Compare Antarctica (2006) - Akrotiri (2004)

Compare Antarctica (2006) z Akrotiri (2004)

	Antarctica (2006)	Akrotiri (2004)

Airports	20 note: there are no developed public access airports or landing facilities; 28 stations or remote field locations, operated by 11 National Antarctic Programs from nations party to the Antarctic Treaty, have restricted aircraft landing facilities comprising a total of 11 runways and 22 skiways for fixed-wing aircraft; some stations have both runways and skiways; commercial enterprises operate two aircraft landing facilities at one station; helicopter pads are available at all 37 year-round and 15 seasonal stations operated by National Antarctic Programs; the 11 runways are suitable for wheeled, fixed-wing aircraft: three are gravel, four blue-ice, two sea-ice and two compacted snow; of these, five are 3 km in length, two are between 2 km and 3 km in length, three are between 1 km and 2 km in length and one is less than 1 km in length; the 22 snow surface skiways are limited to use by ski-equipped, fixed-wing aircraft; of these, three are equal to or greater than 3 km in length, one is between 2 km and 3 km in length, nine are between 1 km and 2 km in length, five are less than 1 km in length, and four are of unknown or variable length; snow surface skiways are generally prepared and maintained during specific periods only and during summer; all aircraft landing facilities subject to severe restrictions and limitations resulting from extreme seasonal and geographic conditions; aircraft landing facilities do not meet ICAO standards; advance approval from the respective governmental or nongovernmental operating organization required for using their facilities; landed aircraft are subject to inspection in accordance with Article 7, Antarctic Treaty; guidelines for the operation of aircraft near concentrations of birds in Antarctica were adopted in 2004; relevant legal instruments and authorization procedures adopted by states party to the Antarctic Treaty regulating access to the Antarctic Treaty area, that is to all areas between 60 and 90 degrees of latitude South, have to be complied with (see information under "Legal System"); an Antarctic Flight Information Manual (AFIM) providing up-to-date details of Antarctic air facilities and procedures is maintained and published by the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (2006)	-
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 28 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 4 length unknown or variable: 4 (2006)	-
Area	total: 14 million sq km land: 14 million sq km (280,000 sq km ice-free, 13.72 million sq km ice-covered) (est.) note: fifth-largest continent, following Asia, Africa, North America, and South America, but larger than Australia and the subcontinent of Europe	total: 123 sq km note: includes a salt lake and wetlands
Area - comparative	slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US	about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC
Background	Speculation over the existence of a "southern land" was not confirmed until the early 1820s when British and American commercial operators and British and Russian national expeditions began exploring the Antarctic Peninsula region and other areas south of the Antarctic Circle. Not until 1840 was it established that Antarctica was indeed a continent and not just a group of islands. Several exploration "firsts" were achieved in the early 20th century. Following World War II, there was an upsurge in scientific research on the continent. A number of countries have set up year-round research stations on Antarctica. Seven have made territorial claims, but not all countries recognize these claims. In order to form a legal framework for the activities of nations on the continent, an Antarctic Treaty was negotiated that neither denies nor gives recognition to existing territorial claims; signed in 1959, it entered into force in 1961.	By terms of the 1960 Treaty of Establishment that created the independent Republic of Cyprus, the UK retained full sovreignty and jurisdiction over two areas of almost 254 square kilometers in total: Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The southernmost and smallest of these is the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area, which is also referred to as the Western Sovereign Base Area.
Capital	-	Episkopi; also serves as capital of Dhekelia
Climate	severe low temperatures vary with latitude, elevation, and distance from the ocean; East Antarctica is colder than West Antarctica because of its higher elevation; Antarctic Peninsula has the most moderate climate; higher temperatures occur in January along the coast and average slightly below freezing	temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters
Coastline	17,968 km	-
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Antarctica	conventional long form: Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area conventional short form: Akrotiri
Dependency status	-	overseas territory of UK; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus
Diplomatic representation from the US	-	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation in the US	-	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Disputes - international	Antarctic Treaty freezes claims (see Antarctic Treaty Summary in government type entry); Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, NZ, Norway, and UK claim land and maritime sectors (some overlapping) for a large portion of the continent; the US and many other states do not recognize these territorial claims and have made no claims themselves (the US and Russia reserve the right to do so); no claims have been made in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west; several states with territorial claims in Antarctica have expressed their intention to submit data to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf to extend their continental shelf claims to adjoining undersea ridges	-
Economy - overview	Fishing off the coast and tourism, both based abroad, account for Antarctica's limited economic activity. Antarctic fisheries in 2003-04 (1 July-30 June) reported landing 136,262 metric tons (estimated fishing from the area covered by the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which extends slightly beyond the Antarctic Treaty area). Unregulated fishing, particularly of Patagonian toothfish, is a serious problem. The CCAMLR determines the recommended catch limits for marine species. A total of 23,175 tourists visited in the 2004-05 Antarctic summer, up from the 19,486 visitors the previous year. Nearly all of them were passengers on commercial (nongovernmental) ships and several yachts that make trips during the summer. Most tourist trips last approximately two weeks.	Economic activity is limited to providing services to the military and their families located in Akrotiri. All food and manufactured goods must be imported.
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,555 m highest point: Vinson Massif 4,897 m note: the lowest known land point in Antarctica is hidden in the Bentley Subglacial Trench; at its surface is the deepest ice yet discovered and the world's lowest elevation not under seawater	-
Environment - current issues	in 1998, NASA satellite data showed that the Antarctic ozone hole was the largest on record, covering 27 million square kilometers; researchers in 1997 found that increased ultraviolet light passing through the hole damages the DNA of icefish, an Antarctic fish lacking hemoglobin; ozone depletion earlier was shown to harm one-celled Antarctic marine plants; in 2002, significant areas of ice shelves disintegrated in response to regional warming	shooting around the salt lake; note - breeding place for loggerhead and green turtles; only remaining colony of griffon vultures is on the base
Executive branch	-	chief of state: Queen Elizabeth II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Administrator Maj. Gen. Peter Tomas Clayton PEARSON (since 9 May 2003) note - reports to the British Ministry of Defence elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the administrator is appointed by the monarch
Flag description	-	the flag of the UK is used
Geographic coordinates	90 00 S, 0 00 E	34 37 N, 32 58 E
Geography - note	the coldest, windiest, highest (on average), and driest continent; during summer, more solar radiation reaches the surface at the South Pole than is received at the Equator in an equivalent period; mostly uninhabitable	British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus
Heliports	37 note: all 37 year-round and 15 seasonal stations operated by National Antarctic Programs stations have restricted helicopter landing facilities (helipads) (2006)	-
Land boundaries	0 km note: see entry on Disputes - international	-
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (ice 98%, barren rock 2%) (2005)	-
Legal system	Antarctica is administered through meetings of the consultative member nations; decisions from these meetings are carried out by these member nations (with respect to their own nationals and operations) in accordance with their own national laws; US law, including certain criminal offenses by or against US nationals, such as murder, may apply extraterritorially; some US laws directly apply to Antarctica; for example, the Antarctic Conservation Act, 16 U.S.C. section 2401 et seq., provides civil and criminal penalties for the following activities, unless authorized by regulation of statute: the taking of native mammals or birds; the introduction of nonindigenous plants and animals; entry into specially protected areas; the discharge or disposal of pollutants; and the importation into the US of certain items from Antarctica; violation of the Antarctic Conservation Act carries penalties of up to $10,000 in fines and one year in prison; the National Science Foundation and Department of Justice share enforcement responsibilities; Public Law 95-541, the US Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, as amended in 1996, requires expeditions from the US to Antarctica to notify, in advance, the Office of Oceans, Room 5805, Department of State, Washington, DC 20520, which reports such plans to other nations as required by the Antarctic Treaty; for more information, contact Permit Office, Office of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia 22230; telephone: (703) 292-8030, or visit their website at www.nsf.gov; more generally, access to the Antarctic Treaty area, that is to all areas between 60 and 90 degrees south latitude, is subject to a number of relevant legal instruments and authorization procedures adopted by the states party to the Antarctic Treaty	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply
Location	continent mostly south of the Antarctic Circle	peninsula on the southwest coast of Cyprus
Map references	Antarctic Region	Middle East
Maritime claims	Australia, Chile, and Argentina claim Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) rights or similar over 200 nm extensions seaward from their continental claims, but like the claims themselves, these zones are not accepted by other countries; 21 of 28 Antarctic consultative nations have made no claims to Antarctic territory (although Russia and the US have reserved the right to do so) and do not recognize the claims of the other nations; also see the Disputes - international entry	-
Military - note	the Antarctic Treaty prohibits any measures of a military nature, such as the establishment of military bases and fortifications, the carrying out of military maneuvers, or the testing of any type of weapon; it permits the use of military personnel or equipment for scientific research or for any other peaceful purposes	Akrotiri has a full RAF base, Headquarters for British Forces on Cyprus, and Episkopi Support Unit
Natural hazards	katabatic (gravity-driven) winds blow coastward from the high interior; frequent blizzards form near the foot of the plateau; cyclonic storms form over the ocean and move clockwise along the coast; volcanism on Deception Island and isolated areas of West Antarctica; other seismic activity rare and weak; large icebergs may calve from ice shelf	-
Natural resources	iron ore, chromium, copper, gold, nickel, platinum and other minerals, and coal and hydrocarbons have been found in small uncommercial quantities; none presently exploited; krill, finfish, and crab have been taken by commercial fisheries	-
Population	no indigenous inhabitants, but there are both permanent and summer-only staffed research stations note: 26 nations, all signatory to the Antarctic Treaty, operate through their National Antarctic Program a number of seasonal-only (summer) and year-round research stations on the continent and its nearby islands south of 60 degrees south latitude (the region covered by the Antarctic Treaty); these stations' population of persons doing and supporting science or engaged in the management and protection of the Antarctic region varies from approximately 4,000 in summer to 1,000 in winter; in addition, approximately 1,000 personnel, including ship's crew and scientists doing onboard research, are present in the waters of the treaty region; peak summer (December-February) population - 3,822 total; Argentina 417, Australia 213, Brazil 40, Bulgaria 15, Chile 224, China 70, Ecuador 22, Finland 20, France 123, Germany 78, India 65, Italy 112, Japan 150, South Korea 60, NZ 85, Norway 44, Peru 28, Poland 40, Russia 429, South Africa 80, Spain 28, Sweden 20, Ukraine 24, UK 205, US 1,170, Uruguay 60 (2005-2006); winter (June-August) station population - 1,028 total; Argentina 176, Australia 62, Brazil 12, Chile 88, China 29, France 37, Germany 9, India 25, Italy 2, Japan 40, South Korea 15, NZ 10, Norway 7, Poland 12, Russia 148, South Africa 10, Ukraine 12, UK 37, US 288, Uruguay 9 (2005); research stations operated within the Antarctic Treaty area (south of 60 degrees south latitude) by members of the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP): year-round stations - 37 total; Argentina 6, Australia 3, Brazil 1, Chile 3, China 2, France 1, Germany 1, India 1, Japan 1, South Korea 1, NZ 1, Norway 1, Poland 1, Russia 5, South Africa 1, Ukraine 1, UK 2, US 3, Uruguay 1, Italy and France jointly 1 (2005); seasonal-only (summer) stations - 15 total; Australia 1, Bulgaria 1, Chile 1, Ecuador 1, Finland 1, Germany 1, Italy 1, Japan 1, Norway 1, Peru 1, Russia 1, Spain 2, Sweden 1, UK 1 (2005-2006); in addition, during the austral summer some nations have numerous occupied locations such as tent camps, summer-long temporary facilities, and mobile traverses in support of research	no indigenous inhabitants note: approximately 1,300 military personnel are on the base; note - there are another 5,000 British citizens who are families of military personnel or civilian staff on both Akrotiri and Dhekelia; Cyprus citizens work on the base, but do not live there
Radio broadcast stations	AM NA, FM 2, shortwave 1, note - information for US bases only (2002)	-
Telephone system	general assessment: local systems at some research stations domestic: commercial cellular networks operating in a small number of locations international: country code - 672; via satellite (including mobile Inmarsat and Iridium systems) from all research stations, ships, aircraft, and most field parties	-
Telephones - main lines in use	0; note - information for US bases only (2001)	-
Telephones - mobile cellular	NA	-
Television broadcast stations	1 (cable system with six channels; American Forces Antarctic Network-McMurdo) note: information for US bases only (2002)	-
Terrain	about 98% thick continental ice sheet and 2% barren rock, with average elevations between 2,000 and 4,000 meters; mountain ranges up to nearly 5,000 meters; ice-free coastal areas include parts of southern Victoria Land, Wilkes Land, the Antarctic Peninsula area, and parts of Ross Island on McMurdo Sound; glaciers form ice shelves along about half of the coastline, and floating ice shelves constitute 11% of the area of the continent	-

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