- Email: [email protected]
Antarctic resources policy; scientific, legal and political issues
23.3 considered research papers and brief over-
penguins
views. Thirdly, and not unreasonably, the
fished since 1964, and now are fished for both scientific and commercial reasons. The
majority of the chapters were prepared by mainland Europeans. In this respect, if no
and
baleen whales, have been
over-harvesting of whales in the past appears to have led to larger stocks of kfill in
other, the volume is a useful collection of work which may well otherwise be fairly in-
the sea, which may also explain the reason
accessible to much of the meteorological
for increasing populations of some penguin
community.
colonies. Estimating krill standing stock is
My chief reservation is neither about the quality of the papers nor that they were pub-
difficult because of the widely variable krill densities caused by swarming. In addition,
lished but that they were published in this very expensive form. With the very strong
not enough is known about the life style and reproduction of krill to make educated guesses as to the limits for commercial
dollar this book costs about ,£50 and even before the recent dramatic fall of the pound sterling would have cost over £40. I feel that the material could have been published far more cheaply and would consequently have reached a larger audience.
harvesting. Several papers pertain to the geology ef Antarctica and the potential for mineral resource development and exploitation, particularly with regard to oil and gas. Aside from possible mineral deposits in the Dufek
B.W. Atkinson, London
intrusion, a layered magmatic formation similar to the Bushveld complex in South Africa, and also a banded iron-formation and manganese deposit in the Prince Charles Mountains, there is little incitement for corn-
ECONOMIC GEOLOGY 1983.
mercial development because of the difficult
Antarctic Resources Policy; Scientific, Legal and Political Issues. Cambridge University
Francisco
Orrego
logistics and high cost of exploitation in a continent that is nearly all (98 percent) ice-covered. Although Antarctica is consid-
Press, Cambridge, (hardback).
Vicui~a (Editor),
viii + 335
pp.,
£32.50
An international conference on Antarctic resources, held between 6 and 9 October
ered by some to have the largest coal field in the world, much of it is in the interior of the continent, and mining costs would not be
1982, was the first meeting of its kind to be held in Antarctica, at the Chilean station
competitive with existing coal-mining operations in other parts of the world. For the same reasons, there is little likelihood of hy-
Teniente Rodolfo Marsh (62°12'S 58°54'W) on King George Island in the South Shetland Islands. The meeting was attended by about
drocarbon exploitation on land, even though oil or gas might exist in one or more of the sedimentary basins that occur beneath the
55 people from 13 countries. Twenty-three technical papers presented at the conference are included in this book, which pre-
thick ice sheet. Offshore, increased use in the past few years of modern instrumenta-
sents the official record of the conference on Antarctic Resources Policy, organized by the Institute of International Studies of the University of Chile. The book's editor is the Director of the Institute. In general, the scientific, legal and political issues of the book's subtitle all pertain to the s e e m i n g l y inevitable p r o s p e c t s of harvesting living resources, mainly krill, and also the potential exploitation of hydrocarbon and mineral resources. Krill, a collective term for several genera and species of the euphausid crustaceans that are the food for larger elements of animal life such as
tion, such as multi-channel seismic surveys, has shown that a number of sedimentary basins exist, but the extent of potential areas and whether any hydrocarbons exist is unknown. Even if oil is discovered now, earliest production would be around the year 2000 Environmental factors related to possible e~ploitation are discussed with regard to blowouts and oil spills, for example, that would have severe impacts on the marine life. The Antarctic Treaty, the basic mechanism that has permitted and encouraged an excellent working relationship among the many nations active in Antarctica since the
234 International Geophysical Year, 1957-58, is
metamorphic-sedimentary
due for review and possible modification in
petrologists and lithologists. Not only does
1991.
Ku2vart offer useful (for both the theoretician and practitioner, the academician and ex-
Except for some resolution on the
status of mineral development and ownership, and exploitation of living resources, it is probable that the Treaty will not be reviewed in depth or discarded in 1991 because the cooperation that has taken place under the Treaty has been to the mutual benefit of all signatories and of the international community as a whole. Two of the Treaty countries appear to be emphasizing that their research stations are also settlements for families. Women and children are present ( N o v e m b e r December 1984) at both Marsh base (Chile) and Esperanza (Argentina), and wives of station personnel have given birth to children at both locations in the last few years. Part of the reason for this relatively new situation may be the approaching review date of 1991 for the Treaty, and these settlements, or colonies, may also be a means of enforcing clear title to the territorial claims of three countries that o v e r l a p - - A r g e n t i n a , Chile, and United Kingdom. As the world watches for the current 30-year term of the Treaty to expire, this book is a welcome addition to the subject of Antarctic resources and the political situation, combining both topics into a valuable reference document for continuing discussions among Treaty nations. It is hoped that the excellent cooperation that has existed among these nations to date will continue. J.F. Splettstoesser, St. Paul, Minn.
mineralogists,
plorationist) descriptive/observational information, but prevents also many g e n e t i c / interpretive and environmental concepts. Thus, the t e a c h e r of s e d i m e n t o l o g y sedimentary petrology-depositional environments, for instance, does not have to restrict himself to purely theoreticaI-cum-academic matters, which traditionally have been applied by utilizing examples from the petroleum industry, but the Industrial Minerals and Rocks (together with coal and others) can be included. The same argument applies to courses in igneous and metamorphic petrology, which unfortunately and traditionally confined themselves to theoretical topics and a separate course (e.g., "economic geology") provided the practical side (and then the students were exposed chiefly or only to metalliferous "ores", mainly in the form of highly theoretical and partly practical, t h i n - s e c t i o n - t o - phase diagram level, mf o r m a t i o n w i t h o u t first teaching them handspecimen, core and outcrop petrograp h y / p e t r o l o g y ) . ( " O r e " is used by some geologist only for metalliferous deposits, although others prefer to broaden its definition; e.g. see Wolf, 1985.) Add Ku2vart's book to the compulsory reading list of all advanced geology students. The relative, comparative (misleading) "unpopularity" of industrial m i n e r a l / r o c k s as a subject matter to be taught pointed
out
many
times.
has been
Harben
(1982)
M. Ku2vart, 1984. Industrial Minerals and Rocks. Developments in Economic Geology,
discussed the "non-frenzy" associated with IMR, e.g. kaolin and dolomite (in contrast to gold and other precious metals), although
18, Elsevier, Amsterdam, co-edition with Academia, Prague, 454 pp., US$77.00 / Dfl.200.O0 (hard cover).
" f u r t h e r digging provides perhaps the real foundation of modern society" namely industrial minerals. Didn't pottery precede the earliest form of metallurgy? The unpopularity
This book is indeed a very welcome addition to Bate's contributions, so well known among the English / American-language readers. Ku2vart's book is recommended to the following: economic geologists in general and explorationists in the search for non-metallic deposits in particular; students and teachers of these topics; managers and industrialists involved in the industrial mineral utilization; and igneous-
of the IMR is further illustrated by reviews such as " G e o l o g y - - P a s t and Future" in Geology (1983, 11 : 679- 692) where only the metalliferous ores were discussed. However, an integration of both metalliferous and industrial mineral deposits has been undertaken already by some researchers, such as in the m e t a l l o g e n i c / m i n e r o g e n i c (note that the latter term includes the non-metals) literature by SchneiderhOhn (1961), Baumann
penguins
views. Thirdly, and not unreasonably, the
fished since 1964, and now are fished for both scientific and commercial reasons. The
majority of the chapters were prepared by mainland Europeans. In this respect, if no
and
baleen whales, have been
over-harvesting of whales in the past appears to have led to larger stocks of kfill in
other, the volume is a useful collection of work which may well otherwise be fairly in-
the sea, which may also explain the reason
accessible to much of the meteorological
for increasing populations of some penguin
community.
colonies. Estimating krill standing stock is
My chief reservation is neither about the quality of the papers nor that they were pub-
difficult because of the widely variable krill densities caused by swarming. In addition,
lished but that they were published in this very expensive form. With the very strong
not enough is known about the life style and reproduction of krill to make educated guesses as to the limits for commercial
dollar this book costs about ,£50 and even before the recent dramatic fall of the pound sterling would have cost over £40. I feel that the material could have been published far more cheaply and would consequently have reached a larger audience.
harvesting. Several papers pertain to the geology ef Antarctica and the potential for mineral resource development and exploitation, particularly with regard to oil and gas. Aside from possible mineral deposits in the Dufek
B.W. Atkinson, London
intrusion, a layered magmatic formation similar to the Bushveld complex in South Africa, and also a banded iron-formation and manganese deposit in the Prince Charles Mountains, there is little incitement for corn-
ECONOMIC GEOLOGY 1983.
mercial development because of the difficult
Antarctic Resources Policy; Scientific, Legal and Political Issues. Cambridge University
Francisco
Orrego
logistics and high cost of exploitation in a continent that is nearly all (98 percent) ice-covered. Although Antarctica is consid-
Press, Cambridge, (hardback).
Vicui~a (Editor),
viii + 335
pp.,
£32.50
An international conference on Antarctic resources, held between 6 and 9 October
ered by some to have the largest coal field in the world, much of it is in the interior of the continent, and mining costs would not be
1982, was the first meeting of its kind to be held in Antarctica, at the Chilean station
competitive with existing coal-mining operations in other parts of the world. For the same reasons, there is little likelihood of hy-
Teniente Rodolfo Marsh (62°12'S 58°54'W) on King George Island in the South Shetland Islands. The meeting was attended by about
drocarbon exploitation on land, even though oil or gas might exist in one or more of the sedimentary basins that occur beneath the
55 people from 13 countries. Twenty-three technical papers presented at the conference are included in this book, which pre-
thick ice sheet. Offshore, increased use in the past few years of modern instrumenta-
sents the official record of the conference on Antarctic Resources Policy, organized by the Institute of International Studies of the University of Chile. The book's editor is the Director of the Institute. In general, the scientific, legal and political issues of the book's subtitle all pertain to the s e e m i n g l y inevitable p r o s p e c t s of harvesting living resources, mainly krill, and also the potential exploitation of hydrocarbon and mineral resources. Krill, a collective term for several genera and species of the euphausid crustaceans that are the food for larger elements of animal life such as
tion, such as multi-channel seismic surveys, has shown that a number of sedimentary basins exist, but the extent of potential areas and whether any hydrocarbons exist is unknown. Even if oil is discovered now, earliest production would be around the year 2000 Environmental factors related to possible e~ploitation are discussed with regard to blowouts and oil spills, for example, that would have severe impacts on the marine life. The Antarctic Treaty, the basic mechanism that has permitted and encouraged an excellent working relationship among the many nations active in Antarctica since the
234 International Geophysical Year, 1957-58, is
metamorphic-sedimentary
due for review and possible modification in
petrologists and lithologists. Not only does
1991.
Ku2vart offer useful (for both the theoretician and practitioner, the academician and ex-
Except for some resolution on the
status of mineral development and ownership, and exploitation of living resources, it is probable that the Treaty will not be reviewed in depth or discarded in 1991 because the cooperation that has taken place under the Treaty has been to the mutual benefit of all signatories and of the international community as a whole. Two of the Treaty countries appear to be emphasizing that their research stations are also settlements for families. Women and children are present ( N o v e m b e r December 1984) at both Marsh base (Chile) and Esperanza (Argentina), and wives of station personnel have given birth to children at both locations in the last few years. Part of the reason for this relatively new situation may be the approaching review date of 1991 for the Treaty, and these settlements, or colonies, may also be a means of enforcing clear title to the territorial claims of three countries that o v e r l a p - - A r g e n t i n a , Chile, and United Kingdom. As the world watches for the current 30-year term of the Treaty to expire, this book is a welcome addition to the subject of Antarctic resources and the political situation, combining both topics into a valuable reference document for continuing discussions among Treaty nations. It is hoped that the excellent cooperation that has existed among these nations to date will continue. J.F. Splettstoesser, St. Paul, Minn.
mineralogists,
plorationist) descriptive/observational information, but prevents also many g e n e t i c / interpretive and environmental concepts. Thus, the t e a c h e r of s e d i m e n t o l o g y sedimentary petrology-depositional environments, for instance, does not have to restrict himself to purely theoreticaI-cum-academic matters, which traditionally have been applied by utilizing examples from the petroleum industry, but the Industrial Minerals and Rocks (together with coal and others) can be included. The same argument applies to courses in igneous and metamorphic petrology, which unfortunately and traditionally confined themselves to theoretical topics and a separate course (e.g., "economic geology") provided the practical side (and then the students were exposed chiefly or only to metalliferous "ores", mainly in the form of highly theoretical and partly practical, t h i n - s e c t i o n - t o - phase diagram level, mf o r m a t i o n w i t h o u t first teaching them handspecimen, core and outcrop petrograp h y / p e t r o l o g y ) . ( " O r e " is used by some geologist only for metalliferous deposits, although others prefer to broaden its definition; e.g. see Wolf, 1985.) Add Ku2vart's book to the compulsory reading list of all advanced geology students. The relative, comparative (misleading) "unpopularity" of industrial m i n e r a l / r o c k s as a subject matter to be taught pointed
out
many
times.
has been
Harben
(1982)
M. Ku2vart, 1984. Industrial Minerals and Rocks. Developments in Economic Geology,
discussed the "non-frenzy" associated with IMR, e.g. kaolin and dolomite (in contrast to gold and other precious metals), although
18, Elsevier, Amsterdam, co-edition with Academia, Prague, 454 pp., US$77.00 / Dfl.200.O0 (hard cover).
" f u r t h e r digging provides perhaps the real foundation of modern society" namely industrial minerals. Didn't pottery precede the earliest form of metallurgy? The unpopularity
This book is indeed a very welcome addition to Bate's contributions, so well known among the English / American-language readers. Ku2vart's book is recommended to the following: economic geologists in general and explorationists in the search for non-metallic deposits in particular; students and teachers of these topics; managers and industrialists involved in the industrial mineral utilization; and igneous-
of the IMR is further illustrated by reviews such as " G e o l o g y - - P a s t and Future" in Geology (1983, 11 : 679- 692) where only the metalliferous ores were discussed. However, an integration of both metalliferous and industrial mineral deposits has been undertaken already by some researchers, such as in the m e t a l l o g e n i c / m i n e r o g e n i c (note that the latter term includes the non-metals) literature by SchneiderhOhn (1961), Baumann