What types of resources can be found in Antarctica?

Answer 1

The best description of this or these is the last deposits that remain before nothing is left.

ICE:

One of Antarctica's most important resources is ice. It is said that

Antarctica's ice accounts for 90% of the worlds fresh water. As a resource

it has potential as a fresh water supply. Some people have considered

towing icebergs from Antarctica to parts of the world in need of fresh

water. At present the delivery costs make these ventures unprofitable.

Another possible use of the ice on Antarctica is as a long term deep freeze

storage site for grain and other foods. Again the costs of shipping and

handling are prohibitive.

COAL:

There are coal deposits found along the coast of Antarctica. It is also

very wide spread throughout the Transantarctic Mountains. These deposits

were formed between 35 million and 55 million years ago when Antarctica was

covered by ancient swamps. Coal forms in swamps as plants die and are

buried before they can be completely decomposed. They are then covered by

other sediments such as sand and mud. This burial allows the hydrocarbons

in the coal to be preserved for future generations to use.

Coal is used as a source of direct heat and also to generate electricity in

coal burning power plants. The main problem of developing coal in

Antarctica is that the cost of mining and delivering the coal is so much

higher than the cost of coal in the rest of the world market. It may be

possible for coal to be used in some small research stations for a source of

heat.

PETROLEUM:

Petroleum deposits are formed when plants and small animal remains are

buried in a marine environment by sand and mud. These remains then build up

as hydrocarbons and are trapped by a layer of rock that the hydrocarbons

cannot pass through. These cap rocks then store the petroleum underground

until it is pumped out by wells. At this time there has been no petroleum

exploration attempted and there are no known petroleum resources in

Antarctica.

Most of the speculation about petroleum in Antarctica comes from finding

petroleum on the other Southern continents which were at one time connected

together. The petroleum deposits thought to be on the offshore regions of

Antarctica would probably be most feasible to obtain although they would

have to be exceptionally large to be considered for exploitation because of

the following enormous exploration and development problems:

-Deeper water over the continental shelves;

-The presence of sea ice and icebergs;

-Short work season and hostile climate.

Comparisons with other Gondwana continents suggest the existence of

petroleum reserves in the interior of Antarctica. But these lie below the

thick ice, ruling out development. This is due not only to the thickness of

the ice but also the fact that it is sliding slowly towards the coast. This

makes drilling through the ice and into the rock very difficult.