In 1940, the Nazis in Germany ordered airplanes to send stakes emblazoned with swastikas down to the land in order to claim it on behalf of the Third Reich.Antarctica sat largely unnoticed as the global war raged, followed by the Cold War, and only the whalers, continuing their predatory ways, ventured to this icy continent.However, celestial events occurred that allowed science to come back to Antarctica for a long time.

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.Scientists representing 67 different countries arrived to encircle the continent and establish their bases.The cooperation between the scientists and countries sparked the negotiations for the Antarctic Treaty, which is one of the most extraordinary International agreements ever made.exciting travel to antarctica

This treaty was signed in 1959 by all the countries with major interests in Antarctica. It was an agreement that made this continent to be used solely for peaceful purposes.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.There would be no further talk of territorial claim staking.

The superpowers of this era did not step forward to assert claims or otherwise interfere, although they did reservce the right to make claims in the future.This clever maneuver also stopped all of the smaller countries from asserting any claims to territory as well.antarctica vacation

By the 1960s, the minerals and oil that was believed to be in the Antarctic region became highly sought after.There was a flurry of national bases erected, mainly on the peninsula and surrounding islands. Antarctica’s summer population of approximately 5,000, largely due to the fact that it’s only a three day cruise, dozens of science posts are home to most of these visitors.

In the 60’s countries like Poland, the then Soviet Union, the United States, Italy, Great Britain, Argentina and Chile launched their own individual bases on King George Island. That was followed with new base openings in the 80’s by China, Peru, South Korea, and other Southern American countries.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.The essentially served their countries by creating “squatters rights” in Antarctica.

Things began to change in the late 80’s though. More people became aware of the exploitation of the area and tried to preserve what was left.The oceans have long been recognized as belonging to the world rather than any one country, and Antarctica is becoming the same way.At this time, a hole in the Earth’s atmosphere was discovered. British scientists at the Halley Bay Antarctic base found that due to the industrial advances most super powers had made caused a hole in the Earth’s atmosphere which allowed harmful UV rays in.

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’sWith this revelation, science bases in Antarctica were suddenly much more valuable, as their ability to accurately monitor carbon emissions and the greenhouse effect were amazing.Anti-whaling sentiment reached a climax during the 1980’s, and global movements for a Green planet supported preserving the continent of Antarctica as a world park.

By 1991 Antarctica received protection from ravaging of it’s natural resources with the Antarctic Treaty where participating nations agreed to ban exploration for oil and gas, mining and any other irreversible exploitation for at least 50 years.Now, Antarctica has a unique duty and place in the world, for it’s the one place where we can most accurately measure just how much damage we’ve done to the environment, and study how to stop it.