THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Christchurch, New Zealand)
For Immediate Release |
September 15, 1999 |
FACT SHEET
PROTECTING ANTARCTICA AND THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT
Today, in a visit to the International Antarctic Center in Christchurch,
President Clinton announced the declassification and release of satellite
images of Antarctica that will help scientists understand one of the world's
most unique ecosystems. The images are the latest released through an
Administration initiative that makes previously classified data available to
the scientific community. In addition, the President announced that New
Zealand is joining a U.S.-led program that promotes science and environmental
education around the world.
Working Together to Protect the Environment. The United States and New Zealand
work closely, and in cooperation with other nations, on a wide range of
environmental issues, including climate change, biodiversity, and ocean
protection. One of the major successes is the international effort to protect
Antarctica. Under the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, spearheaded by the United
States, this remote continent is reserved exclusively for peaceful purposes.
The International Antarctic Center, supported by the National Science
Foundation, is the headquarters of the U.S. and New Zealand Antarctic research
programs and the staging ground for much of the scientific research taking
place in Antarctica. Major research priorities include monitoring the
Antarctic ozone hole and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
Declassifying Data to Advance Science. Under an initiative launched in 1991 at
the urging of then-Senator Al Gore, U.S. intelligence agencies are working
with the scientific community in the MEDEA program to assess and, in some
cases, declassify data so it can be used in scientific research. Last month,
Vice President Gore announced the declassification and release of 59 satellite
images of the Arctic that will help scientists better understand the
interaction between polar ice caps and global warming. Today, the President
announced that the National Imagery and Mapping Agency is releasing 7
previously classified images of the Dry Valleys region of Antarctica. The
National Science Foundation, the DCI Environmental Center at the CIA, and
MEDEA all played an important role in making these data available. These
digital images provide detailed "snapshots" of about 7500 square miles of this
rare "cold polar-desert" environment, where precipitation, if it were melted,
averages less than 5 centimeters of water per year. They are modified versions
of fine-resolution images taken by U.S. spy satellites in the mid-1970's and
early 1980s. Together with data gathered on the ground, the newly released
images will help scientists better understand ecological dynamics in this
extreme environment and their response to climate change.
Expanding a Vital Education Partnership. The President also announced that
New Zealand has become the 85th country to join GLOBE, a hands-on science and
education program that unites students, teachers, and scientists around the
world in researching the dynamics of the Earth's environment. Participating
students in primary and secondary schools take environmental measurements,
analyze their data and report them through the Internet to the GLOBE data
archive, and collaborate with scientists and other students around the world.
In New Zealand, the program will be led by the Ministry of Education in
collaboration with several academic and research organizations.
One of the newly released images of the Antarctic Dry Valleys region can
viewed on the Web at
[http://www.nsf.gov/].
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