‘The Antarctic is the last frontier’: the quest to save Shackleton’s Endurance
Conservationists are calling for the protection of the shipwreck Endurance in the Antarctic as climate change threatens its preservation. Rising temperatures may allow new species to colonize the wreck and increase human access to the site.
Why it matters
The potential loss of this historical site highlights the broader, often overlooked impacts of climate change on underwater cultural heritage.
The Antarctic seabed’s near-freezing conditions have helped keep the wreck intact for more than a century, providing a reef for wildlife. But that is likely to change as the oceans warm, with a wood-eating lobster possibly colonising the wreck. Photograph: Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust/National Georgraphic/PA View image in fullscreen The Antarctic seabed’s near-freezing conditions have helped keep the wreck intact for more than a century, providing a reef for wildlife. But that is likely to change as the oceans warm, with a wood-eating lobster possibly colonising the wreck. Photograph: Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust/National Georgraphic/PA Seascape: the state of our oceans Oceans ‘The Antarctic is the last frontier’: the quest to save Shackleton’s Endurance Amid fears the wreck will be more accessible to explorers – and new species – as the climate warms, conservationists want to create the region’s first underwater protected area
The article focuses on environmental science and historical preservation without political bias.
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