Questions tagged [antarctica]
Questions related to the history of Antarctica, the southernmost continent, containing the geographic South Pole. It is situated in the Antarctic region of the Southern Hemisphere, being almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle.
11 questions
0
votes
2
answers
631
views
Does the ending of "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage" by Alfred Lansing sound reasonable?
The news about scientists have found Endurance prompts me to ask this question otherwise I have always seen it as some minor details that few people will have an interest in.
I think it is safe to say ...
- 1,037
1
vote
2
answers
3k
views
Could there be frozen animals under Antarctica's ice sheets?
Similar to how we occassionally dig up frozen mammoths from the Siberian permafrost, could there be animals and plants frozen under the Antarctic ice sheets? I understand that at various times in the ...
- 417
12
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What was the first map of Antarctica having a shape based on real evidence?
Antarctica was the last continent to be discovered, and the first confirmed landfall was on January 24, 1895. However, most discussions of "early" world maps seem to peter out well before that, such ...
- 231
16
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Why did everyone try getting to the Pole via the Ross Sea, not the Weddell Sea?
For a long time, the South Pole was one of the last great targets of explorers on Earth. There were a number of expeditions to explore the region, but for some reason, everyone who tried to reach the ...
- 10.4k
2
votes
1
answer
565
views
What sort of cold weather clothing did they wear on the Ross expedition to the Antarctic?
James Ross led an early expedition to the Antarctic from 1839 to 1843, aboard the ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror. After his voyage, nearly thirty years passed before the next Antarctic expedition.
...
- 10.4k
7
votes
1
answer
459
views
What did the Scott expedition feed their ponies?
During Robert Scott's British Antarctic Expedition (1910-1913), they used ponies in many cases to haul supplies across the ice.
What exactly did the ponies eat?
I've found many references to the ...
- 10.4k
3
votes
0
answers
157
views
Did any Antarctic expeditions use coal?
During the "Heroic Age" of Antarctic exploration (roughly 1890 to 1920), did any expeditions use coal as a fuel or heat source? I'm not just asking what they carried while walking in the interior, I'...
- 10.4k
10
votes
4
answers
888
views
Why did Argentina seize South Georgia immediately prior to the Falklands invasion?
What purpose was served by Argentina's occupation of South Georgia immediately prior to the invasion of the Falklands? The famously elaborate operation, involving marines masquerading as scrap metal ...
- 11.8k
13
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How did the Antarctic Plateau lose the kings' names it originally had?
The Antarctic Plateau was originally named by its explorers:
Shackleton named it the King Edward VII Plateau, after the king of England.
Amundsen named it the King Haakon VII Plateau, after the king ...
- 10.4k
23
votes
5
answers
27k
views
Did Antarctica remain entirely unvisited by humans until the early 19th century?
Antarctica today is covered permanently by thick layers of ice, making it extremely inhospitable to humans. And, unlike the Arctic regions, it had no indigenous population of humans when modern man ...
18
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Was Antarctica a factor in the Falklands war?
Were Argentina's and the UK's Antarctic territorial claims significant in the Falklands War?
- 685