Dividing up Antarctica

[Nicole]

What if, rather than simply not enforcing antarctic claims, it was decided that, though Antarctica should be completely demilitarized, that it should be officialy divided?
According to the map on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Antarctica.jpg), Though the Australian, French, New Zealandian, and Norwegian claims do not overlap, the British, Argentinan, and Chilean claims overlap very much so. How would these claims be solved? I can see Chile being given the unclaimed are between its claims and New Zealands in exchange for giving up it's claims on the disputed area, but I don't see how Argentina and the UK can divide up the area without either side making a large concession- which one would be more likely to do so? (It is just a vast icecube, after all... But considering that in OTL Argentina actually invaded the tiny Falkland Islands, would they be willing to compromise on the much larger Argentine Antarctic? I'm not so sure about Britain, either..)

[Scarecrow]

uh antartica apaerently has oil and coal deposits, as well as minerals that can be mined, but there was treaty or something to leaglise it, but none of the countries who have parts of Antarctica signed it...it would be good pracitse for mining in the colder parts of the solar system though

[BurningWickerman]

Their are vast untouched mineral reserves in Anatartica. Their was a ecological treaty between most important nations not to mine, station military forces or lay claim too Anatartica(the latter has mianly been ignored by the countries involved). It is open for research to scientists of all nations.
It is going to run out in a decade or so and their is going to be a major argument as too whether we are going to mine the antartic for minerals and possibly destroy the only prisitine continent or ignore vast reserves of minerals and fuels while their is a shortage of both in the inhabitied world.
If mining and such goes on their will be an interest in staking out parts of the continent and in increased competition military forces could be deployed.
I dont think anyone takes anybodys claims seriously at the moment because their isn't much worth owning at the moment.

In ATL their could be an earlier wider scale industrial revolution or a need for a paticular mineral only found their that could cause a superpower war over the antartic plains.

[Sargon]

Hmmm, there's a large piece of unclaimed land there.....

What I say is we get a ship, load it up with eveything we need to establish a base, supplies etc, land there, and take possession of said land. They can't evict us since military are not allowed there, and we are not a country.....I believe, like the Outer Space Treaty, there is no mention made about INDIVIDUALS taking control over something, since they forgot to put it in.

Of course we'd secretly have arms onboard our ship in case they played dirty...a few ex-Russian nukes would be nice....

Oh, and the 'AH Club' not being signatories of the Treaty or a nation, we could simply ignore it. It is after all just 'ink on a page' (said with Lord Refa type voice).

Where's Doctor What? This is a golden opportunity....


Sargon

[Doctor What]

Hmmmmm...there's over 600 members on this board--quite a few ex-military guys--a very wide age range--many of us have a wide assortment of employment skills--multiple languages spoken/written/understood--vast knowledge of historical info (including battles, wars, etc)--some of us work for our respective governments.....

This has.... possibilities.......

[Sargon]

Hmmmm, good points.....there certainly are......

And what a great place to have an underground base/secret lab....

More than just possibilities, I was thinking of eventual ....domination.....

Hmmmm, now where's that ex British/Brazilian carrier and Russian sub that was for sale on eBay.....

Sargon

[Dave Howery]

at the moment, modern technology isn't able to recover whatever mineral resources there are in Antarctica. If they had tried to do anything with it in the past, chances are they would only have ruined the place, as Antarctica has one of the narrowest and most fragile ecological strips on the planet....

[Diamond]

There is a novel by Kim Stanley Robinson called, strangely enough, 'Antarctica', about the dissolution of the treaty and the scrambling to carve up the continent.

[Grimm Reaper]

Well, I see the decision was not to brief Dave Howery on the most recent tech upgrades we have achieved. Sad, sad, so long on AH yet still relegated to the physical labor role...


Yes! Possibilities! Yes! Doctor What is correct, although he failed to mention to Sargon that while a carrier might be nice, we are already deploying our own fleet of U-boats.

I personally find U-boat a much more suitable name than submarine. We want warships, not a large sandwich.

So, where should our first secret lair be located on OUR continent?

[Dave Howery]

the world will unite to stop you and your mad plans, to save the penguins from your nefarious schemes, since they are so cute and lovable....

[Doctor What]

Penguins are EVIL!!

Go ask Abdul--he has proof!!!

</ adjusts tin foil hat>

[Sargon]

Ahhhh, yes, U-Boat...a much better term...sneaky...wolf-like and dangerous....

I must have spent too much time at Subway eating foot long cheese steak combos....thanks for setting me right Grimm....

U-Boats would be much better for our main secret base...Vulcania like, can only be accessed by using a U-Boat...less chance of being discovered...

As for where...well, ultimately it needs to be in a natural cavern, or carved under the rock for maximum survivability....the good Doctor's new lab must be secure from all threats....

Doctor What is right about the penguins of course, what he declined to mention is that the penguins are actually drones controlled by his bio-neural mind probe network....don't be fooled...his spies are everywhere....

Sargon

[DuQuense]

?Why a secret underground Base?

Whe simply buy those Habitat thingies from Arizona. and set them up.
as whe ain't worried about proving their livability, whe can open the door to get fresh air and supplies.


PS whe may build some basement facilities of course

[Alayta]

wasen´t the entry to the hollow earth located in antarctica aswell? Maybe we could claim that aswell?

[Leo Caesius]

wasen´t the entry to the hollow earth located in antarctica aswell? Maybe we could claim that aswell?
Symes wanted to mount an expedition to discover a portal to the interior of the earth. His expedition inspired Edgar Allen Poe to write his Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, which is one of my favorite books, and the inspiration for so much fiction (Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness, Campbell's Who Goes There?, and Carpenter's The Thing, for starters).

One of my distant ancestors perished during an Antarctic expedition, in fact.

There was also allegedly a portal at the North Pole.

[Doctor What]

Oh sure, we could try to take over the Hollow Earth--but we will have to deal with all the Nazis and their Inner World Alien Masters.... :rolleyes:

[DuQuense]

?What hollow Earth?.
?Did you mean the tunnel from this side of the earth,
thru the disk to the other side?

[Doctor What]

Oh--much more weirder than that DuQ--we're talking about stuff that will make even the tinfoil hat brigade go 'Whoa--dude--wtf are you smoking, man?'

Here be weird link.... (http://paranormal.about.com/library/weekly/aa011199.htm)

[LowLevelFunctionary]

Here be weird link.... (http://paranormal.about.com/library/weekly/aa011199.htm)

That is one of the most amazing pieces of crap that I have ever read. Cheers man, by the time it got to 'Aryan looking UFO pilots' I was in tears...

[Doctor What]

Glad you appreciated it so much--but trust me, that is not the weirdest link I've come across--not by a long shot.

I have a (scary) reputation on this board of being able to find the most twisted and most beautifully insane links known to humanity--a lot of members see my 'weird links' posting every friday as the highlight of the weekend.

[Grimm Reaper]

...puts on large pointy tinfoil hat with Christmas decoration dangling from tip...

Dave, as regards the evil of penguins, Abdul is the specialist on the issue, bravely leading the way against the vast right and left wing aquatic avian conspiracy. Let us all salute him, and express gratitude that he's the one at risk in this matter.

Sargon, always glad to aid a fellow member. And I concur whole-heartedly in your opinions regarding secret installations.

Duq, come on, bro. What's the point in a sinister and twisted scheme to take over the world if you can't show some style? 'Habitats' indeed. No doubt with little cubicles for office space. Damn it, I want massive wildly over the top hidden lairs and secret gigantic evil laboratories.

Perhaps we should poll the board for preferences? Duq's dull functionality versus the Reaper's classic sense of megalomaniac style?

Alayta, hush! Don't give away so many secrets!

Doctor What, a fine recovery, pretending to mock the reference to Hollow Earth first discovered by Arne Saknussem.

LowLevel, always glad to please, but clearly you have only just begun to scan the selection here.

Doctor What, I was under the impression that many on the board were taking up arms regarding your periodic offerings? Of course, I understand that these people simply lack the perspective to appreciate your greatness...

[Dave Howery]

abdul is well known for his anti-penguin bigotry, so his word is not to be trusted on this matter. He is part of a world spanning conspiracy to wipe out the poor innocent little critters simply out of malice, evil, and a desire to have them out of the way so that the riches of Antarctica can be plundered and used to establish his supremacy over the world. Down with the penguin haters!!

[Diamond]

Glad you appreciated it so much--but trust me, that is not the weirdest link I've come across--not by a long shot.

I have a (scary) reputation on this board of being able to find the most twisted and most beautifully insane links known to humanity--a lot of members see my 'weird links' posting every friday as the highlight of the weekend.

Don't break your arm trying to pat yourself on the back... :D

[Sargon]

He won't. He'll just sever someone else's and use it instead :p

Sargon

[Doctor What]

Don't break your arm trying to pat yourself on the back... :D

Not going to happen--I'm very nubile and flexible, Diamond... :p

[Romulus Augustulus]

Penguins are evil. They steal the credit cards of zoogoers and explorers.

[Othniel]

Let's hurry up then before seals start getting domesticated by the penguins...or start using their sciences to resurect the frozen dinosaurs in the artic wastelands.

[sunsurf]

Some of those Antarctic icebergs are hundreds of miles across. There's plenty of room inside one of those. Plus they're maneuverable. Sort of.
Think how much could you get done inside one of those.
I wonder, how long do they take to melt?
;) :D :) :p

[Melvin Loh]

Just FYI, there's actually a novel called ICE STATION written by Aussie writer Matthew Reilly, which involves a team of US Marines engaging in secret warfare against British SAS and French specops teams in the wilderness of Antarctica, over their respective countries' real hush-hust interests there.

If you Aussie guys respond to this thread, any of you fellas read it yet ?

[TheLoneAmigo]

Yes, I've read Ice Station. Great book. Should be turned into a movie someday.

WI: The French suprise Scarecrow, and take control of the invisi-fighter. What next?

[Dave Howery]

I read a book back in the early '80's (whose title I don't remember) about US oil companies sponsoring a high tech group of settlers who take over Antarctica and declare it an soveriegn nation; the goal is to tap the supposedly large oil reserves under the ice cap. The whole expedition is eventually destroyed by Chile, who sends forces there that basically kill all the settlers and claim the continent for themselves. SInce most of the settlers were American, I find it hard to imagine that the US would just sit back and let that happen....

[Bulldawg85]

Actually, there was an old wargame by SPI that came out in the late 1970's about a war in Antarctica over the resources. If the environmentalists are screaming over Anwar imagin what they would be saying about Antartica!! :eek:

[Tyr]

Well for the claims I'd imagine Britain's antarctic claim would fall under the same area as the Falkland Islands and South Georgia so unless Argentina want to try their luck again they are getting jack.

Though it'd never happen, as said it isn't viable to get the resouces in antarctica. There are a lot of untapped resources in Siberia however the Russians aren't bothering with them too much as the cost of getting them would be more then their value.

[Othniel]

Hmm...*writes down Siberia being bought by Singapore as well and then Antartica* What..it could happen? *hides notes*

[Bulldawg85]

So, far we have just been talking about minerals which we find in other places, but what if some mineral that was in minute quantities in other places was discovered in large quantities in Antarctica? Unobtanium perhaps? :D

[Romulus Augustulus]

As for getting rid of penguins...just introduce polar bears to Antarctica! They should eat the penguins into extinction in no time at all. And I have a sort of zombie virus available...it's like an overglorified strain of rabies. It puts you into a coma, then out of it, in a super-rabid state. You still need to breathe and eat, which is difficult, considering that you are probably going to be suffering from multiple organ failures and that you have no more immune system. And other things...which means that rabid zombies are fragile (one or two well placed shots can cause massive multiple organ failure...) but it does have its uses. Where should I release this sick shit?

[Scarecrow]

Just FYI, there's actually a novel called ICE STATION written by Aussie writer Matthew Reilly, which involves a team of US Marines engaging in secret warfare against British SAS and French specops teams in the wilderness of Antarctica, over their respective countries' real hush-hust interests there.

If you Aussie guys respond to this thread, any of you fellas read it yet ?
yeah Ice Station ROCKS!!! has anyone read Scarecrow? it is awesome, infact all of hhis books are cool, i just cannot remember the name of the main character. ;)
has anyone read KimStanleyRobberstons Antartica? its ok, not great, but ok.

back 2 hollow earth. ok acoriding to some people these are the entrances to hollow earth
The Entrances. There are allegedly several entrances to the Kingdom of Agharta throughout the world:

Kentucky Mommoth Cave, in south-central Kentucky, US.
Mount Shasta, California, US - the Agharthean city of Telos allegedly exists within and beneath this mountain.
Manaus, Brazil.
Mato Grosso, Brazil - the city of Posid supposedly lies beneath this plain.
Iguaçú Falls, border or Brazil and Argentina.
Mount Epomeo, Italy.
Himalayan Mountains, Tibet - the entrance to the underground city of Shonshe is allegedly guarded by Hindu monks.
Mongolia - the underground city of Shingwa allegedly exists beneath the border of Mongolia and China.
Rama, India - beneath this surface city is a long lost subterranean city, they say, also named Rama.
Pyramid of Giza, Egypt.
King Solomon's Mines.
Dero Caves, ?.
North and South Poles

there are entrances all over the place!!! its easier to get into then...er paris hilton!!!

sorry i had to get that out of my system.

would the gravity in a hollow earth be like a dyson sphere? i guess the earth rotates to slowly for a good gravity right?

[Scarecrow]

wait! i found a map of hollow earth!

[Grey Wolf]

One of my distant ancestors perished during an Antarctic expedition, in fact.



Completely tangentally I discovered last night that one of my distant relatives was a famous chemist who got blown up in the Silvertown explosion of 1917. I even found a photograph of his grave online. He was posthumously awarded the Edward Medal (fore-runner of the George Cross). The slight problem is that although we know that he was related to us because we know that his actress daughter was related to us, we're a bit vague on how they were.

Grey Wolf

[Melvin Loh]

Scarecrow, the main character's 1st name is Shane, his nickname's the same as yours, but I too can't remember his surname. And I haven't seen any copies of ICE STATION here in the UK, so I can't really check. Scarecrow got his nickname based on his previous service as a Recon Marine in the Balkans directing US Navy SEAL assassination teams against the Bosnian Serbs, during which he was kidnapped and tortured by the Serbs who cut his eyelids, thereby giving him a scarecrow-like appearance.


BTW, there was also another book from the PHOENIX FORCE series in the late 1980s, called COLD DEAD (SUPER PHOENIX FORCE no. 2 IIRC) which had as the premise a bunch of American mercs illegally testing nuclear weapons in Antarctica, and murdering a couple of scientists who found out. The villain was a nasty racist Georgian fella called Eric Hellson, renegade American arms manufacturer responsible for atrocities in Vietnam and involved in developing, designing and selling on the black market his own nuclear cannon on his own property in NZ.

[swamphen]

Or at least really, really dumb...

http://www.swamphen.net/graphics/misc/wakeup.jpg

[Alex Richards]

Of course our Antartic base shall have to look like a cross between a Bond villain lair and the New York Public Library after the superfreeze in Day After Tomorrow.

[DoktorDespot]

Wow, how did you even find this four year old thread? And just to say that...