The study of Antarctica is a story illustrating a person’s unbridled desire to learn about the world, a story about fortitude and willingness to take risks. The sixth continent, theoretically located south of Australia and both Americas, has been haunting researchers and cartographers for several centuries. However, the history of the study of Antarctica began only in 1819 with a round-the-world trip of the Russian navigators Bellingshausen and Lazarev. It was then that the start was made to the development of a huge ice space, which continues to this day.
From the depths of centuries
Almost two thousand years before the discovery and first exploration of Antarctica took place, ancient geographers already spoke of its existence. Then there were a lot of assumptions about what constitutes a distant land. The name "Antarctica" appeared during this period. It was first encountered by 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 beyond Africa.
Legends arose later. On some maps dating back to the Middle Ages, the image of the “South Land”, often located separately or connected to America, is clearly visible. In 1929, one of them was found. A map of Admiral Piri Reis dating from 1513 presumably contains a very detailed and accurate depiction of the coastline of Antarctica. Where the compiler got the information for his card is still a mystery.
Getting closer
The Great Age of geographical discoveries was not marked by the discovery of the sixth continent. Research by European mariners has only narrowed 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 this was limited to that. One of the largest events in geography occurred approximately 50 years after this.
The beginning of the way
The discovery and first research of Antarctica was led by 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 reliably fortified and equipped with Lazarev for swimming in the most severe conditions. The second was created by English engineers and in many ways lost to Mirny. At the end of the voyage, he became the reason for the early return of the expedition: the ship became in poor condition.
The ships set sail on July 4 and by November 2 had already reached Rio de Janeiro. Following the intended course, they circled around South Georgia Island and approached Sandwich Land. It was identified as an archipelago and renamed the South Sandwich Islands. Among them, three new islands were discovered: Leskov, Zavadovsky and Torson.
Exploration of Antarctica by Bellingshausen and Lazarev
The opening took place on January 16 (27 according to the new style) on January 1820. The ships approached the sixth continent in the area called the Bellingshausen Ice Shelf today, off the coast of Princess Martha. Before the onset of the Arctic winter, when weather conditions worsened greatly, the expedition several times approached the mainland. The ships closest to the continent were February 5 and 6 (17 and 18).
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 mountainous, partially ice-free land of Alexander I; The Three Brothers Islands, known today as Espland and O'Brien; Rear Admiral Rozhnov’s Island (today Gibbs), Mikhailova Island (Cornwalls), Admiral Mordvinov’s Island (Elifent), Vice Admiral Shishkov’s Island (Clarence).
The first exploration of Antarctica was completed on July 24, 1821, when both ships returned to Kronstadt.
Expedition Contribution
Mariners led by Bellingshausen and Lazarev during their research circled around Antarctica. They mapped a total of 29 islands, as well as, of course, the mainland itself. In addition, they collected information unique to the century before last. In particular, Bellingshausen found that salt water freezes in 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 with sailors in Russia, is now kept at Kazan University. It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the expedition, but the history of the research and discovery of Antarctica has only just begun.
Mastering
Each expedition to the sixth continent was a certain feat. The harsh conditions of the icy desert practically left no chance for people poorly trained or unorganized. The first studies of Antarctica by scientists were especially difficult, because their participants often could not fully imagine what was awaiting them.
So it was in the case of the expedition Karsten Egeberg Borkhgrevinka. His team carried out the first documented landing on the coast of Antarctica in 1899. The main thing that the expedition achieved was wintering. It became clear that you can survive in the harsh conditions of the icy desert during the polar night if you have a well-equipped shelter. However, the place for wintering was chosen very poorly, and the team returned home not in full force.
At the beginning of the last century, the South Pole was reached. For the first time he reached the Norwegian expedition led by Royal Amundsen in 1911. Soon after, the team of Robert Scott reached the South Pole , who died on the way back. However, the most large-scale development of the ice desert began in 1956. The study of Antarctica acquired a new character - now it was conducted on an industrial basis.
International Geophysical Year
In the middle of the last century, many countries aimed to study Antarctica. As a result, in 1957-1958. twelve states put their forces into the development of the icy desert. This time was declared the International Geophysical Year. The history of the study of Antarctica, perhaps, does not know equally fruitful periods.
It was found that the icy "breath" of the sixth continent is carried away by the current and air currents far to the north. This information made it possible to more accurately predict weather throughout the Earth. In the process of the study, much attention was paid to the exposed native rocks, which can tell a lot about the structure of our planet. A large amount of data was collected on such phenomena as the northern lights, magnetic storms and cosmic rays.
Research of Antarctica by Russian scientists
Of course, the Soviet Union played a huge role in the scientific activities of those years. In the depths of the mainland, several stations were founded, and research groups were regularly sent to it. Even during the preparation for the International Geophysical Year, the Soviet Antarctic Expedition (SAE) was created. Her tasks included studying the processes taking place in the atmosphere of the continent, and their influence on the circulation of air masses, drawing up the geological characteristics of the terrain and its physical and geographical description, identifying patterns of movement of Arctic waters. The first expedition landed on ice in January 1956. And 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 significantly decreased. Over three hundred geographical features have been discovered, such as islands, bays, valleys, and mountain ranges. Seismic surveys were conducted. They helped establish that Antarctica is not a group of islands, as was supposed at that time, but the mainland. The most valuable information was often discovered as a result of the work of researchers at the limit of possibilities, during the most complex expeditions deep into the continent.
During the years of the most active research, eight stations functioned in Antarctica, operating both in winter and in summer. During the polar night, 180 people remained on the continent. Since the beginning of summer, the number of expedition members has 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. Researches of Antarctica by scientists of Russia are 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 regions 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 ice continent has become a place of international cooperation, free from military activities. The development of the sixth continent was carried out by several countries. The study 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
Practically not a single report on modern exploration of Antarctica is complete without mentioning a rather interesting object discovered under the thickness of ice. Its existence was predicted by A.P. Kapitsa and I.A. Zotikov after the completion of the geophysical year on the basis of 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 discovery was led by a study of Antarctica by Russian scientists. This happened officially in 1996, although already in the late 50s work was underway to study the lake according to the data of Kapitsa and Zotikov.
The discovery excited 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 ice, it is colder - only -3º. The depth of the lake is estimated at 1200 m.
The likelihood of discovering unknown flora and fauna led to the decision to drill ice in the East.
Latest data
Ice drilling in the pond area 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 ecosystem pollution by particles from the surface, as a result of which a unique community of organisms may suffer. Russian scientists did not share this view. Soon new, more environmentally friendly equipment was developed and tested, and in 2006 the drilling process resumed.
The surface of the lake was reached on February 5, 2012. Water samples were sent for research. The results of the study of several samples were published in July 2013. More than three and a half thousand unique DNA sequences were found in the samples, 1623 of which were correlated with a specific genus or species: 94% - bacteria, 6% - eukaryotes (mainly fungi) and two sequences belong to archaea. According to some signs, it can be assumed that there are larger organisms in the lake. Some of the bacteria found are fish parasites, therefore, perhaps in the process of further research they will be found.
A number of scientists are quite skeptical of the results, explaining such a diversity of sequences with mud carried by the drill. In addition, it is likely that most of the organisms to which the DNA found may belong have long perished. One way or another, the research of Antarctica by scientists of Russia and several other countries in the area continues.
Greetings from the past and a look into the future
Interest in Lake Vostok is also due to the opportunity to study an ecosystem similar to those that could exist 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 process of drilling wells, collection, analysis and interpretation of the results may be useful in the future when developing the satellites of the gas giant Jupiter, Europe and Callisto. Presumably, under their surface there are similar lakes with their conserved ecosystem. If the hypothesis is confirmed, then the "inhabitants" of the subglacial lakes of Europe and Callisto may become the first organisms discovered outside our planet.
The history of the research and discovery of Antarctica illustrates well 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 peaceful cooperation of many states with scientific goals. The icy mainland, however, is in no hurry to reveal its secrets. Harsh conditions require constant perfection of technology, scientific equipment and often the work of the human spirit and body to the limit. The inaccessibility of the sixth continent to the majority, the existence of an impressive number of gaps in knowledge about it gives rise to many legends about Antarctica. Curious people can easily find information about the hiding places of fascists, UFOs and predatory luminous balls that kill people. As a matter of fact, 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 decrease slightly.