Introduzione. Scienza, esplorazione ed eroismo: Robert Falcon Scott al Polo Sud

2012 ◽  
pp. 5-15
Author(s):  
Nicoletta Brazzelli
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
South Pole ◽  
The South ◽  
Scientific Exploration ◽  
Antarctic Expedition ◽  
Polar Research Institute ◽  
Return Journey ◽  
The Antarctic

The centenary of Scott’s arrival at the South Pole in 1912 and of his tragic death during the return journey has been celebrated through exhibitions and conferences, while a general reassessment of Scott’s figure has been provided by several scholars. In particular, the scientific role of the 1910-12 British Antarctic expedition is now emphasized: Scott’s aim was not only to reach the Pole but especially to collect data and geological specimens of a completely unknown continent. This introduction focuses on the scientific dimension of Scott’s enterprise, giving special attention to the role of photography, employed during the expedition as a tool of scientific exploration, and to the crucial impact of photographs on the modern perception of the Antarctic. Another important point concerns the Scott Polar Research Institute (Cambridge, UK), founded in 1920 to commemorate Scott, that laid the foundations of Polar studies and pioneered scientific research throughout the twentieth century.

Sfida all’ultimo parallelo: la conquista del Polo Sud cento anni dopo

2012 ◽  
pp. 17-28
Author(s):  
Paolo Bernat
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
South Pole ◽  
The South ◽  
The Antarctic

100 years ago, Antarctica was still mostly unknown and unexplored. The first landings on the Antarctic coast took place in the early decades of the nineteenth century and were made by whalers and sealers. In the following years the first scientific expeditions began and European and US expeditions started the geographical discovery and the mapping of the Antarctic coasts. But it was only in the years 1911-1912 that two expeditions, very different but equally well prepared, arrived almost simultaneously at the South Pole. The events that happened in the Antarctic together with the different nature of the two leaders Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott determined the outcome of these expeditions and the fate of their teams. The centenary of the conquest of the South Pole (December 14, 1911) is an opportunity to remember the passion for science, the spirit of adventure and the fierce perseverance that characterized those extraordinary men and that even now form the basis of scientific research and of human progress, not only in Antarctica but in all areas of knowledge and life.

Edward Adrian Wilson (1872–1912): polar explorer and artist

2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 169-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Brown
Keyword(s):  
South Pole ◽  
The South ◽  
Return Journey ◽  
Talented Artist ◽  
The Antarctic

Dr Edward Wilson was a polar explorer who accompanied Robert Falcon Scott (1868–1912) on his expeditions to Antarctica in 1900 and 1910. He went with Scott to the South Pole and died with him on the return journey in 1912. Although medically qualified, he is now remembered more as a naturalist and as a talented artist recording the Antarctic expeditions.

XVI.—The Schizopoda, Stomatopoda, and non-Antarctic Isopoda of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition

1914 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 865-894 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter M. Tattersall
Keyword(s):  
Present Report ◽  
British Museum ◽  
South Pole ◽  
The South ◽  
Antarctic Expedition ◽  
Small Collection ◽  
The Antarctic

The present report deals with the whole of the Schizopoda and Stomatopoda in the Scotia collections, and with those Isopoda which were taken in localities outside the limits of Antarctica. I am indebted to the courtesy of Dr W. S. Bruce for the opportunity of examining and reporting on these collections. The report on the Antarctic Isopoda is being prepared by Mr T. V. Hodgson.I also include a few notes on a small collection of Schizopoda which were taken by the Discovery on its outward journey to the South Pole, for the opportunity of examining which I am indebted to the kindness of Dr W. T. Calman, of the British Museum. These latter records are most appropriately included here along with those of the species which the Scotia captured on her outward journey, over very nearly the same ground.

Why do the British still remember Scott of the Antarctic?

2012 ◽  
pp. 47-58
Author(s):  
Max Jones
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
South Pole ◽  
The South ◽  
Geographical Society ◽  
The World ◽  
Polar Research Institute ◽  
Visual Record ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Widespread Interest

The announcement of the death of the British polar explorer Captain Robert Scott on his return from the South Pole, which he had reached on 17 January 1912, caused a sensation in Britain and around the world. Although he lost the race to the South Pole to a Norwegian party led by Roald Amundsen, the recent centenary of Scott’s last expedition aroused widespread interest not only in Britain but around the world. This paper examines why the British public continues to consume Scott’s story, with particular reference to the period since 1945. Part one examines how Scott’s story has been adapted to the cultural context of post-imperial Britain, in part by emphasising the scientific aims of his last expedition. Part two moves on to emphasise how this new emphasis was supported by the Royal Geographical Society and the Scott Polar Research Institute, and drew on the extensive material culture and striking visual record left by the Terra Nova expedition.

Screening Antarctica: Britain, the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, andScott of the Antarctic(1948)

Polar Record ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 38 (204) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus J. Dodds
Keyword(s):  
Empty Space ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Falkland Islands ◽  
Scientific Practices ◽  
South Pole ◽  
Cultural Significance ◽  
The South ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Polar Research Institute ◽  
The Antarctic

AbstractThis paper explores Ealing Studios' cinematic production about Robert Falcon Scott and theTerra Novaexpedition, released to British audiences in 1948. Under the title ofScott of the Antarctic, the film recreated the tragic failure of the expedition on its return from the South Pole. The race to the South Pole had ended with victory for Roald Amundsen and post-colonial Norway. Three decades later, Britain again found itself involved in an intense territorial competition with two post-colonial states, Argentina and Chile. In the midst of decolonisation, the postwar government under Prime Minister Clement Attlee was engaged in a ‘cold war’ in Antarctica. The Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) had been created in order to protect sovereignty claims to the Antarctic Peninsula. While some attention has been given to the cultural significance ofScott of the Antarctic, there has been little geopolitical commentary on this film. As an empty space devoid of indigenous populations, Antarctica was invitingly incomplete. Produced with the co-operation of the Scott Polar Research Institute and FIDS, this film depicted a failed imperial project at a time when Britain desperately needed scientific practices such as mapping to consolidate territorial sovereignty. The paper explores the actual filming process along with the verdicts of contemporary critics in order to make a critical appraisal of Britain's changing role in Antarctica. It is sobering to note that while FIDS was supporting the filmScott of the Antarctic, Argentina was attempting to indoctrinate a new generation of schoolchildren about the realities of the Argentine Antarctic sector.

The flourishing forests of Antarctica

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Beerling
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cold Weather ◽  
South Pole ◽  
The South ◽  
Altitude Sickness ◽  
Antarctic Plateau ◽  
The Times ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
As If

By arriving at the South Pole on 14 December 1911, the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen (1872–1928) reached his destination over a month ahead of the British effort led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott (1868–1912). As Scott’s party approached the South Pole on 17 January 1912, they were devastated to see from afar the Norwegian’s black flag. On arrival, they discovered the remains of his camp with ski and sledge tracks, and numerous dog footprints. Amundsen, it turned out, had used dogs and diversionary tactics to secure victory while the British team had man-hauled their sledges. These differences were not lost on The Times in London, which marked the achievement with muted praise, declaring it ‘not quite in accordance with the spirit of fair and open competition which hitherto marked Antarctic exploration’. Exhausted, Scott and his men spent time the following day making scientific observations around the Pole, erected ‘our poor slighted Union Jack’, and photographed themselves in front of it (Plate 11). Lieutenant Bowers took the picture by pulling a string to activate the shutter. It is perhaps the most well known, and at the same time the saddest picture, of the entire expedition—a poignant image of the doomed party, all of whom look utterly fed up as if somehow sensing the fate awaiting them. The cold weather, icy wind, and dismal circumstances led Scott to acerbically remark in his diary: ‘Great god! This is an awful place and terrible enough to have laboured to it without the reward of priority.’ By this time, the party had been hauling their sledges for weeks, and all the men were suffering from dehydration, owing to fatigue and altitude sickness from being on the Antarctic plateau that sits nearly 3000m above sea level. Three of them, Captain Oates, Seaman Evans, and Bowers, were badly afflicted with frostbitten noses and cheeks. Ahead lay the return leg, made all the more unbearable by the crippling psychological blow of knowing they had been second to the Pole. After a gruelling 21-day trek in bitterly cold summit winds, the team reached their first cache of food and fuel, covering the distance six days faster than it had taken them to do the leg in the other direction.

Against all odds: the birth of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1955–1958

Polar Record ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-61
Author(s):  
Stephen Hicks ◽  
Bryan Storey ◽  
Philippa Mein Smith
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
The United States ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
Antarctic Expedition ◽  
Foreign Office ◽  
Polar Research Institute ◽  
Antarctic Continent ◽  
British Foreign Office ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Antarctic

ABSTRACTWhen the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition 1955–1958 advance party sailed from the Millwall Docks in November 1955, bound for the Weddell Sea, their departure was the product of five years of intensive effort on the part of Vivian Fuchs to achieve the first overland crossing of the Antarctic continent. This paper investigates the many obstacles that had to be overcome leading up to Theron sailing and explains the manner in which they were overcome by the Fuchs-Wordie-Clifford triumvirate. The British Foreign Office was particularly opposed to the expedition with the office's focus on sovereignty rather than science while an alternative proposal from Duncan Carse raised a unique set of difficulties. The withdrawal from involvement by the Scott Polar Research Institute Director, Colin Bertram, indicated further disaffection. Most important, if political and financial goals were to be met, was the need for participation by several Commonwealth countries of which New Zealand was the essential partner. Fortunately, the vigorous efforts of a few Antarctic enthusiasts in New Zealand were successful in moving their government to assert its long dormant position in the Ross Dependency. New Zealand's commitment turned the tide of commonwealth apathy towards the TAE. Although the TAE preceded the IGY, events, including the dominating IGY presence of the United States, caused the two projects to become tightly interwoven. For these reasons the years leading up to the departure of Theron were as intriguing as the crossing journey itself.

The Occurrence of Glossopteris in the Beacon Sandstone of Ferrar Glacier, South Victoria Land

1928 ◽  
Vol 65 (7) ◽  
pp. 323-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. N. Edwards
Keyword(s):  
South Pole ◽  
Fossil Plants ◽  
The South ◽  
Geological Age ◽  
Victoria Land ◽  
Antarctic Expedition

The presence of members of the Glossopteris flora in Antarctica was first attested by the material collected from Mount Buckley by Dr. Wilson and Lieut. Bowers on Capt. Scott's last expedition to the South Pole. and the now famous specimens were described by Professor A. C. Seward (1914). Traces of fossil plants in Antarctica, were, however, first discovered by Mr. H. T. Ferrar, a member of the National Antarctic Expedition, 1901–1904, and were briefly described by Arber (1907), who reported, on some specimens from the Ferrar Glacier, that “several of these show fair-sized carbonaceous impressions or markings, which in all probability are of vegetable origin”. The evidence presented by this unpromising material did not “permit of any opinion as to the botanical nature or affinities of the fossils themselves, nor of the geological age of the beds in which they occur” (Arber, 1907, p. 48). Professor Seward examined the specimens and agreed with this conclusion (1914, p. 2).

scholarly journals MONITORING OF THE NELLA FJORD WATER-ICE ECOSYSTEM (PRUDS BAY, EAST ANTARCTIC): SEASON RAE-65

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-165
Author(s):  
I. A. Melnikov
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Water Ice ◽  
Project Assessment ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Antarctic Expedition ◽  
Russian Antarctic Expedition ◽  
The Antarctic

During the seasonal work of the Russian Antarctic expedition (RAE-65), the monitoring of the water-ice ecological system was conducted in the Nella fjord (Prude Bay, East Antarctica). This monitoring is conducted annually since the IPY in 2007 in frames of the project “Assessment of the ecology of the Antarctic sea ice zone” (“Krial”) (Melnikov, 2020). The purpose of the monitoring is the assessment of the role of water-ice biota in global biosphere processes in the Southern Ocean.

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