The exploration of Antarctica is a story that illustrates the unbridled desire of a person to know the world around him, a story about fortitude and willingness to take risks. The sixth continent, theoretically located south of Australia and the Americas, has fascinated explorers and cartographers for centuries. However, the history of the exploration of Antarctica began only in 1819 with the round-the-world voyage of the Russian navigators Bellingshausen and Lazarev. It was then that the start was given to the development of a huge ice expanse, which continues to this day.
From the depths of centuries
Almost two thousand years before the moment when the discovery and the first exploration of Antarctica took place, ancient geographers were already talking about its existence. Then there was a lot of assumptions about what constitutes a distant land. The name "Antarctica" appeared during this period. It is first found in Martin of Tire in the second century AD. One of the authors of the hypothesis of an unknown continent was the great Aristotle, who suggested that the Earth is symmetrical, which means that there is another continent behind Africa.
Legends arose later. On some maps attributed to the Middle Ages, the image of the "Southern Land" is clearly visible, often located separately or connected to America. One of them was found in 1929. Admiral Piri Reis's map dated 1513 supposedly contains a very detailed and accurate depiction of the coastline of Antarctica. Where the compiler got the information for his map is still a mystery.
Getting closer
Not marked by the discovery of the sixth continent. Research by European sailors only narrowed the scope of the search. It became clear that the South American continent "is not attached" to any unknown land. And in 1773, James Cook crossed the Arctic Circle for the first time in history and discovered several Antarctic islands, but that was all. One of the biggest events in geography happened about 50 years later.
The beginning of the way
The discovery and the first exploration of Antarctica took place under the leadership of Faddey Faddeevich Bellingshausen and with the direct participation of Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev. In 1819, an expedition of two ships, Mirny and Vostok, set off from Kronstadt to the South Pole. The first was securely fortified and equipped with Lazarev for navigation in the most severe conditions. The second was created by English engineers and in many respects lost to Mirny. At the end of the journey, he became the reason for the early return of the expedition: the ship fell into a deplorable state.
The ships put to sea on July 4 and by November 2 had already reached Rio de Janeiro. Following the intended course, they rounded the island of South Georgia and approached Sandwich Land. It was identified as an archipelago and renamed the South. Three new islands were discovered among them: Leskov, Zavadovsky and Torson.
Exploration of Antarctica by Bellingshausen and Lazarev
The opening took place on 16 (27 New Style) January 1820. The ships approached the sixth continent in what is today the Bellingshausen Ice Shelf, off the coast of Princess Martha. Before the onset of the Arctic winter, when weather conditions deteriorated greatly, the expedition approached the mainland several more times. The ships were closest to the continent on February 5 and 6 (17 and 18).
The exploration of Antarctica by Lazarev and Bellingshausen continued after the arrival of summer. As a result of the voyage, several new objects were marked on the map: the island of Peter I with the mountainous, partially ice-free land of Alexander I; the Three Brothers Islands, known today as Espland and O'Brien; Rear Admiral Rozhnov Island (today Gibbs), Mikhailov Island (Cornwalls), Admiral Mordvinov Island (Eliphent), Vice Admiral Shishkov Island (Clarence).
The first exploration of Antarctica was completed on July 24, 1821, when both ships returned to Kronstadt.
Expedition contribution
Navigators under the command of Bellingshausen and Lazarev went around Antarctica during their exploration. They mapped a total of 29 islands, as well as, of course, the mainland itself. In addition, they collected unique information for the century before last. In particular, Bellingshausen found that salt water freezes in exactly the same way as fresh water, contrary to the assumptions of scientists of that time. The only difference is that a lower temperature is required. The ethnographic and natural-scientific collection, which arrived in Russia with the seafarers, is now kept at Kazan University. It is impossible to overestimate the significance of the expedition, but the history of the exploration and discovery of Antarctica has only just begun.
Development
Each expedition to the sixth continent was a certain feat. The harsh conditions of the icy desert left little chance for people who were ill-prepared or unorganized. The first studies of Antarctica by scientists were especially difficult, since their participants often could not fully imagine what awaited them.
This was the case with the Carsten Egeberg Borchgrevink expedition. His crew made the first documented landing on Antarctica in 1899. The main thing that the expedition achieved was wintering. It became clear that it is possible to survive in the harsh conditions of the icy desert during the polar night if there is a well-equipped shelter. However, the place for wintering was chosen extremely unsuccessfully, and the team returned home not in full force.
At the beginning of the last century, the South Pole was reached. It was first reached by a Norwegian expedition led by Roald Amundsen in 1911. Shortly after her, the team reached the South Pole, which died on the way back. However, the most large-scale development of the icy desert began in 1956. The exploration of Antarctica acquired a new character - now it was carried out on an industrial basis.
International Geophysical Year
In the middle of the last century, many countries were aimed at studying Antarctica. As a result, in 1957-1958. twelve states threw their forces into the development of the icy desert. This time was declared the International Geophysical Year. The history of the exploration of Antarctica, perhaps, does not know such fruitful periods.
It was found that the icy "breath" of the sixth continent is carried away by currents and air currents far to the north. This information made possible more accurate weather forecasting throughout the Earth. In the process of research, much attention was paid to exposed bedrocks, which can tell a lot about the structure of our planet. A large amount of data has also been collected on phenomena such as the northern lights and cosmic rays.
Exploration of Antarctica by Russian scientists
Of course, the Soviet Union played a huge role in the scientific activity of those years. In the depths of the mainland, several stations were founded, and research teams were regularly sent to it. Even in the period of preparation for the International Geophysical Year, the Soviet Antarctic Expedition (SAE) was created. Its tasks included studying the processes occurring in the atmosphere of the continent and their influence on the circulation of air masses, compiling the geological characteristics of the area and its physical and geographical description, and identifying patterns in the movement of Arctic waters. The first expedition landed on the ice in January 1956. And already on February 13, the Mirny station was opened.
As a result of the work of Soviet polar explorers, the number of white spots on the map of the sixth continent has significantly decreased. More than three hundred geographical features have been discovered, such as islands, bays, valleys and mountain ranges. Seismic studies were carried out. They helped to establish that Antarctica was not, as was supposed at the time, but a mainland. The most valuable information was often discovered as a result of the work of researchers at the limit of their capabilities, during the most difficult expeditions deep into the continent.
During the years of the most active research in Antarctica, eight stations operated both in winter and in summer. During the Polar Night, 180 people remained on the continent. From the beginning of the summer, the number of the expedition increased to 450 participants.
successor
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Antarctic exploration did not stop. The SAE was replaced by the Russian Antarctic Expedition. With the improvement of technology, a more detailed study of the sixth continent became possible. Research of Antarctica by Russian scientists is carried out in several directions: determination of climatic, geophysical and other features of the continent, the influence of atmospheric phenomena on weather conditions in other areas of the world, collection and analysis of data on the anthropogenic load of polar stations on the environment.
Since 1959, when the Antarctic Treaty was concluded, the icy continent has become a place of international cooperation, free from military activity. The development of the sixth continent was carried out by several countries. The exploration of Antarctica in our time is an example of cooperation for the sake of scientific progress. Often, Russian expeditions have an international composition.
Mysterious lake
Almost no message about is complete without mentioning a rather interesting object found under the ice. Its existence was predicted by A.P. Kapitsa and I.A. Zotikov after the end of the geophysical year based on the data obtained in that period. This is a freshwater lake Vostok, located in the area of the station of the same name under a layer of ice 4 km thick. The study of Antarctica by Russian scientists led to the discovery. It happened officially in 1996, although already in the late 50s, work was underway to study the lake according to Kapitsa and Zotikov.
The discovery shocked the scientific world. Such a subglacial lake is completely isolated from contact with the earth's surface, and for millions of years. Theoretically, its fresh waters with a sufficiently high concentration of oxygen can be the habitat of organisms still unknown to scientists. A favorable factor for the development of life is the rather high temperature of the lake - up to +10º at the bottom. On the border separating the surface of the reservoir and the ice, it is colder - only -3º. The depth of the lake is estimated at 1200 m.
The possibility of discovering unknown flora and fauna led to the decision to drill through the ice in the Vostok region.
Latest data
Ice drilling in the area of the reservoir began in 1989. Ten years later, it was suspended at a distance of about 120 m from the lake. The reason is the fear of foreign researchers of pollution of the ecosystem by particles from the surface, as a result of which a unique community of organisms may suffer. Russian scientists did not share this point of view. Soon, new, more environmentally friendly equipment was developed and tested, and in 2006 the drilling process resumed.
A number of scientists are rather skeptical about the results, explaining such a variety of sequences with dirt brought in by the drill. In addition, it is likely that most of the organisms to which the found DNA may belong have long since died. One way or another, research on Antarctica by scientists from Russia and several other countries in the area continues.
Greetings from the past and a look into the future
Interest in Lake Vostok is due, among other things, to the opportunity to study an ecosystem similar to those that could have existed on Earth many years ago, during the Late Proterozoic. Then several global glaciations replaced each other on our planet, each of which lasted for up to ten million years.
In addition, the study of Antarctica in the lake area, the very process of drilling wells, the collection, analysis and interpretation of the results may be useful in the future when developing the satellites of the gas giant Jupiter, Europa and Callisto. Presumably, similar lakes exist under their surface with their own preserved ecosystem. If the hypothesis is confirmed, then the “inhabitants” of the subglacial lakes of Europa and Callisto may become the first organisms discovered outside our planet.
The history of the exploration and discovery of Antarctica well illustrates the constant desire of man to expand his own knowledge. The study of the sixth continent, like the International Space Station, is an example of the peaceful cooperation of many states for scientific purposes. The icy mainland, however, is in no hurry to reveal its secrets. Severe conditions require constant improvement of technology, scientific equipment and often the work of the human spirit and body to the limit. The inaccessibility of the sixth continent for the majority, the existence of an impressive number of gaps in knowledge about it gives rise to many legends about Antarctica. The curious can easily find information about the hiding places of fascists, UFOs and predatory killing people. How things really are, only polar explorers know. Adherents of scientific versions can safely hope that soon we will know a little more about Antarctica, which means that the amount of mysticism enveloping the continent will slightly decrease.
