The world faces a bleak 2009 as recession spreads and deepens, heightening the risk of protectionism and conflict. In Antarctica, the climate is harsh too, even in the few brief months on either side of the new year that pass as summer. But there is something hopeful taking place there, a sustained form of international co-operation that could be a model for better global governance and economic recovery in the wider world, this year and beyond.
Consider what is happening now on Dome A, deep in East Antarctica, not far from the South Pole. The area is covered by a giant slab of ice more than 4.5km thick in places. The East Antarctic ice sheet contains around 70 per cent of the world's fresh water, and would raise sea levels by 60 metres if it were to melt completely. Dome A is the highest, and perhaps coldest, place in Antarctica, with winter temperatures plunging to minus 60 degrees Celsius, and winds of over 200km/h.
In this inhospitable terrain, scientists from Australia, Britain, China, Germany, Japan and the United States are starting one of the most ambitious Antarctic research projects yet undertaken. Using sensors on the surface and in aircraft, they are peering deep into the ice to discover whether it is gaining or losing mass as a result of global warming, how it is moving and whether it is contributing to sea-level rises.
They are also drilling deep into the ice to extract cores in the belief that the oldest ice on the planet is around Dome A. Much of what we know about climate change comes from ice cores. They are like climate libraries, capturing gases and atmospheric particles that provide information on the climate from earlier ice ages and warm periods.
The Dome A research is part of wider co-operation that links the 46 member nations of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty and associated accords. The signatories include developed and developing economies. Together, they account for around 80 per cent of the world's population.
They are parties to a treaty system designed to ensure that the wars which have disfigured other continents do not occur in Antarctica, that the environment is protected, and that scientific research and collaboration have priority.
Signatories undertake to use Antarctica for peaceful purposes only. Military operations, nuclear explosive tests and the disposal of radioactive waste are not permitted. Disputes over territorial sovereignty are set aside. All commercial mining is banned.