N° 3702 N° 230 NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SENATE CONSTITUTION OF 4 OCTOBER 1958 REGULAR SESSION OF 2006-2007 TWELTH LEGISLATURE Registered with the Presidency of the National Assembly Appendix to the official report on 14 February 2007 of the 14 February 2007 PARLIAMENTARY OFFICE FOR THE EVALUATION OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHOICES REPORT on « France’s position with regard to the international issues surrounding polar research : the case of Antarctica » by Mr. Christian GAUDIN, Senator Filed with the Bureau of the National Assembly Filed with the Senate Bureau by Mr. Claude BIRRAUX by Mr. Henri REVOL First Vice-Chairman of the OPECST Chairman of the OPECST Created by the act of 8 July 1983, the Parliamentary Office for the Evaluation of Scientific and Technological Choices (OPECST) is made up of deputies and senators and has as its mission to inform Parliament of the consequences of its choices of a scientific and technological nature. Commissioned reports, transmitted by one of the two assemblies' organs, are assigned to a rapporteur chosen among the Office's members. The rapporteur, after first conducting on-site hearings and missions and seeking the advice of experts, submits his/her report for approval by all the Office's members, who then make a decision regarding its publication. The Office is exclusively parliamentarian and completely independent of the Government and administrations. The website of the National Assembly : The website of the Senate : http ://www.assemblee- http ://www.senat.fr nationale.fr The Senate bookshop : The National Assembly kiosk : 20, rue de Vaugirard 4, rue Aristide Briand F-75006 Paris F-75007 Paris Tel : 33 (0)1.42.34.21.21 Tel : 33 (0)1.40.63.61.21 COMPOSITION OF THE OFFICE CHAIRMAN MR. HENRI REVOL FIRST VICE-CHAIRMAN MR. CLAUDE BIRRAUX VICE-CHAIRMEN Mr. Claude GATIGNOL, Deputy Mr. Jean-Claude ETIENNE, Senator Mr. Pierre LASBORDES, Deputy Mr. Pierre LAFFITTE, Senator Mr. Jean-Yves LE DEAUT, Deputy Mr. Claude SAUNIER, Senator DEPUTIES SENATORS Mr. Jean BARDET Mr. Philippe ARNAUD Mr. Christian BATAILLE Mr. Paul BLANC Mr. Jean-Pierre BRARD Ms. Marie-Christine BLANDIN Mr. Christian CABAL Ms. Brigitte BOUT Mr. Alain CLAEYS Mr. Marcel-Pierre CLEACH Mr. Pierre COHEN Mr. Roland COURTEAU Mr. Francis DELATTRE Mr. Christian GAUDIN Mr. Jean-Marie DEMANGE Mr. Serge LAGAUCHE Mr. Jean DIONIS du SEJOUR Mr. Jean-François LE GRAND Mr. Jean-Pierre DOOR Ms. Catherine PROCACCIA Mr. Pierre-Louis FAGNIEZ Mr. Daniel RAOUL Mr. Louis GUÉDON Mr. Ivan RENAR Mr. Christian KERT Mr. Bruno SIDO Mr. Pierre-André PÉRISSOL Mr. Alain VASSELLE - 3 - CONTENTS COMPOSITION OF THE OFFICE ............................................................................................. 2 CONTENTS................................................................................................................................... 3 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 7 I. THE POLAR REGIONS: AN URGENT NEED FOR PROTECTION................................... 11 A. EXTREME BUT FRAGILE REGIONS...................................................................................... 11 1. The Arctic Ocean .................................................................................................................... 12 2. Antarctica ............................................................................................................................... 15 B. FRANCE'S RESPONSIBILITY IN THE ANTARCTICA TREATY........................................... 20 1. The origins of the treaty and the Antarctic system................................................................... 20 2. Mining a suspended issue........................................................................................................ 25 3. Tourism: a new peaceful threat? ............................................................................................. 27 II. THE POLES: THEIR KEY ROLE IN UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE............. 31 A. UNDERSTANDING PAST CLIMATES TO UNDERSTAND THE FUTURE CLIMATE.................................................................................................................................. 31 1. Recent ice cores from Greenland ............................................................................................ 32 2. Ice cores from Antarctica........................................................................................................ 33 3. Ocean core samples: the transpolar link................................................................................. 36 4. The future of glacial core sampling......................................................................................... 37 B. THERMOHALINE CIRCULATION.......................................................................................... 40 1. The general circulation system................................................................................................ 41 2. The importance of the creation of cold, deep waters ............................................................... 43 3. The Antarctic Ocean, a carbon sink ........................................................................................ 44 C. THE POLAR REGIONS AT THE HEART OF GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE ....................... 45 1. Will the Arctic ice shelf disappear in the summer?.................................................................. 45 2. Will Greenland melt completely? ............................................................................................ 46 3. Can a diagnosis be made concerning the assessment of Antarctica's mass?............................ 48 III. FRANCE'S FIRST-CLASS BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH .................................................... 51 A. AN EXCEPTIONAL HERITAGE .............................................................................................. 51 1. A unique geographic situation................................................................................................. 51 2. 40 to 50 years of continuous observations............................................................................... 53 B. ADAPTING TO GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE AND EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS........... 54 1. Adapting to climate change..................................................................................................... 54 2. Understanding the adaptation to extreme environments.......................................................... 56 - 4 - C. INNOVATIVE RESEARCH ...................................................................................................... 58 1. The equipment of animals ....................................................................................................... 58 2. Hormonal, molecular and genetic research............................................................................. 60 3. The implications for the organization of research................................................................... 62 IV. OBSERVING THE EARTH, OBSERVING THE UNIVERSE ............................................ 65 A. OBSERVATORIES FOR THE EARTH AND THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE ............................ 65 1. Seismology .............................................................................................................................. 65 2. Measuring gravity and terrestrial magnetism.......................................................................... 66 3. Studying the stratosphere and monitoring the ozone layer ...................................................... 67 4. Observing the ionosphere........................................................................................................ 70 B. ANTARCTIC ASTRONOMY: A NEW FIELD.......................................................................... 71 1. Recognizing this fast-growing discipline................................................................................. 72 2. Concordia: the best site in the world for astronomic observations?........................................ 75 3. Searching for meteorites in Antarctica.................................................................................... 79 4. Measuring cosmic radiation.................................................................................................... 80 V. PREPARING THE SPACE MISSIONS IN ANTARCTICA.................................................. 83 A. PREPARING AND VALIDATING THE SATELLITE MISSIONS ........................................... 83 1. Space and the polar regions: preparation complementarity .................................................... 83 2. Validating on the ground observations made from space ........................................................ 83 B. PREPARING MANNED SPACE FLIGHTS AND MOON OR MARS-BASED STATIONS................................................................................................................................ 85 1. Concordia – a unique research site......................................................................................... 85 2. Studying behaviour in an extreme environment....................................................................... 85 3. Physiological studies .............................................................................................................. 86 C. TESTING EXPLORATION MATERIAL................................................................................... 87 1. American examples and projects............................................................................................