Antarctica - ice continent, the sixth continent,for a long time remaining unrenched on the cards. His existence was guessed at the beginning of our era. From then until the discovery of Antarctica, more than ten centuries have passed. The reason for such inaccessibility lies in extremely low temperatures, drifting ice, as well as the imperfection of technology.
Answering the question of what century they discoveredAntarctica, you can approach from different sides. In many sciences, the time of the discovery of a phenomenon is considered the day when it was described. There is even a corresponding expression "opening at the tip of the pen." If such an approach were recognized in geography, today the textbooks would look different. The time when they discovered Antarctica would be considered Antiquity. Then many thinkers wrote about the probable existence of the earth, located to the south of already known continents.
The name of the continent was first mentioned insecond century of our era in the writings of the ancient Greek geographer Marina Tirskogo. Antarctica means the opposite of the Arctic. Aristotle also wrote about the distant southern land, who considered its existence necessary for balancing the land excess in the north. The version about the hidden continent was followed by the famous astronomer of antiquity Ptolemy.
The answer to the question: “In what century did you discover Antarctica?»Could be different from what we know today, if at least one of the attempts to reach the mysterious continent, carried out in the XVI-XVII centuries, would have succeeded. One of the expeditions was headed by Amerigo Vespucci. At the beginning of the sixteenth century he reached the island of South Georgia. Then the ships did not sail because of the unusually strong frost.
Next famous try that had a chanceto change our idea of the century in which Antarctica was discovered was made by James Cook. In 1773, the ship under his leadership for the first time in history crossed the Southern Arctic Circle. Cook became the discoverer of several Arctic islands and advanced quite far into the waters of the sixth continent. However, the way was blocked by irresistible ice. The traveler wrote about his inability to avoid such an obstacle later in his diary. And only after about 50 years, Russian seafarers Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev denied this assumption.
The famous journey on the ships "Peace" and"East" began in mid-1819. Headed the expedition, whose goal was the discovery of Antarctica, Lazarev and Bellingshausen. Moving south, the mariners met three islands, later called the Marquis de Traversay group. They reached the Sandwich Land, discovered by Cook, and found that it is an archipelago. It is called the Sandwich Islands. On January 16 (old style) of 1820 the ships coped with the task that James Cook was unable to solve. Soon they came to a fairly close distance to the coast of the icy continent, later called the Coast of Princess Martha. This was the opening of the Antarctic Bellingshausen and Lazarev. The official date of the event is January 28 (old style) of 1820.
Однако и тут не все так просто.Bellingshausen and Lazarev did not land on the continent. For this reason, not all researchers agree to consider the named number as the date when they discovered Antarctica. In geography, as in any science, there is a set of rules. For example, it is considered to be the discoverer of a person who first stepped on a new land before others. In this case, the Norwegian navigators Christensen and Borchgrevink become “heroes of history”. On the day when Antarctica was discovered, it becomes January 23, 1895.
The time when the icy continent beganslowly reveal their secrets, became the XX century. In 1911, the expedition of Roald Amundsen took place. Among her achievements was the first ever successful trip to the South Pole. Soon he was reached and the team of Robert Scott, who tragically died on the way back.
Mid-century was a time of industrialmastering the ice continent. Began the most large-scale study of Antarctica since 1956. It was then that the first Soviet expedition headed by Mikhail Somov reached the shores of the mainland. This and the subsequent groups of researchers were tasked with equipping stations, collecting data on atmospheric phenomena, temperature and other conditions, the continent's animal world, the influence of air masses moving from here to the climate in lands located to the north.
In 1956 the study of Antarctica was not yetend regulated. The final agreement at the international level was reached in early 1959, when several countries signed the "Antarctic Treaty". He made the sixth continent a zone free from military activities. Since its time, it is forbidden to dispose toxic and radioactive waste on its territory. What else have countries agreed? Antarctica by the time researchers reached several powers, but there were those who only sought to do so. Anyway, both of them refused for an indefinite term territorial claims. The sixth continent became a place of international scientific cooperation and remains so to this day.
During Soviet times in the territoryicy continent was established several stations. During the most active scientific activity, the number of year-round workers reached eight. They worked in the winter to 180 people. In the summer, the number of employees reached 450.
For all the time of the Soviet AntarcticExpedition (SAE) was obtained a lot of important information about the continent. Plains, mountains, bays and islands appeared on the map. Phenomena such as the northern lights and magnetic storms were studied. The researchers paid much attention to the influence of the atmospheric phenomena of the ice continent on the weather in other areas of our planet. The achievements of Soviet scientists formed the basis of Russian scientific programs for the development of Antarctica.
In place of the SAE after the collapse of the Soviet UnionRussian Antarctic Expedition arrived. Every year, researchers go to the harsh conditions of the icy continent, continuing the work of their predecessors. Today, the number of major year-round operating stations is five. Most research activities are carried out on their territory. In addition to them, two seasonal field stations are at the disposal of polar explorers. At the same time, more than two hundred Russian specialists are engaged in research on the continent.
The sixth continent is not a resort.Extremely low temperatures and hurricane winds - this is what Antarctica is famous for. The ocean surrounding it is completely inhospitable. Therefore, people with good health and receptive mind are always sent here, able to withstand a large load and make decisions in difficult unforeseen circumstances. On the other hand, such conditions leave their imprint on the technology used in the construction and equipment of stations. Fortunately, the modern level of scientific progress allows expedition members to devote less and less time to maintaining the comfortable conditions of their stay in the harsh land. As a result of the emergence of new technologies, tools and methods, researchers have the opportunity to expand their field of activity every year, and we are learning more and more about the secrets of the ice continent.
An illustrative example of achievement isice drilling near the station "Vostok". There, in the late 50s of the last century, the location of the lake was determined. It is located under a thick layer of ice and probably exists in this form for several million years. The lake, named after the station "Vostok", can be a refuge for microorganisms that have never come into contact with the Earth's biosphere.
As a result of drilling the surface of the iceThe reservoir was reached in 2012. Scientists have access to the extracted material. Analysis of the data causes a controversial reaction of researchers. The DNA sequences of a large number of microorganisms were found, however, it is likely that some of them were brought in during the drilling process, and the other is the remains of long-extinct creatures.
The study of the lake is of interest alsobecause the methods used for this may be useful in the future. Scientists suggest that they will be needed during the development of the territory of the moons of Jupiter (Callisto and Europe), the surface of which allegedly hides similar formations.
Anyway, the study of Lake Vostok and the wholeAntarctica generally continues. Every day, scientists work in the harsh conditions of the ice continent to reveal its secrets. While there are still a lot of them. It can even be said that the questions, assumptions and mystical legends connected with the sixth continent have now become larger than they were before the discovery of Antarctica. I want to believe that the irrepressible human mind can find explanations for at least some of the mysteries offered by nature.
