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Welcome to The

ANTARTIC BIOREGION LIBRARY

The Antarctic Bioregional Library covers approximately 14,200,000 square kilometers (1,420,000,000 hectares / 3,511,000,000 acres) of predominantly ice-dominated land, forming the southernmost continental system on Earth and functioning as a major regulator of global climate, ocean circulation, and planetary heat balance. Its coastlines meet the Southern Ocean across vast ice shelves, frozen bays, seasonal sea-ice fields, and glaciers that flow from the interior plateau toward the surrounding waters (continental area synthesized from widely cited Britannica and United Nations Statistics Division geographic tables; coastal and cryospheric extents interpreted from global polar geographic datasets). Unlike other continental libraries, the Antarctic Bioregional Library does not center permanent native human societies; instead it focuses on scientific research communities, international cooperation, environmental protection frameworks, and long-term monitoring of Earth systems under the Antarctic Treaty. Within this framework, the continent is understood through major bioregions such as the high interior ice sheets, the Transantarctic Mountains, coastal ice-margin zones, ice-free nunatak and dry-valley environments, and the marine ecosystems of the Southern Ocean that sustain krill, fish, seabirds, whales, and seals. Each of these regions is examined in relation to extreme climate conditions, glaciological processes, ocean currents, nutrient upwelling systems, and complex ecological chains that link microscopic plankton to top predators. The Antarctic Bioregional Library documents the history of exploration, scientific discovery, and geopolitical negotiation, alongside accelerating climate-era transformations such as ice-shelf collapse, glacier retreat, sea-level contribution, ocean acidification, and changes in wildlife distribution. Parallel attention is given to conservation regimes including marine protected areas, international research protocols, biosecurity standards, and habitat safeguards that seek to protect fragile polar species and ecosystems. The library integrates records of species, climate datasets, geological evidence, migratory pathways, and the ethics of human presence in polar environments, while also situating Antarctica within global environmental systems that connect distant climates, oceans, and biodiversity. Grounded in authoritative encyclopedic references, UN geographic statistics, and polar science literature interpreted through a bioregional lens, the Antarctic Bioregional Library serves as both a scientific reference and a planetary learning space, fostering awareness, stewardship, and responsibility toward the polar regions that sustain life across the Earth.

Official Bioregion Site

East Antarctic Ice Sheet Library

Official Bioregion Site

Antarctic Peninsula Library

Official Bioregion Site

Circumpolar Southern Ocean Library

Official Bioregion Site

Subantarctic Islands Library