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In all parts of Antarctica, countries whose primary industry is whaling, claimed large portions of land.On the Peninsula, three nations claims overlie each other. Making the Peninsula shared by Britain, Argentina, and Chile.Claims to Antarctica have also been declared by New Zealand, Australia, France, and Norway.

Even Nazi Germany wanted to have a piece of the Antarctica pie when they planted stakes with 3rd Reich swastikas on them all over the frozen land.With the world pre-occupied by WWII, Antarcitica found itself alone except for the whalers who came to hunt the great animals.However, science would soon be motivated by celestial events to return to Antarctica.

Sunspot movement became prevalent in the years 1957 and 1958, so nations all across the globe began getting ready for the International Geophysical Year. Antarctica became a focal point due to its one-of-a-kind visibility of a clear spot in the magnetic field of the Earth in which they could examine it while it was being assaulted by solar radiation.The continent was soon home to a 67 country coalition of science personnel.The scientists worked so well together, that they were able to pave the way for the Antarctic Treaty, which turned out to be an amazing accord.antarctica travel experience

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.Nuclear experimentation was prohibited, as was the discarding of the radioactive waste generated.The only permissible activity of the military here, was to help in the coordination of scientific exploration.Any territorial claims that caused conflicts between countries were just ‘put on a shelf’ and labeled as an issue.

Although the Cold War wasn’t widely known as a time of cooperation, the superpowers dropped all claims, and ignored those of their ally nations, but made known their belief that their claim would still be valid at some future time.This agreement made it difficult for less powerful nations to assert their claims.antarctica vacation

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.National bases began to spring up on the peninsula and nearby islands, and peak population still occurs in the summer with around 5,000 people who tend to fill up the dozens of science stations built like urban sprawl on the peninsula and some of the islands.

It was during the 1960’s and 1970’s that Poland, Chile, Argentina, Britain, Italy, the United States, and the Soviet Union began setting up bases on King George Island. It was not until the1980’s that china, South Korea, Brazil, Uruguay, and Peru officially started their bases.Although these sites were involved in genuine scientific research, they also served as political symbols like the stakes the Nazis had dropped in the 40’s.In other words the bases also allowed each country to create “squatters rights.”

However, by the time the 1980’s rolled around, the use of Antarctica moved toward scientific research and retracted from using the continent for its resources.So now the Antarctic joins with the oceans in being defined as communal property belonging to the entire world.The Halley Antarctic base that was established by Great Britain was responsible for discovering the ozone layer, and they demonstrated how its degradation is promoted by the earth’s industrial activity, allowing damaging UV radiation to pass through.

This discovery began the discussions for an international agreement in 1987 that would ban the use of ozone-depleting chemicals from being used by the end of the 1990’sThis put Antarctica back on the map because the scientific research conducted at this location on Earth gave people a better view of how industry was changing Earth structurally and physically.The Green movement was largely responsible for rejection of whaling in the 1980’s and protection of the continent.

The same countries that signed the Antarctic Treaty, decided to disallow the removal of natural resources such as gas and oil from Antarctica for the next 50 years, and possibly longer. They also decided to make environmental issues equal to scientific issues.Antarctica is important today as it was during it’s hey-day because instead of being exploited and ruined in the name of wealth and greed, it’s teaching us how those very things that marked progress are creating a very unstable world. Hopefully, through the studies conducted we will be able to learn how to reverse some of those issues and challenges we will face in the future.

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