Colonization of Antarctica

Territorial claims of Antarctica according to the Antarctic Treaty:
  France
  Norway
  Chile

Colonization of Antarctica refers to having humans including families living permanently on the continent of Antarctica. Currently only some scientists live there temporarily. Antarctica is the only continent on Earth without indigenous human inhabitants.

At present scientists and staff from 30 countries live on about seventy bases (40 year-round and 30 summer-only), with an approximate population of 4000 in summer and 1000 in winter. There have been at least eleven births in Antarctica, eight at an Argentine base (including the first one) and three at a Chilean base.

Past colonization speculation

An idea common in the 1950s was to have Antarctic cities enclosed under glass domes, which would make colonization of this continent possible. Power and temperature regulation of the domes would come from atomic driven generators outside of these domes. A light source at the top of the central tower had been proposed as an artificial sun during the dark months in Antarctica. This scenario would also include regular trans-Antarctic flights as well as mining towns which were dug into Antarctica's ice caps above the shafts down to mineral bearing mountains; however, there are problems with the idea of having an atomic driven generator giving the power and temperature regulation. The atomic reactor at McMurdo Station became a pollution hazard and hence was closed down long ago.[1]

The Antarctic Treaty System, a series of international agreements, presently limit activities on Antarctica. It would need to be modified or abandoned before large-scale colonization could legally occur, in particular with respect to the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty. On the other hand, it is the very impracticability of permanent colonization that has contributed to the failure of any of the territorial claims to receive international recognition.[2]

Efforts from Argentina

The nation of Argentina has attempted colonization of Antarctica. Under president Juan Perón, the Argentine navy, led by Hernán Pujato, attempted to colonize Antarctica. Several bases were established on the continent during these attempts.

Domed cities

Buckminster Fuller, the developer of the geodesic dome, had raised the possibility of Antarctic domed cities that would allow a controlled climate and buildings erected under the dome.[3] His first specific published proposal for a domed city in 1965 discussed the Antarctic as a likely first location for such a project.[4] The second base at Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station (operated 1975-2003) resembles a reduced version of this idea; it is only large enough to cover a few scientific buildings.

In 1971, a team led by German architect Frei Otto made a feasibility study for an air-supported city dome two kilometers across that could house 40,000 residents.[5] Some authors have recently tried to update the idea.[6]

Future conditions

Though the environment of Antarctica currently is too harsh for permanent human settlement to be made feasibly worthwhile, conditions may become better off in the future. It has been suggested that, as a result of long-term effects of global warming, the beginning of the 22nd century will have parts of West Antarctica experiencing similar climate conditions to those found today in Alaska, and Northern Scandinavia.[7] Even farming and crop growing could be possible in some of the most northerly areas of Antarctica.

The first person known to be born on the continent of Antarctica

Emilio Marcos Palma (born January 7, 1978) is an Argentine citizen who is the first person known to be born on the continent of Antarctica. He was born in Fortín Sargento Cabral at the Esperanza Base near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and weighed 3.4 kg (7 lb 8 oz).

See also

References

  1. ↑ Elzinga, Aant (1993). "Antarctica: The Construction of a Continent by and For Science". In Elisabeth Crawford, Terry Shinn, & Sverker Sörlin (Eds.), Denationalizing Science: The Contexts of International Scientific Practice, pp. 73-106. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
  2. ↑ Joyner, Christopher C. (1992). Antarctica and the Law of the Sea, p. 49. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. ISBN 0-7923-1823-4.
  3. ↑ Marks, Robert W. (Aug. 23, 1959). "The Breakthrough of Buckminster Fuller". The New York Times, pp. SM14, SM15, SM42, SM44.
  4. ↑ Fuller, Buckminster (Sep. 26, 1965). "The Case for Domed Cities". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  5. ↑ Walker, Derek (1998). Happold: The Confidence to Build, p. 63. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0-419-24070-5.
  6. ↑ Alexander Bolonkin and Cathcart, Richard B. (May 2007). "Inflatable ‘Evergreen’ dome settlements for Earth’s Polar Regions". Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy 9 (2), 125–132.
  7. ↑ How to survive the coming century, NewScientist .

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, April 26, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.