Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

The value of Antarctic and Southern Ocean ecosystem services

A Publisher Correction to this article was published on 06 March 2024

This article has been updated

Antarctica and the Southern Ocean provide numerous ecosystem services that benefit people globally, but many are ‘invisible’ to markets and to some decision makers. A subset of these services — Antarctic tourism, commercial fisheries, and a suite of inter-related regulating services — are conservatively valued at ~US $180 billion annually, highlighting their importance.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Change history

References

  1. Costanza, R. et al. The value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature 387, 253–260 (1997).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. De Groot, R. et al. Global estimates of the value of ecosystems and their services in monetary units. Ecosyst. Serv. 1, 50–61 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Costanza, R. et al. Changes in the global value of ecosystem services. Glob. Environ. Change 26, 152–158 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. O’Garra, T. Economic value of ecosystem services, minerals and oil in a melting Arctic: A preliminary assessment. Ecosyst. Serv. 24, 180–186 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Morrison, A. K., Frölicher, T. L. & Sarmiento, J. L. Upwelling in the southern ocean. Phys. Today 68, 27–32 (2015).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Arrigo, K. R., Worthen, D. L., Lizotte, M. P., Dixon, P. & Dieckmann, G. Primary production in Antarctic sea ice. Science 276, 394–397 (1997).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Long, M. C. et al. Strong Southern Ocean carbon uptake evident in airborne observations. Science 374, 1275–1280 (2021).

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Landschützer, P., Gruber, N. & Bakker, D. C. Decadal variations and trends of the global ocean carbon sink. Global Biogeochem. Cycles 30, 1396–1417 (2016).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Williams, R. G., Ceppi, P., Roussenov, V., Katavouta, A. & Meijers, A. J. The role of the Southern Ocean in the global climate response to carbon emissions. Philos. Trans. Royal Soc. A 381, 20220062 (2023).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Dietz, S. & Koninx, F. Economic impacts of melting of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Nat. Commun. 13, 5819 (2022).

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Cavan, E. et al. The importance of Antarctic krill in biogeochemical cycles. Nat. Commun. 10, 4742 (2019).

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Pikitch, E. K. et al. The global contribution of forage fish to marine fisheries and ecosystems. Fish Fish. 15, 43–64 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Jobstvogt, N., Hanley, N., Hynes, S., Kenter, J. & Witte, U. Twenty thousand sterling under the sea: estimating the value of protecting deep-sea biodiversity. Ecol. Econ. 97, 10–19 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. IAATO Deep Field and Air Overview of Antarctic Tourism: 2022-23 Season and Preliminary Estimates for 2023–24 Season (International Association of Antarctic Tourism Operators, 2023); https://www.ats.aq/devAS/Meetings/DocDatabase?lang=e.

  15. O’Mahoney, J. et al. At what price? The economic, social and icon value of the Great Barrier Reef. (Deloitte Access Economic, 2017).

Download references

Acknowledgements

This article stems from a workshop held at the University of Tasmania from 25 May to 2 June, 2023. It was supported by the University’s College of Business and Economics, Centre for Marine Socioecology, and Antarctic and Southern Ocean Mission Integrator. The article was also supported by the Australian Research Council Special Research Initiative, Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science (Project Number SR200100008).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Natalie Stoeckl.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Peer review

Peer review information

Nature Reviews Earth & Environment thanks Tanya O’Garra and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

Supplementary information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Stoeckl, N., Adams, V., Baird, R. et al. The value of Antarctic and Southern Ocean ecosystem services. Nat Rev Earth Environ 5, 153–155 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-024-00523-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-024-00523-3

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing Anthropocene

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Anthropocene newsletter — what matters in anthropocene research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Anthropocene