A study of Antarctica by Russian scientists

The study of Antarctica is a story illustrating the man's unrestrained desire for knowledge of the world around him, a narrative about the strength of the spirit and readiness to take risks. The sixth continent, theoretically located to the south of Australia and both Americas, for several centuries excited researchers and cartographers. However, the history of the exploration of Antarctica began only in 1819 with the round-the-world trip of Russian seafarers Bellingshausen and Lazarev. It was then that the launch of the vast ice space was started, which continues to this day.

From the depths of centuries

Almost two thousand years before the time when the discovery and the first studies of Antarctica took place, ancient geographers already talked about its existence. Then there was a lot of assumptions about what the distant land is. The name "Antarctica" appeared during this period. It first occurs in Martin Tirsky in the second century of our era. One of the authors of the hypothesis about the unknown continent was the great Aristotle, who assumed that the Earth is symmetrical, and therefore, beyond Africa is another continent.

Legends arose later. On some maps, attributable to the Middle Ages, the image of the "Southern Earth", often located separately or connected to America, is clearly visible. In 1929, one of them was found. The map of Admiral Piri Reis, dating from 1513, presumably contains a very detailed and accurate depiction of the coastline of Antarctica. From where the compiler took the information for his card, still remains a mystery.

Coming closer

Epoch The great geographical discoveries were not marked by the discovery of the sixth continent. Studies of European seafarers have narrowed the search. It became clear that the South American continent "does not attach" to any unknown land. And in 1773 James Cook for the first time in history crossed the Arctic Circle and discovered several Antarctic islands, but that matter was limited. One of the most large-scale events in geography occurred about 50 years after that.

The beginning of the way

The discovery and the first studies of Antarctica were conducted under the leadership of Faddey Faddeevich Bellingshausen and with the direct participation of Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev. In 1819 an expedition from two ships, Mirny and Vostok departed from Kronstadt to the South Pole. The first was securely fortified and equipped with Lazarev for swimming in the harshest conditions. The second was created by English engineers and in many ways lost to Mirny. At the end of the trip, he became the reason for the expedition's early return: the ship was in a deplorable state.

The ships took to the sea on July 4 and by November 2 had already reached Rio de Janeiro. Following the course, they circled the island of South Georgia and approached the Sandwich Land. It was identified as an archipelago and renamed the South Sandwich Islands. Among them were three new islands: Leskov, Zavadovsky and Torson.

A study of Antarctica by Bellingshausen and Lazarev

Opening took place 16 (27 on a new style) in January 1820. The ships approached the sixth continent in the area called the Bellingshausen ice shelf today, off the coast of Princess Martha. Before the onset of the Arctic winter, when the weather conditions worsened, the expedition approached the mainland several more times. Closest to the continent, the ships were 5 and 6 (17 and 18) February.

The exploration of Antarctica by Lazarev and Bellingshausen continued after the arrival of summer. As a result of navigation, several new objects were put on the map: the island of Peter I with the mountainous, partially ice-free land of Alexander I; The Three Brothers Islands, known today as the Espland and O'Brien; The island of Rear Admiral Rozhnov (today - Gibbs), the island of Mikhailova (Cornwales), the island of Admiral Mordvinov (Eliphent), the island of Vice Admiral Shishkov (Clarence).

The first study of Antarctica was completed on July 24, 1821, when both ships returned to Kronstadt.

Contribution of the expedition

The navigators under the leadership of Bellingshausen and Lazarev went around Antarctica during their research. They have mapped a total of 29 islands, and, of course, the continent itself. In addition, they collected unique information for the century before last. In particular, Bellingshausen established that salty water freezes just like fresh water, contrary to the assumptions of scientists of the time. The only difference is that a lower temperature is required. The ethnographic and natural science collection, which arrived together with the seafarers in Russia, is now kept at the Kazan University. It is impossible to overestimate the significance of the expedition, however, the history of research and discovery of Antarctica has only just begun.

Mastering

Each expedition to the sixth continent was a definite feat. The harsh conditions of the icy desert practically left no chance for people who were poorly prepared or unorganized. The first studies of Antarctica by scientists were particularly difficult, since their participants often could not imagine to the end what awaits them.

This was the case with Karsten's expedition of Egeberg Borchgrevinka. His team carried out the first documented landing on the coast of Antarctica in 1899. The main thing that the expedition achieved was wintering. It became clear that you can survive in the severe conditions of the icy desert during the polar night if there is a well-equipped shelter. However, the place for wintering was chosen extremely unsuccessfully, and the team returned home not in full force.

At the beginning of the last century, the South Pole was reached. For the first time before it came the Norwegian expedition under the leadership of Rual Amundsen in 1911. Soon after it the South Pole reached the team of Robert Scott, who died on the way back. However, the most extensive development of the ice desert began in 1956. The exploration of Antarctica has acquired a new character - now it was conducted on an industrial basis.

International Geophysical Year

In the middle of the last century, many countries aimed at studying Antarctica. As a result, in 1957-1958 years. Twelve states abandoned their efforts to develop an icy desert. This time was declared the International Geophysical Year. The history of the study of Antarctica, perhaps, does not know such fruitful periods.

It was found that the ice "breath" of the sixth continent is carried away by the current and air currents far to the north. This information made it possible to more accurately forecast the weather on the whole Earth. During the research a lot of attention was paid to exposed indigenous rocks, which can tell a lot about the structure of our planet. A large amount of data was collected on such phenomena as the northern lights, magnetic storms and cosmic rays.

Study of Antarctica by Russian scientists

Of course, the Soviet Union played an enormous role in the scientific activities of those years. In the depths of the mainland, several stations were established, and research groups were regularly sent to it. Even in the period of preparation for the International Geophysical Year, the Soviet Antarctic Expedition (SAE) was established. Its tasks included studying the processes taking place in the atmosphere of the continent and their influence on the circulation of air masses, the compilation of the geological characteristics of the terrain and its physical and geographical description, and the elucidation of the laws governing the movement of Arctic waters. The first expedition landed on the ice in January 1956. And on February 13, the Mirny station was opened.

As a result of the work of Soviet polar explorers, the number of white spots on the map of the sixth continent has significantly decreased. Over three hundred geographical objects, such as islands, bays, valleys and mountain ranges were discovered. Seismic studies were carried out. They helped to establish that Antarctica is not a group of islands, as at that time it was supposed, but the mainland. The most valuable information was often found as a result of the work of researchers at the limit of possibilities, during the most complex expeditions deep into the continent.

In the years of the most active research in Antarctica, eight stations operated in the winter and in the summer. During the Polar night, there were 180 people on the continent. Since the beginning of summer, the number of expedition members has increased to 450 participants.

Successor

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Antarctic study did not stop. The Russian Antarctic Expedition replaced the SAE. With the improvement of technology, it became possible to study more thoroughly the sixth continent. Studies of Antarctica by Russian scientists are conducted in several directions: the determination of climatic, geophysical and other features of the continent, the effect of atmospheric phenomena on weather conditions in other regions of the world, the collection and analysis of data on the anthropogenic load of polar stations on the environment.

Since 1959, when the "Antarctic Treaty" was concluded, the ice continent has become a place of international cooperation, free from military activities. The development of the sixth continent was conducted by several countries. The study of Antarctica in our time is an example of cooperation for the sake of scientific progress. Often Russian expeditions have an international composition.

Mysterious lake

Almost none of the reports on modern studies of Antarctica can be dispensed with without mentioning a rather interesting object discovered under the ice sheet. His existence was predicted by A.P. Kapitsa and I.A. Zotikov after the completion of the geophysical year on the basis of the data obtained in that period. This is the freshwater lake Vostok, located in the area of the eponymous station under a layer of ice 4 km thick. By the discovery led the study of Antarctica by Russian scientists. This happened officially in 1996, although in the late 50's, work was underway to study the lake, according to Kapitsa and Zotikov.

The discovery stirred the scientific world. Such a subglacial lake is completely isolated from contact with the earth's surface, and over millions of years. Theoretically, its fresh water with a sufficiently high concentration of oxygen can be the habitat of organisms not yet known to scientists. A favorable factor for the development of life is the rather high temperature of the lake - up to +10º on the bottom. At the boundary separating the surface of the reservoir and the ice, it is colder - only -3º. The depth of the lake is estimated at 1200 m.

The probability of finding an unknown flora and fauna led to the decision to drill ice in the area of the East.

Latest information

Drilling of ice in the area of the reservoir began in 1989. Ten years later, it was suspended at a distance of about 120 m from the lake. The reason is the fear of foreign researchers contaminating the ecosystem with particles from the surface, resulting in a unique community of organisms that may suffer. Russian scientists did not share this view. Soon, a new, more environmentally friendly equipment was developed and tested, and in 2006 the drilling process resumed.

The surface of the lake was reached on February 5, 2012. Samples of water were sent to the study. The results of the study of several samples were published already in July 2013. Over 3,500 unique DNA sequences were found in the samples, 1,623 of which were related to a particular genus or species: 94% bacteria, 6% eukaryotes (mainly fungi) and Two sequences belong to the Archaean. By some indications, it can be assumed that there are larger organisms in the lake. Some of the bacteria found are fish parasites, therefore, it is possible that they will be found in the course of further research.

A number of scientists treat the results rather skeptically, explaining such a variety of sequences with mud introduced by the drill. In addition, it is likely that most of the organisms that can be found by the found DNA, has long been lost. One way or another, the research of Antarctica by scientists of Russia and several other countries in this region continues.

Greetings from the past and a look into the future

Interest in Lake Vostok is also due to the opportunity to study an ecosystem similar to what could have existed on Earth many years ago, during the late Proterozoic period. Then on our planet several global glaciations were replaced, each of which lasted for up to ten million years.

In addition, a study of Antarctica in the lake area, the very process of drilling wells, collecting, analyzing and interpreting the results can be useful in the future when developing satellites of the gas giant Jupiter, Europe and Callisto. Presumably, under their surface there are similar lakes with their conserved ecosystem. If the hypothesis is confirmed, then the "inhabitants" of the subglacial lakes of Europe and Callisto can become the first organisms discovered outside our planet.

The history of research and discovery of Antarctica well illustrates the man's constant desire to expand his own knowledge. The study of the sixth continent, like the International Space Station, is an example of the peaceful cooperation of many states with scientific goals. The ice continent, however, is not in a hurry to reveal its secrets. Harsh conditions require constant perfection of technology, scientific equipment and often the work of the human spirit and body at the limit of possibilities. The inaccessibility of the sixth continent for the majority, the existence of an impressive number of gaps in knowledge about it generates in a variety of legends about Antarctica. Curious can easily find information about the hiding places of fascists, UFOs and predatory glowing balls killing people. How really everything is, only the polar explorers know. Adherents of scientific versions can safely hope that soon we will be aware of Antarctica a little more, which means that the amount of mysticism that envelops the continent will decrease slightly.