distant face.

When not shone on by the sun.
Cold water exploring is no fun.
Dr. David Lewis made the first voyage single-handed.
He believed their legendary voyagers never landed.

Categorically, Lewis even said: 
Maoris caliber of seamen 
Could not have survived every demon
Or have made contact with Antarctica's head.

36

Consequently, Captain James Cook
Was the first to circumnavigate the Antarctic and have a look.
We know that from the ships log or book.
He was not the only explorer to claim discovery of that nook.

William Smith in an attempt to avoid a gale,
Rounding the great Cape Horn,
Sighted land and set sail.
It would be a trophy for his crown to adorn.

Others too claim first sight
Of the huge white 
Looming continent of night,
We will probably never know who was exactly right.

Benjamin Pendleton and Nathaniel Palmer
Claimed their discovery was calmer.
And the sealer Edward Bransfield
Sighted the Antarctic Peninsula chasing a yield.

A Russian, Thaddeus Bellingshausen 
Narrowed the explorers search.
From his dominating perch,
He spotted seals by the thousand.

James Weddell went even farther south.
Seals directed him into the Antarctic mouth.
Could he have been the one
Stepping into the Antarctic sun?

The incredible John Davis
Claimed he was the first man to stand.
May God help save us
From destroying this unapproachable land!

Brother’s Enderby sponsored whaling and sealing
Sending more than a few sailors reeling.
Grim crews, therefore, set forth.
Many failed to return north.

The question of Antarctic discovery may never be settled.
It's a bicycle wheel that will always be peddled.
37

Ultimate disposition will be possession.
That's the Antarctic Treaty confession.

The search for the South Magnetic Pole
Brought others to nature’s unspoiled bowl.
Explorers who would have given their soul
Attaining that glorious goal.

Dumont D'Urville, Charles Wilkes' and James Clark Ross
Made the first national expeditions of scientific scent.
Each of these three expeditions really had the intent
Securing the position of Antarctic boss.

A D'Urville party rowed inland
Proclaiming the land Adelie soil.
Opposite the Vikings in Finland,
They were not there to spoil.

In recognition of his wife,
He made the land French and free.
Only his precarious life
Was simply the sea.

Wilkes' led the largest American Antarctic venture.
His crew was beleaguered and belittled 
They were somewhat target riddled.
Upon completion, he was honored with a court-martial censure.
 
His sightings successfully outlined
Tracing a continental symmetrical wind.
It had previously been hidden in the Antarctic mind.
It was a great and glorious find.

Ross commanded a reinforced British vessel.
It could not only nestle,
But break the formidable ice.
He was slow, methodical, and moved along nice.

Ross claimed the land for his Queen.
Only the Arctic could be better seen.
The Arctic was relatively accessible.
Travel in that region wasn't quite as suppressible.

38

Thus, Antarctica entered a fifty-year lull.
Upcoming expeditions would not be dull. 
The harpoon gun encouraged whaling,
And that invention made Antarctica worth sailing.

C. E. Borchgrevink's camp at Cape Adare
Over winter went relatively fair.
His Antarctic domestic lair
Was quite simply rare.

Borchgrevink pioneered the use of sled and dog.
Unfortunately, he left ninety-two behind to freeze
In the katabatic breeze
Like a dead log.

The Belgians were the first to be stranded.
Frederick Cook, the ships doctor, was candid
In his book: "Through the First Antarctic Night."
He said: They dreamed about first light.

Describing the separation of a fiery cloud,
He stated that emotions ran loud.
Not one person spoke.
Mere words could not describe the sensation as the light broke.

It was a sight to behold.
Months of darkness made it bold.
Without a mere glimpse of the sun,
Gloom had a debilitating run.

Swedish explorers demonstrated their survival instinct.
Stranded on the Antarctic coast, 
They knew their survival was linked
To who could utilize Antarctic resources the most.

For food, penguins and seals
Furnished all their meals.
Skins were used as coats and bedding.
No time was wasted fretting.

Heroic journeys like these
Gave rise to pleas
39

Calculating monumental personal glory.
They offer Antarctica its most compelling story.

Thus, Robert Falcon Scott
Went further south into the interior 
On his first attempt than anyone else had not.
He was supposedly superior?

Roald Amundsen's ambitions were well known.
Planting his flag at the North Pole
Was dominant in his soul.
He never got to chew on that bone.

Deprived of that honor by Robert Peary,
He set off to the south to roam.
Of course, travel in that region was even more hairy.
I would have gone to Nome.

Amundsen was the first to plant his flag,
But it's Ernest Shackleton men need 
When people start to bleed;
Or your expedition hits a snag.

Shackleton may have been foolhardy.
His men, on the other hand, would call him the heroic party.
Endurance, his doomed ship,
Was mired up to the hip.

It was frantically trapped
And tragically slapped
Riding along with the accumulating ice.
They abandoned it in a vice.

Shackleton and his crew
Had nothing else to do
But aimlessly drift.
Heaven gave them a gift.

Managing to survive to landfall,
His men could still crawl.
Would death wait or stall?
Shackleton and five other men tried to save them all.
40

Surviving a two week trek
In a life boat without a deck
Strains this mere mortal’s neck.
I would have been a wreck.

Crossing wild and stormy seas,
Where no man flees,
Leaves me weak in the knees.
It would have given me the heaves.

1,300 kilometers had past:
Landing, they needed to traverse the mountains fast.
Two men were left behind.
Health wise they were in a bind.

Shackleton made a thirty-six hour dash
Making it to a whaling station bash.
You could have threatened me with the lash,
But there never would have been enough cash.

Eventually, they were all rescued.
Nothing is distorted or skewed.
It was a heroic crash.
Albeit, a bit brash;

Douglas Mawson survived a harrowing ordeal.
His experience also has that survival feel.
One of his companions disappeared down a crevasse
Traveling in a remote and previously unexplored pass.

Lost and presumed dead,
The companion had fallen with the food sled.
Forced to eat their remaining dogs,
Mawson and his remaining companion ate like hogs.

Their entree was Husky.
The livers of which are poison to the average man.
I wonder if it smelled musky?
Today, it would receive a Food and Drug Administration ban.

Mawson dragged himself and slid.
His other companion died and hid.

41

140 kilometers to camp,
How did he survive the cold and damp?

Antarctica's scientific value was explored next.
Glory expeditions had become perplexed.
Their use had plainly been hexed.
No more muscles were flexed.

Hubert Wilkins made the first non-balloon
Transantarctic unscheduled flight.
Richard E. Byrd surpassed his fete soon
Giving it scheduling might.

Women also made their mark.
Edith Ronne and Jennie Darlington should have a park
Named in their honor for surviving the dark.
The white continent is no lark.

In the Antarctic a piece of bark
Is something to reflect back on and hark?
It's a devilish environment quite stark.
Can Water Dome preserve its spark?

We came in on a Herc.
The first thing you feel is the merc.
This was no time to lurk.
We came here to work.

   

42

	Chapter VIII

My mind, almost immediately, wandered back.
In my hand came an urgent message stack.
"South Africa and Australia at the Brink of War!
Diplomacy will not hold them back much more."

The Australian Antarctic feign
Dates exclusively to 1933,
They formally accepted Britain's territorial reign.
That was their parliamentary decree.

Rigid in its Antarctic stance,
They have never compromised a claimant’s territorial chance.
Antarctica represents the Australian underbelly.
To them, it's the peanut butter to their jelly.

The rights to Antarctic mining
Is another reason for their whining?
Predominantly from 1950, 
Australian mining schemes have been nifty.

The Australian Antarctic Office foresaw
Instances for mining Antarctica's wilderness raw,
They have never forgotten the Alaska case.
Antarctica might be filled with rare and unique lace.

Alaska was purchased for $7,000,000 from the Russians.
Antarctica would not fall into that instruments percussions.
The Alaska purchase was widely thought to be a waste.
Look now at its international taste.

Antarctic resources have vast potential.
South Africa and Australia have the geological credential.
Each has similar terrain.
Both have much to gain.

Most of Australia is dry.
Only its latitude makes things fry.
The South African bushveld complex
And the transantarctic metallogenic province once had sex.

43
	
Both rival each other’s size.
Their marriage was prudently wise.
After the divorce, geological speaking,
They’re both worth a peeking.

Australia had the foresight,
Perhaps not the might,
To develop a grandiose mining plan;
It, however, never ran.

Men and equipment did not start carving 
Complete mining towns in the rock.
Airlifting supplies would have kept them from starving.
All they needed was a plane and its accompanying windsock.

Independently, another prudent nation 
Also developed plans for an Antarctic dock.
The Russians implemented an Antarctic lock
Completing their seventh permanent station.

For years, the Russian's didn't wince. 
Their stations were a bit dense.
They appeared to be constructing an imaginary fence.
In light of the treaty, it didn't make sense.

Simplistic in its effect,
The Russian strategy was to form a circle around.
Thus, cutting off each incoming hound.
Australia and South Africa believed that not to be correct.

Each maintained a hatch.
Politically, they were holding on to a catch.
They each made a grand gesture of possession.
It was an obvious confession.

All Australian Antarctic bases; 
At Mawson, Davis, and Casey;
Were awash in new faces.
Those reports made things look bleak and racy.

The South African Antarctic presence goes deep.
Foreign policy objectives have as yet not gained a reap.

44

Snowdrifts congregate and heap
Making all of South Africa weep.

Ice crystals or diamond dust
Assemble on everything like rust.
It moves with each and every gust.
It has no choice: It must!

Compacting at a rate of 0.3 meters a year,
The wind sets its only course to steer.
Past precipitation is ferried.
South African stations have been buried.

Not once or twice,
But amazingly thrice, 
Covering buildings with the blowing snow.
It's how Antarctic blizzards grow.

It formed this plateau:
Piling it three kilometers high.
Antarctica is a formidable foe
For which competitors must vie.

Current precipitation is difficult to measure.
It never comes down at leisure.
No one digs out of that treasure.
Antarctic living is not a pleasure.

SANAE I, II, and III were lost in the ice.
They were trapped in a vice.
South Africa kept rebuilding.
Their determination never stopped wielding.

Given the weather, SANAE IV
Is their present operational core?
Reports indicate that personnel deployment is rapid.
Hopefully, Water Dome can zap it.

Antarctica's Queen Maud Land
Is where they make their stand?
Australia and South Africa hold the upper hand.
It's our job to stop the band.

45

On the Sub Antarctic islands of Marion and Macquarie,
Military buildup is getting scary.
South Africa and Australia, respectively,
Hold the key connectively.

Can Project: Water Dome
Save the frozen waters home?
It isn't the perfect scenario.
Maybe, it can reduce the volume on the stereo.

Benjamin is our projects colonel.
He directs manpower, equipment and keeps a detailed journal.
When necessary, I give my opinion.
Otherwise, I'm one of the minion.

Actually, I like things that way.
It frees my mind from the detail of clutter
Allowing freedom of thought during my day
Giving me time to spread some margarine or butter.

Our uneventful Antarctic arrival
Happened to be hours shy of New Years Eve.
Roger and I were each other’s rival.
Both of us were tugging on Christine's sleeve.

She liked the attention.
She was a woman who hated to see men leave.
Even as honorable mention,
Every time my eyes left her, I started to grieve.

She was absolutely my ideal.
The kind of woman most men want to feel.
Brunette, kind, innocent, and sweet
Lying next to her would have been a treat.

My guess, we both needed a crutch.
She was strong willed and from such
Pioneering devout womanly inspirational stock.
In her presence, men mask all odors or they balk.

The three of us commandeered a room for our operation.
Our cover story: Conservation.

46

Displaced were visiting scientists, the Dutch.
Benjamin already had the support staff building our hutch.

Before we got on that plane in America and left,
We didn't have much time.
Testing gave us the taste aftermath of a lime.      
It was a major theft.

We were all a little bereft.
Our testing procedure needed more heft.
No one dared utter the word can't.
Unfortunately, we would be gasping for air in a pant.

Around the corner came dark,
That’s when Antarctica would bite and bark.
All we could do was pray
That the South African and De Beer efforts didn't pay.

From then to October,
You don't want to stay sober.
The worst weather in the world,
If you’re out in it expect to be hurled.

The fluid katabatic wind
Will hardly ever end.
Help, no one can send.
People and equipment bend.

Tremendous great cyclonic storms
Circle the continent and forms
Packaging a line of perennial procession that never ceases.
Visitors better hold onto their clothing pieces.

These storms have a feast.
In Antarctica, they're simply known as the beast.
To a novice, they rise like yeast.
You would give anything to be back in the east.

The everlasting blast of the katabatic 
Is almost never erratic.
It constantly throws many blows 
And knocks the flows all the way down to your toes.

47

Its main and primary course 
Is directly to the coast.
The katabatic and coastal breeze meet with a force.
It has been described as the most.

Rolling down from the ice slope,
The katabatic takes away all hope.
Clocked exceeding 200 kilometers per hour,
The katabatic has power.

This winter is no wonderland, 
And it's more than most men or women can stand.
The katabatic does not remain calm.
Be prepared to recite every psalm.

If you don’t read a passage from the bible,
You’re just absolutely liable
Increasing your chances of going extremely mad.
Natures fury is that bad.

Consider Mawson's Adelie Land camp.
Wind was measured by coal oil lamp.
Their winter velocity reading
Was merely a welcome greeting.

Yet, sixty-four per cent of their stay;
The wind sustained and blew
Averaging sixty-four kilometers twenty-four hours a day.
Include the blowing snow and meet nature’s stew.

One must depend on your crew
To make it through;
Realistically, even then,
You’re going to lose some men.

Don't forget the cold.
It makes the body fold.
Antarctica has rolled
The coldest temperature ever told.

Negative one hundred twenty-seven degrees Fahrenheit,
That has got to bite.

48

To survive, one must fight
Using every ounce of might.

Without the proper gear,
You don't make it to next year.
Friends may shed a tear,
But yours will never veer.

Tear ducts mostly freeze 
Curtailing in the katabatic breeze.
Your nostrils, eyes, and mouth:
Make one wish they had never gone south.

Predominantly, you become
Increasingly more numb:
Right down to the core.
And you can't take it any more.

Death is at your door.
You’re crawling across the kitchen floor.
You’re pathologically delirious!
Things are getting serious.

You’re out there all alone,
And your mind has gone home.
You can't even hear a moan.
Sound bubbles like foam.
 
Do you have what it takes
To inch your way across frozen lakes?
It's too late to learn.
Information is too difficult to discern.

Antarctica is also one of the driest places on Earth.
Only the hardiest of life gives birth.
There's no cleansing sauna
Sweating the land fauna. 

These tiny creatures live mostly under rocks.
They have evolved and adapted
And don't need a warm pair of socks.
Science has mapped it.

49

Mites, Springtails, Lice, and Midges
Cling to the ridges.
500 species of Lichens, seventy different Mosses:
Fight nature and recoup their losses.

The largest indigenous Antarctic animal on land
Can barely even stand.
It's a flightless Midge: Three millimeters in length.
Where does it get survival strength?

Nature’s percentage of overpowering
Has prevented all but two plants from flowering.
They’re located on the Antarctic Peninsulas northern tip.
They have rebuked the weathers cold nip.

Antarctic life forever teams 
Congregating in the vast deepness of the sea.
Living underwater makes it easier to be.
Sea life progressively streams.

Consider, air versus ocean?
Science says the former,
It’s the one having the warmer
And most life giving motion;

Seals and Penguins abound.
They are playfully around.
The most fascinating Penguins are the male Emperors.
Don't classify them as whimperers.

They huddle together for three months caring for their eggs.
Tucked completely beneath their body and legs.
Waiting patiently in the cold.
How did they get to be so bold?

It must be a winter ordeal.
How cold they must feel?
Why, even a Weddell Seal
Doesn’t have a breath to steal.

Their dive is much deeper, 
And their angle is steeper.

50

It's like swimming through space,
And they do it with grace.

Slipping through the ice,
They’re abundant as mice.
Feeding on squid and fish,
What is their wish?

Sea birds flock every spring,
One hundred million or more, breeding is king. 
Snow Petrels travel and migrate
Long distances to hydrate.

Blue, Fin, Sei, Menke and Baleen whales:
Feed mostly on krill.
They set their sails
Bellying up to the Antarctic grill.

Ice makes perfect platforms, 
And they are the nurseries of Antarctic life.
It's the co-ed dorms
Where most meet their wife,

Ice drips and floes 
Moving at an evolutionary pace.
It's more like a race
That continually fades and grows.

The outward movement of ice begins at the pole
And slides down the knoll.
Every summer, each berg, 
Five thousand will submerge.

Nine tenths of the ice is below water level.
What cannot be seen is the devil.
They're oceanographic skyscrapers
Emitting plenty of vapors.

There invisible underwater bulk
Is of a massive hulk.
Larger bergs drag the sea floor.
Seemingly, trying to open a door.
51

When bergs start clustering,
They look oddly like some form of mustering.
Some bergs are crystal clear.
Others look more like the head on a beer.

A one hundred thousand year old oxygen bubble
Has been trapped in the rubble.
Formidably, snow forms glaciers.
They are geologic erasures.

Wind and ice sculpt mountains to their design.
Nature is surprisingly fine.
It's a thirty million cubic kilometer mine
And a million ton ice cube factory vine.

Ice floes constantly tumble,
And dramatically give voice to a rumble,
They fall four thousand feet in less than a mile.
Tourists simply shake their head and smile.

Much of the Antarctic landmass has sunken.
The sheer amount of weight is the culprit for dunkin'.
As the ice sheets melt, isostasy
Makes the land mass rise rather sassy.

Will the oceans continue to fill?
What is the prognosis for species with a gill?
Is it all kill?
Not so say the krill.

Only twenty per cent of that population is taken.
It is Earth's most productive marine feeding ground.
Can we keep it sound? 
Does it constantly need to be stirred or shaken?

Obviously, it is nutrient rich.
Man will be the only hitch.
Life in Antarctica has a niche.
It is up to our team to keep out oil, tar, and pitch.

Our first experimental task
Was to provide a mask

52

For McMurdo's Observation Hill.
It was the team’s unanimous will.

It's a volcanic creation.
It sits along side
Overseeing the accumulation at McMurdo Station.
That made it easier to ride.

We called it our first pill.
Would it be a good patient and heal,
Or would the effect be nil?
We were about to find out for real.

Six graviton emitters were placed
And carefully constructively encased
Enclosing the perimeter of this 240-meter cinder cone.
Once connected, we had a tone.

Something, however, went wrong.
It didn't play the right song.
A technician named Harper
Made the signal sharper.

He trekked to the top
Placing an emitter and the experiment didn't flop.
Roger, Christine, and myself began this jubilant hop.
Benjamin was as controlled as a cop.

We were the children,
And he was the pop.
All we needed was a mother hen
Wielding her broom and mop.

After a few minutes, we knew
Shielding could presumably accrue.
Our jubilant jamboree grew
Multiplying by a factor of two.

It was a catastrophic shame
This technology wasn't available before Nukey Poo.
Over 11,000 cubic meters of earth would have been left true
And out of the relocation game.

53

During the 1960s and 1970s, our beloved state,
Which a lot of people seem to hate,
Operated the McMurdo Station nuclear power plant.
We never listened to any other governments slant.

Placed halfway atop Observation Hill point.
Some people felt that we were going to eradicate the joint.
Nature had, after all,
Built Ross Island by volcanic fall.

And Mount Erebus is 3794 meters tall.
Was it prudent to bring in a radioactive ball?
Wouldn't radioactive seepage 
Result in soil contaminant sweepage?

Nukey Poo's shutdown and removal,
Met with everyone's approval.
It took six summer seasons to dismantle.
Was it worth the scandal?

Shipped to the United States
Passing through New Zealand.
All the drums, crates,
And buildings had to be covered with sand.

Consequently, not until 1979
Was the site released for unrestricted use 
Removing the radioactive sign.
What an Antarctic abuse!

Perhaps, that is why we are now out in front.
At jokes, we will no longer be the brunt.
Our country leading the pack
Makes bearable lunch in a sack.

We shielded Observation Hill for an hour.
Then we somehow lost power.
It was a dumb mistake.
We were picking up leaves without a rake.

I should have been nailed.
It was my fault the shielding failed.

54

The problem should have been foreseen.
Why wasn't I more diligent and keen?

We were going to need a reactor.
It wasn't a positive factor.
Traditional electrical sources
Would only bring more people and horses.

My unconventional thinking
Had always kept me from sinking.
It was time for some natural kindness.
The answer laid in snow blindness.

Energy from the sun
Does tend to bounce back
Allowing shielding to run
Directing it to some form of track.

During the long winter night,
Without the prognosis of light,
We would concentrate our might
On one extremely dominant site.

A space based solar array.
I argued the government should pay.
How could we stomach another day
Of shipping contaminated soil away?

During the meanwhile, 
Our team began to simulate a smile.
We had a bit of style,
But we had a lot of guile.

The Observation Hill connector
Was a jerry built solar reflector?
Benjamin immediately suggested
Replacing it with one to be requested.

He ordered enough for the entire sector
And understood that pathogenic vector.
As the projects overall director,
I proclaimed it a life saving nectar.

55

Shielding on the microscopic
Might have been easier in the tropic.
The cold was our main topic.
To it, we had become somewhat gothic.

As yet, no one had really gone out in the field.
We did have a working shield.
The projects fate had been sealed,
And we weren't capsized or keeled.

South Africa and Australia had not started shooting.
On that, we were rooting.  
They were doing a lot of hooting,
Feuding, and tooting;

Our team hurriedly received official observer status.
Hopefully, no one would rat us.
It gave us access to the site of the mine.
Our equipment was delicate, but it handled fine.

Ski Doos or snow mobiles 
Are useful in the short haul.
They are faster than a walk or a crawl.
Even if they don't have wheels,

Our snow mobile convoy
Was best for a short deploy.
It's air power, however, that will maintain 
The essential Antarctic train,

Without air travel Antarctic science might leave.
Government stations would sit forever and grieve.
Eventually, everything returns to the sea
Flowing downward in a howling windward lee.

Ice breakers and freighters
Carry some of the skaters.
In the name of research and supply,
It's all part of their lie.

On the other hand, polar air transport
Hauls a tremendous amount of the load.

56

Antarctic air jockeys are a special sort,
They don’t need a lot of road.

Moving people and equipment from base to fort
Is more work than a kangaroo court.
For every intermediate trip,
You better get a good grip.

An Antarctic helicopter ride
Is a treacherously entertaining slide.
Antarctica is so vast and wide.
Getting lost means there's lots of room to hide.

Our team’s first destination:
Siple, United States Research Station,
It was in fairly close proximity to the site.
All of our crew traveled light.

The weather stayed good.
We saw the top of every hood.
To make an appropriate crack,
In Antarctica, the nunataks stack.

Antarctica's entire range of mountain tips
Poke their heads above ice-covered lips.
They are more beautiful than a beauty queens hips,
And they are carved when the wind whips.

Hopping over a glacier
Using only your shadow as a chaser
Is more than a little strange.
Considering, the time and effort expended exploring the range.

Our pilot, Charley (Bean Stalk) Mackleton
Pointed out Ferrar, Beardmore and Shackleton.
Passing Mount McClintock and approaching Markham;
Roger, an amateur geologist convinced Charley to park um.

We took some photos
And acted like Dodo's.
Then we were off.
No one had gotten so much as a cough.

57

How utterly exciting!
We were in nature’s doghouse,
And there was no biting.
Not even a wicked element to douse.

Seeing Shackleton Inlet was fun.
He had been a hero of mine since the age of one.
Believe it or not,
I was an early learning tot.

My mind was never filled with rot.
At that age, I wasn't a drunken sot.
My parents slept on cots
Making sure I'd get beyond connect the dots.

Since we were already tourists,
And no one on board was a jurist.
Our direction was clear,
Three of us ordered a southerly steer.

It was a slight albeit pronounced detour
Crossing over to the Amundsen-Scott station at the pole;
There was definitely allure,
But I never would have made it my goal.

In a continual shift,
The moving ice pack
Makes the station drift.
I'd never find my way back.

Sailors may have a knack 
Learning how to tack.
It must be something ingrained.
Either you have that talent, or you can be trained.

At the pole, a mirror globe 
Allows visitors to capture 
Imaging of their frost bitten lobe.
It's an amazing moment of rapture.

Looking at that film,
I wonder what it must be like to live in a kiln?
58

When every breath stings the lung,
It's hard to stay young.

At Siple, we waited.
Things got sort of jaded.
The next morning was fraught.
All because tension was brought,

Our equipment arrived late and dated.
Although, it had been carefully crated.
In Antarctica, mechanical things aren't always elated.
You cannot depend on the cheese always being grated.

Snow mobiling to the Ellsworth mountain range,
Christine wondered out loud:
"Hell is beautifully strange."
Roger simply and elegantly bowed.

She had given up a lot
Being part of this political plot.
Children were in her thought.
Hopefully, no one would get caught.

I had asked one of them to stay behind.
It hadn't entered their mind.
Neither one of them volunteered;
To me, they were both a little weird.

Our primary mission or task 
Was a quick survey in a general sort of way.
At least, then we would have a position for the cask
Which held the emitters in play.

No one should have suspect,
We were there to protect.
We looked like a group of young physicians
Striking a pose familiar to rock and roll musicians.  

The South African site
Was quite fairly large.
Luckily, there was no need for a barge.
As yet, it was not a toxic blight.

59

I had been briefed,
But I wasn't prepared for the cold or the height.
My body was wreathed,
And my head was light.

It was difficult to concentrate.
I couldn’t focus on the task at hand.
I walked slung over straight
To a South African and said: "You must disband."

After a short altercation, he shoved me aside.
Going into an enclosure, I cried.
No tears froze to my face.
I'm glad there was not a trace.

Mining does produce spoil.
The release of large amounts of dust
Allows snow to boil.
Antarctica could become the color of rust.

The way the katabatic and coastal breeze gust,
Why hadn't some South African started to cuss
Or stirred up a fuss?
An international court should have declared a bust.

Dirty snow is a faster melt.
It occurs in every Snow Belt.
Antarctica could one day become
A waste filled drum.

The mountains of tailing
And waste does heap.
Eventually, they will seep.
The only solution: Contaminant jailing.

Pollution had not yet occurred.
So far, we were as free as a bird.
All I had was my word.
Water Dome would contain this herd.

My distraction allowed the others to perform.
They are good workers, and that is their norm.

60

Our reconnaissance being done,
We waited for the disappearance of the sun.

My first glimpse of night
Would be an incredible delight.
All one could do was wait
For the sun to close that gate,

Returning to McMurdo went part of the team.
Benjamin stayed behind to empower the dream.
There would be a few upcoming days without stress.
Roger and Christine missed their first and second mess.

The wonder of marital duties,
Christine could have posed for the nudies.
They finally came up for air.
I gave them a wandering stare.

Good weather was still forecast.
No one knew how long it would last.
Roger and Christine went to New Zealand's station Scott.
He heard Lake Vanda was hot.

I followed like a fool.
Lake Vanda was one cold pool.
We all joined the polar bear club.
Each of us having a dip and a rub,

Within seconds your extremities go numb.
Polar bearing is, in a word, dumb.
"Exhilarating," is what Roger said.
He's not the kind of man who always keeps his head.

Admittedly, I occasionally go off half-cocked.
Roger's into the extreme sport, 
And his is never locked.
No one will ever make him abort.

Part of his will
Is seeking a thrill.
Christine says it’s part of his charm.
I call it an alarm.

61

It's her job to worry about injury.
Even in this progressive climate so wintry.
Next came skiing at the edge of the Windless Bight,
My rage was hot white.

It was filled with to damn much danger.
The setting wasn't of a manger.
My words fell on deaf ears.
They left with my fears.

It is the strangest thing
Watching a woman follow her king.
Her unjustified and endless emotion 
Was filled with complete devotion.

I told them not to go.
It's a forbidden place, they know.
Roger would not listen.
His eyes did glisten.

An avid skier from his days as a boy,
It was as if he found a new toy.
A chance at the most southerly and exclusive ski field;
For that, he refused to yield.

I told him to act like a man,
And stop this insanity while you still can. 
He nodded and grinned.
They left in a huge gust of wind.

United States personnel were not authorized on the slopes.
Safety concerns kept all away except the dopes.
They went without me.
I wasn't that carefree.

On many of his previous stunts,
I mentioned his offspring.
On more than one occasion, I called him a dunce.
His only response: "When I'm gone you can have your fling."

Christine followed wherever he went.
No matter the cost or rent.

62

I asked her not to give a single cent,
But she often bought the tent.

Love is indeed blind.
And I should know.
I'm definitely that kind
Of love struck beau.

I would have followed Christine almost anywhere
Succumbing to a bet or a dare.
It wasn't the look of her long dark hair.
I truly and most genuinely care.

When she was around him,
My love light grew dim.
It made me awfully grim
Seeing her fawn over every limb.

A short time went by,
The weather abruptly shifted.
I said: "Oh no! Why!"
Immediately, my hair lifted.

It began to itch.
I began throwing things in a wild feverish pitch.
I had a get along in my hitch.
At my behavior, people began to bitch.

There was nothing to be done.
In Antarctica, there is no 911.
Emergency rescue is not my forte.
Antarctic winters only allow you to pray.

I developed a nervous laugh.
They were my family and most beloved staff.             
It was a huge obscene gaff.
I pictured them groping for survival on an iceberg calf.

No word for days left me cranky.
I never shed a tear.
There was no need for a hanky.
My only wish was that they had taken more survival gear.

63

No one in the entire camp
Licked a single New Zealand stamp.
Christine may have acted like an unscrupulous vamp,
But I hated to see her get a common cramp.

Finally, word rang out:
"Unknown number of survivors spotted!"
I couldn't believe my doubt.
I thought they had both bought it.

Something was helped through the door.
It was almost unrecognizable.
Were people down sizable?
I couldn't take any more. 

"Christine," I unashamedly blurted.
The connection made was not flirted.
My tree had been felled.
I wanted to rage, but emotionally I held.

He looked worse than a ghost. 
One quarter alive at most.
Roger had crawled back to the post
In a heroic effort not to become toast.

Whatever happened to Christine? 
She has never again been seen.
God, aren't you mean!
I met and loved her before she became a teen.

Roger lost one finger and two toes.
With the hypothermia and frostbite, he should have been killed. 
By now everyone knows!
He's remarkably and stubbornly willed.

Christine didn't have the necessary skill.
She couldn't breathe snow through a gill.
Her survival instincts were comparably nil.
Roger should have taken her place on that hill.

64

The weather began to improve.
The rest of our team managed a groove.
Water Dome began to run smooth.
Its effect on me was to soothe.

I was still in a great deal of pain.
Life had brought a hard rain.
Their forever would be a stain
Circling on my heart and brain.

Night birds had come a calling.
I was doing some major balling,
But South Africa was in no mood for stalling.
We needed to do some Antarctic hauling.
    
Despite his devastating experience with a blizzard white out,
Roger refused to sit and pout.
He was the first out the door
On our way to save Antarctica's core,

I took that as a sign.
His love for Christine wasn't as great as mine.
How could he be fine?
He didn't even pine.

To Siple, we returned.
I don't remember the journey.
My mind forever yearned
Resting on a gurney.

At Roger, I began to scream.
He's the one that should have been left for ice cream.
She was an indescribable dream.
How dare he still be part of the team?

I wanted to deploy
A working Project: Water Dome
And get the hell home.
Antarctica had taken my one true love and my joy.

We missed our global positioning satellite mark
Trying to find Ellsworth in the dark.
65

At Roger, I began to bark
Referring to him as an undercover narc.

He was at the head of the train.
That idiot did not have a brain.
I was the only one breaking the code of silence.
It was a hint to the upcoming violence.

My anger was not a lark.
When he pulled over to park.
I charged that idiot in a rush.
My emotions were flush.

It wasn't much of a battle.
I haltered and saddled
That no good piece of cattle,
He must have already been rattled.

It lasted only a few seconds at most.
Victory, I don't boast.
I had been his friend, employer, and host;
But to me he had become a piece of burnt roast.

He must have already felt sad.
Losing his wife made him feel bad.
In the dark, he turned to leave.
With my anger, I never felt him grieve.

He just walked away,
From my furious fray,
Out into the unknown.
Another life thrown,

I regret not trying to follow.
At the time, love had become hollow.
My dreams every night
Return to that site. 

I hear his voice,
And I contemplate that choice.
No one can comprehend
My soulless wind,

66

Losing two good friends
Is not something that easily mends.
My life has been forsaken,
And it has forever been downwardly shaken.

My heart has an open break.
It will never wake. 
Antarctica please come and take
Ending the life of this dissolute and dastardly rake.

67

	Chapter IX

Benjamin got us headed in the right direction.
We made a three-degree course correction.
He wasn't as emotionally involved.
His thought process resolved.

Intelligence suggested the presence of a guard.
Russians gave logistical support and supply from their yard.
Druzhnaya was an important Russian summer base.
We were hoping the onset of winter weakened their pace.

Once we got to the landing,
We looked for people and saw no face.
The mine had been left in a non-operational standing.
We had won the race.

In all likelihood, the mine would be abandoned until November.
When the weather was more limber.
Our teams vision and cunning 
Moved faster than their running.

There would be no Antarctic toxic rain.
It was something we could manage to sustain.
Months of aggravation and pain
Were still ahead before gain.

It was a large field
With much to cover,
Our first experimental shield 
Would have to be its lover.

Convoys of equipment and supply
Were scheduled once a week.
On that we couldn't always rely.
Deteriorating weather reduced its peak.

We worked as fast as possible in the frigid cold.
Tools were hard to hold.
Under that kind of pressure people sometimes fold.
An environmental treasure is more valuable than gold.

68

Our moveable work shelter
Helped protect us from some of the winter pelter,
But when the cold is boned.
It gets difficult for a skill to be honed.

Aligning each graviton emitter module
Took hours to recalibrate.
It was akin to working on a precious jewel
Which had no mate.

Hundreds of them were inserted
Drilling through the ice to the frozen soil.
More than enough, so that trouble would be averted.
Man, did we toil!

Drilling down that deep
Would hold every ounce of seep.
We would often jump or leap
In order to hear our hearts beep,

The job was really noisy.
This wasn't downtown Boise.
Not one person dozed
Working totally enclosed.

We built in a margin of protection.
The failure rate was estimated at a good selection.
For me, the whole process had a calming effect.
It took my mind off of other things that collect.

All the nunataks in the range
Were climbed in a manner strained.
It was almost strange 
That no one complained.

That was a winter insane.
Enduring hardship makes the soul wane
Longing for the comfort of your own street or lane.
Personally, afterward, I needed a cane.

Remodulating each power converter
Was something like murder?

69

It left one in a daze.
Thank God, it was the last and final phase.

Monitoring would be done by remote.
Siple was our boat.
It was our alligator in the moat,
And it was the last ballot of a vote.   

Lost to the weather
Were Manuel and Heather?
A tether joined them.
And it wasn't made from leather or a limb.

One of them must have tumbled
Pulling the other one down.   
In Antarctica, people can be crumbled.
It can happen in the breath of a noun.

Each knew the risk,
And both volunteered to deploy the final solar disk.
The wind and cold was tumultuously brisk.
They were taken away in a whisk.

The engine, we fire,
Pulls the vegetable cart.
Exactly, one-week prior
To summers unstoppable start.

Our shielding wasn't weak.
She was wonderfully sleek,
And she did not leak
Or make so much as a creak.

We had completed testing.  
The government paid for investing.
Shielding technology was at its crest.
My heart was pounding deep in my chest.

In essence, shielding formed a bubble
Keeping the mine out of trouble.
Our salaries were more than double.
I felt tall enough to reach space telescope Hubble.
70

I was extremely proud.
My head was in a cloud.
Then I became humble.
After all, we did stumble.

The lives we lost?
It was a terrible cost.
Christine, Roger, Manuel, Heather: The names of the four. 
It could have been more.

Antarctica can freely give,
Or it can masterfully take.
People can will themselves to live,
Or they can cold bake.

Requesting a replacement technician 
Began the projects monitoring job.
He would watch for a spark or trouble with the ignition.
It was his honor to handle the knob.

Returning to the United States without my voice,
Roger and Christine's two children: Frank and Joyce
Needed a permanent home.
Never again would I roam.

Benjamin stayed on active duty
Becoming a three star general.
They can be quite snooty,
But he was more mineral.

I made a complete killing
Selling Rotine Shielding to everyone willing.
It was not fulfilling.
I couldn't handle the paper work or the billing.

As the two children got older,
My nightmares of Antarctica got bolder.
My thoughts of Christine were to hold her.
Rotine Shielding, I sold her.

Joyce and Frank bought the company for a dollar.
Frank loved wearing a tie and a collar.

71

They were old enough to know.
Where I had to go.

My last Antarctic walk
Would be a cold one.
Christine, Roger, and I needed to talk
Reliving our days of fun.

Would Roger and I still compete over who gets to call her Hon?
Antarctica's will be done.
Notoriously, she may groan
In a wintry moan;

But that frozen cone
Will always shone.
"Once you have been to the white [continent previously] unknown.”1
Your life is on loan.

 

1. Graham Collier and Patricia Graham Collier. Antarctic
Odyssey: In The Footsteps of The South Polar Explorers
(New York: Carroll and Graf, 1999), 1982.

72 

	Appendix I

	The Antarctic Treaty

The Governments of Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, 

The French Republic, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the Union 

Of South Africa, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, 

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 

and the United States of America,

	Recognizing that it is in the interest of all mankind

that Antarctica shall continue forever to be used 

exclusively for peaceful purposes and shall not become the 

scene or object of international discord;

	Acknowledging the substantial contributions to 

scientific knowledge resulting from international co-

operation in scientific investigation in Antarctica;

	Convinced that the establishment of a firm foundation 

for the continuation and development of such co-operation 

on the basis of freedom of scientific investigation in 

Antarctica as applied during the International Geophysical 

Year accords with the interests of science and the progress 

of all mankind;

73

	Convinced also that a treaty ensuring the use of 

Antarctica for peaceful purposes only and the continuance 

of international harmony in Antarctica will further the 

purposes and principles embodied in the Charter of the 

United Nations;

	Have agreed as follows:

	Article I
	
	1. Antarctica shall be used for peaceful purposes 

only. There shall be prohibited, inter alia, any measure of 

a military nature, such as the establishment of military 

bases and fortifications, the carrying out of military 

manoeuvres, as well as the testing of any type of weapon.

	2. The present treaty shall not prevent the use of

military personnel or equipment for scientific research or

for any other peaceful purpose.

	Article II

	Freedom of scientific investigation in Antarctica and

co-operation toward that end, as applied during the 

International Geophysical Year, shall continue, subject to

the provisions of the present treaty.

74

	Article III

	1. In order to promote international co-operation in

scientific investigation in Antarctica, as provided for in

Article II of the present treaty, the Contracting Parties 

agree that, to the greatest extent feasible and

practicable:

	   (a) information regarding plans for scientific 

            programs in Antarctica shall be exchanged to 

           permit maximum economy of and efficiency of

           operations;

       (b) scientific personnel shall be exchanged in 

           Antarctica between expeditions and stations;

       (c) scientific observations and results from 

            Antarctica shall be exchanged and made freely

            available.

     2. In implementing this Article, every encouragement 

shall be given to the establishment of co-operative 

working relations with those Specialized Agencies of the 

United Nations and other international organizations 

having a scientific or technical interest in Antarctica.

	Article IV

	1. Nothing contained in the present treaty shall be 

interpreted as:			  
75

        (a) a renunciation by any Contracting Party of

            previously asserted rights of or claims to

            territorial sovereignty in Antarctica;

        (b) a renunciation or diminution by any Contracting

            Party of any basis of claim to territorial 

            sovereignty in Antarctica which it may have 

            whether as a result of its activities or those 

            of its nationals in Antarctica, or otherwise;

        (c) prejudicing the position of any Contracting 

            Party as regards its recognition or 

            non-recognition of any other State's rights of

            or claim or basis of claim to territorial

            sovereignty in Antarctica.

	2. No acts or activities taking place while the 

present treaty is in force shall constitute a basis for 

asserting, supporting or denying a claim to territorial 

sovereignty in Antarctica or create any rights of 

sovereignty in Antarctica.

No new claim, or enlargement of an existing claim, to 

territorial sovereignty in Antarctica shall be asserted 

while the present treaty is in force.

76

	Article V

	1. Any nuclear explosions in Antarctica and 

the disposal there of radioactive waste material shall be 

prohibited.

	2. In the event of the conclusion of international 

agreements concerning the use of nuclear energy, including

nuclear explosions and the disposal of radioactive waste

material, to which all the Contracting Parties whose 

representatives are entitled to participate in the 

meetings provided for under Article IX are parties, the 

rules established under such agreements shall apply in

Antarctica.

	Article VI

	The provisions of the present treaty shall apply

to the area south of 60  South Latitude, including all

ice shelves, but nothing in the present treaty shall

prejudice or in any way affect the rights, or the 

exercise of the rights, of any State under international

law with regard to the high seas within that area.

	Article VII

	1. In order to promote the objectives and ensure the

observance of the provisions of the present treaty, each 

77

Contracting Party whose representatives are entitled to

participate in the meetings referred to in Article IX of 

the treaty shall have the right to designate observers to

carry out any inspection provided for by the present 

Article. Observers shall be nationals of the Contracting

Parties which designate them. The names of observers shall

be communicated to every other Contracting Party having the

right to designate observers, and like notice shall be

given of the termination of their appointment.

	2. Each observer designated in accordance with the

provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall have

complete freedom of access at any time to any or all areas

of Antarctica.

	3. All areas of Antarctica, including all stations, 

installations and equipment within those areas, and all 

ships and aircraft at points of discharging or embarking

cargoes or personnel in Antarctica, shall be open at all 

times to inspection by any observers designated in 

accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article.

78

	4. Aerial observation may be carried out at any time

over any or all areas of Antarctica by any of the 

Contracting Parties having the right to designate

observers.

	5. Each Contracting Party shall, at the time when the

present treaty enters into force for it, inform the other

Contracting Parties, and thereafter shall give them notice

in advance, of

        (a) all expeditions to and within Antarctica, on 

            the part of its ships or nationals, and all 

            expeditions to Antarctica organized in or 

            proceeding from its territory.

        (b) all stations in Antarctica occupied by its 

            nationals; and

        (c) any military personnel or equipment intended to 

            be introduced by it into Antarctica subject to 

            the conditions prescribed in paragraph 2 of 

            Article I of the present treaty. 

	Article VIII

	1. In order to facilitate the exercise of their 

functions under the present treaty, and without prejudice 

to the respective positions of the Contracting Parties 

79

relating to jurisdiction over all other persons in 

Antarctica, observers designated under paragraph 1 of 

Article VII and scientific personnel exchanged under sub-

paragraph 1(b) of Article III of the treaty, and members of 

the staff accompanying any such persons, shall be subject 

only to the jurisdiction of the Contracting Party of which 

they are nationals in respect of all acts or omissions 

occurring while they are in Antarctica for the purpose of 

exercising their function.

	2. Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 1

of this Article, and pending the adoption of measures in

pursuance of sub-paragraph 1(e) of Article IX, the 

Contracting Parties concerned in any case of dispute with

regard to the exercise of jurisdiction in Antarctica shall

immediately consult together with a view to reaching a

mutually acceptable solution.

	Article IX

	1. Representatives of the Contracting Parties named in 

the preamble to the present treaty shall meet at the City 

of Canberra within two months after the date of entry into 

force of the treaty, and thereafter at suitable intervals

80

and places, for the purpose of exchanging information,

consulting together on matters of common interest 

pertaining to Antarctica, and formulating and considering, 

and recommending to their Governments, measures in 

furtherance of the principles and objectives of the treaty, 

including measures regarding:

	   (a) use of Antarctica for peaceful purposes only;

	   (b) facilitation of scientific research in 

	       Antarctica;

	   (c) facilitation of international scientific

	       co-operation in Antarctica;

	   (d) facilitation of the exercise of the rights of

	       inspection provided for in Article VII of the 

	       treaty,

	   (e) question relating to the exercise of 

jurisdiction in Antarctica;

	   (f) preservation and conservation of living 

resources in Antarctica.

	2. Each Contracting Party which has become a party to 

the present treaty by accession under Article XIII shall be

entitled to appoint representatives to participate in the

81

meetings referred to in paragraph 1 of the present Article,

during such times as that Contracting Party demonstrates

its interest in Antarctica by conducting substantial 

scientific research activities there, such as the 

establishment of a scientific station or the despatch of a 

scientific expedition.

	3. Reports from the observers referred to in Article 

VII of the present treaty shall be transmitted to the 

representatives of the Contracting Parties participating in

the meetings referred to in paragraph 1 of the present 

Article.

	4. The measures referred to in paragraph 1 of this 

Article shall become effective when approved by all the

Contracting Parties whose representatives were entitled to

participate in the meetings held to consider those 

measures.

	5. Any or all of the rights established in the 

present treaty may be exercised as from the date of entry

into force of the treaty whether or not any measure 

facilitating the exercise of such rights have been 

proposed, considered or approved as provided in this 

Article.

82

	Article X

	Each of the Contracting Parties undertakes to exert 

appropriate efforts, consistent with the Charter of the

United Nations, to the end that no one engages in any 

activity in Antarctica contrary to the principles or 

purposes of the present treaty.

	Article XI

	1. If any dispute arises between two or more of the

Contracting Parties concerning the interpretation or 

application of the present treaty, those Contracting 

Parties shall consult among themselves with a view to

having the dispute resolved by negotiation, inquiry,

mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement 

or other peaceful means of their own choice.

	2. Any dispute of this character not so resolved 

shall, with the consent, in each case, of all parties to

the dispute, be referred to the International Court of

Justice for settlement; but failure to reach agreement 

on reference to the International Court shall not absolve

parties to the dispute from the responsibility of 

83

continuing to seek to resolve it by any of the various

peaceful means referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

	Article XII

	1. (a) The present treaty may be modified or amended 

at any time by unanimous agreement of the Contracting 

Parties whose representatives are entitled to participate 

in the meetings provided for under Article IX. Any such

modification or amendment shall enter into force when the

depositary Government has received notice from all such

Contracting Parties that they have ratified it.
	
	   (b) Such modification or amendment shall thereafter

enter into force as to any other Contracting Party when

notice of ratification by it has been received by the 

depositary Government. Any such Contracting Party from

which no notice of ratification is received within a period 

of two years from the date of entry into force of the 

modification or amendment in accordance with the provision 

of sub-paragraph 1(a) of this Article shall be deemed to 

have withdrawn from the present treaty on the date of the

expiration of such period.

84

	2. (a) If after the expiration of thirty years from 

the date of entry into force of the present treaty, any of

the Contracting Parties whose representatives are entitled 

to participate in the meetings provided for under Article 

IX so requests by a communication addressed to the 

depositary Government, a Conference of all the Contracting 

Parties shall be held as soon as practicable to review the 

operation of the treaty.

	   (b) Any modification or amendment to the present 

treaty which is approved at such a Conference by a majority

of the Contracting Parties there represented, including a 

majority of those whose representatives are entitled to

participate in the meetings provided for under Article IX,

shall be communicated by the depositary Government to all

Contracting Parties immediately after the termination of 

the Conference and shall enter into force in accordance 

with the provisions of paragraph 1 of the present Article.

	   (c) If any such modification or amendment has not

entered into force in accordance with the provisions of

sub-paragraph 1(a) of this Article within a period of two

years after the date of its communication to all the 

85

Contracting Parties, any Contracting Party may at any 

time after the expiration of that period give notice to 

the depositary Government of its withdrawal from the 

present treaty; and such withdrawal shall take effect two

years after the receipt of the notice by the depositary

Government.

	Article XIII

	1. The present treaty shall be subject to ratification

by the signatory States. It shall be open for accession by 

any State which is a Member of the United Nations, or by 

any other State which may be invited to accede to the 

treaty with the consent of all the Contracting Parties 

whose representatives are entitled to participate in the

meetings provided for under Article IX of the treaty.

	2. Ratification of or accession to the present treaty

shall be effected by each State in accordance with its

constitutional processes.

	3. Instruments of ratification and instruments of

accession shall be deposited with the Government of the

United States of America, hereby designated as the 

depositary Government.

86

	4. The depositary Government shall inform all 

signatory and acceding States of the date of each deposit 

of an instrument of ratification or accession, and the 

date of entry into force of the treaty and of any 

modification or amendment thereto.

	5. Upon the deposit of instruments of ratification by

all signatory States, the present treaty shall enter into 

force for those States and for States which have deposited

instruments of accession. Thereafter the treaty shall 

enter into force for any acceding State upon the deposit of

its instruments of accession.

	6. The present treaty shall be registered by the 

depositary Government pursuant to Article 102 of the 

Charter of the United Nations.

	Article XIV

	The present treaty, done in the English, French, 

Russian and Spanish languages, each version being equally

authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the

Government of the United States of America, which shall

transmit duly certified copies thereof to the Governments

of the signatory and acceding States.

87

Dates of Ratification and Accession

	The Antarctic Treaty was signed in Washington on 

1 December 1959 by 12 States, and entered into force for

those States on 23 June 1961. Below are listed in 

chronological order the Dates of Ratification, Accession

and Consultative Party status.

OS - Original Signatory

CP - Consultative Party

AS - Acceding State

							Consultative
	State 		Date 		Status  		Party

1 	United Kingdom 31 May 1960 	OS\CP

2 	South Africa 	21 June 1960 	OS\CP

3 	Belgium 		26 July 1960 	OS\CP

4 	Japan		4 August 1960 	OS\CP

5 	United States 	18 August 1960 OS\CP

6 	Norway 		24 August 1960 OS\CP

7 	France 		16 Sept 1960 	OS\CP

8 	New Zealand 	1 Nov 1960 	OS\CP

9 	Russia 1		2 Nov 1960 	OS\CP

10 	Poland 		8 June 1961 	AS\CP	 29 July 1977

88

11 	Argentina 	23 June 1961 	OS\CP

12 	Australia 	23 June 1961 	OS\CP

13 	Chile          23 June 1961 	OS\CP

14 	Czech 
	Republic		14 June 1962 	AS

15 	Slovak
	Republic 2	14 June 1962 	AS

16 	Denmark 		20 May 1965 	AS

17 	Netherlands 3 	30 March 1967 	AS\CP 	19 Nov 1990

18 	Romania 		15 Sept 1971 	AS

19 	Brazil 		16 May 1975 	AS\CP 	12 Sept 1983

20 	Bulgaria 		11 Sept 1978 	AS

21 	Federal 
	Republic
	of Germany 4 	5 Feb 1979 	AS\CP 	3 Mar 1981

22 	Uruguay 6		11 Jan 1980 	AS\CP 	7 Oct 1985

23 	Papua New 
	Guinea 5 		16 March 1981 	AS

24 	Italy 		18 March 1981 	AS\CP 	5 Oct 1987

25 	Peru 		10 April 1981 	AS\CP 	9 Oct 1989

26 	Spain 		31 March 1982 	AS\CP 	21 Sept 1988

27 	Peoples 
	Republic 
	of China 		8 June 1983 	AS\CP 	7 Oct 1989

28	India 		19 August 1983 AS\CP 	12 Sept 1983

89

29 	Hungary 		27 Jan 1984 	AS

30 	Sweden 		24 April 1984 	AS\CP 	21 Sept 1988

31 	Finland 		15 May 1984 	AS\CP 	9 Oct 1989

32 	Cuba 		16 August 1984 AS

33 	Korea, 
	Republic of 	28 Nov 1986 	AS\CP 	9 Oct 1989

34 	Greece 		8 Jan 1987 	AS

35 	Democratic 
	Peoples 
	Republic of 
	Korea 		21 Jan 1987 	AS

36	Austria 		25 August 1987 AS

37 	Ecuador 		15 Sept 1987 	AS\CP 	19 Nov 1990

38 	Canada 		4 May 1988 	AS

39 	Colombia 		31 Jan 1989 	AS

40 	Switzerland 	15 Nov 1990 	AS

41 	Guatemala 	31 July 1991 	AS

42 	Ukraine 		28 Oct 1992 	AS

43 	Turkey 		24 Jan 1996 	AS

44 	Venezuela 	24 March 1999 	AS

90

Notes:

1. Soviet Union until December 1990.

2. Separated from Czechoslovakia on 1 January 1993.

3. Accession does not include Aruba as of 1 January 1986.

4. The Democratic Republic of Germany united with the 

   Federal Republic of Germany on 3 October 1990.

5. Succeeded to the treaty after independence from

   Australia.

6. Accompanied by Declaration - "The decision of the 

Uruguayan Government to accede to the Antarctic Treaty is 

based not only in an interest which, like all members of 

the international community, Uruguay has in Antarctica, but 

also on a special, direct, and substantial interest which 

arises from its geographic location, from the fact that its 

Atlantic coast line faces the continent of Antarctica, from 

the resultant influence upon its climate, ecology, and 

marine biology, from the historic bonds which date back to 

the first expeditions which ventured to explore that 

continent and its waters, and also from the obligations 

assumed in conformity with the Inter-American Treaty of 

Reciprocal Assistance which includes a portion of Antarctic 

territory in the zone described in Article 4, by
91

virtue of which Uruguay shares the responsibility of 

defending the region.

	In communicating its decision to accede to the 

Antarctic Treaty, the Government of the Oriental Republic 

of Uruguay declares that it reserves its rights in 

Antarctica in accordance with international law."

92

	Appendix II

Protocol on Environmental Protection 

to the Antarctic Treaty

	Preamble

	The Preamble reaffirms the basic purposes of the 

Antarctic Treaty and expresses the desire of the Parties to

strengthen the Antarctic Treaty system through enhanced 

protection of the Antarctic environment and dependent and 

associated ecosystems.

Article 1 - Definitions

	Definitions are included of the Antarctic Treaty, the 

Antarctic Treaty area, Antarctic Treaty Consultative 

Meetings, Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties and the 

Antarctic Treaty system, as well as the Arbitral Tribunal

and Committee on Environmental Protection, which are 

established by the Protocol.

Article 2 - Objective and Designation

	The Parties commit to the comprehensive protection of 

the Antarctic environment and dependent and associated 

ecosystem and designate Antarctica as a natural reserve,

devoted to peace and science.

93

Article 3 - Environmental Principles

	The protection of the Antarctic environment and 

dependent and associated ecosystems and the intrinsic value 

of Antarctica, including its wilderness and aesthetic 

values and its value for the conduct of scientific 

research, are to be fundamental considerations in the 

planning and conduct of all activities in the Antarctic 

Treaty area. To this end:

		Activities in Antarctica are required to be 

planned and conducted so as generally to limit adverse 

environmental impacts and to avoid certain types of severe 

adverse impacts; 

		Activities in Antarctica are required to be 

planned and conducted on the basis of information 

sufficient to allow prior assessments of, and informed 

judgments about, their possible impacts on the Antarctic 

environment and dependent and associated ecosystems and on 

the value of Antarctica for the conduct of scientific 

research;

	Regular and effective monitoring are required to 

facilitate assessment of the impacts of activities upon

the Antarctic environment and dependent and associated

ecosystems;              	94

		Activities are required to be planned and 

Conducted in the Antarctic Treaty area so as to accord 

priority to scientific research and to preserve 

Antarctica's value for such research, including research 

essential to understanding the global environment.

		All activities for which advance notice is 

required in accordance with Article VII (5) of the 

Antarctic Treaty, are required to take place in a manner 

consistent with the principles of Article 3 and to be

modified, suspended or canceled if they result in or 

threaten to result in impacts inconsistent therewith.

		Article VII (5) of the Antarctic Treaty requires 

each Party to give advance notice to all other Parties

of the following governmental and non-governmental

activities:

			(a) All expeditions to and within 

Antarctica, on the part of its ships and aircraft or 

nationals, and all expeditions to Antarctica organized or 

proceeding from its territory;

			(b) All stations in Antarctica occupied by 

its nationals; and

95

			(c) Any military personnel or equipment 

intended to be introduced by it into Antarctica

(subject to the peaceful purposes conditions of 

Article I of the Antarctic Treaty).

	The Protocol makes clear that the Article VII (5) 

standard includes scientific research programs, tourism, 

and associated logistic support operations.

Article 4 - Relationship with the Other 

Components of the Antarctic Treaty System

	The Protocol supplements the Antarctic Treaty. It 

neither modifies nor amends the Treaty, nor derogates from 

the rights and obligations of the Parties to the Protocol 

under the other international agreements in force within 

the Antarctic Treaty system, (e.g., The Antarctic Treaty 

itself, the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic 

Seals and the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic 

Marine Living Resources).

Article 5 - Consistency with the Other 

Components of the Antarctic Treaty System

	The Parties are required to consult and cooperate with 

the Parties to other instruments in force within the 

Antarctic Treaty system, and with their respective 

institutions, so as to maintain consistency and 

96

coordination between the implementation of the Protocol and 

those other instruments.

Article 6 - Cooperation

	The Parties are required to cooperate in the planning 

and conduct of activities in the Antarctic Treaty area, 

including endeavoring to promote cooperative scientific 

programs, assist in the preparation of environmental impact

assessments, provide information about environmental risks,

consult about the choice of sites for new stations and, 

where appropriate, undertake joint expeditions and 

share use of facilities and stations. They also undertake 

to share information relevant to such cooperation and agree 

to cooperate with those Parties which may exercise 

jurisdiction in areas adjacent to the area of application 

of the Antarctic Treaty so that activities in Antarctica 

do not have environmental adverse impacts on such areas.

Article 7 -  Prohibition of Mineral Resource Activities 

	Any activity relating to mineral resources, other than

scientific research, is prohibited.

97

Article 8 - Environmental Impact Assessment

	Parties are required to ensure that environmental 

impact assessment procedures are followed in the planning 

processes for any governmental and non-governmental 

activities for which Parties must provide advance 

notification under Article VII (5) of the Antarctic Treaty 

(see discussion of Article 3, above). These procedures are 

set out in Annex I of the Protocol and apply according to 

whether the proposed activities are identified as having 

less than a minor or transitory impact, a minor or 

transitory impact, or  more than a minor or transitory 

impact.

Article 9 - Annexes

	Article 9 provides for the adoption and entry into 

effect of annexes into which more specific and detailed 

measures and rules for environmental protection are to be 

incorporated and can be reviewed and amended in a timely 

and effective fashion.

The annexes form an integral part of the protocol. Annexes 

I-IV, containing provisions on environmental impact 

assessment, conservation of Antarctic fauna and flora, 

waste disposal and waste management and prevention of 

marine pollution, respectively, were concluded concurrently 

with the Protocol itself.	98

	Annexes, additional to Annexes I-IV, may be adopted 

and become effective in accordance with Article IX of 

the Antarctic Treaty. (Article IX provides for measures 

to be adopted by consensus of the Antarctic 

Treaty Consultative Parties and to become effective when 

the Depositary has been notified of their approval by 

all such Parties.) An additional annex - Annex V on Area 

Protection and Management - has already been adopted by 

Recommendation XVI-10 of the Sixteenth Antarctic 

Treaty Consultative Meeting, held in Bonn, October 

7-18, 1991.

	Amendments or modifications to an annex may be adopted 

and become effective in accordance with Article IX of the 

Antarctic Treaty.  Each annex may also make provisions for 

such amendments or modifications to enter into force on an 

accelerated basis. Each annex is subject to the Protocol's 

compulsory dispute settlement procedures, except to the 

extent the annex provides otherwise.

Article 10 - Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings

	The Protocol affirms the authority of the Antarctic

Treaty Consultative Meetings, held under Article IX of the 

Antarctic Treaty, to define general policy for the 

99

Protection of the Antarctic environment and to adopt 

measures (again in accordance with Article IX of 

the Antarctic Treaty) necessary to implement the Protocol.

	The Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings are to 

review the work of the Committee on Environmental 

Protection, established pursuant to Article 11, and to draw 

fully upon the advice and recommendations of the Committee, 

as well as of the advice of the Scientific Committee on 

Antarctic Research, in defining policy and adopting 

measures for the protection of the Antarctic environment.

Article 11 - Committee for Environmental Protection

	The Protocol establishes the Committee for 

Environmental Protection. Each Contracting Party is 

entitled to be a member of the Committee and provision 

is made for participation by observers from Parties 

to the Antarctic Treaty not party to the Protocol, 

the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research and 

the Scientific Committee for the Conservation of 

Antarctic Marine Living Resource. The Committee, 

subject to Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting 

approval, may invite such other relevant scientific, 

100

environmental and technical organizations which 

can contribute to its work to participate as 

observers at its sessions.

	The Committee is to present complete reports of 

its deliberations to the Antarctic Treaty 

Consultative Meetings and to make such reports 

publicly available. The Committee is to adopt its 

rules of procedure subject to Antarctic Treaty 

Consultative Meeting approval. 

Article 12 -  Functions of the Committee

	The Committee on Environmental Protection is to 

provide advice and formulate recommendations to the 

Parties on the implementation of the Protocol, 

including the operation of its system of annexes,

for consideration at Antarctic Treaty Consultative 

Meetings, as well as to perform such other functions 

as may be referred to it by the Antarctic 

Treaty Consultative Meetings.

	Article 12 identifies a number of specific subject 

areas upon which the Committee is to provide advice. 

These include the effectiveness of measures taken 

pursuant to the Protocol;

101

the need to update, strengthen or otherwise improve 

such measures; and the need for additional measures, 

including the need for additional annexes. In carrying 

out its functions, the Committee is called upon to 

consult with the Scientific Committee on Antarctic 

Research, the Scientific Committee for the Conservation 

of Antarctic Marine Living Resources and other relevant 

scientific, environmental and technical 

organizations.

Article 13 - Compliance with this Protocol

	The Protocol obligates the Parties to take appropriate 

measures within their competence, including the adoption 

of laws and regulations, administrative actions and 

enforcement measures, to ensure compliance with the 

Protocol (including its annexes). Each Party is required 

to notify all other Parties of the measures it takes 

to ensure compliance with the Protocol.

	Each Party is to draw the attention of all 

other Parties to any activity which in its opinion 

affects the implementation of the Protocol and 

to exert appropriate efforts, consistent with the 

United Nations Charter, to the end that no one engages 

in any activity contrary to the Protocol. Antarctic 

102

Treaty Consultative Meetings are to draw the attention 

of any State which is not a Party to the Protocol to 

any activity undertaken by that State or those

subject to its jurisdiction that affects the 

implementation of the Protocol.

Article 14 - Inspection

	In order to promote environmental protection as well 

as compliance with the Protocol, the Antarctic Treaty 

Consultative Parties are required to arrange, 

individually or collectively, for inspections to be 

carried out by observers in accordance with Article 

VII of the Antarctic Treaty. (Article VII accords 

the Consultative Parties inspection rights to all 

areas of Antarctica, including all stations, 

installations and equipment within those areas,

and all ships and aircraft at points of discharging or 

embarking cargoes or personnel in Antarctica).

	Observers may be designated at Antarctic Treaty 

Consultative Meetings in accordance with procedures to 

be established by such meetings, or by any Antarctic 

Treaty Consultative Party. Parties are obligated 

to cooperate fully with observers undertaking 

inspections, including ensuring necessary access 
103
in accordance with Article VII of the Antarctic Treaty, 

as well as access to relevant records.

Reports of inspections are to be sent first to Parties

whose stations, installations, equipment, ships or 

aircraft have been inspected. Such reports, and any 

comments from the inspected Party or Parties, are 

to be circulated to all Parties, the Committee 

for Environmental Protection, and considered at the 

next Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting and 

thereafter made publicly available.

Article 15 - Emergency Response Action

	Each Party is required to provide for prompt and 

effective response action to environmental emergencies 

that might arise from those activities for which they 

are required to give advance notice under Article VII (5) 

of the Antarctic Treaty, (see discussion of Article 

3, above).

They are also required to establish contingency plans for 

response to incidents with potential adverse environmental

effects.

	The Parties are required to establish procedures for 

immediate notifications of and cooperative response to 

environmental emergencies, and to cooperate in elaboration 

of contingency plans.       104

Article 16 - Liability

	The Parties undertake to elaborate rules and 

procedures relating to liability for damage arising from 

the activities in the Antarctic Treaty area and covered 

by the Protocol. 

Such rules and procedures are to be included in one or 

more annexes adopted in accordance with Article 9.

Article 17 - Annual Report by Parties

	The Protocol requires each Party to report annually 

on the steps it has taken to implement the 

Protocol, including notifications of measures taken 

to ensure compliance and information about 

contingency plans, as well as any other notifications 

and information called for pursuant to the Protocol 

whose circulation is not otherwise provided for.

Such annual reports are to be circulated to all Parties 

and to the Committee for Environmental 

Protection, considered at the next Antarctic 

Treaty Consultative Meeting and made publicly available.

	Article 17 is formulated on the assumption that 

Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings will take place 

on an annual, rather than the current biennial, basis.
105

Article 18 - Dispute Settlement Procedures

	Article 18 sets forth the general obligation on each 

Party to seek to resolve any dispute over the 

interpretation or application of the Protocol by 

peaceful and mutually agreed means.

Article 19 - Choice of Dispute Settlement Procedure

	Article 19 sets forth a procedure for referral 

of certain categories of disputes to either 

the International Court of Justice or to the 

Arbitral Tribunal established by the Protocol. The 

choice of forum procedures apply to disputes concerning 

the interpretation or application of Article 7

(Prohibition on Mineral Resource Activities), Article 8

(Environmental Impact Assessment), Article 15 (Emergency 

Response Action), the provisions of any annex (except to 

the extent an annex provides otherwise), and Article 13 

(Compliance) insofar as it relates to the three articles 

and the annex provisions.

	A Party may select, by written declaration in advance 

of any dispute, the Arbitral Tribunal or the International

Court of Justice (ICJ), or both, as the  means of 

settlement of disputes over these provisions. 

(A Party not making a selection is presumed to
106

to have selected the Arbitral Tribunal.) In the event 

that Parties to a dispute to which this procedure apply 

had selected different means, the dispute would be 

referred to the Arbitral Tribunal, as would also be the 

case in situations in which the Parties had both 

selected both means and were unable to agree on 

one.

Article 20 - Dispute Settlement Procedure

	Article 20 renders compulsory the procedure for the 

settlement of disputes covered in Article 19 if the Parties

to the dispute are unable themselves to agree upon mutually

acceptable means of resolution. Specifically, if the 

Parties to a dispute over the interpretation or 

application of Articles 7, 8 or 15, the provisions of 

the annexes (except to the extent an annex 

provides otherwise), or Article 13 insofar as it 

applies to the three articles of the annex provisions, 

have not agreed upon a means for resolving such 

dispute within 12 months of a request for 

consolation pursuant to Article 18, the dispute shall 

be referred, at the request of any Party to the 

107

dispute either to the Arbitral Tribunal or the 

International Court of Justice, depending 

on the forum accepted by the Parties in accordance 

with Article 19.

	Matters within the scope of Article IV of the 

Antarctic Treaty (which reserves the positions of 

its Parties with regard to claims of territorial 

sovereignty in Antarctic) are excluded from the reach 

of the dispute settlement procedures set forth in the 

Protocol.

Article 21 - Signature

	The Protocol is open for signature until October 3, 

1992 by any State that is a Contracting Party to the 

Antarctic Treaty. It was opened for signature on October 

4, 1991 at Madrid and remains open for signature for 

one year thereafter at Washington.

	To date, it has been signed by 23 Antarctic Treaty 

Consultative Parties - Argentina, Australia, Belgium, 

Brazil, Chile, China, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, 

Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Poland,

South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Russia, United Kingdom. 

108

United States and Uruguay - as well as 8 Contracting 

Parties to the Antarctic Treaty that are not 

Consultative Parties -

Austria, Canada, Columbia, Greece, Hungary, Democratic 

Peoples Republic of Korea, Romania and Switzerland.

Article 22 - Ratification, Acceptance, 

Approval or Accession

	The Protocol is subject to ratification, acceptance 

or approval by signatory States, and shall be open 

to accession by any Contracting Party to the 

Antarctic Treaty after October 3, 1992. The Government 

of the United States of America is designated as 

Depository for the Protocol (as with the Antarctic 

Treaty).

	Article 22 also provides that, following entry into 

force of the Protocol, the Antarctic Treaty Consultative 

Parties will not act upon a notification regarding 

consultative status from a Contracting Party to the 

Antarctic Treaty unless such Contracting Party has first

become a Party to the Protocol. This is designated to 

ensure that the Parties to the Protocol always include all

of the Consultative Parties, who collectively have 

decision-making authority for adopting measures under it.

109

Article 23 - Entry into Force

	The Protocol will enter into force 30 days after 

ratification, acceptance, approval or accession by the 26 

States that were Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties on 

the date of its adoption.

Article 24 - Reservation

	Reservations to the Protocol are not permitted.

Article 25 - Modification or Amendment

	Without prejudice to the special provisions 

relating to amendment or modification of annexes 

contained in Article 9, the Protocol may be amended 

at any time in accordance with Article XII (1) (a) 

and (b) of the Antarctic Treaty. (These provisions 

call for adoption of an amendment by the unanimous 

agreement of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties 

And entry into force upon notice of ratification from 

all such Parties.)

	In addition, if, at any time 50 years after entry into

force of the Protocol, any Antarctic Treaty Consultative 

Party so requests, a conference shall be held as soon as 

practicable to review the operation of the Protocol. Such a 

review conference could adopt an amendment or modification

to the Protocol by a simple majority of all Parties, 
110

including three-fourths (20) of the States that were 

Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties at the 

time of adoption of the Protocol. An amendment 

or modification so adopted shall enter into force 

upon ratification, acceptance, approval or accession 

of three-fourths of the Antarctic Treaty 

Consultative Parties at the time of its adoption,

including all 26 States that were such Parties at the 

time of adoption of the Protocol.

	Special provision is made relating to amendment or 

modification of the prohibition on Antarctic 

mineral resource activities contained in Article 7. 

First, the Parties agree that this prohibition 

shall continue unless there is in force a binding 

legal regime on Antarctic mineral resource activities 

that includes an agreed means for determining

whether, and, if so, under which conditions, any such 

activities would be acceptable. The regime is to fully 

safeguard the interests of all States referred to in 

Article IV of the Antarctic Treaty (reserving the 

positions of its Parties with regard to 

territorial sovereignty in Antarctica) and apply 

the principles of Article IV. Any amendment 
111

proposed to Article 7 at a review conference, 

therefore, must include such a binding legal regime.

	Second, if an amendment to Article 7 adopted at a 

review conference has not entered into force within 3 

years of the date of its adoption, any Party may at any 

time thereafter withdraw from the Protocol effective 2 

years after having so notified the Depositary.

Article 26 - Notification by the Depositary

	The United States, as Depositary, is to notify all

Contracting Parties to the Antarctic Treaty of signatures 

of the Protocol and ratification's, acceptances 

and approvals thereof, as well as accessions thereto; 

the date of its entry into force and of any 

additional annex; the date of entry into force of 

any amendment; the deposit of declarations and

notices pursuant to the dispute settlement articles, 

and any notification of withdrawal received pursuant 

to Article 25.

Article 27 - Authentic Texts and Registration

with the United Nations

	The authentic texts of the Protocol are in the 

English, French, Spanish and Russian languages. 

112

The Depositary is called upon to register the Protocol 

with the United Nations.

Schedule to the Protocol

	Arbitration

	The Schedule to the Protocol is the statute of the 

Arbitral Tribunal and sets forth the procedures under which

it would operate. The Tribunal is to be composed of three
	
arbitrators appointed for a specific case from a standing

list of qualified persons designated by the Parties to the

Protocol. Each Party is required to designate one person,

and may designate up to three persons, for the list.

	In the event of a dispute for which the Arbitral 

Tribunal is to be constituted, each Party to the dispute 

shall appoint one arbitrator from the list, who may be its

national; the third arbitrator, who shall chair 

the Tribunal, is to be selected by agreement of the 

Parties or alternatively by the President of 

the International Court of Justice, and may be neither 

a national of, nor a person designated by, a Party to 

the dispute. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The 

Hague is accorded secretariat functions for the Tribunal.

113

	The Arbitral Tribunal is empowered to apply 

Provisional measures, pending final decision in a 

dispute, to preserve the respective rights of the 

Parties to the dispute or to prevent serious harm 

to the Antarctic environment or dependent or 

associated ecosystems. Special provision is 

also included to enable a Party to a dispute to 

Secure rapid constitution of the Tribunal to 

consider emergency provisional measures in 

situations of exceptional urgency.

	The Arbitral Tribunal is to decide such disputes 

as are submitted to it on the basis of the provisions 

of the Protocol and other applicable rules and 

principles of international law not incompatible 

with these provisions.

Awards (decisions) of the Tribunal are final and binding 

upon the Parties to the dispute, as well as upon any 

intervening Party, and are to be accompanied by a 

statement of reasons for the decision.

	The Schedule provides for amendments or 

modifications to become effective on an accelerated 

114

basis. Unless the amendment or modification 

specifies otherwise, it will enter into effect one 

year after adoption, provided that no

Antarctic Treaty Consultative Party has 

notified the depositary that it wishes an 

extension of that period or that it is unable 

to approve the amendment or modification.

Date of Signature, Ratification, 
Acceptance or Approval

Consultative 							Ratification,
Parties 			Signature 			Acceptance or 										          	Approval

Argentina 3 		4 Oct 1991 			28 Oct 1993

Australia 		4 Oct 1991 			6 Apr 1994

Belgium 			4 Oct 1991 			26 Apr 1996

Brazil 			4 Oct 1991 			15 Aug 1995

Bulgaria 		         					21 Apr 1998

Chile 			4 Oct 1991			11 Jan 1995

China 			4 Oct 1991			2 Aug 1994

Ecuador 			4 Oct 1991 			4 Jan 1993

Finland 			4 Oct 1991 			1 Nov 1996

France 			4 Oct 1991 			5 Feb 1993

Germany 4			4 Oct 1991 			25 Nov 1994

India 			2 July 1992			26 Apr 1996
115
Italy 			4 Oct 1991			31 Mar 1995

Japan 			29 Sept 1992 			15 Dec 1997

Korea, Republic of 	2 July 1992			2 Jan 1996

Netherlands 5 		4 Oct 1991			14 Apr 1994

New Zealand 		4 Oct 1991			22 Dec 1994

Norway 			4 Oct 1991  			16 June 1993

Peru 			4 Oct 1991 			8 March 1993

Poland 			4 Oct 1991 			1 Nov 1995

Russia 6 			4 Oct 1991 			6 Aug 1997

South Africa 		4 Oct 1991 			3 Aug 1995

Spain 			4 Oct 1991 			1 July 1992

Sweden 			4 Oct 1991 			30 Mar 1994

United Kingdom 	4 Oct 1991 			25 Apr 1995

United States 		4 Oct 1991 			17 Apr 1997

Uruguay 			4 Oct 1991 			11 Jan 1995

Non-Consultative
Parties

Austria 			4 Oct 1991

Canada 			4 Oct 1991

Columbia 			4 Oct 1991

Czech Republic 1,2 	1 Jan 1993

Greece 			4 Oct 1991 			23 May 1995

Hungary 			4 Oct 1991

116
Democratic
Peoples Republic
of Korea 			4 Oct 1991

Romania 			4 Oct 1991

Slovak Republic1,2	1 Jan 1993

Switzerland 		4 Oct 1991

* Signed at Madrid on October 4, 1991; thereafter at 

Washington until October 3, 1992. The Protocol will 

enter into force initially on the thirtieth day following 

the date of deposit of instruments of ratification, 

acceptance, approval or accession by all States which were

Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties at the date on which

this Protocol was adopted. (Article 23)

** Adopted at Bonn on October 17, 1991 at XVIth Antarctic 

Consultative Meeting.

1. Signed for Czech and Slovak Federal Republic on Oct 2, 

1992. Czechoslovakia accepts the jurisdiction of the 

ICJ and Arbitral Tribunal for the settlement of 

disputes according to Article 19, paragraph 1. On 

December 31, 1992 Czechoslovakia ceased to exist 

and was succeeded by the Czech and Slovak Republics.

2. Effective date of succession - 1 January 1993.

3. Accompanied by Declaration - "the Argentine Republic 

declares that in as much as the Protocol to the Antarctic 

117

Treaty on the Protection of the Environment 

is a complementary agreement of the Antarctic Treaty 

and that its Article 4 fully respects what has been 

stated in Article IV, Subsection 1, Paragraph A of 

said treaty, none of its stipulations should be 

interpreted or be applied as affecting its rights, 

based on legal titles, acts of possession, 

contiguity and geological continuity in the 

region south of parallel 60, in which it has 

proclaimed and maintained its sovereignty."

4. The Democratic Republic of Germany united with 

The Federal Republic of Germany on 3 October 1990.

5. Does not include Aruba as of 1 January 1986.

6. Soviet Union until December 1990.      

118

Annex I

Environmental Impact Assessment

	Annex I sets forth the detailed rules for prior 

assessment of the environmental impacts of proposed 

activities referred to in Article 8 of the Protocol 

(those for which advance notification is required 

under Article VII (5) of the Antarctic Treaty, 

(see discussion of Article 3, above)).

	The procedures, comparable to those set forth in the 

National Environmental Policy Act, require preparation of 

an Initial Environmental Evaluation (IEE) for any proposed 

activity projected as having at least a minor or transitory

impact upon the environment. The IEE is to be prepared in 

sufficient detail to indicate whether the proposed activity

will have more than such a minor or transitory impact. 

If so, preparation of a Comprehensive Environmental 

Evaluation of the proposed activity is required.

	The Comprehensive Environmental Evaluation (CEE) is 

to include, inter alia:

		A complete description of the proposed activity,

	including possible alternatives thereto;

119

		A description of the initial reference state 

of the environment and a prediction of its future state 

in the absence of the activity;
	
		A description of methods and data used to 

forecast the impacts of the proposed activity;

		Estimation of the character of the likely impacts

	of the proposed activity, including consideration of 

	indirect and cumulative impacts;

		Identification of measures, including monitoring, 

	to mitigate impacts and detect unforeseen impacts;

		Identification of unavoidable impacts of the 

	proposed activity and consideration of its effects

	on the conduct of scientific research and on other 

	existing uses.

	The draft CEE is to be made publicly available 

and is to be circulated to all Parties for comment, 

as well as forwarded to the Committee for 

Environmental Protection, at least 120 days before the 

next Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting. 

No final decision on the proposed activity may be 

taken unless there has been opportunity for consideration 

of the draft CEE by the Antarctic Treaty 

120

Consultative Meeting on the advice of the 

Committee, provided that such final decision may 

not be delayed by this procedure more than 15 months 

from the date of circulation of the CEE.

	The final CEE is to address and include or 

summarize comments received. The final CEE, including 

notice of any decisions relating thereto; as well 

as any evaluation of the relative significance of 

predicted impacts, must be circulated to all 

Parties at least 60 days before the commencement 

of the proposed activity in the Antarctic Treaty 

area and made publicly available. Procedures, 

including environmental monitoring, are to be put 

in place to assess and verify the impacts of any 

activity that proceeds on the basis of a CEE.

	In addition to the circulation of draft and 

final CEE's, Parties are required to circulate a 

description of their national procedures to give 

effect to the provisions on environmental impact 

assessment, an annual list of IEE's and any 

related decisions and the results of required 

monitoring procedures.

	121

	An exception to the environmental impact assessment 

procedures is applied in cases of emergency relating to 

the safety of human life or of ships, aircraft or 

equipment and facilities of high value, or the protection 

of the environment. Immediate circumstances is required, 

and subsequently a full explanation of those activities.

	Annex I provides for amendments or modifications to 

become effective on an accelerated basis. Unless the 

Amendment or modification specifies otherwise, it will 

enter into effect one year after adoption, provided 

that no Antarctic Treaty Consultative Party has notified 

the Depositary that it wishes an extension of that period 

or that it is unable to approve the amendment 

or modification.   

122
	
	Annex II

Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora

	Annex II strengthens and updates the system 

of protection of native fauna and flora developed 

pursuant to the Agreed Measures for the Conservation 

of Antarctic Fauna and Flora, which were adopted by 

the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties in 1964 

and entered into effect in 1978.

	The taking of any native mammal or bird or 

native plant, or the harmful interference therewith, 

is prohibited except in accordance with a permit. 

Taking means to kill, injure, capture, handle or 

molest a mammal or bird, or to remove or damage 

such quantities of native plants as to significantly 

affect their local distribution or abundance. Harmful 

interference refers to activities that 

disturb concentrations of mammals or birds, 

that significantly damage concentrations

of native terrestrial plants or any activity that 

results in significant adverse habitat modification.

	Permits for taking or harmful interference may 

be issued only to provide specimens for scientific 

purposes, to provide specimens for museums, zoos or 
123
other educational or cultural institutions, or to 

provide for unavoidable consequences of

other scientific activities or the construction 

and operation of scientific support facilities.

	There is provision for designating Specially 

Protected Species of native mammals, birds and plants 

whose taking is more strictly regulated, with 

issuance of permits limited to instances of 

compelling scientific purpose in which the 

survival or recovery of the species, or local 

population thereof, will not be jeopardized. All 

species of Antarctic Fur Seal and the Ross 

Seal are designated as Specially Protected Species 

in an appendix to Annex II. Strict measures are 

elaborated with respect to the introduction of 

non-native species, parasites and diseases. No 

species of non-native animal or plant may be 

introduced into the Antarctic Treaty area 

except in accordance with a permit.   

Such permits may be issued only for domestic plants 

and laboratory animals and plants, including 

viruses, bacteria, yeast and fungi, and only in 

a manner that poses no risk to native fauna and flora, 

124

with requirements for removal from the Antarctic Treaty 

area or disposal by incineration or equally effective 

means prior to the expiration of the permit.

The annex further prohibits importation of dogs into the 

Antarctic Treaty area and require all dogs currently 

in the area to be removed by April 1, 1994.

	The provisions on introduction of non-native 

species are not to apply to importation of food, 

provided that no live animals are so imported and 

provided that all plants and animal parts, imported as 

food, are kept in carefully controlled conditions. 

Special precautions are required for poultry to 

prevent introduction of diseases, including 

removal from the Antarctic Treaty area or disposal 

by incineration or equivalent means of any imported 

poultry that is not consumed as food. The importation 

of non-sterile soil is to be avoided to the maximum 

extent practicable.

	The Parties are required to make arrangements 

for the regular collection and exchange of 

statistics (including records of permits issued), as 

well as other data and information relating to the 

status of native species. The Annex makes clear that 
125
it does not derogate from the obligations of Parties 

under the International Convention for the Regulation 

of Whaling.

	The provisions on protection of native fauna and 

Flora do not apply in cases of emergency relating 

to the safety of human life or of ships, 

aircraft or equipment and facilities of high value, or 

the protection of the environment. Immediate 

notification is required of activities undertaken in 

any such circumstances. 

	Annex II provides for amendments or modifications 

to become effective on an accelerated basis. Unless 

the amendment or modification specifies otherwise, 

it will enter into effect one year after adoption, 

provided that no Antarctic Treaty Consultative Party 

has notified the Depositary that it wishes an extension 

of that period or that it is unable to approve the 

amendment or modification. 

126

	Annex III

Waste Disposal and Waste Management

	Annex III sets forth detailed requirements 

relating to the generation and disposal of wastes in 

the Antarctic Treaty area, applicable to all 

activities for which advance notice is required 

under Article VII (5) of the Antarctic Treaty, 

(see discussion of Article 3, above).

	The requirements rest on general obligations to 

reduce to the maximum extent practicable the amount 

of wastes generated or disposed of in the Antarctic 

Treaty area and to remove any wastes so generated from 

that area to the maximum extent practicable. There is 

also a general obligation to clean up past and 

existing waste disposal sites on land, as well as 

abandoned work sites, provided that the removal of 

any structure designated as a historical site or 

monument shall not be required, nor the removal of any 

waste that whose removal would result in greater adverse 

environmental impact than leaving it in place.

	The following wastes must be removed from the 

Antarctic Treaty area:
127

		Radio-active materials;

		Electrical batteries;

		Fuel, both liquid and solid;

		Wastes, containing harmful levels of heavy 

metals or acutely toxic or harmful persistent compounds;

		Poly-vinyl chloride, polyurethane 

foam, polystyrene foam, rubber and lubricating oils, 

treated timbers and other products that could 

produce harmful emissions if incinerated; and

		All other plastic wastes (except for low density

	polyethylene containers which are to be incinerated).

Fuel drums and other solid, non-combustible wastes must 

also be removed, unless such removal would result in 

greater adverse environmental impact than leaving them in 

place.

	All other liquid wastes, including sewage and other

domestic liquid wastes, are to be removed from the 

Antarctic Treaty area to the maximum extent 

practicable. Residues of carcasses of imported 

animals; laboratory culture of micro-organisms and 

plant pathogens; and introduced avian products 

must also be removed unless incinerated, autoclaved or 

otherwise treated to be sterile.
128

	Combustible wastes, not removed from the 

Antarctic Treaty area, are to be burnt in incinerators 

that reduce harmful emissions to maximum extent 

practicable. The solid residue of such incineration 

must be removed from the area. All open burning of 

wastes is to be phased out as soon as practicable, 

but no later than the end of the 1998/99 Antarctic 

season. Pending the completion of such phase out, 

any open burning shall take place only under 

carefully controlled conditions.

	No wastes that may be disposed of in the 

Antarctic Treaty area may be disposed of onto 

ice-free terrestrial areas or into fresh water systems. 

In addition, sewage domestic liquid wastes and other 

liquid wastes not removed from the Antarctic 

Treaty area shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 

not be disposed onto sea ice, ice shelves or the 

grounded ice sheet.

Sewage and domestic liquid wastes may be discharged into 

the sea provided that such discharge is located, whenever 

practicable, where conditions exist for initial dilution 

129

and rapid dispersal and that, where generated in large 

quantities, it is treated at least by maceration.

	Wastes generated at field camps are, to the maximum 

extent practicable, to be removed to supporting ships or 

stations for disposal in accordance with the Annex. 

Wastes to be removed from the Antarctic Treaty area 

are to be stored in such fashion as to prevent 

their dispersal into the environment.

	Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's), non-sterile soil,

polystyrene beads, chips or similar forms of packaging, 

and pesticides (other than those required for 

scientific, medical or hygiene purposes) may 

not be introduced onto land or ice shelves or into water 

in the Antarctic Treaty area.

	Parties to the Protocol that undertake activities 

in the Antarctic Treaty area are required to establish a 

classification system as a basis for keeping track of 

wastes and to facilitate environmental impact studies, 

and to prepare, and annually review and update, 

waste management plans for each fixed site, for field 

camps generally and for each ship. In addition, they are, 

as far as is practicable, to prepare inventories of the 

locations of past activities. Waste management 
130

plans, reports on their implementation and 

inventories are to be exchanged annually among the 

Parties, as well as circulated to the Committee 

for Environmental Protection.

	Parties are required to designate waste
 
management officials to develop and monitor waste 

management plans, including an appropriate person at 

each site in the field, and to ensure that members of 

their expeditions receive training designated to limit 

the environmental impact of their operations. They are 

also to discourage the use of poly-vinyl chloride 

products in the Antarctic Treaty area.   

	The provisions on waste disposal and waste 

management do not apply in cases of emergency 

relating to the safety of human life or of ships, 

aircraft or equipment and facilities of high value, 

or the protection of the environment. Immediate

notification is required of activities undertaken 

in any such circumstances.

	Annex III provides for amendments or modifications 

to become effective on an accelerated basis. Unless 

the amendment or modification specifies otherwise, 

131

it will enter into effect one year after adoption, 

provided that no Antarctic Treaty Consultative Party 

has notified the Depositary that it wishes an 

extension of that period or that it is unable to 

approve the amendment or modification.

	Annex IV

Prevention of Marine Pollution

	The marine pollution provisions contained in Annex 

IV obligate each Party to apply strict controls on 

ships entitled to fly its flag and to any other ship 

engaged in or supporting its Antarctic operations, 

while operating in the Antarctic Treaty area. These 

controls are designed to accord Antarctic waters at 

least the maximum degree of protection afforded by 

the International Convention for the Prevention of 

Pollution from Ships, 1973, as amended by the 

Protocol of 1978, relating thereto, 

(MARPOL 73/78), including pursuant to special area

designation under Annex I (oil), Annex II (noxious 

liquid substances) and Annex V (plastics and garbage) 

of MARPOL 73/78.

	The Annex prohibits the discharge into the sea from 

ships of:

132

		Oil or oily mixtures;

		Any noxious liquid substance, and any 

other chemical or other substances, in quantities 

or concentrations that 	are harmful to the 

marine environment;

		All plastics, including but not limited 

to synthetic ropes, synthetic fishing nets and 

plastic garbage bags;

		All other garbage, including paper products, 

rags, glass, metal, bottles, crockery, incineration 

ash, dunnage, lining and packing materials.

The provisions relating to oil and oily mixtures and 

to garbage do not apply in cases where the discharge 

or release results from damage to the ship or its 

equipment, provided that all reasonable precautions 

are taken before and after the damage for the purpose 

of preventing or minimizing the discharge or release, 

or in cases where substances containing oil are 

discharged for the purpose of combatting specific 

Pollution incidents. They also do not apply to 

the accidental loss of synthetic fishing nets if 

all reasonable precautions have been taken to prevent 

such loss.
133
	Disposal into the sea of food wastes is permitted 

when such wastes have been passed through a comminuter 

or grinder, provided that such disposal be made as far 

as practicable from land and ice shelves, but in any 

case not less than 12 nautical miles there from. 

With respect to sewage, except where it would unduly 

impair Antarctic operations, the Parties agree to 

eliminate the discharge of untreated sewage into 

the sea from ships within 12 nautical miles from land 

or ice shelves. Beyond 12 nautical miles, sewage stored 

in a holding tank may be discharged, but 

not instantaneously, at a moderate rate and, 

where practicable, while the ship is in route at a 

speed of no less than 4 knots. These provisions on 

sewage do not apply to ships certified to carry not 

more than ten persons.

	Each Party is to ensure that all ships entitled to fly

its flag and any other ship engaged in or supporting its 

Antarctic operations before entering the Antarctic Treaty 

area:
		Are so fitted as to have capacity for 

retaining on board all sludge, dirty ballast, tank 

washing water and other oily residues and mixtures, 

134

and garbage while operating in the Antarctic Treaty 

area; and

		Have concluded arrangements to discharge such 

oily residues and garbage at a reception facility after 

leaving the Antarctic Treaty area.

Ships are also to have sufficient capacity for the 

retention of noxious liquid substances.

	Each Party at whose ports ships depart en route to 

or arrive from the Antarctic Treaty area is to ensure as 

soon as practicable the provision of adequate facilities 

for the reception of sludge, dirty ballast, tank 

washing water, other oily residues and mixtures and 

garbage from such ships.

	Parties are required to take into account 

the objectives of the Annex in the design, 

construction, manning and equipment of ships engaged in 

or supporting Antarctic operations.

	Annex IV includes a provision on sovereign immunity 

that exempts from its application any warship, 

naval auxiliary or other ship owned or operated by a 

State and used, for the time being, only on government 

non-commercial service. 

135

However, each Party is obligated to ensure by the 

adoption of appropriate measures not impairing 

the operations or operational capabilities of such 

ships owned or operated by it, that such ships act 

in a manner consistent, so far as is reasonable 

and practicable, with the provisions of the Annex.

The sovereign immunity provision is not subject to 

the compulsory dispute provisions of the Protocol.

	Parties are required to develop, and cooperate in 

the implementation of, contingency plans for 

marine pollution in the Antarctic Treaty area, 

including contingency plans for ships, in accordance 

with Article 15 of the Protocol and in so doing to draw, 

as appropriate, on the advice of the International 

Maritime Organization and other international 

organizations.

	Parties commit themselves to ensuring consistency 

between Annex IV and MARPOL 73/78. For Parties to the 

Protocol also Parties to MARPOL 73/78, the provisions 

of Annex IV are not to derogate from the specific rights 

and obligations under MARPOL 73/78. At the same 

time, Parties are called upon to keep under 

136

continuing review the Annex and other measures to 

combat pollution of the Antarctic marine 

environment, including any amendments and new 

Regulations adopted under MARPOL 73/78, with a view 

to achieving the objectives of the Annex.

	The provisions relating to the discharges of oil, 

noxious liquid substances, garbage and sewage do not 

apply in cases of emergency relating to the safety of a 

ship and those on board, or saving life at sea. 

Immediate notification is required of activities 

undertaken in any such circumstances.

	Annex IV provides for amendments or modifications to 

become effective on an accelerated basis. Unless the 

amendment or modification specifies otherwise, it will 

enter into effect one year after adoption, provided that 

no Antarctic Treaty Consultative Party has notified 

the Depositary that it wishes an extension of that period 

or that it is unable to approve the amendment 

or modification.

137

Annex V

Area Protection and Management

	Annex V is designed to simplify, improve and extend 

the system of protected areas that has evolved within 

the Antarctic Treaty consultative mechanism. It provides 

for the designation of two categories of protected 

area: Antarctic Specially Protected Areas and 

Antarctic Specially Managed Areas.

	Any area, including any marine area, may be 

designated as an Antarctic Specially Protected Area 

to protect outstanding environmental, scientific, 

historic, aesthetic or wilderness values, any combination 

of those values, or ongoing or planned scientific 

research. Parties are required to seek to include within 

the system of Antarctic Specially Protected Areas:

		Areas kept inviolate from human interference 

so that future comparisons may be possible with 

Localities that have been affected by human activities;

		Representative examples of major terrestrial, 

	including glacial and aquatic, ecosystems and 

marine ecosystems;

138

		Areas with important or unusual assemblages of 

	species, including colonies of breeding native birds 

or mammals;

		The type of locality or only known habitat of any 

	species;

		Areas of particular interest to ongoing or 

planned scientific research;

		Examples of outstanding geological, 

glaciological or geomorphological features;

		Areas of outstanding aesthetic and 

wilderness value;

		Sites or monuments of recognized historic 

value; and

		Such other areas as may be appropriate to 

protect the values of Antarctica enumerated above.

Detailed management plans are required for each 

Antarctic Specially Protected Area and entry into such 

areas is prohibited except in accordance with a 

permit issued by an appropriate authority. Permits 

shall specify in detail activities authorized, by 

whom, where and when; as well as any other 

conditions imposed by the management plan. Specially

Protected Areas and Sites of Special Scientific Interest 

139

designated by past Antarctic Treaty Consultative 

Meetings are to be redesignated as Antarctic 

Specially Protected Areas.

	Any area, including any marine area, where 

activities are being conducted, may be designated as 

an Antarctic Specially Managed Area to assist in 

the planning and coordination of activities, avoid 

possible conflicts, improve cooperation between 

Parties or minimize environmental impacts. Such areas

may include areas where activities pose risks of mutual 

interference or cumulative environmental impacts and 

sites or monuments of recognized historic value. 

Management plans are required for each Antarctic 

Specially Managed Area, though entry into such areas 

does not require a permit.

	Any Party, the Committee for Environmental Protection,

the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) 

or the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic 

Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) may propose an area 

for designation as an Antarctic Specially Protected Area 

or as an Antarctic Specially Managed Area by submitting 

140

a proposed management plan to an Antarctic 

Treaty Consultative Meeting. Proposed management plans 

shall be forwarded to the Committee for 

Environmental Protection, SCAR and CCAMLR for review and 

comment before consideration by the Antarctic Treaty 

Consultative Meeting. In formulating advice to the 

Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting on a 

proposed management plan, the Committee for 

Environmental Protection shall take into account 

comments by SCAR and, as appropriate, CCAMLR.

	Management plans are to be approved by a 

measure adopted at an Antarctic Treaty Consultative 

Meeting in accordance with Article IX of the 

Antarctic Treaty. Management plans Shall be deemed to 

have been approved 90 days after the Antarctic 

Treaty Consultative Meeting at which such measure 

was adopted, unless one or more Antarctic 

Treaty Consultative Parties notifies the Depositary 

during that period, that it wishes an extension of 

the period or that it is unable to approve the 

measure. Management plans may be amended by this 

same procedure. No marine area shall be designated 

141
without the prior approval of the Commission for 

the Conservation of Antarctic Living Resources.

	Designations of Antarctic Specially Protected 

Areas and Antarctic Specially Managed Areas are to 

be of indefinite duration, unless specified otherwise 

in the management plan, and are to be reviewed on a 

regular basis.

	Each management plan is to include a 

detailed description of the area, the purposes of 

its designation, the management activities to achieve 

those purposes and identification of activities that 

are to be restricted, prohibited or managed.

With respect to Antarctic Specially Protected Areas, 

Management plans are also to include a clear description 

of the conditions under which permits for entry 

may be granted. 

With respect to Antarctic Specially Managed 

Areas, management plans are to include a code of conduct 

for activities within the area.

	Provision is made for separate listing of 

historic sites and monuments. The listing is to 

comprise historic sites and monuments designated as such 

at Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings, including 

142

those designated prior to entry into force of the 

Protocol, as well as any sites or monuments of 

recognized historic value designated as Antarctic 

Specially Protected Areas or Antarctic Specially 

Managed Areas.

	Annex V obligates Parties to keep and exchange 

detailed information regarding Antarctic Specially 

Protected Areas, Antarctic Specially Managed 

Areas and historic sites and monuments, including 

records of permits and site visits; and calls for 

Parties to take steps to ensure that all those 

intending to visit Antarctica have clear and accurate 

information about the system of protected areas.

	The restrictions established and authorized with 

regard to Antarctic Specially Protected Areas, 

Antarctic Specially Managed Areas and historic sites 

and monuments do not apply in cases of emergency 

relating to the safety of human life or of ships, 

aircraft or equipment and facilities of high value, 

or the protection of the environment. 

Immediate notification is required of activities 

undertaken in any such circumstances.

143

	Annex V provides for amendments or modifications to 

become effective on an accelerated basis. Unless the 

amendment or modification specifies otherwise, it will

enter into effect one year after adoption, provided that 

no Antarctic Treaty Consultative Party has notified the

Depositary that it wishes an extension of that period or

that it is unable to approve the amendment or modification.

	Bibliography

	Brewster, Barney. Antarctica: Wilderness At Risk. 

		San Francisco: Friends of the Earth, 1982.

	Collier, Graham, and Patricia Graham Collier. 

          Antarctica Odyssey: In The Footsteps Of The South 

		Polar Explorers. New York: Carroll and Graf 			
		Publishers,

		Inc. 1999.

	New York Times. February 3 & October 20, 1998.   

	Sullivan, Walter. Quest For A Continent. New York:

		McGraw Hill, 1957.

	U. S. Congress. Senate. Senate Treaty Documents, 

		Nos. 21-28. 102d Cong., 2d Sess., S. Doc. 22.

		Serial 14092.

144

	U. S. Department of State. Bulletin 41:911-17. 

		December 21, 1959.

	U. S. Department of State. Handbook Of The Antarctic

		Treaty System. Eighth edition. Washington D. C.:

		Government Printing Office, April 1994.

	Van der Leeden, Frits. Water Resources Of The World:

		Selected Statistics. Port Washington, New York:

		Water Information Center, 1975.

Walton. D. W. H. Antarctic Science. New York: Cambridge

		University Press, 1987.

Special thanks to:

	Harlan K. Cohen

	Office of Oceans Affairs

	Bureau of Oceans and International

	Environmental and Scientific Affairs

	Room 5801

	U. S. Department of State

	Washington, D. C. 20520

	(202) 647-3262

	Fax: (202) 647-1106

145