Did You Know The Further Exploration Of Antarctica May Be Stopped?

March 21st, 2010 Posted in Cruising

It was one hundred years ago when the whaling ship called Antarctic lowered its anchor of the volcanic coast of this wind-battered landmass. Soon it sent a longboat to the landmass through the rough waters of the Ross Sea. The party with their Captain, Leonard Kristensen, leading them landed and left the very first set of human footprints on the shores of Antarctica.  January 24,1895 was the date of their historic landing, and was only one part of their endeavor to hunt whales in unexplored waters. You will find that further information on antarctica cruises is on that site.

 

It was in blood that Antarctica was christened. The Industrial Revolution was starting to grow and the millions of seals that were slaughtered for their fur, as well as penguins and whales massacred for their oil, were part of what was needed to keep society moving forward. Many more hundreds of thousands of confused penguins form Macquarie Island were shepherded into large, boiling vats of oil and were subsequently reduced to oils themselves.

 

It is only now, after centuries of abuse of Antarctica’s resources, that this Frozen Continent is being appreciated for it’s natural and scientific wonders.  Humans have made the decision to forgo the easy money made through destruction of Antarctica’s resources, and instead chosen to treat it as a preserve of nature and science. There’s even talks of establishing a park where people from all over the world can visit. For science, Antarctica serves as a base for studying pollutant threats that affect the whole world, including ozone depletion and the greenhouse effect. It is surprising how fast this change of thought has come about in Antarctica. When you consider how long the human race has been around, the short time we have been on Antarctica is very minimal. Before the 1957-1958 International Geophysical Year, the exploration had involved  only small parts of the coastline, some islands, and a couple main access routes to the South Pole.

 

Although strewn with haphazard moments of scientific research, the human race’s history in Antarctica has mainly been filled with nationalism, idealism, and extreme cruelty and brutality. Whaling around Antarctica occurred with more intensity during World War I, because the oil from them was refined into glycerin used in artillery shells. After the end of World War II, it became the Soviet Union and the United States that hunted the sperm whales for the extra-fine oil they produced, which was needed as lubricant for jet engines. Up until the IGY, the majority of Antarctica was still known as “Terra Incognita,” which is the name given this theoretical southern continent by the medieval map makers. This site teaches you about antarctica cruise prices.

 

The birth of the first individual in Antarctica was a witness to dutiful conceit. That person has not yet reached adulthood. As a matter of fact, Emilio Marcus Palmer was born at Argentina’s Esperanza Base in 1978, where his mother was brought for the sole purpose of emphasizing Argentina’s claim to this area of Antarctic territory.

 

To put this into perspective, this was nine years after the prodigious event when American astronauts planted their nation’s flag to symbolize American pre-eminence. Norway’s Roald Amundsen 1911 race to the South Pole was done explicitly to honor King Haakon VII, and make a direct claim on the territory. This trip was also made by Robert F. Scott and his team in honor of the British Empire. The difference was that this team took the time to collect rock and fossil samples which they hauled with them in their man-pulled sleighs.

 

Unfortunately, Scott and his team became the first people to perish on Anttarctica for the sake of science. Many attribute this to the facts that Amundsen had made it to the pole a month sooner then they had, that they consumed a poor diet, had to haul the heavy rock samples, and simply had bad luck. America earned its claim to the South Pole when Richard Byrd flew over it in 1929 in a Ford Trimotor. In 1821, the soviets utilized Russian Admiral Thaddeus Bellingshausen’s voyage passed Antarctica in 1821 to justify their interests in the continent.