More than 2000 years ago, people didn't know as much about the earth where they lived as they do today. At that time, it was only clear that all known continents were located in the northern hemisphere, but the ancient Greeks believed that there should be a continent in the southern hemisphere according to the fact that the sun always appeared in the southern sky. Aristotle (384 ~ 323 BC), an astronomer and philosopher at that time, once had a famous hypothesis: to keep the earth relatively balanced, there must be a piece of land at the north and south ends, and the south may be more important than the north, otherwise the spherical world will be turned upside down. Later, astronomers and geographers hippaku (? ~ BC 127) According to the principle of symmetry, if there is no land in the southern hemisphere, the earth cannot keep balance. He called this imaginary land "Southern Continent". 1 century, Roman geographer pangbo. Myra not only agrees with the view that the South continent exists, but also points out that the Antarctic region of the South continent, like the Arctic region, is uninhabited because of the cold. In the 2nd century, Ptolemy, a Greek astronomer and geographer in Egypt (about 90 ~ 168) drew an imaginative picture. He added a continent across the bottom of the earth to the south of the well-known continent and named it "the unknown southern continent". He thinks that the southern hemisphere is so big that it almost occupies the whole southern hemisphere. This map is basically consistent with modern maps. Therefore, Ptolemy is known as "the father of modern cartography". During the European Renaissance from 14 to 16, Ptolemy's earth works were rediscovered, translated into various languages and reprinted. This "imaginary continent" has been found on many maps, but its location is farther south than Ptolemy, and its name has also been changed to "the land of the south".

Before Captain james cook led the "Determination" and "Exploration" to cross the Antarctic Circle for the first time in 1773 and 17, the ancient map of Europe always depicted this imaginary continent. Cook sailed to a distance of 12 1 km (75 miles) from the Antarctic coast, and then returned because the ice was too thick. Although Cook went deep into the Antarctic circle again in 1773, 65438+February and 1774 and 65438+1October respectively, he never discovered Antarctica. According to the records of most organizations (including the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the University of California, San Diego, etc.), the first human sighting of the South Pole can be narrowly defined as 1820, which was seen by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen (captain of the Russian Imperial Navy), Edward Brands Field (captain of the British Royal Navy) and Nathaniel Palmer (seal hunter of Nington, Si Tong, USA) respectively. Von bellingshausen discovered Antarctica on 18201October 27th, ten days earlier than Brands Field and ten months earlier than Palmer. On that day, the expedition led by Von bellingshausen and mikhail petrovic Lazarev arrived in two ships 32 kilometers (20 miles) away from the Antarctic continent and discovered the ice sheet. John davis, an American seal hunter, landed in West Antarctica on February 7, 182 1, but some historians disagree with this statement.

Explorers have been looking south for the legendary southern continent since18th century. From 1772 to 1775, Captain Cook of England spent three years and eight months sailing 97,000 kilometers, circumnavigating the South Pole once and entering the polar circle several times, but failed to find land in the end.

18 19, Russian bellingshausen led two ships, Dongfang and Mir. Two islands were discovered at 69 52 ′, 82 1 9 ′, 68 43 ′ and 7310 ′ respectively in the west longitude, which lasted for two years and 21day.

1823 February, Englishman weddell went south to 7415' north latitude, creating the highest latitude in the south at that time.

1839, 65438+February, an Expedition led by the us navy and 1838-42 part of the American expedition (also known as "ex". Ex。” Or "Wilkes Expedition") anchored from Sydney, Australia, sailed to the Antarctic Ocean, and found an Antarctic continent west of the Bareni Islands, named "Wilkes Land".

From September of 1837 to September of 1840 to June of 165438+ 10, Deauville, France, tried to surpass Wilder to set a high latitude record, but he set himself at1June of 840+/kloc-0. Subsequently, British Ross sailed into Ross Bay named after him at 184 1, but he could not reach his predicted south magnetic poles-75 30' south latitude and 154 east longitude due to the ice barrier.

184 1 year, the explorer james clark ross crossed the Ross Sea and discovered Ross Island (all named after him). He sailed over a huge ice wall and was later named Ross Ice Shelf, which is the largest ice shelf in the world. Mount Erepus and Mount Giant Magic were named after the Royal Navy "Erebus" and "Terror" respectively. Mercato Cooper landed in East Antarctica on June 26th, 1986.

1907, during the hunter expedition of Ernest shackleton, the team led by Yejiwoz David completed the task of climbing Mount Eripers and reaching the geomagnetic south pole for the first time. Sir Douglas Mwuson, the leader of the Antarctic expedition, led everyone on a hard journey home. After the completion of the task, he became the leader of other expeditions until 193 1 retired. In addition, shackleton and three other members of his expedition made many unprecedented achievements during the period from February 1908 to February 1909, including crossing the Ross ice shelf for the first time, crossing the trans-Antarctic mountains (via Beardmore Glacier) for the first time and landing on the Antarctic plateau for the first time.

1908, shackleton reached 88 23' south latitude, only about180km away from the South Pole, but turned back because of food exhaustion.

1909, Mohsen, Davis and MacKay first reached the south magnetic pole at 72 24' S and 155 18' E.

June 19 1 1, 65438+February 14, 12, 65438+ 10/7, led by Amundsen of Norway and Scott of Britain.

1911214 The expedition of Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian polar explorer, set out from Whale Bay and headed for Shanghai Berg Glacier, which was the first time that human beings reached the South Pole. Amundsen's arch-rival Scott expedition also reached the South Pole a month later.

From 1772 of Cook Southern Airlines to the end of 19, many explorers sailed to find the southern continent, which was called the era of navigation in history. From the beginning of the 20th century to the First World War, although the time was short, human beings conquered Antarctica and many epic adventure heroes emerged. In history, this period is called the heroic age. From World War I to the mid-1950s, human beings gradually replaced dog sledding with mechanical equipment in Antarctic exploration. 1928, Wilkin of Britain flew over the Antarctic Peninsula, 1929, Bird of the United States flew to the pole of Vietnam. In the same year, another American, ellsworth, flew from the top of the Antarctic Peninsula to the Ross Ice Shelf. Aircraft in Antarctic exploration provides a reliable means for human beings to correctly understand the Antarctic continent, which is called the mechanized era in history. Since 1957 ~ 1958 International Geophysical Year, many scientists have flocked to Antarctica, where they have set up perennial research stations and conducted multidisciplinary scientific investigations. People call this period the era of scientific investigation. /kloc-around 0/820, some seal hunters came to Antarctica. They may be the first people to reach the South Pole. 1895, several Belgian explorers spent a winter on the ice sheet. 190 1 year, robert scott led a British expedition to the south pole, but failed. 19 1 1 year1/month, Norwegian explorer Rod Amundsen became the first person to reach the South Pole. Shortly thereafter, Scott also led an expedition to the South Pole. Unfortunately, Scott and his companions were killed on their way home.

Antarctica has no permanent residents, only some scientific researchers and whaling teams from other continents. As of 20 13, more than 40 perennial scientific research stations have been established in more than 10 countries on the Antarctic continent and coastal islands, with less than 750 people participating in the scientific research every winter and only 2,000-3,000 expedition members in summer. In addition, in the warm season, hundreds to thousands of people go to the Antarctic Peninsula and Ross Island (McMurdo Station) by boat or plane. Antarctica is the only unpolluted continent in the world, and its primitive natural environment provides scientists with the widest natural laboratory to conduct scientific research in meteorology, glaciers, geology, ocean and biology. So far, 18 countries have established more than 140 scientific research stations in Antarctica. 1985 65438+In February, the China expedition team established the Great Wall Station in king george island, Antarctica, and made scientific investigations on hydrology, meteorology and biology in Antarctica and its adjacent Southern Ocean. 1988, China established the second scientific research station-Zhongshan station on the Indian Ocean coast of Antarctic continent.

Satellite map of Antarctica

According to a report released by NASA on March 7th, researchers from NASA and USGS used more than 1 1,000 photos taken by Landsat-7 satellite to draw the finest high-definition map of Antarctica to date. This satellite map is 10 times more accurate in detail than the previous map.

Robert bins Kadler, a scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, who is in charge of mapping, said that this satellite map shows incredible details on the surface of Antarctica's vast ice sheet, and many contents on this map have never been drawn before.

The Geological Survey of NASA and the British Antarctic Survey jointly established a website to open the Antarctic satellite map to the public. The website contains original satellite images used for surveying and mapping and "close-up" shooting in different parts of Antarctica. All these images can be downloaded for free, and researchers will continue to publish new Antarctic image data on the website until this summer.

Binns Kadler said that the researchers will focus on "magnifying" the dry valleys between the Antarctic ice sheets.

China and Antarctic expedition

1984165438+1On October 20th, China sent an Antarctic expedition team consisting of 59 1 person, and took the "Xiang Yanghong 10" research ship for the first time to build a station to inspect the South Pole. 1985 In February, China Antarctic Great Wall Station was completed at the southern tip of Fields Peninsula in king george island. The geographical coordinates are 6212' 59 "south latitude and 58 57' 52" west longitude, and the distance from Beijing 1750 1.9 km. 1988165438+1October 20 ~1April 989 10, China Antarctic expedition team established China Antarctic Zhongshan Station on Lasman Mountain in Antarctic continent, with geographical coordinates of 69 22' 24 "south latitude and 79 east longitude. On June 27th, 2009, 65438, Kunlun Station, which was built in Antarctic Ice Dome A, was successfully completed. The geographical coordinates of Kunlun Station are 80 25 ′ 01″ south latitude and 77 06 ′ 58 ″ east longitude. It is 4087 meters above sea level. A7.3 kilometers from Antarctic ice dome. From1908 to1941year, * * * seven countries made territorial claims to Antarctica successively. 1908, Britain first declared its sovereignty over fan-shaped plots and their sea areas, including the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) and the Antarctic Peninsula, which are 20 ~ 50 degrees south latitude, 50 degrees south latitude, 50 ~ 80 degrees south latitude and 58 degrees south latitude respectively; 1923, Britain claimed the territory of the Ross sector from 160 east longitude to 150 west longitude and 60 south latitude, and entrusted it to the Governor-General of New Zealand, which is also the sector continent demanded by New Zealand. In fact, Britain's real attempt at that time was to incorporate the entire Antarctic continent into its territory. 1929 ~ 193 1 year, the joint scientific research team of Britain, Australia and New Zealand led by Australian Mosen visited the above areas. Then in 1933, on behalf of Australia, Britain claimed 6.5 million square kilometers of land and water south of latitude 60 S, longitude 45 ~ 136 E and longitude 142 ~ 160 E, equivalent to 40% of the Antarctic continent.

In 1938, France claimed sovereignty over the narrow area south of east longitude 136 ~ 142 and south latitude 67, because their explorers first discovered the Adele coast, and reiterated and expanded this area to the extreme point and south latitude 60 in 1938.

1938, Germany sent a surveying and mapping ship to conduct lightning survey around the Queen Maud. In six and a half days, the 600,000-square-kilometer area of Queen Maud was surveyed and photographed by plane, and a bent cross metal mark was dropped every 25 kilometers. 1939 In April, Norway also claimed sovereignty over the area between 45 E and 20 W, but it did not extend southward to the extreme, nor did it specify the latitude of its northern border.

During the Second World War, German ships frequently hijacked merchant ships and whaling ships in the western Antarctic waters based on kerguelen Island, thus highlighting the military significance of the Drake Strait between the South American continent and the Antarctic Peninsula. Therefore, in 1940, Chile declared its sovereignty over the area between 53 and 90 west longitude and 60 south latitude. 194 1 year, Argentina declared its sovereignty over the area south of latitude 25 ~ 74 and latitude 60; They are based on the geological kinship between the South American continent and the Antarctic Peninsula, the theory of effective occupation and the inheritance of Spain's original claim to Antarctic territory. Most of the areas claimed by Britain, Chile and Argentina overlap, leading to disputes among the three countries. Britain appealed to the International Court of Justice in 1947 and 1955, but Chile and Argentina regarded the Antarctic Peninsula as their territory and refused to accept the trial of the International Court of Justice. Since the late 1930s, the United States has been preparing for its territorial claim to Antarctica. 1939, President Roosevelt explicitly instructed American Antarctic expedition personnel to set more American markers in the Antarctic. On his third expedition, Byrd built a station on each side of the unclaimed Mary Byrd land. During 1945 ~ 1947, the United States conducted a large-scale expedition codenamed "Leap Forward", and in 1948, it invited seven countries, including Britain, France, Norway, Australia, Chile, New Zealand and Argentina, to discuss the Antarctic issue and proposed that it should be managed by eight countries or entrusted to the United Nations. However, the six participating countries insisted on their territorial claims to Antarctica, and the meeting yielded no results.

The activities of the above eight countries attracted the attention of the Soviet Union. 1On June 8, 950, the Soviet Union sent a note to the above-mentioned eight governments, saying that it would not recognize any country's territorial claim to Antarctica in any way, nor would it recognize any decision on Antarctica without the participation of the Soviet Union. The resolute stand of the former Soviet Union and the position occupied by early Russian explorers (such as bellingshausen) in the history of Antarctic exploration forced the United States, Britain and other eight countries to reconsider the way to solve the territorial dispute in Antarctica.

By the 1940s, Britain, France, Norway, Australia, Chile, Argentina and New Zealand claimed 83% of the Antarctic continent. Among them, Australia, France, New Zealand and Norway recognize each other's territorial claims, while the territorial claims of Argentina, Chile and Britain overlap, and each side insists on its own sovereignty claim and does not recognize the other's sovereignty claim. The United States and the Soviet Union do not recognize any country's territorial claims to the Antarctic, while retaining their own claims to the Antarctic. Due to the territorial dispute, the Antarctic continent has become the focus of various contradictions. The existence and development of these contradictions objectively require the formulation of a multilateral treaty to alleviate various contradictions and disputes. 1959 12 1 day, representatives of Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union signed the Antarctic Treaty in Washington.