Antarctic

The Antarctic is the Earth’s southern polar region, encompassing the vast continent of Antarctica together with its surrounding oceanic waters, ice shelves and subantarctic island systems. Lying within and around the Antarctic Circle and centred on the South Pole, it forms the geographical antipode of the Arctic. The region covers roughly one fifth of the Southern Hemisphere, about 14 million square kilometres of which is occupied by the Antarctic continent itself. It is administered under an international legal framework known as the Antarctic Treaty System and has no permanent human population.

Geographic Definition and Extent

For legal and scientific purposes, the Antarctic region is defined as all territory south of the 60th parallel south. This includes the continent of Antarctica and several adjacent island groups such as the Balleny Islands, Peter I Island, Scott Island, the South Orkney Islands and the South Shetland Islands. The Antarctic Convergence—a dynamic marine boundary where cold Southern Ocean waters meet warmer northern waters—forms an ecological transition rather than a strict political or geographic border. Its position varies seasonally, and for resource management purposes the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources approximates this zone through a set of fixed coordinates forming a boundary line.
Between 60° S and the Antarctic Convergence lie a number of islands under national jurisdiction, including South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (United Kingdom), Bouvet Island (Norway), and Heard Island and McDonald Islands (Australia). The Kerguelen Islands, an overseas territory of France, also fall largely within this marine boundary. Other subantarctic islands at higher latitudes, such as Tierra del Fuego, the Falkland Islands, Macquarie Island and Tristan da Cunha, lie north of the Convergence and therefore outside the Antarctic region.

Ecology and the Antarctic Realm

Biogeographically, the Antarctic realm is one of the planet’s eight terrestrial realms. Its terrestrial biodiversity is extremely limited due to harsh climatic conditions. More than ninety-nine per cent of the continent is covered by ice and snow, leaving only a handful of exposed rocky areas. The native flowering plants are limited to two species—Antarctic hair grass and Antarctic pearlwort—although numerous mosses, liverworts, lichens and macrofungi survive in favourable microhabitats. Marine ecosystems, by contrast, are rich, supporting species such as Antarctic icefish, Antarctic toothfish and the colossal squid.
The subantarctic islands exhibit low but variable biodiversity. Studies suggest that climatic severity, island size, remoteness and trophic stability shape species richness. Plant scarcity limits herbivorous insects, which in turn influences bird populations that rely on them as a food source.

Conservation and Environmental Protection

The Antarctic region contains the largest protected area on Earth. In 2012 the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands Marine Protection Area was established, covering more than 1 million square kilometres. The Ross Sea Marine Protection Area, created in 2016, is even larger at approximately 1.55 million square kilometres, though its designation is subject to review after thirty-five years.
Environmental protection is reinforced through the International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters, in force since January 2017. This code regulates vessel construction and operation to reduce ecological disturbance and increase maritime safety in polar conditions.
Climate change poses serious risks to the region. Melting of the Antarctic ice sheet carries major implications for global sea-level rise. Disruption of Southern Ocean overturning circulation caused by freshwater input may alter climate patterns and impact marine ecosystems. These changes underscore the critical global significance of Antarctic climate dynamics.

History of Human Interaction

Antarctica had no indigenous inhabitants before European exploration. Early reports of southern lands date as far back as antiquity, though the first recorded sighting is attributed to Gabriel de Castilla in 1603. South Georgia was likely the first Antarctic-associated land visited, reached by merchant Anthony de la Roch in 1675.
The first confirmed sighting of the Antarctic continent occurred in 1820 during a Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev aboard the vessels Vostok and Mirny. Although the region was long considered uninhabitable, occasional births have taken place on Antarctic islands or research outposts. The first person born in Antarctic waters was James Kerguelen Robinson in 1859 aboard a sealing vessel in the Kerguelen archipelago. Solveig Gunbjørg Jacobsen, born in 1913 at Grytviken, South Georgia, was the first child born and raised on an Antarctic island. The first documented birth on the Antarctic continent itself occurred at Argentina’s Esperanza Base in 1978 when Emilio Marcos Palma was born as part of a national initiative to reinforce territorial claims.

Human Presence and Tourism

Today, the Antarctic hosts no permanent residents. Its human population consists primarily of scientists, support personnel and limited logistical staff stationed at research bases operated by various nations. These individuals work on rotational assignments throughout the year.
Tourism has grown substantially, with over 40,000 visitors arriving annually, mainly to the Antarctic Peninsula, the South Shetland Islands and South Georgia. Concerns about environmental impact and safety in this remote region prompted international review at a 2009 conference in New Zealand, with findings presented to the Antarctic Treaty consultative meeting in 2010.

Time Zones

The Antarctic region theoretically falls within all global time zones because it surrounds the South Pole. In practice, individual stations adopt the time zone of the country that operates or supplies them, or that of the nearest logistical gateway.

Offshore Islands

Many islands are situated within or adjacent to the Antarctic region. Those south of 60° S—such as the Balleny Islands, Peter I Island, Scott Island, the South Orkney Islands and the South Shetland Islands—fall under the Antarctic Treaty System. Islands north of this parallel but south of the Antarctic Convergence, including South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands and the Kerguelen Islands, lie under the jurisdiction of their respective sovereign states.