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Environment
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Antarctica
Antarctica is the world’s southernmost continent, and is completely surrounded by the Southern Ocean. It is the fifth largest continent in the world, with an area of 14 million km². The continent of Antarctica is a rocky landmass of islands, but most of this landmass is covered by a thick layer of ice called the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Because of the thickness of the ice sheet, Antarctica has the highest average elevation of any... more |
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The Ross Dependancy
The Ross Dependency is New Zealand’s wedge shaped territorial claim of an area of Antarctica including the Ross Sea, Ross Ice Shelf, Ross Island, and the Transantarctic Mountains, extending to the South Pole. It was officially claimed by the United Kingdom in 1923 based on discoveries made by early explorers including Ross, Scott and Shackleton; and in the same year had its administration handed over to... more |
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Scott Base
Scott Base, New Zealand’s Antarctic base, is located at Pram Point on Ross Island in McMurdo Sound. It was originally built in 1957, and rebuilt to be a suitable permanent base from 1976 to 1977. Today, it is a modern facility well suited to science support. Scott Base is made up of eight linked buildings with a maximum capacity of 80 people, and equipped with many of the comforts of... more |
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Antarctic Dry Valleys
The Antarctic Dry Valleys are located to the west of McMurdo Sound in the Ross Sea Region. Covering approximately 5000 km², the Dry Valleys make up the largest ice-free area in Antarctica. This region is made up of a series of valleys with a landscape that is much different from the rest of the continent, and the rest of the... more |
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Environmental Protection
Antarctica New Zealand is committed to the protection of the Antarctic environment, and as a signing member of the Antarctic Treaty has a duty to ensure that all activities under its programme are carried out in an environmentally responsible manner. All field parties are required to submit an environmental impact assessment that identifies the potential impacts that their team’s field activities will have on the environment... more |
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