On December 1, 1959, the Antarctic Treaty was signed in Washington by the 12 IGY countries.Sixty years on, there are 54 parties to the treaty, with Slovenia the most recent signatory in April.What do nations want in Antarctica?

Norway, South Korea and China are among the biggest catchers of krill; whales, seals, penguins, seabirds and other fish also rely on them for food.

China, which sub-charters tourist boats, has now placed orders for its own expedition ships, says Bergin. Who owns it? Much of that research also has military applications.”Under the treaty, every country has an unfettered right to inspect another country’s activities and facilities.
“Antarctic krill is a resource that will most likely become the centre of increased exploitation well before any push to overturn the prohibition on mining,” says Bergin. “States participating in the Antarctic Treaty System are operating under global conditions of uncertainty,” he says. It's 60 years since a dozen nations signed up to look after Antarctica "for the good of all mankind". Australian laws apply there – but only to Australian nationals.Opening day of the first consultative meeting of the Antarctic Treaty at Parliament House in Canberra, July 1961. Was there really no life there?You might think that the driest place on Earth is the Sahara.

To identify the driest places on Earth, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed average annual rainfall recorded by weather stations around the world and compiled by …

In September of that year, the Soviet Union sent the first spacecraft to the Moon's surface. It is also remarkably quiet, with little human radio interference.“With technological developments in information processing, nanotechnologies and astrophysics, research is now possible in Antarctica that was inconceivable in past years. Warming oceans may cause some types of fish to migrate further south while depleted fisheries in other parts of the ocean may cause fishing vessels to head south too.With the world in huge flux, “one of the fears of the existing consultative parties is that the new kids on the block will come in with completely different norms, completely different ideas about the intent and the value of the treaty … and that will shake up everything,” says Dr Jabour.Dr Press cites Beijing and Moscow’s objections to the proposals for marine protected areas as pressure points. Contrary to the idea that it has been carved up like an icy pie, slices of the continent have been claimed at various times by seven countries.Some claims, such as those of Argentina, Chile and Britain, overlap. Top priorities were outer space and Antarctica.

While there are no hotels, as such, packages advertised online include flying in to stay in luxury eco-friendly “pods”.Fishing is shaping up to be a source of tension, as it in many multilateral agreements. “They are not going to give it up – because in the future, some time, they may want to inhabit it or to exclude others who use resources there. If what he characterises as the current “stalling” over these plans becomes entrenched, “that poses a problem for the overwhelming majority of Antarctic Treaty partners because it means one or two thwart the good intentions of the collective”.The biggest physical threat facing Antarctica is, of course, climate change.“At the moment, we are learning every day more and more about the impacts,” says Dr Jabour. This might be strengthening their position for the future but “whenever China builds another base it’s reported as ‘staking a claim’ in Antarctica and, legally, that’s simply not the case,” says Dr Jabour.Iran has also investigated acceding to the treaty, she says, although US sanctions might lead to them suspending their plans.Mining may be big in the Arctic but in Antarctica it has been banned indefinitely since the Madrid Protocol came into effect in 1998.