Question

write a short note on the discovery of antarctica

Answer 1

The continent was discovered when Captain James Cook sailed all the way around Antarctica in 1968-71 to see if there was any land further south than Australia and South America. He reported on the marine life he saw apart from ice. Since then various polar explorers came to Antarctica. Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian, was the first to reach the South Pole on December 17, 1911. Many explorers and scientists have gone to Antarctica since then. The first Indian expedition to the continent reached on January 9, 1982 and set up a permanent Indian scientific station at Dakshin Gantogri at 70oS Latitude and 12oE Longitude. Later in 1988-89 it was abandoned and a new station was set up at ‘Maitri’ 70 km away from Dakshin Gangotri where 25 people can be accommodated all round the year. Between 1982 and 1989 India sent about nine expeditions to this icy continent. Other major countries that have established camps for scientific study on Antarctica are United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, France, Norway, Argentina, Chile, Japan, Russia and the USA. See the map 6.1 which shows how parts of Antarctica have been claimed by various nations for scientific study. However, Antarctica is not owned by any country.    

Answer 2

Answer:

The history of Antarctica emerges from early Western theories of a vast continent, known as Terra Australis, believed to exist in the far south of the globe. The term Antarctic, referring to the opposite of the Arctic Circle, was coined by Marinus of Tyre in the 2nd century AD.

The rounding of the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn in the 15th and 16th centuries proved that Terra Australis Incognita ("Unknown Southern Land"), if it existed, was a continent in its own right. In 1773 James Cook and his crew crossed the Antarctic Circle for the first time but although they discovered nearby islands, they did not catch sight of Antarctica itself. It is believed he was as close as 240 km (150 mi) from the mainland.

On 27 January 1820, a Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev discovered an ice shelf at Princess Martha Coast that later became known as the Fimbul Ice Shelf. Bellingshausen and Lazarev became the first explorers to see and officially discover the land of the continent of Antarctica. Three days later, on 30 January 1820, a British expedition captained by Edward Bransfield sighted Trinity Peninsula, and ten months later an American sealer Nathaniel Palmersighted Antarctica on 17 November 1820. The first landing was probably just over a year later when American Captain John Davis, a sealer, set foot on the ice.

Several expeditions attempted to reach the South Pole in the early 20th century, during the "Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration". Many resulted in injury and death. Norwegian Roald Amundsen finally reached the Pole on 13 December 1911, following a dramatic race with the Briton Robert Falcon Scott