Nations around the world started claiming large chunks of Antarctica for whaling purposes.Land on the Peninsula has been claimed by Chili, Argentina, and Britain.France, New Zealand, Norway, and Australia are also know to have made claims on this continent.

In 1940, with nationalism running high, Nazi Germany dropped swastika-engraved stakes by plane, claiming large sections of Antarctica for themselves.With the world pre-occupied by WWII, Antarcitica found itself alone except for the whalers who came to hunt the great animals.But, it wouldn’t be long before heavenly happenings caused a scientific stir, prompting a mass return to The Ice.

During 1957 to 1958, sunspot eruptions were beginning to peak, and scientists and their governments all over the world setting up stations in Antarctica to study the resulting solar emissions, taking advantage of the hole in the planet’s magnetic field at the South Pole.The continent was soon home to a 67 country coalition of science personnel.The scientists worked so well together, that they were able to pave the way for the Antarctic Treaty, which turned out to be an amazing accord.exciting travel to antarctica

The primary countries with the most invested in Antarctica signed it in 1959, making interaction on the continent purely scientific.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.If the military was there, it was only to provide logistical assistance.Any territorial claims that caused conflicts between countries were just ‘put on a shelf’ and labeled as an issue.

A good example of this occurred during the Cold War when the superpowers of the world refused to establish any claims on the land and would not acknowledge any from their allies. However, they did state that they had the right to make claims in the future.This cleaver act made smaller countries follow their lead and did not press their territorial claims either.antarctica vacation

The minerals, gas, and oil that was thought to lie in and off the shores of Antarctica became attractive during the 1960’s and ’70’s.The number of national bases multiplied to great numbers and the population increased to its highest point of 5,000 people during the summer. Most of the bases were on the peninsula and area islands. The people lived mainly in the urban areas around the dozens of science stations located here.

It was during the 1960’s and 1970’s that Poland, Chile, Argentina, Britain, Italy, the United States, and the Soviet Union began setting up bases on King George Island. It was not until the1980’s that china, South Korea, Brazil, Uruguay, and Peru officially started their bases.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.In this, the countries basically became “squatters” on land that did not truly belong to them.

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.Not only was the continent of Antarctica being seen more as communal properties, so were the oceans of the world.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 led to the 1987 internation agreement to eliminate ozone-destroying chemicals by the turn of the century.It also showed how important Antarctic science bases were. The bases are still used for measuring how carbon emissions are causing the “greenhouse” effect which began with the start of the Industrial Age.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.

Exploitation of the continent for oil and gas exploration and mining, and any other irreversible exploitation, was banned by the Antarctic Treaty in 1991, and nations agreed to observe this treaty for a minimum of fifty years. Environmental concern was elevated to the same priority as scientific research on the continent.This same country that once helped to move the Industrial Revolution through whaling is now helping man learn how to better take care of the planet and its resources.