Life on the Frozen Desert

Conquering the White Continent - Part 7

In the early 1900's, nations and explorers, driven by scientific curiosity, national pride and the allure of conquering the last frontier raced to be the first to reach the south pole. British explorer Ernest Shackleton came close in 1909 when his ship The Endurance was trapped in ice. The rescue to save his men became a NYT bestselling book and worth a read. A couple of years later Norwegian Roald Amundsen and British explorer Robert Scott launched rival expeditions. Both had different methods and routes planned however, Amundsen using a combination of dog sleds and detailed planning arrived first in December 1909. Scott arrived five weeks later only to perish on his return journey. They opened the doors to Antarctica becoming a continent of nations focusing on scientific research. Today, almost 30 countries operate approximately 70 permanent and seasonal research stations on the continent. Here are some of the ones we visited on our cruise.

Melchior Island - The island was named by Jean-Baptiste Charcot in honor of French Vice Admiral Jules Melchior. Originally built after a series of Argentine naval expeditions in the 1940's. The base served as Argentina's second Antarctic base and the first on the peninsula. From 1947 to 1961, Melchior operated year-round focusing on meteorology and biology work. Since 1961 it became a summer only station continuing to support research in glaciology, oceanography and wildlife monitoring.

Detaille Island - Base W was short-lived British research station active from 1956 to 1959. Operated by the Falkland Islands and supported research on mapping, geology and meteorology. Due to severe sea ice in 1959, the team had to evacuate the research station leaving equipment, supplies and personal belonging behind. Never to return. It stands as a time capsule to early Antarctic research. Unfortunately, I didn't walk up to the station, so all photos are from others.

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Cierva Cove- Base Primavera began as Refugio-Capitan Cobbett in 1954, supporting early Argentine Antarctic research. It was expanded to Base Primavera in 1977 however due to lack of funding it became summer only use in 1981 hosting international scientists. Today, research consist of climate and ecological changes.

Damoy Point - A small British transit station built in 1975 to move scientists and cargo between ships and inland bases when sea ice blocks the passage. The only inhabitants are a colony of gentoo penguins. Today it is protected by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust.

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I hope you enjoyed these seven posts about my Atlas ocean voyage Antarctica Cruise.