Nature
Relief and geological structure of the continent
Relief and ice cover
Antarctica is the highest continent on Earth, average height the surface of the continent above sea level is more than 2000 m, and in the center of the continent it reaches 4000 m. Most of this height is made up of a permanent ice cover of the continent, under which the continental relief is hidden and only ~5% of its area is free from ice - mainly in West Antarctica and Transantarctic mountains: islands, coastal areas, so-called. "dry valleys" and individual ridges and mountain peaks(), rising above the ice surface. The Transantarctic Mountains, crossing almost the entire continent, divide Antarctica into two parts - West Antarctica and East Antarctica - having different origins and geological structure. In the east there is a high (highest elevation of the ice surface ~4100 m above sea level), ice-covered plateau. Western part consists of a group of mountainous islands connected by ice. On the Pacific coast are the Antarctic Andes, whose altitude exceeds 4000 m; the most high point continent - 4892 m above sea level - Vinson Massif of the Sentinel Ridge. In West Antarctica there is also the deepest depression of the continent - the Bentley Deep, which is probably of origin. The depth of the ice-filled Bentley Trench reaches 2555 m below sea level.
The modern ice sheet of Antarctica was formed several million years ago, which was apparently facilitated by the rupture of the bridge connecting South America and the Antarctic Peninsula, which led, in turn, to the formation of the Antarctic circumpolar current (current Western Winds) and isolation of the Antarctic waters from the World Ocean - these waters make up the so-called.
Gelogical structure
Geological structure of East Antarctica
East Antarctica is an ancient continental platform (craton), similar to the platforms, and. All of these cratons were formed during the breakup of a supercontinent. The age of the crystalline basement rocks is 2.5-2.8 billion years, the oldest rocks of the Enderby Land are more than 3 billion years old.
The foundation is covered by a younger sedimentary cover, formed 350-190. years ago, mainly of marine origin. In layers with an age of 320-280 million years, there are glacial deposits, but younger ones contain fossil remains of plants and animals, including ichthyosaurs and, which indicates very different climate of that time from the modern one. Findings of heat-loving plants and flora were made by the first explorers of Antarctica, and served as one of the strongest evidence of large-scale horizontal movements proof of concept slabs.
Geological structure of West Antarctica
West Antarctica is a younger and more dissected region, formed over the last 500 million years by the addition of small continental microplate fragments to the Antarctic plate. The largest are the Ellsworth Mountains and Mary Byrd Land. The collision of these microplates with the Antarctic plate led to the formation of the mountains of West Antarctica.
Seismic activity. Volcanism.
Antarctica is a tectonically calm continent with little seismic activity, manifestations are concentrated in western Antarctica and are associated with those that arose during the Andean period of mountain building. Some of the volcanoes, especially island volcanoes, have erupted in the last 200 years. The most active of Antarctica is . It is called “the volcano guarding the path to.
Climate
Antarctica is extremely cold. The absolute pole of cold is located in East Antarctica, where temperatures down to −89.2 (area) were recorded.
Another feature of meteorology East Antarctica are katabatic winds, caused by its dome-shaped structure. These steady winds southern directions arise on fairly steep slopes of the ice sheet due to cooling of the air layer near the ice surface, the density of the near-surface layer increases and it flows down the slope under the influence. The thickness of the air flow layer is usually 200-300 m; Due to the large amount of ice dust carried by the wind, horizontal visibility in such winds is very low. The strength of the katabatic wind is proportional to the steepness of the slope and greatest strength reaches in coastal areas with a high slope towards the sea. Maximum strength katabatic winds reach the Antarctic winter - from April to November they blow almost continuously around the clock, from November to - at night or when it is low above the horizon. In summer, during the daytime, due to the heating of the surface layer of air by the sun, katabatic winds along the coast cease.
Inland waters
Due to the fact that the average annual temperatures in Antarctica do not exceed zero degrees, precipitation there occurs only in the form of ( - an extremely rare occurrence). It forms an ice cover (snow is compressed under its own weight) with a thickness of more than 1,700 m, in some places reaching 4,300 m. Up to 90% of all fresh water on Earth is concentrated in Antarctic ice.
In total, as of 2006, a little more than a hundred were discovered in Antarctica.
Organic world
Man and Antarctica
History of continental exploration
The first to suggest existence in the cold south of the continent. However, very difficult ice conditions did not allow it to reach the shores of the continent. This was done in 16 () years by a Russian expedition under the leadership of and.
After this, the study of the coast of the continent and its interior began. Numerous studies were carried out by English expeditions led by Ernest Shackleton (he wrote the book “The Most Terrible Campaign” about them).
Status of Antarctica
Territorial claims
However, the existence of a treaty does not mean that the states that joined it renounced their territorial claims to the continent and the surrounding area. On the contrary, the territorial claims of some countries are enormous. For example, it claims territory that is ten times larger than its own (including the island of Peter I, discovered by expedition Bellingshausen - Lazarev). Huge territories declared hers. considers almost half of Antarctica to be its own, into which, however, Adélie Land is wedged. Presented territorial claims And . , and claim almost the same territory, including the Antarctic Peninsula and.
Population
Several have also registered in Antarctica virtual states, for example, Immortia. Claims to part of the mainland.
Why is it necessary to study and develop Antarctica?
- Antarctica is the last resource reserve of humanity, it is last place, where humanity will be able to extract mineral raw materials after they are depleted on the five inhabited continents. Geologists have found that the depths of Antarctica contain significant amount minerals - iron ores, coal, traces of copper, nickel, lead, zinc, molybdenum ores were found, rock crystal, mica, graphite were found.
- Observations of climatic and meteorological processes on the continent, which, like
Antarctica is one of the most unknown and unexplored corners of our planet.
Despite this fact, the vast and cold lands of Antarctica have always attracted brave travelers, scientists and researchers.
Since 1820, when this continent was discovered by Russian scientists under the leadership of Bellingshausen, ships regularly sailed to Antarctica.
Modern Antarctica, is already a fairly “inhabited” continent, on which there are even tourists.
Story
Throughout the nineteenth century, numerous expeditions were made here, mainly by English and American explorers. Thanks to them, new, previously unexplored corners of Antarctica were discovered, such as Adélie Land, Louis Philippe Land, and Joinville Island. Scientists and navigators J. Bisco, J. Ross, J. Dumont-Derville and others made a great contribution to the study of the mainland. In the late nineteenth century, Antarctica became a highly sought-after whaling destination. Scottish, Belgian, French, and Norwegian expeditions visited the icy shores of these cold lands, which not only engaged in whaling in these waters, but also discovered many new territories. Many of the sailors, arriving in Antarctica, also studied weather conditions, measured the depth of the sea and performed many other important research.
A particularly rapid rise in the study of Antarctica was observed at the beginning of the twentieth century.
The first voyage in the new century was made by Robert Scott, who in 1901, on his powerful ship Discovery, approached the waters of the continent, exploring the coast of the Ross Sea, discovering the Edward the Seventh Peninsula, the Ross Glacier and many more. important objects on the continent. During this trip, Scott collected a lot of information about Antarctica. At that time, it was the most extensive material on the flora, fauna, geology and minerals of the continent. In 1907–1909, Scott's research was continued by E. Shackleton's sleigh expedition.
It did not end so successfully: halfway through the journey, the researchers realized that they would not be able to complete the expedition due to a lack of provisions and the death of the dogs. Therefore, Shackleton decided to return, just short of reaching the South Pole.
As a result, the discovery of the pole was carried out by the famous Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen, who landed on the shores of the continent in 1911. This name is forever associated with the history of Antarctic exploration.
Subsequently (starting from the 30s), research was carried out not only on land and water areas Antarctica, but also its airspace.
Flights over these lands were made American pilots, thanks to which new territories were discovered, deposits were discovered coal and other minerals.
In the second half of the twentieth century, exploration of Antarctica became systematic. Since the 50s, permanent oceanographic surveys have been carried out here. geological work, expeditions are being undertaken deep into the icy continent.
The first Soviet expedition reached the shores of Antarctica in January 1956, Russian scientists founded the village of Mirny. In just 59 years, 59 expeditions were sent to Antarctica.
Modern exploration of Antarctica
Today, scientists already have much more significant information about Antarctica than a century ago. Thanks to numerous studies, in the 21st century people know information about climatic features the continent, its geology, the characteristics of the sea, the inhabitants of the continent. However, the exploration of Antarctica continues actively today. Special attention Scientists pay attention to the following points:
Ice Study
Today, extremely extensive research in this area is being carried out in Antarctica.
Experts are studying the features of Antarctic ice movements, their speed, thickness, temperature regime, physical and chemical properties, various types ice, etc.
Thanks to these studies, it was recreated full picture ice age, the potential capabilities of Antarctic ice as potential sources have been calculated fresh water.
Geological research
Antarctica is of great interest not only for modern glaciologists (ice researchers), but also for geologists. Scientists are studying the oldest continental moraines, sediments at the bottom of Antarctic waters. As a result of these works, in particular, it was established that the ice of Antarctica formed much earlier than ice sheets.
Exploring the “oases” of Antarctica
“Oases” in relation to this continent today call areas of land free from ice.
Most of these “oases” are located along the coast of the continent. Total area Such territories, according to modern researchers, amount to more than 40 thousand square meters. km (this is less than one percent of the area of the entire Antarctica).
Search for minerals
This part of the research is perhaps the most relevant today and is of the greatest interest. The vast lands of Antarctica contain in their icy thickness many valuable resources: coal, iron ore, non-ferrous metals. Latest Research led to the conclusion that in their own way geological structure Antarctica is very similar to South Africa. Scientists suggest that huge deposits of gold, uranium, etc. are quite likely hidden in the depths of Antarctica. The search for these fossils in the lands of Antarctica is now very active;
Without exaggeration, we can say that over the past few decades, scientists have made great progress in the study of the icy continent. Many new territories were explored, new features of the geological, biological, and oceanological structure of the continent were discovered. These studies on at the moment are actively continuing, but are focused on Antarctica close attention scientists all over the world.
The impact of human activities on the Antarctic ecosystem
Due to the peculiarities of its climate, Antarctica is the only continent where people do not live. On this continent they work exclusively polar explorers, oceanographers, biologists, geologists and other scientists. Despite the fact that Antarctica is an uninhabited territory, human activity still has a significant impact serious influence on the ecosystem of the ice continent. Moreover, it should be noted that this influence most often turns out to be negative. Let's consider the main factors that have a detrimental effect on the Antarctic ecosystem.
Whaling
People sailed to these lands to hunt the inhabitants of Antarctica a century ago.
Many species of local whales and seals have been seriously damaged as a result of such long-term human exploitation of the Antarctic nature.
Currently fauna The mainland is under strict protection, but its complete restoration will still require more than one decade, and maybe even a century.
Animals
Another threat to the inhabitants of the continent is posed by the so-called introduced (that is, brought from other continents) animal species. The most common among them are rats and cats. They destroy large number birds, as well as local vegetation.
Tourists
IN lately Antarctica is visited not only by specialists from different areas scientific knowledge, but also wealthy tourists.
Unfortunately, this fact also has a detrimental effect on the condition of the mainland. Yes, Antarctica has become more open and accessible to romantic travelers who have dreamed of polar expeditions.
But nevertheless, a huge influx of tourists leads to many sad consequences, for example, such as pollution of Antarctic waters, depletion of fish stocks, pollution environment.
Many scientists are sounding the alarm today: the growing number of tourists is having negative impact on the continent's ecological system, create
Warming
Perhaps the most serious damage ice continent applies global warming, which affected the entire planet. Rising temperatures lead to changes in global processes, such as water circulation, balance carbon dioxide etc.
At such an alarming rate as warming today, in the future there may be a large-scale melting of Antarctic ice, which will lead to changes in sea levels and affect not only the continent’s ecosystem, but also the entire World Ocean.
All the factors described above pose a fairly serious threat to the integrity ecological system continent.
Sorry for the fantastic questions...))))
Thanks in advance!
Is there any other flora there?
Where did the sleigh expedition start?
Of course, the attention of the whole world will be focused on the continent, albeit such a harsh one. Of course! If they already set their sights on the Moon and sold it all piece by piece. And Antarctica does not belong to anyone personally. So how? We must take it before it's too late. But extracting minerals there is very problematic.
Why does Russia spend billions of rubles on expeditions to Antarctica, but still lags behind in research, why are geographical discoveries needed today and why study ice that is 2 million years old?
Antarctic glacier researcher Alexey Ekaikin, who gave a lecture on “” about the geographical discoveries of the 20th century, said "Paper" what modern geography studies and discovers.
-Geography in the 17th century was largely the science of discovering new lands. What is geography today?
Any science deals with discoveries - geography deals with the same thing. Climate, hard-to-reach territories, and the history of the planet are studied. Now the term “geographical discovery” has simply changed. This is not so much about new objects, but about phenomena and new patterns: there are directions that study weather conditions, there are those that study ancient rocks, and the like.
The last major geographical discovery of the object seems to have been the discovery of Lake Vostok. This is very illustrative example how a new object is currently being studied. In the 60s, the first theories were born that under Antarctic ice there is water: studies spoke about this (for example, echoes from explosions), but in practice no one could prove it. For a long time there was talk about it, and in 1970, well drilling began in the area. And only in 1998, at a depth of 3539 meters, the Russian-French-American well reached the subglacial Lake Vostok. True, during this time everyone had already proven that it exists, and it was only necessary to verify it factually. But the geography doesn't end there. Since it was discovered, this phenomenon has been constantly studied: how such a lake could even appear, how it interacts with surrounding objects.
It is difficult to find practical applications for many geographical discoveries; they may only be useful after several decades. But thanks, for example, to the knowledge that there is water under the ice of Antarctica, we have already learned a lot about the dynamics of the glacier. It's interesting and exciting: it's like you're exploring space.
But even without taking into account the thirst for knowledge, not to mention the fundamental nature of the study of everything new, geographical discoveries can help improve modern ecological situation. It is already clear that it will get warmer, because of this the ice is already melting. It’s not clear how to protect yourself from melting ice. You need to constantly monitor the ice, understand how it works, and predict its behavior. If we understand this, we will understand what is happening to the planet.
-Can we say that in the future the majority discoveries will happen in Antarctica?
It is very difficult to know where and when discoveries will happen. But discoveries in Antarctica are definitely not over - there will be many of them, including geographical ones. Traditionally, they explore the ocean around Antarctica itself, marine species, ice and snow, their indicators. It is in these areas that the next discoveries may occur.
Now, for example, many [geographers] are concerned with finding ancient ice in Antarctica - ice times global climate change, which is more than 2 million years old. Because they are also happening now global changes climate, this needs to be studied. To predict the future, you need to know how the climate has evolved in the past.
We can only say that these are unlikely to be the same powerful discoveries as in DNA, space or space research. fine particles. In these sciences, everything changes before our eyes, but in geography everything is quite static.
-Why then are so many expeditions to Antarctica needed?
Despite the fact that many countries are now doing this, not all have their own polar stations. But this destination is popular: recently even Malaysia began to base itself there. Everyone wants to be closer to Antarctica, but everyone has a different scale.
Russia now has the most stations in Antarctica - five. In addition, we have several seasonal bases there, which open only in the summer, and two scientific expedition vessels. About 1.5 billion rubles a year are spent on the Antarctic expedition. This only looks impressive, but in fact, in relation to GDP, this is an insignificant amount; many countries spend much more.
Although the scale of our expeditions is enormous, in scientific terms they could be more useful: upon returning home, Russian scientists cannot conduct research, they lack funding.
Many politicians openly state that what is more important now is not science, but geographical presence in Antarctica. Science here becomes a cover for geopolitical interests.
-What does he lose? Russian science in this situation?
Due to lack of funding, we are unable to open anything new. For example, now we are not studying ancient ice, our project for studying Lake Vostok has actually been frozen, we don’t even have the technology for research. And time is running out, we are losing our advantage on the world stage. If we don't do it now, someone else will.
Our scientists are sometimes even the first to bring samples from Antarctica, but cannot study them. And this mandatory part: Science begins in the field and continues in the laboratory. Scientists are forced to look for sources of funding on their own, despite the fact that this still requires more money than on the expeditions themselves.
This has probably been going on for about five years now. From 1999 to 2013 we had federal program“World Ocean”, in which there was a subprogram “Antarctica”. Everything was financed quite normally, after it a successor program was to be opened. Everything was put into development, everything was promised, but it simply did not appear.
Of course, some researchers raise money to study Antarctica through crowdfunding or grants, but these are insignificant amounts. We, like many others, for example, need billions of rubles to work. We received grants worth 20 million rubles a year, but even that kind of money is not enough.
The bottom of Victoria Land
-How far behind is Russia because of this?
Back in Soviet era Geography was not a priority. Now we have a big gap in terms of specialists and technology. There is a simple example: once every two years, absolutely everyone who studies Antarctica can come to a meeting of the scientific committee for Antarctic research. At the last such meeting, only six specialists came from Russia - from total number thousand participants. That is, our contribution to this science is about 0.6%.
Of course, we have bright projects like Lake Vostok, but these are isolated cases. We have, as many people like to say, a complex systemic crisis: most specialists are over 60, state priorities are not aimed at science. Of the five Russian stations in Antarctica, four are outdated. The rest are in complete disrepair; some need to be replaced by new ones.
-Are there trends for improvement in Russian geography?
Speaking of Antarctica, there are few reasons for optimism. In the foreseeable future, there is no likelihood that the state will want to solve these problems. There is only hope that the domestic private business will begin to invest money, as is done in the West. We can cooperate with foreign colleagues only at the scientific level, but not at the funding level. We have a Russian Antarctic expedition that receives money from state budget. However, no one will allow you to receive the money, even if one of the foreigners wants to give it out.
We can only hope that our businessmen will follow the example of Nobel. When he was 62, a newspaper mistakenly published his obituary, describing him only as the inventor of dynamite, "the man who sows death." After that, he became a philanthropist and established his own award. And everyone now knows him as a man who helped science. The same thing can happen to our entrepreneurs who made their fortune in the 90s.
After terrible disaster 1991, the collapse of the USSR, the dismemberment of the Russian people and the increasing zombification of the Russian people under the conditions of Jewish censorship, a crushing, spiritual and intellectual, of a huge part of the Russian people took place. Narrowing your horizons. Transition to life in boxes. Even for a pig’s lifestyle (eat, drink, go to the toilet, have sex, get money, stare blankly at the TV box and monitor, sometimes yap at the authorities). Millions of Russian people are unable to answer the question about the Meaning of Life.
Why do these Russians need Antarctica? They don't need Antarctica at all. "We have huge country Russia, we have enough territory, why do we need this or any Antarctica?”
But there is another trend. There is a slow but revival of the Russian people. The number of new Russians is increasing.
They need Antarctica.
Antarctica is included in their sphere vital interests. The interests of Russia, the interests of the Russian people are their vital interests.
Hitler had a strategic big plan. A large expedition was sent from Germany. German pilots marked a huge piece of Antarctica with swastikas. The red banner with a white circle with a swastika developed in this region. A station was built on the coast. Submarines penetrated the tunnels, work began in huge caves. A cool German naval base began to be created. And if Hitler had won World War II, probably all of Antarctica would have become part of the Great War German Empire. But he did not win, but shamefully lost, to the chagrin of the then Germans and Hitler’s admirers in other countries.
Then, after the war, the United States tried to lay its paw on Antarctica. But Stalin did not allow it. And he gave a little jug to Admiral Byrd, who led the whole squadron to the shores of Antarctica. The expedition returned to the United States noticeably disfigured. Then many more states began to drool, looking at Antarctica, and stretched out their paws to this continent.
The question arose: either divide Antarctica into pieces between predator states, or let it be a no-man's land, and on it everyone can set up their own scientific stations.
The option chosen is no man's land.
At first, let it be a draw or common land, and then we will see.
The current situation in Antarctica is regulated by two international documents. This is the Antarctic Convention, signed on December 1, 1959 and entered into force on June 23, 1961. And the Madrid Protocol on Environmental Protection in Antarctica 1991. According to the Convention, the continent is declared a neutral demilitarized territory with freedom of scientific activity, cooperation and exchange of information. Antarctica does not belong to any state. In Antarctica it is only allowed scientific activity. Placement of military facilities, and even entry of warships and armed vessels south of 60 degrees south latitude forbidden. In the 1980s, Antarctica was also declared a nuclear-free zone. This means that even peaceful nuclear-powered ships are prohibited from entering the waters of Antarctica, and it is prohibited to have nuclear power units on the mainland. The protocol established a 50-year moratorium on any geological exploration. No one has the right to extract oil, gas, coal, uranium, gold, jewelry, etc. in Antarctica.
Currently, 28 states (with voting rights) and dozens of observer countries are parties to the treaty.
And taking advantage of the ignorance of the Russian people, the anti-Russian government began to send ships and planes to Antarctica less and less often. Accordingly, the United States and other states began to strengthen their presence in Antarctica. And to those who objected, they “explained”: Antarctica is located 15 thousand kilometers from Russia. Sailing and flying are far and expensive. Russia will not be able to maintain bases in Antarctica. And why do the Russian people need this inhospitable, cold, icy continent? We already have the largest territory in Globe. We don’t even have the strength to master the Russian North. We have most people live in poverty. Why else spend money on Antarctica?
Russia, the Russian people, began to lose one of its important strategic goals - the development of Antarctica. And what is a people worth who does not have large and important goals? The people turn into eating, drinking, pooping, and having sex ordinary people, sitting for hours in front of the TV box and monitor.
By the end of the 70s, the USSR had the most developed network of Antarctic bases. In the mid-90s - from more than 40 bases operating all year round, six stations belonged to the USSR. And there were three more seasonal Soviet stations. At that time, 6–8 ships sailed to Antarctica.
And in 1999, under the new Russophobic government, the entire budget for Antarctica amounted to only 104 million rubles, or only 4 million dollars. One T-80 tank, wrote Ivan Lentsev, cost three times more. Of the 6-8 ships that go to Antarctica annually, only one remains - the Akademik Fedorov. A project (still Soviet) to establish constant air communication with Antarctica through aviation long range, through the creation of large airfields, etc. it remained on paper.
There was talk in the government about abandoning or minimizing the Russian presence in Antarctica. Due to Russophobes and fools, a threat arose for the Russians to be thrown out of Antarctica altogether.
After all, that's what happens. Although 28 states (with voting rights) and dozens of observer countries are now parties to the Treaty on No Man's Antarctica, many predator states are already burdened by the 1959 Convention on No Man's Antarctica. They consider this Convention outdated and unprofitable for themselves. Many predator states are eager to have their own huge piece. Norway, for example, claims a territory that is ten times larger than its own, including the island of Peter 1, which was discovered by the expedition of Bellingshausen and Lazarev.
Great Britain claimed vast territories of the continent as its own. The British plan to extract ore and oil in the near future. Antarctic shelf. Australia considers almost half of Antarctica its own, including Adélie Land. This irritates France, which considers Adélie land to be French territory. The British, Australians and French are already starting to get angry at each other.
Made territorial claims and New Zealand. And Great Britain, Chile and Argentina lay claim to practically the same territory, which includes the Antarctic Peninsula and the Southern Shetland Islands. China, Korea, India and Japan are making their claims. We can say that dozens of states are making their claims, and their number will grow. Attracts oil, gas, coal, uranium, gold and jewelry, and in the future – fresh water
So both China and Korea announced the construction of powerful icebreakers in order to come close to the coast of Antarctica at any time. China plans to create cities with thousands, and then millions of Chinese.
The quality of many foreign bases is much better than Russian ones. At some bases there is already an entire village. There are schools for children of polar explorers, a post office and a hotel.
The Americans have bases with excellent airfields and helicopter pads. The Americans have already invented a bicycle with wide and strong tires, a faster transport than skis. The Americans are planning to build a trans-Antarctic highway. Some foreign bases already have greenhouses where greens, cucumbers and tomatoes are grown. There are bases - a masterpiece of engineering art.
So Iran already announced in 2012 that it intends to build on South Pole its research base. Director of Iranian national institute oceanography Vahid Chegini told ISNA that the most advanced technical advances will be used to create an Iranian research station. Research and transport vessels, as well as icebreakers, will be built. Technologies for towing icebergs, creating special textiles for sewing clothes that allow working in Antarctic conditions, as well as ice drilling technologies and many others will be mastered.
http://mignews.com/news/technology/world/090112_64825_00478.html
Currently (2012) there are already 45 year-round bases operating in Antarctica.
Currently, the forceful option of seizing pieces of Antarctica by various predator states is restrained only by the weakness of these states. It is not possible to send troops to Antarctica to protect the occupied territories. The troops will freeze and freeze in a few days. And industrialists have little strength to open the subsoil. But after the extraction of oil, gas, coal and uranium begins, the settlement of Antarctica and the construction of settlements will inevitably begin. And the appearance of troops to guard these settlements is inevitable. All the talk about how it is impossible to extract minerals and send in troops, because international documents prohibit them, is talk for fools.
Military and intelligence services have been present in Antarctica for a long time. But not yet for protection and invasion, but for secret military research. But the growth in the number of military and intelligence personnel will increase from year to year.
In such conditions, reducing the Russian presence in Antarctica means not having a single piece in Antarctica in the future. Everything will be captured and divided among other predator states.
But, alas, the Russian authorities are not itching yet. They did not stop the operation of all stations, but so far there has been little progress. It seems (as of 2012) that the development of Antarctica is not among the STRATEGIC TASKS of the authorities. I have a sad assumption that at present the Ministry of Defense and the Strategic Center of Russia do not even have a Strategic Plan for the Development of Antarctica, a plan for strengthening Russia's presence in Antarctica, a plan for the Russian development of Antarctica, a plan... for Russia's behavior in the event that dozens of predator states rush to capture pieces and divide Antarctica.
After all, driving out “invaders” from occupied territories will not be a very simple matter, and is fraught with aggravation international relations. There could be a big fight in Antarctica involving " limited contingents" from different countries, who arrived on ships and planes And how could we not be deprived. Big one is not excluded World War because of Antarctica.
In order to protect the interests of Russia and the Russian people in Antarctica, it is necessary to have many strong bases there. On the ice, under the ice and in caves.
And the Russian people don’t even know yet what territory Russia claims? I would very much like to know this from the President, the Government and the Strategic Center of Russia. No answer yet. And how will Russia repel attacks from other predator states? No answer yet...
Why does Russia spend billions of rubles on expeditions to Antarctica, but still lags behind in research, why are geographical discoveries needed today and why study ice that is 2 million years old?
Antarctic glacier researcher Alexey Yekaikin, who gave a lecture on the geographical discoveries of the 20th century, told what modern geography studies and discovers.
—Geography in the 17th century was largely the science of discovering new lands. What is geography today?
- Any science deals with discoveries - geography deals with the same thing. Climate, hard-to-reach territories, and the history of the planet are studied. Now the term “geographical discovery” has simply changed. This is not so much about new objects, but about phenomena and new patterns: there are directions that study weather conditions, there are those that study ancient rocks, and the like.
The last major geographical discovery of the object seems to have been the discovery of Lake Vostok. This is a very illustrative example of how a new object is now being studied. In the 60s, the first theories were born that there was water under the Antarctic ice: research spoke about this (for example, echoes from explosions), but in practice no one could prove it. This was talked about for a long time, and in 1970, well drilling began in the area. And only in 1998, at a depth of 3539 meters, the Russian-French-American well reached the subglacial Lake Vostok. True, during this time everyone had already proven that it exists, and it was only necessary to verify it factually. But the geography doesn't end there. Since it was discovered, this phenomenon has been constantly studied: how such a lake could even appear, how it interacts with surrounding objects.
It is difficult to find practical applications for many geographical discoveries; they may only be useful after several decades. But thanks, for example, to the knowledge that there is water under the ice of Antarctica, we have already learned a lot about the dynamics of the glacier. It's interesting and exciting: it's like you're exploring space.
But even without taking into account the thirst for knowledge, not to mention the fundamental nature of researching everything new, geographical discoveries can help improve the modern environmental situation. It is already clear that it will get warmer, because of this the ice is already melting. It’s not clear how to protect yourself from melting ice. You need to constantly monitor the ice, understand how it works, and predict its behavior. If we understand this, we will understand what is happening to the planet.
—Can we say that in the future most discoveries will occur in Antarctica?
— It is very difficult to understand where and when discoveries will happen. But discoveries in Antarctica are definitely not over—there will be many more, including geographical ones. Traditionally, they study the ocean around Antarctica itself, marine species, ice and snow, and their indicators. It is in these areas that the next discoveries may occur.
Now, for example, many [geographers] are concerned about finding the oldest ice in Antarctica - ice from the time of global climate change, which is more than 2 million years old. Since global climate change is also happening now, this needs to be studied. To predict the future, you need to know how the climate has evolved in the past.
We can only say that these are unlikely to be the same powerful discoveries as in studies of DNA, space or small particles. In these sciences, everything changes before our eyes, but in geography everything is quite static.
—Why then are so many expeditions to Antarctica needed?
— Despite the fact that many countries are now doing this, not all have their own polar stations. But this destination is popular: recently even Malaysia began to base itself there. Everyone wants to be closer to Antarctica, but everyone has a different scale.
Russia now has the most stations in Antarctica - five. In addition, we have several seasonal bases there, which open only in the summer, and two scientific expedition vessels. About 1.5 billion rubles a year are spent on the Antarctic expedition. This only looks impressive, but in fact, in relation to GDP, this is an insignificant amount; many countries spend much more.
Although the scale of our expeditions is enormous, in scientific terms they could be more useful: upon returning home, Russian scientists cannot conduct research, they lack funding.
Many politicians openly state that what is more important now is not science, but geographical presence in Antarctica. Science here becomes a cover for geopolitical interests.
—What does Russian science lose in this situation?
— Due to lack of funding, we do not have the opportunity to open something new. For example, now we are not studying ancient ice, our project for studying Lake Vostok has actually been frozen, we don’t even have the technology for research. And time is running out, we are losing our advantage on the world stage. If we don’t do it now, someone else will.
Our scientists are sometimes even the first to bring samples from Antarctica, but cannot study them. And this is the obligatory part: science begins in the field and continues in the laboratory. Scientists are forced to look for sources of funding on their own, despite the fact that this requires even more money than the expeditions themselves.
This has probably been going on for about five years now. From 1999 to 2013, we had a federal program “World Ocean”, in which there was a subprogram “Antarctica”. Everything was financed quite normally, after it a successor program was to be opened. Everything was put into development, everything was promised, but it simply did not appear.
Of course, some researchers raise money to study Antarctica through crowdfunding or grants, but these are insignificant amounts. We, like many others, for example, need billions of rubles to work. We received grants worth 20 million rubles a year, but even that kind of money is not enough.
The bottom of Victoria Land
—How far behind is Russia because of this?
— Even in Soviet times, geography was not a priority. Now we have a big gap in terms of specialists and technology. There is a simple example: once every two years, absolutely everyone who studies Antarctica can come to a meeting of the scientific committee for Antarctic research. Only six specialists from Russia came to the last such meeting - out of a total number of participants of a thousand people. That is, our contribution to this science is about 0.6%.
Of course, we have bright projects like Lake Vostok, but these are isolated cases. We have, as many people like to say, a complex systemic crisis: the majority of specialists are over 60, the state’s priorities are not aimed at science. Of the five Russian stations in Antarctica, four are outdated. The rest are in complete disrepair; some need to be replaced by new ones.
—Are there trends for improvement in Russian geography?
— Speaking about Antarctica, there are few reasons for optimism. In the foreseeable future, there is no likelihood that the state will want to solve these problems. The only hope is that domestic private business will begin to invest money, as is done in the West. We can cooperate with foreign colleagues only at the scientific level, but not at the funding level. We have a Russian Antarctic Expedition, which receives money from the state budget. However, no one will allow you to receive the money, even if one of the foreigners wants to give it out.
We can only hope that our businessmen will follow the example of Nobel. When he was 62, a newspaper mistakenly published his obituary, describing him only as the inventor of dynamite, "the man who sows death." After that, he became a philanthropist and established his own award. And everyone now knows him as a man who helped science. The same thing can happen to our entrepreneurs who made their fortune in the 90s.
