Science and research

Earth History:
In the beginning of earth, there was only one land floating in the ocean - called the Gondwanaland. Evidence of this ancient continent is neatly tucked deep in the Transantarctic Mountains as fossils of plants, dinosaurs, and even wood trunks 60ft (20m) long! The fossils show that back then the climate was quite pleasant and even seasonal. A large meteorite collision with earth caused a sudden ice age, probably eradicating the Dinosaurs and other forms of life. The evidence of that is the unusual element Iridium found in layers from that era in rocks.

Global Warming:
Antarctica's successive layers of ice in drilled cores read like pages of Earth's climate history. Glaciologists have drilled 7200ft (2200m) at Vostok, recording changes in climate 160.000 years back.

It seems that the global warming today is normal as it has occurred in ancient times. The warming today is however somewhat stronger, perhaps due to increased burning of fossil fuels (releasing C02). Also the Ozone Layer is being measured at Antarctica. The good news are that it should be closed back again within the next 50 years, providing we continue to take necessary precautions.

Meteorites:
Other interesting clues to the past are meteorites. These rocks are abundant at Antarctica, due to the magnetic field attracting them, and the ice preserving them, gradually bringing them up to the surface. They are also easy to collect, as they are clearly visible. More than 18 000 meteorites have been found in Antarctica, most of them in the areas of blue ice (Allan Hills & Queen Fabiola Mountains, East Antarctica).

They have been roughly the age of earth, this suggesting that they are from our own solar system. Some came from the moon, other from other planets. This is also the place where the meteorite from Mars, harboring fossilized bacteria-like organisms, was found.

Birth of the Universe:
Another interesting thing about Antarctica is the thin atmosphere. This enables telescopes to search for specific radiation. Much space research goes on at the South Pole station, this giant glass structure harboring hundreds of scientists every year.