Whaling nations laid claim to massive territories across the continent of Antarctica. The peninsula of Antarctica is a place where Britain, Argentina, and Chile all find themselves vying for stretches of land. Similarly, Norway,, France, and New Zealand also see some of this territory as rightfully theirs.
In 1940, Nazi Germany attempted to take Antarctica for its own, dropping stakes with the swastika emblazoned on them via fleets of planes. After World War II, Antarctica was practically abandoned by the world except for those countries with interests in whaling enterprises. The occurrence of celestial phenomena precipitated renewed interest in the continent, this time by scientists.
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. As a matter of fact, there were 67 countries represented in various bases around the continent. 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.
The primary countries with the most invested in Antarctica signed it in 1959, making interaction on the continent purely scientific. No waste dumping or nuclear bomb tests would be permitted on Antarctica. The only military activities allowed were in support of the scientific projects. The issues surrounding territorial claims were put to rest.
This period marked an odd time in the Cold War where the superpowers both put aside their differences for the moment, staking no claims on Antarctica or recognizing any others as well. This cleaver act made smaller countries follow their lead and did not press their territorial claims either.
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. The peninsula and surrounding islands saw an extreme increase in an international presence. Antarctica's normal population is at most 5,000 in the warmer months, and the majority of those people are jammed into the scientific communities on the peninsula or the surrounding 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. Although there was scientific research going on at these bases, they were actually more of a political statement, as the swastika stakes of the Nazis in the 1940's. These bases essentially served as notices of the "squatting rights" of these nations.
But science has already begun to take hold in the 1980's, and exploitation of the environment was out, and science was in. 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 discovered the hole in the ozone layer around the earth, leading to the realization industrial pollution was deteriorating the atmosphere and allowing ultraviolet radiation in.
This discovery led to the 1987 internation agreement to eliminate ozone-destroying chemicals by the turn of the century. The international value of these scientific bases on Antarctica was emphasized by this discovery, and the current monitoring of greenhouse emissions and their effects on the planet since it became industrialized can also be attributed to this work. The 1980s saw anti-whaling movements at their peak, as well as the Green movement, which helped convince countries to leave Antarctica alone biologically.
Oil and gas exploration, mining and other permanent exploitation of Antarctica, was banned by 1991 through an agreement by the Antarctic Treaty nations, prompting heightened concern for the environment to be on an equal plain with science. Antarctica continues to play a major part in educating humankind about the damage it has inflicted on the planet and its atmosphere with its industrial activity, and how to avoid the catastrophic consequences of environment damage in the future.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.articlechamber.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
