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HISTORY OF ANTARCTICA:

The history of Antarctica emerges from early Western theories of a

vast continent, known as Terra Australis, believed to exist in the far 

south of the globe. The term Antarctic , referring to the opposite of the Arctic Circle, was coined by Marinus of Tyre in the 2nd century AD.

The rounding of the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn in the 15th and

16th centuries proved that Terra Australis Incognita ("Unknown Southern

Land"), if it existed, was a continent in its own right. In 1773 James

Cook crossed the Antarctic Circle for the first time but although he

discovered nearby islands, he did not catch sight of Antarctica itself. It is

believed he was as close as 150 miles from the mainland.

In 1820, several expeditions claimed to have been the first to have

sighted Antarctica, with the very first being the Russian expedition led

by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen andMikhail Lazarev. The first

landing was probably just over a year later when American Captain John

Davis, a sealer, set foot on the ice.

The first Norwegian expedition to Antarctica was led by Captain Carl

Anton Larsen aboard thebarque JasOn in 1892. During the expedition

he was the first to discover fossils in Antarctica, for which he receivedthe Back Grant from theRoyal Geographical Society In

December 1893 he also became the first person to ski in Antarctica

where the Larsen Ice Shelf was named after him. Larsen is also

considered the founder of the Antarctic whaling industry and the

settlement at Grytviken, Sout Georgia

Once the North Pole had been reached in 1909, several expeditions

attempted to reach the Sout Pole. Many resulted in injury and

death.Norwegian Roald Amundsen finally reached the Pole onDecember 14, 1911, following a dramatic race with the Englishman

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The search for Terra Australis Incognita

In the western belief in a Cold Land—a vast continent located in the far south of the globe to

"balance" out the northern lands of Europe, Asia and North Africa—had existed for 

centuries. Aristotle had postulated a symmetry of the earth, which meant that there would be equally

habitable lands south of the known world. The Greeks suggested that these two hemispheres, north

and south, were divided by a 'belt of fire.

It was not until Prince Henry the Navigator  began in 1418 to encourage the penetration of the torrid

zone in the effort to reach India by circumnavigating Africa that European exploration of the southern

hemisphere began. In 1473 Portuguese navigator  Lopes Gonçalves proved that the equator  could be

crossed, and cartographers and sailors began to assume the existence of another, temperate

continent to the south of the known world.

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In 1570 a map by Ortelius showed the imagined link between the proposed continent of Antarctica and South America. 

Note also the proposed landmasses surrounding the North Pole.

The doubling of the Cape of Good Hope in 1487 by Bartolomeu Dias first brought explorers within

touch of the Antarctic cold, and proved that there was an ocean separating Africa from any Antarcticland that might exist. In 1513, the Ottoman Turkish admiral Piri Reis drew a world map that has been

said to show part of the Antarctic continent.

Ferdinand Magellan, who passed through the Straits of Magellan in 1520, assumed that the islands

of Tierra del Fuego to the south were an extension of this unknown southern land, and it appeared as

such on a map by Ortelius: Terra australis recenter inventa sed nondum plene cognita ("Southern

land recently discovered but not yet fully known

European geographers connected the coast of Tierra del Fuego with the coast of New Guinea on their 

globes and allowing their imaginations to run riot in the vast unknown spaces of the south Atlantic,

south Indian and Pacific oceans. They sketched the outlines of the Terra Australis

Incognita ("Unknown Southern Land"), a vast continent stretching in parts into the tropics. The search

for this great south land or Third World was a leading motive of explorers in the 16th and the early

part of the 17th centuries. The Spaniard Gabriel de Castilla, who claimed having sighted "snow-

covered mountains" beyond the 64° S in 1603, is recognized as the first explorer that discovered the

continent, although he was ignored in his time.

Quirós in 1606 took possession for the king of Spain all of the lands he had discovered in Australia del

Espiritu Santo (the New Hebrides) and those he would discover "even to the Pole".

Francis Drake like Spanish explorers before him had speculated that there might be an open channel

south of Tierra del Fuego. Indeed, whenSchouten and Le Maire discovered the southern extremity of 

Tierra del Fuego and named it Cape Horn in 1615, they proved that the Tierra del Fuego archipelago

was of small extent and not connected to the southern land.

Finally, in 1642 Tasman showed that even New Holland (Australia) was separated by sea from any

continuous southern continent.

Map from 1771, showing "Terres Australes" (sic) label without any charted landmass.

Voyagers round the Horn frequently met with contrary winds and were driven southward into snowy

skies and ice-encumbered seas; but so far as can be ascertained none of them before 1770 reached

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the Antarctic Circle, or knew it, if they did. The story of the discovery of land in 64° S. by Dirk

Gerritz on board the Blijde Boodschap in 1599 was shown to be the result of a mistake of a

commentator, Kasper Barlaeus, in 1622.

South of the Antarctic Convergence

The visit to South Georgia by Anthony de la Roché in 1675 was the first ever discovery of land south

of the Antarctic Convergence i.e. in the Antarctica Soon after the voyage cartographers started to

depict ‘Roché Island’, honouring the discoverer. James Cook was aware of la Roché's discovery

when surveying and mapping the island in 1775.[6]

Edmond Halley's voyage in HMS Paramour   for magnetic investigations in the South Atlantic met the

pack ice in 52° S in January 1700, but that latitude (he reached 140 mi off the north coast of South

Georgia) was his farthest south. A determined effort on the part of the French naval officer  Jean-

Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier  to discover the "South Land" - described by a half legendary "sieur 

de Gonneyville" - resulted in the discovery of Bouvet Island in 54°10′ S, and in the navigation of  48° of 

longitude of ice-cumbered sea nearly in 55° S in 1730 .

In 1771, Yves Joseph Kerguelen sailed from France with instructions to proceed south

from Mauritius in search of "a very large continent." He lighted upon a land in 50° S which he called

South France, and believed to be the central mass of the southern continent. He was sent out again

to complete the exploration of the new land, and found it to be only an inhospitable island which he

renamed the Isle of Desolation, but which was ultimately named after him.[7]

South of the Antarctic Circle

The obsession of the undiscovered continent culminated in the brain of Alexander Dalrymple, the

brilliant and erratic hydrographer  who was nominated by the Royal Society to command the Transit of 

Venus expedition to Tahiti in 1769. The command of the expedition was given by the admiralty to

Captain James Cook. Sailing in 1772 with the Resolution, a vessel of 462 tons under his own

command and the Adventure of 336 tons under Captain Tobias Furneaux, Cook first searched in vain

for  Bouvet Island, then sailed for 20 degrees of longitude to the westward in latitude 58° S, and then

30° eastward for the most part south of 60° S, a higher southern latitude than had ever been

voluntarily entered before by any vessel. On 17 January 1773 the Antarctic Circle was crossed for the

first time in history and the two ships reached 67° 15' S by39° 35' E, where their course was stopped

by ice.

Cook then turned northward to look for  French Southern and Antarctic Lands, of the discovery of 

which he had received news at Cape Town, but from the rough determination of his longitude by

Kerguelen, Cook reached the assigned latitude 10° too far east and did not see it. He turned south

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again and was stopped by ice in 61° 52′ S by 95° E and continued eastward nearly on the parallel

of 60° S to 147° E. On 16 March, the approaching winter drove him northward for rest to New

Zealand and the tropical islands of the Pacific. In November 1773, Cook left New Zealand, having

parted company with the Adventure, and reached 60° S by 177° W, whence he sailed eastward

keeping as far south as the floating ice allowed. The Antarctic Circle was crossed on 20 December 

and Cook remained south of it for three days, being compelled after reaching 67° 31′ S to stand north

again in 135° W.

A long detour to 47° 50′ S served to show that there was no land connection between New Zealand

and Tierra del Fuego. Turning south again, Cook crossed the Antarctic Circle for the third time at 109°

30′ W before his progress was once again blocked by ice four days later at71° 10′ S by 106° 54′ W.

This point, reached on 30 January 1774, was the farthest south attained in the 18th century. With a

great detour to the east, almost to the coast of South America, the expedition regained Tahiti for 

refreshment. In November 1774, Cook started from New Zealand and crossed the South Pacific

without sighting land between 53° and 57° S to Tierra del Fuego; then, passing Cape Horn on 29

December, he rediscovered Roché Island renaming it Isle of Georgia, and discovered the South

Sandwich Islands (named Sandwich Land by him), the only ice-clad land he had seen, before

crossing the South Atlantic to the Cape of Good Hope between 55° and 60°. He thereby laid open the

way for future Antarctic exploration by exploding the myth of a habitable southern continent. Cook's

most southerly discovery of land lay on the temperate side of the 60th parallel, and he convinced

himself that if land lay farther south it was practically inaccessible and of no economic value.

First sighting of land

1911 Map of early exploration routes.

The first land south of the parallel 60° south latitude was discovered by the Englishman William Smith,

who sighted Livingston Island on 19 February 1819. A few months later Smith returned to explore the

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other islands of the South Shetlands archipelago, landed on King George Island, and claimed the new

territories for Britain.

In the meantime, the Spanish Navy ship San Telmo sank in September 1819 when trying to cross

Cape Horn. Parts of her wreckage were found months later by sealers on the north coast of LivingstonIsland (South Shetlands). It is unknown if some survivor managed to be the first setting foot on these

Antarctic islands.

The first confirmed sighting of mainland Antarctica cannot be accurately attributed to one single

person. It can, however, be narrowed down to three individuals. According to various sources, three

men all sighted Antarctica within days or months of each other: Fabian von Bellingshausen, a captain

in the Russian Imperial Navy; Edward Bransfield, a captain in the British navy; and Nathaniel Palmer , 

an American sealer out of Stonington, Connecticut. It is certain that on 28 January 1820 (New Style),

the expedition led by Fabian von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev on two ships reacheda point within 20 miles (40 km) of the Antarctic mainland and saw ice-fields there. On 30 January

1820, Bransfield sighted Trinity Peninsula, the northernmost point of the Antarctic mainland, while

Palmer sighted the mainland in the area south of Trinity Peninsula in November 1820.

Bellingshausen's expedition also discovered Peter I Island and Alexander I Island, the first islands to

be discovered south of the circle.

Exploration

Painting of  James Weddell's second expedition, depicting the brig Jane and the cutter Beaufroy .

Only slightly more than a year later, the first landing on the Antarctic mainland was arguably by the

American Captain John Davis, a sealer, who claimed to have set foot there on 7 February

1821, though this is not accepted by all historians.

In December 1821, Nathaniel Palmer, an American sealer looking for seal breeding grounds, sighted

what is now known as the Antarctic Peninsula, located in the continent's northwestern quadrant. In

1823, James Weddell, a British sealer, sailed into what is now known as the Weddell Sea.

The first person to realize that he had actually discovered a whole continent was Charles Wilkes, the

commander of a United States Navy expedition. His 1840 voyage discovered what is now known

as Wilkes Land, on the southeast quadrant of the continent.

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After the North Magnetic Pole was located in 1831, explorers and scientists began looking for 

the South Magnetic Pole. One of the explorers,James Clark Ross, a British naval officer, identified its

approximate location, but was unable to reach it on his trip in 1841. Commanding the British

ships Erebus and Terror , he braved the pack ice and approached what is now known as the Ross Ice

Shelf , a massive floating ice shelf over 100 feet (30 m) high. His expedition sailed eastward along the

southern Antarctic coast discovering mountains which were since named after his ships: Mount

Erebus, the most active volcano on Antarctica, and Mount Terror .

The first documented landing on the mainland of East Antarctica was at Victoria Land by the

American sealer Mercator Cooper  on 26 January 1853.

In 1897, an expedition led by Belgian Adrian de Gerlache left Antwerp, Belgium for Antarctica. The

multi-national crew included a Romanianzoologist (Emil Racoviţă), a Polish geologist (Henryk

Arctowski), a Belgian navigator/astronomer (George Lecointe), several Norwegians, including RoaldAmundsen, and an American surgeon, Dr. Frederick Cook. In 1898, they became the first men to

spend winter on Antarctica, when their ship Belgica became trapped in the ice. They became stuck on

28 February 1898, and only managed to get out of the ice on 14 March 1899. During their forced stay,

several men lost their sanity, not only because of the Antarctic winter night and the endured hardship,

but also because of the language problems between the different nationalities. A year later a British

expedition commanded by NorwegianCarstens Borchgrevink became the first to intentionally spend

winter on the continent itself.

British National Antarctic Expedition (Discovery )Main article:

The British National Antarctic Expedition (1901–1904), led by Robert Falcon Scott, came to within

857 km (463 nautical miles) of the South Pole from its base at McMurdo Sound.

[edit]Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (Scotia)

Main article: Scottish National Antarctic Expedition

In 1903, the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition established Osmond House,

a meteorologicalobservatory on Laurie Island in the South Orkneys. A year later, ownership of the

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base was passed toArgentina and it was renamed to Orcadas Base. It is the continent's oldest

permanent base,[15] and, until World War II, the only one present.

 [edit]Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition (Endurance)

Frank Hurley, As time wore on it became more and more evident that the ship was doomed (The Endurancetrapped inpack ice), National Library of Australia.

The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914, led by Ernest Shackleton, set out to cross the

continent via the pole, but their ship, the Endurance, was trapped and crushed by pack ice before they

even landed. The expedition members survived after an epic journey on sledges over pack ice

toElephant Island. Then Shackleton and five others crossed the Southern Ocean, in an open

boat calledJames Caird , and then trekked over  South Georgia to raise the alarm at the whaling

station Grytviken.

Exploration by air: 1930s to 1950s

US Navy Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd led five expeditions to Antarctica during the 1930s,

1940s, and 1950s. He overflew the South Pole with pilot Bernt Balchen on November 28 and 29,

1929, to match his overflight of the North Pole in 1926. Byrd's explorations had science as a major 

objective and pioneered the use of aircraft on the continent. Byrd is credited with doing more for 

Antarctic exploration than any other explorer. His expeditions set the scene for modern Antarctic

exploration and research.

In 1946, Admiral Byrd and more than 4,700 military personnel returned to Antarctica in an expedition

called Operation Highjump . Reported to the public as a scientific mission, the details were kept secret

and it may have actually been a training or testing mission for the military. The expedition was, in both

military or scientific planning terms, put together very quickly. The group contained an unusually high

amount of military equipment, including an aircraft carrier, submarines, military support ships, assault

troops and military vehicles. The expedition was planned to last for eight months but was

unexpectedly terminated after only two months. With the exception of some eccentric entries in

Admiral Byrd's diaries, no real explanation for the early termination has ever been officially given.

Captain Finn Ronne, Byrd's executive officer, returned to Antarctica with his own expedition in 1947-

1948, with Navy support, three planes, and dogs. Ronne disproved the notion that the continent was

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divided in two and established that East and West Antarctica was one single continent, i.e. that the

Weddell Sea and the Ross Sea are not connected.[16] The expedition explored and mapped large

parts of Palmer Land and the Weddell Sea coastline, and identified the Ronne Ice Shelf , named by

Ronne after his wife Edith Ronne.[17] Ronne covered 3,600 miles by ski and dog sled—more than any

other explorer in history.[18] The Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition discovered and mapped the last

unknown coastline in the world and was the first Antarctic expedition to ever include women.[19]

It was not until 31 October 1956 that anyone reached the South Pole again; on that day US Navy

Rear Admiral George J. Dufek [1] and others successfully landed a R4D Skytrain (Douglas DC-3)

aircraft.

During the International Geophysical Year  of 1957, a large number of expeditions to the Antarctic

were mounted.

Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition

Sir Edmund Hillary in 1958 after accompanying the first plane to land at the Marble Point ground air-strip.

In 1956, a United States Navy expedition set up the first permanent base at the South

Pole, Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, by airlift, to support the International Geophysical Year . In

1958, Edmund Hillary's party in the New Zealand party of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic

Expedition became the third group in history to reach the South Pole by land, and the first group of 

motor vehicles to reach the pole. The British team led byVivian Fuchs, met them at the pole shortly

afterwards. The expedition completed the first overland crossing of the continent by land via the South

Pole.[12] New Zealand mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary reached the Pole in early January 1958 using

farm tractors equipped for polar travel, the first party since Scott's to reach the South Pole overland.

Hillary was laying supply depots as part of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition and in

typical Hillary style "detoured" to the pole because the trip had gone well. British explorer Sir  Vivian

Fuchsthen arrived at the Pole from the opposite direction later in January, meeting Hillary. Fuchs

continued on, making use of the provisions that Hillary had stored, and on 2 March succeeded in

reaching Scott Base, completing the overland transpolar crossing that Shackleton had envisaged.

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Recent history

MS Explorer in Antarctica in January, 1999. She sank on 23 November 2007 after hitting an iceberg.

The Antarctic Treaty was signed on 1 December 1959 and came into force on 23 June 1961. Among

other provisions, this treaty limits military activity in the Antarctic to the support of scientific research.

A baby, named Emilio Marcos de Palma, was born near  Hope Bay on 7 January 1978, becoming the

first baby born on the continent. He also was born farther south than anyone in history. [20]

On 28 November 1979, an Air New Zealand DC-10 on a sightseeing trip crashed into Mount

Erebus on Ross Island, killing all 257 people on board.

Børge Ousland, a Norwegian explorer, finished the first unassisted Antarctic solo crossing on January

18, 1997.

On 23 November 2007, the MS Explorer   struck an iceberg and sank, but all on board were rescued

by nearby ships, including a passing Norwegian cruise ship, the MS Nordnorge .

Research stations in Antarctica

A number of governments maintain permanent research

stations throughout Antarctica. Many of the stations are staffed around the year. A

total of 30 countries (as of October 2006), all signatory to the Antarctic Treaty,

operate seasonal (summer) and year-round research stations on the continent and in

its surrounding oceans.

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Map shows the location of permanent Antarctic research stations

The population of people doing and supporting science on the continent and its

nearby islands varies from approximately 4,000 during the summer season to 1,000

during winter. In addition to these permanent stations, approximately 30 field camps

are established each summer to support specific projects.

•

Research stations

Base OpenCount

ry

Establi

shedActivities Situation Coordinates

Time

zone

Aboa SummerFin

land1988

Finnish

Antarctic

Research

Program

Queen Maud

Land73°03′ S 13°25 ′  

W

Vernadsky

Research

Base

Permanen

tUkr

aine1994

Galindez

Island65°14′ 44.6″S 6

4°15′ 26″WUTC-3

AlmiranteBrown

Antarctic

Base

SummerArg

entina1951

InstitutoAntartico

Argentino

Antarctic

Peninsula64°53′ 42.4″S 6

2°52′ 16.8″WUTC-3

Amundsen-

Scott South

Pole

Station

Permanen

t

Uni

ted

States

1957

United

States

Antarctic

Program

Geographical

South Pole 90°S 0°EUTC+

12*

Artigas

Base

Permanen

t

Ur

uguay1984

Uruguayan

Antarctic

Institute

King George

Island

62°11′ 3.4″S 58

°54′ 11.9″WUTC-3

Asuka

Station

unmanne

d

observati

on

 Jap

an1985

National

Institute of 

Polar

Research

Queen Maud

Land71°31′ 34″S 24°

08′ 17″E

Belgrano IIPermanen

t

Arg

entina1979

Laboratory

and

meteorologic

al station

Coats Land 77°52′ 27.8″S 3

4°37′ 14.9″WUTC-3

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Bellingshau

sen Station

Permanen

tRu

ssia1968

King George

Island62°11′ 47″S 58°

57′ 39″W

Bernardo

O'Higgins

Station

Permanen

t

Chi

le

1948

Chilean

Army,

Logistics

Antarctic

Peninsula

63°19′ 15″S 57°

53′ 56.2″W

UTC-

4*

Bharati (pl

anned)

Permanen

t In

dia2012

Indian

Antarctic

Program

Byrd

StationSummer

Uni

ted

States

1957

United

States

Antarctic

Program

Marie Byrd

Land80°01′ 00″S 11

9°32′ 00″W

CaptainArturo Prat

Base

Permanen

tChi

le1947 Chilean Navy

Greenwich

Island62°28′ 45″S 59°

39′ 51″W

UTC-

4*

Casey

Station

Permanen

t

Au

stralia1959

Australian

Antarctic

Division

Vincennes

Bay66°16′ 55.6″S 1

10°31′ 31.9″E

UTC+

8

Comandant

e Ferraz

Brazilian

AntarcticBase

Permanen

tBra

zil

1984King George

Island62°05′ 00″S 58°

23′ 28.2″W

Concordia

Station

Permanen

t

Fra

nce

 Ita

ly

2005

Dome

C,Antarctic

Plateau

75°06′ 00″S 12

3°20′ 00″E

Dakshin

Gangotri

Station

Replaced

byMaitri

Station

 In

dia

1984~

1991

Indian

Antarctic

Program

Queen Maud

Land70°45′ S 11°46 ′  

E

Davis

Station

Permanen

t

Au

stralia1957

Australian

Antarctic

Division

Princess

Elizabeth

Land

68°34′ 35.3″S 7

7°58′ 9.2″E

UTC+

7

Dome Fuji

Station

Permanen

t Jap

an1995

National

Institute of 

Polar

Research

Queen Maud

Land77°19′ 01″S 39°

42′ 12″E

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Dumont

d'Urville

Station

Permanen

tFra

nce1956 Adélie Land

66°39′ 47.3″S 1

40°00′ 5.3″E

UTC+

10

Base

PresidenteEduardo

Frei

Montalva a

nd Villa Las

Estrellas

Permanen

tChi

le1969

Chilean Air

Force

King George

Island62°11.7′ S 58°5

8.7′ W

UTC-

4*

Esperanza

Base

Permanen

t

Arg

entina

1975

Laboratory

and

meteorologic

al station,

radio, aschool, and

tourist

facilities.

Hope Bay 63°23′ 50.3″S 5

6°59′ 49.3″W

UTC-3

Gabriel de

Castilla

Spanish

Antarctic

Station

SummerSp

ain1989

Marine

biology [2]

Deception

Island62°58′ 40.5″S 6

0°33′ 38.4″W

Georg vonNeumayer

Station

ReplacedbyNeuma

yer

Station

Ge

rmany

1981-

1992

AlfredWegener

Institute

Queen Maud

Land70°37′ 00″S 08°

22′ 00″WUTC

Gonzalez

Videla

Station

SummerChi

le1951 ?

Paradise Bay,

Water Boat

Point.

64°49′ 24″S 62°

51′ 29″W

Great Wall

Station

Permanen

tChi

na1985 Meteorology

King George

Island62°13′ 02″S 58°

57′ 41.5″W

Halley

Research

Station

Permanen

t

Uni

ted

Kingd

om

1956

British

Antarctic

Survey

Brunt Ice

Shelf 75°35′ 00″S 26°

34′ 00″W

Henryk

Arctowski

Polish

Antarctic

Station

Permanen

tPol

and

1977 Oceanobiolo

gy,

Oceanograph

y, Geology,

Geomorphol

ogy,Glaciology,

King George

Island62°09′ 0 .14″S 0

58°28′ 2.1″W

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Meteorology,

Climatology,

Seismology,

Magnetism

and Ecology

 Jinnah

Antarctic

Station

SummerPa

kistan1991

Pakistan

Antarctic

Programme

Sør Rondane

Mountains,Qu

een Maud

Land

70°24′ S 25°45 ′  

E

 Juan Carlos

I Antarctic

Base

SummerSp

ain1988

CSIC.

Laboratory,

investigation

and

meteorogical

station.[3]

South

Bay,Livingsto

n Island

62°39′ 45.9″S 6

0°23′ 25.3″W

 JubanyPermanen

tArg

entina1953

Animal life,

meteorology

King George

Island62°14′ 16.7″S 5

8°40′ 0.2″WUTC-3

King

Sejong

Station

Permanen

t

So

uth

Korea

1988

Korea

Antarctic

Research

Program

King George

Island62°13′ 23.2″S 5

8°47′ 13.4″W

Kunlun

StationSummer

Chi

na2009

Chinese

Arctic andAntarctic

Administratio

n

Dome A80°25′ 01″S 77°

06′ 58″E

Law-

Racoviţă

Station

SummerRo

mania1986

Romanian

Polar

Research

Institute

Larsemann

Hills (Princess

Elizabeth

Land)

69°23′ 18.9″S 7

6°22′ 50.75″E

Leningradskaya

Station

Re-

openingin

2007/200

8

Ru

ssia1971

RussianAntarctic

Expedition

OatesCoast,Victoria

Land

69°30′ 00″S 15

9°23′ 00″E

Machu

Picchu

Research

Station

Summer Pe

ru1989

Peruvian

Antarctic

Institute(INA

NPE) [4]

Admiralty

Bay, King

George Island

62°05′ 29.9″S 5

8°28′ 15.4″W

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Maitri

Station

Permanen

t In

dia1989

Indian

Antarctic

Program

Schirmacher

region70°45′ 57.7″S 1

1°43′ 56.2″E

Maldonado

BaseSummer

Ec

uador1990

Greenwich

Island

62°26′ 56.6″S 5

9°44′ 29″W

Marambio

Base

Permanen

t

Arg

entina1969

Laboratory,

meteorologic

al station,

1.2 km long-

30m wide

landing

track.[5]

Seymour-

Marambio

Island

64°14′ 27.1″S 5

6°37′ 26.7″WUTC-3

Mario

Zucchelli

Station

Summer Ita

ly1986

Oceanobiolo

gy,Oceanograph

y, Geology,

Geomorphol

ogy,

Glaciology,

Meteorology,

Climatology,

Seismology,

Magnetism

and

Ecology [6]

 Terra Nova

Bay, Ross Sea74°41′ 39.9″S 1

64°06′ 46.5″E

UTC+

12

Mawson

Station

Permanen

t

Au

stralia1954

Australian

Antarctic

Division

Mac

Robertson

Land

67°36′ 10.1″S 6

2°52′ 22.8″E

UTC+

6

McMurdo

Station

Permanen

t

Uni

ted

States

1956 Ross Island77°50′ 43.4″S 1

66°40′ 11.2″E

UTC+

12*

Mendel

Polar

Station

Summer

Cz

echRepub

lic

2006

biological,

geologicaland climate

research

 James RossIsland

63°48′ 6.5″S 57°53′ 7.9″W

Mirny

Station

Permanen

tRu

ssia1956

glaciology,

seismology,

meteorology,

polar lights,

cosmic

radiation,

and marine

biology

Davis Sea 66°33′ 10.4″S 9

3°00′ 34.8″E

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Mizuho

Station

irregular

(transship

ment

station)

 Jap

an1970

National

Institute of 

Polar

Research

70°41′ 53″S 44°

19′ 54″E

Molodyozh

naya

Station

Re-opening

in

2007/200

8

Ru

ssia

Bel

arus

1962

Meteorology[1]

Russian

Antarctic

Expedition

67°39′ 57.0″S 4

5°50′ 33.2″E

Neumayer

Station

Permanen

t

Ge

rmany1992

Alfred

Wegener

Institute

Atka-Bay 70°39′ 5.6″S 08

°15′ 51.9″WUTC

Neumayer-

Station III

Permanen

t

Ge

rmany 2009

Alfred

WegenerInstitute

Atka-Bay70°40′ 8″S 08°1

6′ 1.95″W UTC

Novolazare

vskaya

Station

Permanen

tRu

ssia1961

Queen Maud

Land70°49′ 21.1″S 1

1°38′ 40.1″E

Orcadas

Base

Permanen

tArg

entina1904 Meteorology

Laurie

Island,South

Orkney

Islands

60°44′ 15.5″S 4

4°44′ 22″WUTC-3

Palmer

Station

Permanen

t

Uni

ted

States

1968

Science labs,

a dock and a

helicopter

pad.

Anvers Island 64°46′ 27.1″S 6

4°03′ 11″WUTC-4

Princess

Elisabeth

Base

Permanen

tBel

gium2007

Energy-

passive

research

station.

Queen Maud

Land71°34′ 12″S 23°

12′ 00″E

Professor Julio

Escudero

Base

Permanen

tChi

le1994

ChileanAntarctic

Institute

King George

Island62°12′ 4.2″S 58

°57′ 45.3″W

UTC-

4*

Progress

StationSummer

Ru

ssia1988

Russian

Antarctic

Expedition

Prydz Bay69°22′ 48.2″S 7

6°23′ 19.1″E

Rothera

Research

Station

Permanen

t

Uni

ted

Kingdom

1975

British

Antarctic

Survey

Adelaide

Island

67°34′ 08.3″S 6

8°07′ 29.1″W

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Russkaya

Station

Re-

opening

in

2007/200

8

Ru

ssia1980

Russian

Antarctic

Expedition

Marie Byrd

Land74°46′ 00″S 13

6°52′ 00″W

San Martín

Base

Permanen

t

Arg

entina1951

Laboratory

and

Meteorologic

al

measuremen

ts

Barry Island 68°07′ 48.9″S 6

7°06′ 7.2″WUTC-3

SANAE

IV (South

African

NationalAntarctic

Expedition)

Permanen

t

So

uth

Africa

1962

(SANAE

I)

South

African

National

Antarctic

Programme

Vesleskarveti

n Queen

Maud Land

71°40′ 21.9″S 2

°50′ 24.9″W

St. Kliment

Ohridski

Base

Permanen

t

Bul

garia1988

Biological

research,

laboratorial

and

meteorologic

al

measuremen

ts.First Eastern

Orthodox ch

apel, St. Ivan

Rilski

Emona

Anchorage,Liv

ingston Island

62°38′ 29″S 60°

21′ 53″W

Scott BasePermanen

t

 Ne

w

Zeala

nd

1957

Antarctic

physical

environment

s, Southern

Ocean and

Antarcticecosystems.

Ross Island 77°50′ 58.5″S 1

66°46′ 5.9″E

UTC+

12

Showa

Station

Permanen

t Jap

an1958

National

Institute of 

Polar

Research

East Ongul

Island69°00′ 15.6″S 3

9°34′ 48.9″E

GMT+

3

Signy

Research

Station

Summer

(Permane

nt 1947-

1995)

Uni

ted

Kingd

om

1947

British

Antarctic

Survey

Signy

Island,South

Orkney

Islands

60°43′ S 45°36 ′  

W

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Siple

Station

Permanen

t

Uni

ted

States

1973 STAR Lab 75°55′ S 83°55 ′  

W

GMT+

3

Svea

Research

Station

Summer Sweden

1988

Swedish

PolarResearch

Secretariat

Queen MaudLand

74°35′ 00″S 11°13′ 00″W

 Tor Station SummerNo

rway1993

Norwegian

Polar

Institute

Queen Maud

Land71°53′ 20″S 05°

09′ 30″E

 Troll

Station

Permanen

tNo

rway1990

Norwegian

Polar

Institute

Queen Maud

Land72°00′ 43.5″S 2

°31′ 56″E

WAIS

Divide

Camp

Summer

Uni

ted

States

2005

United

States

Antarctic

Program,

Collect a

deep ice

core

West

Antarctic Ice

Sheet

79°28′ S 112°0

4′ W

Wasa

Research

Station

SummerSw

eden

1989

Swedish

Polar

ResearchSecretariat

Queen Maud

Land

73°03′ S 13°25 ′  

W

Vostok

Station

Permanen

tRu

ssia1957

Russian

Antarctic

Expedition

Antarctic Ice

Sheet78°27′ 51.8″S 1

06°50′ 14″E

UTC+

6

Zhongshan

(Sun Yat-

Sen)

Station

Permanen

tChi

na1989

Polar

Research

Institute of 

China(PRIC)

Larsemann

Hills in Prydz

Bay

69°22′ 24″S 76°

22′ 12″E

Kohnen-

StationSummer

Ge

rmany2001

Alfred

Wegener

Institute

Queen Maud

Land75°00′ S 00°04 ′  

E

Marine Life

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In contrast to the sparsely vegetated, barren, and ice-covered continent, the oceans surrounding Antarctica

support a wealth of plant and invertebrate animal life. The cold waters are about four times as productive, acre for acre, as the other oceans of the world. The first link in this

immense food chain is the microscopic algae which drift inthe ocean and are eaten by zooplankton, of which krill is themost prominent, as well as being the principal food supply for whales. Krill areshrimp-like crustaceans that grow to 7 or 8 centimeters in length, and form enormousschools, which color the sea red.Squid and octopus are also important to the Antarctic ecosystem, providing food for sperm whales, seals, penguins, sea birds, and fishes . It has been estimated thatabout 55 million tons of squid is consumed annually by the whales of the Southern

Hemisphere; this is about 75 percent of the world's current total fisheries catch. Seals are one of the most fascinating and unique of Antarctic marine mammals.Seals are aquatic but, unlike whales, must return to the land or pack ice to breed.The Antarctic supports a much larger seal population than does the Arctic, due tolarger and more productive feeding areas and a lack of native predators.With the end of the long polar winter comes the arrival of millions of sea birds tobreed. Probably 100 million or more birds breed along the coast and offshore islandsof Antarctica. Most of the sea birds belong to the species Procellariiformes, whichinclude the albatross (largest flying sea bird, with the wingspan of some speciesexceeding 4 meters, the fulmers, prions, petrels, and shearwaters. The remainingregular sea bird species encompass shore birds, skuas, gulls, terns, and thepenguin. Most sea birds breed in large concentrations, owing to the scarcity of snow-free ground used for nesting. The chicks develop quickly and soon fend for 

themselves until the approach of winter, when most species migrate north in pack iceor the open sea--some even to Arctic waters--in which they spend most of their lives.

Many fish of Antarctica are the only vertebrates thatentirely lack red oxygen-carrying pigment(hemoglobin) in their blood. This adaptation to thecold conditions allows a decrease in blood viscosityand in the amount of energy required to circulateblood. Most research has concentrated on the twomost abundant groups: the Antarctic cod

Nototheniidae and the ice fishChannichthyidae. Initial interest focused on the evolution of the groups,their ability to survive in icy waters, their reproduction and growth rates andtheir population age structure. Much current research is concerned withmaking more accurate estimates of growth and population size.

AnimalsAntarctica’s native land animals are all invertebrates – and they are allsmall. They include mites, lice, springtails, midges and fleas, many of 

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which are parasites of seals and birds. The largest animal thatpermanently dwells on land in Antarctica is a wingless midge (Belgicaantarctica) that grows to just over 1cm long.Only a few bird species breed in Antarctica, among them are penguin

species – emperor, Adélie and gentoo – and snow petrels, Antarcticpetrels and South Polar skuas. Approximately 45 species of birds breedsouth of the Antarctic Convergence, including seven of the 17 species of penguins.

Compared to Antarctica’s relative barrenness, the southern ocean teemswith life. With krill as the basis of its food web, the southernocean supports a wealth of fish, seal, whale and seabird species. Of greatest interest among Antarctica’s marine life are the marinemammals: whales and seals.

Dogs were once widely used in Antarctica to pull sledges, but they werebanned from the continent by the Antarctic Treaty’s Protocol onEnvironmental Protection and the last were removed in 1994.

Stations

The diet provided at each station is very similar to the kinds of food eaten at

home in the UK. The main difference is that fresh fruit and vegetables arelimited in their availability. Vegetables, fruit and meat come tinned, dried or

frozen but foods such as bread are freshly baked.

Food store at Halley 

Because they may have to cater for more than 100 people, the larger stations

have professional chefs. At others, personnel each take turns to cook. At all

stations everyone is expected to help with the washing up, cleaning and dealing

with the waste.

Depending on the location, research stations either melt their water from the

surrounding snow or extract fresh water from the sea. Rothera has a modern

desalination plant which removes salt from seawater. Each station also runs its

own bar facilities with a limited supply of alcoholic drinks.

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The Rothera cook and sacks of flour in the food store at Rothera.

In summer the frequency of fresh food deliveries may be every few weeks at

Rothera (using free cargo spaceon the Dash 7) to only twice at Halley (Ernest

Shackleton delivery first and last call). Obviously, in winter there no

opportunities to deliver fresh food — a period of nearly 10 months at Halley.

Camping

Not all the research is done at the Stations and small parties often travel to

remote field sites. For travelling by sledge or aircraft, the rations need to be light

and compact. Whilst camping in the field the meals should be easy and quick to

prepare in order to save fuel, and the ration boxes must be well packed to avoid

deterioration. BAS has standard sledging ration boxes to last for twenty person-

days. They contain food for a balanced and varied diet providing around 3500

kilocalories for each person daily. Such supplies can easily be made to last forlonger during less energetic periods (such as lie ups in bad weather), and in

favourable summer conditions at low altitudes, when air temperatures are close

to or above freezing.

Preparing a meal inside a pyramid tent 

The supplies consist principally of freeze-dried or dried main meals, several

varieties of dried soup, dried vegetables, rice, tea, coffee, drinking chocolate,

orange drink, biscuits, chocolate, butter, sugar, porridge, and dried milk. Field

parties supplement the food with a “goodies” box which may well contain herbs,

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spices and even tomato ketchup! Water is made by melting snow and the water

purity is exceptional. Cooking is done over paraffin fired primus stoves, still the

most dependable and robust system. For all expeditions the preparation of these

special sledging rations is expensive. It cost more than twice as much to feed aperson at a field camp as it does at the main research station.

Food shipments introduce alien species to AntarcticaShipments of food intended for researchers working to protect one of the world's

most delicate and unspoilt habitats are unwittingly posing a threat to the nativeanimals and plants that live there.

A humpback whale swims past the British Antarctic Survey's Rothera base.

A new study has revealed that fresh fruit and vegetables being sent to feed the 4,000

or so scientists stationed in Antarctica are laden with foreign species of insects,

slugs, worms, plant seeds and fungi that pose a risk to the ecosystems on the

world's coldest continent.

The findings, along with other studies that have shown tourists are also carrying

large numbers of plant seeds to the area on their shoes and in their clothing, have

prompted an urgent review of biosecurity for visitors to the Antarctic.

Members of the Antarctic Treaty, which governs how the 46 countries to have signed

it use the continent, are now drawing new rules to prevent non-native species being

introduced to the Antarctic mainland and its surrounding islands.

The latest research by scientists at the British Antarctic Survey revealed that soil

carried in shipments of fresh fruit and vegetables contained slugs, spiders, weevils,caterpillars and fungi known to cause plant diseases.

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They fear that if these foreign species are able to get a foothold on the Antarctic

continent they could cause widespread damage.

Antarctica Flora and Fauna 

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e Antarctica flora and fauna is not available in plenty as compared to the other continents of e world.

e flora and fauna in Antarctica consist of very little portion of the continent.

e chilling temperature, lack of sunlight, little rainfall, inferior soil quality and lack of moisture

count for scanty vegetation in this area.

e Antarctic flora remains confined mostly to liverworts and mosses. Apart from this there are

o algae, fungi, bryophytes and lichens.

proximately 50 species of bryophytes and more than 200 species of lichens are available. Multi

ored diatoms and snow algae are available in plenty in the coastal areas.

the Antarctic Peninsula two types of flowering plants are available- Colobanthus quitensis and

schapsia Antarctica.

auna of Antarctica consist of invertebrate animals like rotifiers, krill, microscopic mites, lice,

digrades, nematodes and springtails. The Snow Petrel is the only breeding species of birds in

tarctica. The largest land animal in Antarctica is the midge Belgica antarctica, which is 12

m in size.

ny marine creatures can be found in Antarctica, which generally derive food from special type

plants called Phytoplankton. These include fur seals, blue whales, orcas and penguins. The

nguin that breeds in Antarctica during the winter is the Emperor Penguin. The Adelie penguin

eeds in the further southern region. The Rockhopper Penguin has identifiable features, which

sembles that of elaborate eyelashes. The other varieties of penguins found in Antarctica are

ntoo Penguins, Chinstrap Penguins and King Penguins.

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