Antarctica
-
- 1978: Proposed Flag (Whitney
Smith)
|
-
- 1996: Proposed Flag (Graham
Bartram)
|
-
- Antarctic Treaty
Secretariat Flag
- Adopted 20 Sep 2002
|
Map
of Antarctica |
Map
of Antarctic Research
Stations
& Territorial Claims
|
Antarctic
Treaty
(23 Jun 1961) |
Major Stations:
Amundsen-Scott (US),
Belgrano (Arg.), Bernardo
O'Higgins (Chile),
Dumont d'Urville (Fr.),
Halley (UK),
Mawson (Aus.), McMurdo
(US),
Neumayer (Ger), Palmer
(US), Scott (NZ),
Troll (Norway), Vostok
(Rus.), Syowa (Jap.) |
Currency: No Common
Currency
------------------
Holiday: 1 Dec (1959)
Antarctica Day
(unofficial)
|
Population: Uninhabited
Seasonal Research
Staff:
Summer (Dec.-Feb..): 4,877
(2017)
Winter (Jun.-Aug..): 1,036
(2017) |
Total Armed Forces:
Antarctic Treaty prohibits
any measures of a military
nature |
GDP:
Scientific undertakings rather than
commercial pursuits are the
predominate human activity in
Antarctica. Fishing off the coast and
tourism,
both based abroad, account for
Antarctica's limited economic activity.
|
Summer (Dec.-Feb.)
population - 4,877 total;
Argentina 601, Australia 243, Belarus
12, Belgium 40, Brazil 66, Bulgaria 22,
Chile 433, China 166, Czechia 20,
Ecuador 34, Finland 17, France 90,
France and Italy jointly 80, Germany
104, India 113, Italy 120, Japan 130,
South Korea 130, Netherlands 10, New
Zealand 86, Norway 70, Peru 30, Poland
40, Russia 335, South Africa 80, Spain
98, Sweden 20, Ukraine 24, U.K. 196,
U.S. 1,399, and Uruguay 68 (2017) |
Winter
(Jun.-Aug.) population - 1,036
total; Argentina 221, Australia 52,
Brazil 15, Chile 114, China 32, France
24, France and Italy jointly 13, Germany
9, India 48, Japan 40, Netherlands 10,
South Korea 25, New Zealand 11, Norway
7, Poland 16, Russia 125, South Africa
15, Ukraine 12, U.K. 44, U.S. 215, and
Uruguay 8 (2017)
|
Number of Year-round
Stations - approximately 40
total; Argentina 6, Australia 3, Brazil
1, Chile 6, China 2, France 1, France
and Italy jointly 1, Germany 1, India 2,
Japan 1, Netherlands 1, South Korea 2,
New Zealand 1, Norway 1, Poland 1,
Russia 5, South Africa 1, Ukraine 1,
U.K. 2, U.S. 3, and Uruguay 2 (2017)
|
Summer-only
Stations, camps, and refuges - Argentina, Australia,
Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Brazil,
Chile, China, Czechia, Ecuador, Finland,
France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan,
Netherlands, South Korea, New Zealand,
Norway, Peru, Poland, Russia, South
Africa, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, U.K.,
U.S., and Uruguay (2017); in addition, during the
austral summer some nations have
numerous occupied locations such as tent
camps, summer-long temporary facilities,
and mobile traverses in support of
research .
|
Antarctica
Index |
Chronology
- Dec 1773 - Jan
1775
British Capt. James Cook (b. 1728 -
d. 1779)
-
circumnavigated the continent
without sighting
-
land.
- 16 Feb
1819
First sighting of the Antarctic
Peninsula and South
-
Shetland Islands
by British Capt. William Smith
-
(b. c.1790 - d. 1847).
- 27 Jan
1820
Russian Capt. Fabian Gottlieb von
Bellingshausen
-
(Faddey
Faddeyevich Bellinsgauzen (b.
1778 - d.
-
1852)
sights and lays claim to
being the first
-
person to set eyes on
the Antarctic continent.
16 Nov 1820
Palmer Land discovered by
American Capt. Nathaniel
-
Brown Palmer (b. 1799 -
d. 1877).
- 7 Feb
1821
U.S. Capt. John Davis (b. 1784 - d.
1861) makes
-
first known landing on the
continent at Hughes
-
Bay on Antarctic Peninsula.
- 24 Feb 1831
First sighting of the
Antarctic continent in the
-
Indian Ocean sector
(Enderby Land) by British
-
Capt. John Biscoe (b.
1794 - d. 1843), in the
-
Tula and Lively.
- 9 Feb 1839
First landing
south of the Antarctic Circle by
-
British Capt. John Balleny (b. 1770
- d. 1857)
-
in the Eliza
Scott, discovered
and landed on the
-
Balleny
Islands.
- 9 Feb 1841
First ever to
enter the Ross Sea by British
-
explorer Sir James
Clark Ross (b. 1800 - d.
1862)
-
in the ship HMS
Erebus.
- 26 Jan 1853
First landing on
Greater Antarctica (Victoria Land)
-
by American Capt.
Mercator Cooper (b. 1803 - d.
-
1872) in the Levant.
- 24 Jan
1895
Carsten Borchgrevink (b. 1864 - d.
1934) made the
-
first landing
on Antarctica since Davis.
Three
-
years later he
led the first
party to winter on
-
the continent.
- 1 Apr 1903 - 22
Feb 1904 First permanent
scientific station established in
-
the Antarctic, at
Laurie Island, South Orkneys by
-
the Scottish National
Antarctic expedition under
-
William Speirs Bruce
(b. 1867 - d. 1921).
- 22 Feb 1904
Argentina began to
occupy Antarctic lands when
-
purchasing the
meteorological station belonging
-
to the Scottish Dr.
William Speirs Bruce, on
-
Laurie island, South Orkney islands.
- 14 Dec
1911
Roald Amundsen (b. 1872 - d.
1928) of
Norway reaches
-
the South
Pole; on 18 Jan 1912 U.K. Capt.
Robert
-
Falcon
Scott (b. 1868 - d. 1912) located
the South
-
Pole but dies on the return
trip.
- 28 Jan 1912
Lt. Shirase
Nobu (b. 1861 - d. 1941)
claims the
-
Antarctic territory spanning
the entirety of the
-
Ross Ice Shelf
for Japan as Yamato Yukihara ("The
-
Japan Snow
Plain"), claim not
recognized by Japan.
- 29 Nov 1929
U.S. explorer Richard E. Byrd
(b. 1888 - d. 1957)
-
made the first
flight over the
South Pole from
-
Little America
Base.
- 13 Jan
1941
German commandos board and capture
two Norwegian
-
factory ships in the sea north of
Queen Maud Land.
-
By the end of the next day, the
Germans had taken
-
possession of three
factory ships and eleven
-
catchers. The German
Navy subsequently used the
-
waters of the Peninsula
and the sub-Antarctic
-
islands as a haven from
which they could venture
-
forth to attack allied
shipping. Their main base
-
was an obscure harbor
on Kergulen Island.
- 1943 -
1945
British
dispatch a naval missions to
Antarctica
-
("Operation Tabarin") which
established the first
-
permanent British scientific bases.
- 31 Oct 1956
First permanent
station at South Pole built
-
(Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station).
- 1
Jul 1957 - 31 Dec 1958
International Geophysical Year
(IGY), scientists
-
of 67 nations research the Antarctica
environment.
- 24 Nov
1957 - 2 Mar 1958 First
successful land traverse of
Antarctica by
-
British
Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic
expedition
-
(CTAE)
under Vivian Fuchs (b. 1908 - d.
1999)
-
covers Weddell Sea to Ross
Sea via the South
-
Pole.
- 16
Dec 1957
South
Geomagnetic Pole reached for the
first time
-
by a
tractor traverse by the Soviet
Union.
- 1
Dec
1959
Antarctic Treaty signed.
- 23
Jun
1961
Antarctic Treaty enters
into force.
- 7
Jan
1978
Argentine, Emilio Marcos Palma,
becomes the first
-
recorded human to be
born in Antarctica.
- 11 Mar 1978
Convention for the Conservation of
Antarctic Seals
-
(of 11 Feb
1972) enters into force.
- 7 Apr
1982
Convention on the Conservation of
Antarctic Marine
-
Living Resources (CCAMLR)(of 1 Aug
1980) enters
-
into force.
- 1
Nov 1982
Agreed
Measures for the Conservation of
Antarctic
-
Fauna and Flora (of 2 Jun
1964) enters into
force.
- 13 Feb
1987 - Dec 1991
World Park Base a
non-governmental year-round
-
base
located at Cape Evans on Ross Island
in
-
the Ross
Dependency established by
Greenpeace.
- 2
Jun
1988
Convention on the Regulation of
Antarctic Mineral
-
Resources (CRAMRA) signed.
- 14 Jan
1998
Protocol on Environmental Protection
to the
-
Antarctic Treaty ("Madrid
Protocol")(of 4 Oct
-
1991) enters
into force.
- 1
Sep
2004
Secretariat of Antarctic
Treaty inaugurated.
|
Argentina
Claim |
Australia Claim
|
British Claim
|
Chile
Claim |
France
Claim |
New Zealand
Claim |
Norway
Claim |
Brazil
|
Germany
|
South Africa
|
Antarctic
Treaty
Secretariat
|
|
Antarctic Treaty —
The Antarctic Treaty, signed on 1 Dec 1959 and entered
into force on 23 Jun 1961, establishes the legal
framework for the management of Antarctica.
Administration is carried out through consultative
member meetings.
Summary: Article 1 - area to
be used for peaceful purposes only; military activity,
such as weapons testing, is prohibited, but military
personnel and equipment may be used for scientific
research or any other peaceful purpose; Article 2 -
freedom of scientific investigation and cooperation
shall continue; Article 3 - free exchange of information
and personnel, cooperation with the UN and other
international agencies; Article 4 - does not recognize,
dispute, or establish territorial claims and no new
claims shall be asserted while the treaty is in force;
Article 5 - prohibits nuclear explosions or disposal of
radioactive wastes; Article 6 - includes under the
treaty all land and ice shelves south of 60 degrees 00
minutes south and reserves high seas rights; Article 7 -
treaty-state observers have free access, including
aerial observation, to any area and may inspect all
stations, installations, and equipment; advance notice
of all expeditions and of the introduction of military
personnel must be given; Article 8 - allows for
jurisdiction over observers and scientists by their own
states; Article 9 - frequent consultative meetings take
place among member nations; Article 10 - treaty states
will discourage activities by any country in Antarctica
that are contrary to the treaty; Article 11 - disputes
to be settled peacefully by the parties concerned or,
ultimately, by the ICJ; Articles 12, 13, 14 - deal with
upholding, interpreting, and amending the treaty among
involved nations; other agreements - some 200
recommendations adopted at treaty consultative meetings
and ratified by governments; a mineral resources
agreement was signed in 1988 but remains unratified; the
Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic
Treaty was signed 4 Oct 1991 and entered into force 14
Jan 1998; this agreement provides for the protection of
the Antarctic environment through six specific annexes:
1) environmental impact assessment, 2) conservation of
Antarctic fauna and flora, 3) waste disposal and waste
management, 4) prevention of marine pollution, 5) area
protection and management and 6) liability arising from
environmental emergencies; it prohibits all activities
relating to mineral resources except scientific
research; a permanent Antarctic Treaty Secretariat was
established in 2004 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Antarctic Treaty Secretariat
Executive Secretaries (in Buenos
Aires, Argentina)
1 Sep 2004 - 31 Aug 2009
Johannes "Jan" Huber (Netherlands) (b. 1947)
1 Sep 2009 - 31 Aug 2017 Manfred
Reinke
(Germany)
(b. 1952)
1 Sep 2017
-
Albert Alexander Lluberas Bonaba
(Uruguay)
Antarctic Treaty membership (54)
Dates
of
Membership |
Member
Nations |
23 Jun 1961 |
Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile,
France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Poland,
South Africa, Soviet Union1,
United Kingdom, United
States |
14 Jun 1962 |
Czechoslovakia2 |
20 May 1965 |
Denmark |
30 Mar 1967 |
The Netherlands |
15 Sep 1971 |
Romania |
19 Nov 1974 |
East Germany3 |
16 May 1975 |
Brazil |
11 Sep 1978 |
Bulgaria |
5 Feb 1979 |
West Germany3 |
11 Jan 1980 |
Uruguay |
16 Mar 1981 |
Papua New Guinea4 |
18 Mar 1981 |
Italy |
10 Apr 1981 |
Peru |
31 Mar 1982 |
Spain |
8 Jun 1983 |
China |
19 Aug 1983 |
India |
27 Jan 1984 |
Hungary |
24 Apr 1984 |
Sweden |
15 May 1984 |
Finland |
16 Aug 1984 |
Cuba |
28 Nov 1986 |
South Korea |
8 Jan 1987 |
Greece |
21 Jan 1987 |
North Korea |
25 Aug 1987 |
Austria |
15 Sep 1987 |
Ecuador |
4 May 1988 |
Canada |
31 Jan 1989 |
Colombia |
15 Nov 1990 |
Switzerland |
31 Jul 1991 |
Guatemala |
28 Oct 1992 |
Ukraine |
25 Jan 1996 |
Turkey |
1 Jan 1993
|
Czech Republic, Slovakia
|
24 May 1999 |
Venezuela |
17 May 2001 |
Estonia |
27 Dec 2006
|
Belarus
|
30 May 2008
|
Monaco
|
29 Jan 2010
|
Portugal
|
31 Oct 2011
|
Malaysia
|
1 Mar 2012
|
Pakistan
|
27 Jan 2015
|
Kazakhstan
|
23 Mar 2015
|
Mongolia
|
13 Oct 2015
|
Iceland
|
22 Apr 2019
|
Slovenia
|
1Soviet
Union dissolved 25 Dec 1991, succeeded
by Russia. 2Czechoslovakia
dissolved 31 Dec 1992; on 1 Jan
1993 succeeded by Czech Republic and Slovakia. 3East
and West Germany united 3 Oct 1990. 4date
of deposit of notification of succession by
Papua New Guinea; effective 16 Sep 1975 the date
of its independence. |
Antarctic Territorial Claims
Argentina
Tierra del Fuego,
Antarctica, and the Island of the South Atlantic
(Tierra del Fuego, Antárctica y Islas del Atlántico
Sur) Argentine claim, 74°W and 25°W;
overlaps British and Chilean claims. Claimed: 8 Feb 1942
Australia
Australian
Antarctic Territory (Australian claim, 160°E
to 142°E and 136°E to 45°E):
Claimed: 13 Jun 1933
Chile
Magellanes and
Chilean Antarctica (Magallanes
y Antárctica Chilena) Chilean claim, 53°W to 90°W;
overlaps Argentine and British claims. Claimed: 6 Nov
1940
France
French Southern
and Antarctic Lands (Terres Australes et
Antarctiques Françaises) Adelie Land; includes
French claim, 142°E to 136°W. Claimed: 21 Nov 1924
New Zealand
New Zealand
Antarctic Territory (Ross Dependency) New
Zealand claim, 160°E to 150°W.
Claimed: 30 Jul 1923
Norway
Norwegian
Antarctic Territory (Dronning Maud Land)
Queen Maud Land; Norwegian claim, 45°E to 20°E with
Peter I Island. Claimed: 14 Jan 1938
United Kingdom
British Antarctic
Territories (Graham Land) British
claim, 20° W and 80°W;
Argentine and Chilean claims overlap. Claimed: 21 Jul
1908
Brazil
Brazilian Antarctica (Antártida Brasileira)
proposed claim, 28°W to 53°W south of 60°;
zone overlaps Argentine, British and Chilean claims.
Zone of Interest first proposed: 1986
Germany
German New Swabia
Land (Neu-Schwabenland) area
explored 20°E to 10°W, overlaps Norwegian
claim. Area was not formally claimed by Germany. explored:
19 Jan - 6 Feb 1939
South Africa
South African Antarctica South African
unverified claim: 1963 - 1993?
Antarctica Territorial Disputes: The Antarctic
Treaty freezes claims (see Antarctic Treaty Summary in
Government type entry); sections (some overlapping)
claimed by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New
Zealand, Norway, and U.K.; Australia, Chile, and
Argentina claim Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) rights or
similar over 200 nm extensions seaward from their
continental claims, but like the claims themselves,
these zones are not accepted by other countries; 22 of
29 Antarctic consultative nations have made no claims to
Antarctic territory (although Russia and the U.S. have
reserved the right to do so) and do not recognize the
claims of the other nations; no claims have
been made in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150
degrees west; the International Whaling Commission
created a sanctuary around the entire continent to deter
catches by countries claiming to conduct scientific
whaling; Australia has established a similar preserve in
the waters around its territorial claim.
© Ben Cahoon
|