Antarctic Treaty (Environment Protection) Proclamation 2005
Part 45Antarctic specially protected area No. 145
Start here
Get a plain-English read of Part 45
Turn the raw legal text into a practical explanation grounded in Antarctic Treaty (Environment Protection) Proclamation 2005.
Part 45 Antarctic specially protected area No. 145
Port Foster, Deception Island, South Shetland Islands
A: between 62°55 30 S and 62°56 12 S, and between 60°37 00 W and 60°38 00 W
B: between 62°57 12 S and 62°57 54 S, and between 60°36 20 W and 60°37 20 W.
Values protected under original designation included the diversity of benthic fauna on two different kinds of sea bottom substrates. The original research about the ecological process of recolonization after volcanic eruption needed protection from the risk of undue interference.
Deception Island is a caldera formed by subsidence of a group of Cenozoic volcanoes superimposed along radial faults. Port Foster is an almost entirely enclosed body of water, receiving large volumes of fresh water during periods of melt. In several places there is geothermal activity.
The area is of exceptional ecological interest because of its actively volcanic character. The two habitat areas are subject to long-term research programs and the purpose in designating them is, as far as possible, to reduce the risk of accidental interference that could jeopardize these scientific investigations.