Is This Going To Be The End Of Further Exploration In Antarctica?

It is only now, after centuries of abuse of Antarctica’s resources, that this Frozen Continent is being appreciated for it’s natural and scientific wonders. Humans have made the decision to forgo the easy money made through destruction of Antarctica’s resources, and instead chosen to treat it as a preserve of nature and science. There has even been discussion about a world park being established. For science, Antarctica provides an opportunity to study the effects of global pollutants like the depletion of the ozone layer and the greenhouse effect. Considering the short and experimental nature of mankind’s occupancy in Antarctica, the reversal has been astoundingly quick. There were only parts of the coastline, the islands, and several paths to the South Pole investigated until the International Geophysical Year of 1957-1958. Contact this website if you require information on antarctic cruises. The presence of people in Antarctica has been a wild story; a story of ferocious tenacity, nationalist, idealism, and unrestrained butchery of nature, with the occasional scientific discovery peppered in for good measure. It was during World War I, when oil was being refined into glycerin for artillery shells, that whaling operations increased. After World War II began, Americans and the Soviets both needed to produce extra-fine oil for their jet engines. So, the Soviets and the Americans both began hunting sperm whales. Mapmakers of the Middle Ages labeled the abstract southern continent “Terra Australia Incognita”, and it remained so until the International Geophysical Year.