Over the years many of the whaling nations made territorial claims to large sections of the continent of .The countries of , , and Argentina have competing territorial claims on the Antarctic Peninsula.Other countries, such as Norway, Australia, New Zealand, and France have also claimed portions of the continent.

In 1940, with nationalism running high, Nazi Germany dropped swastika-engraved stakes by plane, claiming large sections of Antarctica for themselves.With the exception whaling, the world left Antarctica alone, so it could fight a second World War, and then a after that.However, incited by astral occurrences, Antarctica began to draw the attention of scientists in the mid part of the century.

1957-58 saw sunspot activity heading toward a peak, and that’s when the governments and scientist from around the world got ready for the International Geophysical Year, choosing Antarctica for their study of solar radiation on earth’s magnetic field that could be viewed through a southern hole there.This movement involved 67 different countries visiting the continent for research purposes.Because all the countries got along so well, a new treaty called the Antarctic Treaty, was formed and marks an amazing feat in international law and agreements.exciting travel to antarctica

The primary countries with the most invested in Antarctica signed it in 1959, making interaction on the continent purely scientific.The treaty specifically spelled out not allowing any destructive forces to be detonated on the continent, including banning nuke testing and exploding, as well as not allowing countries to dump their toxic waste onto it’s barren landscape or waters.All military activity was limited to that of scientific support.The issues surrounding territorial claims were put to rest.

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 futureBecause of this, this prevented other smaller governments from trying to create a fuss if they didn’t get what they wanted.trips to antarctica

By the 1960s and 1970, other countries began to realize the extent of oil, gas and minerals that lie in and around Antarctica, and they also began to realize the value of those resources.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.

Bases were opened on King George Island throughout the 1960s and 70s by Chile, Great Britain, Poland, Italy, Argentina, the United States and Soviet Union, with Peru, Brazil, China, Uruguay, and South Korea joining them in the 1980s.True, most of these bases were established to conduct scientific experiments, but it was also a sign of political prowess for a lot of countries.Everyone has managed to create “squatters rights” for each of their countries.

However, by the 1980s the political mentality had begun to turn away from exploitation and in the direction of scientific exploration.In a manner similar to declaring the oceans international territory, the Antarctic has become a shared continent.It was Britain’s Halley Bay Antarctic base that first discovered the hole in the Earth’s ozone layer. This proved that industrial activity was degrading the atmosphere, allowing cancer-causing ultraviolet radiation to reach the Earth’s surface.

This discovery led to the 1987 internation agreement to eliminate ozone-destroying chemicals by the turn of the century.This discovery validated the work of the science bases on the continent, who act as monitors of carbon emissions resulting in “greenhouse” effect.As the Greenpeace movement came into full swing in the 80′s and whaling became reviled by countries worldwide, international bodies thought to ban the practice in the area. They thought to set Antarctica aside as a world-park.

The nations that participated in the Antarctic Treaty put forth a decree in 1991 that all gas and oil exploration would be stopped for the next half century, as well as mining; instead, the environment would be given higher priority.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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