Conflicts of interest in the use of Antarctica

The International Geophysical Year of 1957–58 demonstrated the effective use of the Antarctic for peaceful international scientific activity, and the Antarctic Treaty of 1961 acknowledges the important contribution of science. The pre-eminent position accorded to science has been vindicated: 30 years of intensive research have shown the intimate connections and controlling influences of Antarctica on the principal environmental systems of planet Earth (climate, ocean circulation and sea level