The History Of 20Th Century Antarctica
Nations who focused efforts on whaling laid claim to major areas around the continent of Antarctica.Those countries include England, Chile and Argentina. They each have land portions which overlap one another on the Peninsula.Claims have also been made by Australia, Norway, New Zealand, and France.
In 1940, Nazi Germany claimed their own piece of the pie by dropping swastika-etched stakes from planes across huge pieces of Antarctica, when nationalism was in full swing. Antarctica sat largely unnoticed as the global war raged, followed by the Cold War, and only the whalers, continuing their predatory ways, ventured to this icy continent.However, due to celestial happenings at that time, science was ready turn it’s attention to the The Ice in a really big way.
In 1957, there was evidence of increased frequency of sunspots on our star, so the International Geophysical Year was begun then, allowing multinational efforts to look at the effects of solar radiation on the planet through Antarctica’s special place on the planet.The continent was soon home to a 67 country coalition of science personnel.This movement, and the cooperation among the scientists in this community were a drving factor in the Antarctic Treaty, an amazing international agreement.travel to antarctica
This treaty sets preserves and saves Antarctica for the sole purpose of peaceful research, and was signed in 1959 by countries that had key, vested interests in the continent.This treaty protects the land physically by banning nuclear testing or explosions, as well as any dumping of radioactive waste.While some military activities, they are strictly limited to the logistical support of scientific activities.The conflicting territorial claims between countries were set aside in the interest of preserving the continent.
This was a unusual example of cooperation during the Cold War, as all of the superpowers made no assertions of claims, and did not acknowledge any from their allies, other than to reserve their right to restate them in the futureThis cleaver act made smaller countries follow their lead and did not press their territorial claims either.antarctic travel
By the time the 1960s and 70s rolled around, various industries and governments began expressing a desire for the possible gas, oil, and minerals that could be contained in or around Antarctica.Countries established bases in and around the continent along with dozens of science stations in the area.
During the 1960’s and 70’s, the U.S., Soviet Union, Poland, Italy, Britain, Chile, and Argentina all established bases on King George Island, and during the 1980’s, additional bases were opened by Peru, Uruguay, South Korea, China, and Brazil.Even though these headquarters performed true scientific activities, they were also designed to establish claims in the name of those nations.Everyone has managed to create “squatters rights” for each of their countries.
However, by the 1980’s, exploitation began to give way to true science.So now the Antarctic joins with the oceans in being defined as communal property belonging to the entire world.The Halley Bay base in Antarctica, a British-run facility, showed us the first glimpses of the ozone layer depletion we were doing to the earth, increasing UV exposure exponentially.
Because of this, there was an international ban of ozone depleting toxins like Chloroflorocarbons or CFC’s in 1987. The agreement was that they would be completely gone by the mid 1990’s.With this revelation, science bases in Antarctica were suddenly much more valuable, as their ability to accurately monitor carbon emissions and the greenhouse effect were amazing.The 1980s saw anti-whaling movements at their peak, as well as the Green movement, which helped convince countries to leave Antarctica alone biologically.
In 1991, that dream became a reality when the nations who created the Antarctic Treaty voted to ban all exploration of natural resources for a period for 50 years so that the natural environment could grow and thrive and scientific research could flourish.Today, instead of being the Industrial Revolution crutch, Antarctica is teaching humans how much damage has been done to the atmosphere and planet by past extravagance, as well as how to avert possible coming environmental catastrophes.