POLAR REGIONS

Antarctic Exploration

The First Antarctic Winter

B etween 1778 and 1815 most of Europe was at war. Exploration of Antarctica was left to sealers, whalers, and private expeditions. Searching for Seals

One sealing company had a keen interest in scientific exploration. The Enderby brothers told their captains to explore new lands while seeking seals. For 40 years their ships led Antarctic exploration. Magnetism It was scientists in Europe working on magnetism who led the next stage of exploration. Britain, the US, and France each sent expeditions to find the South Magnetic Pole. James Clark Ross was an experienced Scottish explorer who had first gone to the Arctic when he was 12. In 1831 he located the North Magnetic Pole. In 1839, the British Admiralty sent him to the Antarctic to seek the South Magnetic Pole. His ships, Erebus and Terror , were heavily- built. They were strong enough for Ross in the Antarctic, but were later lost during Franklin’s expedition to the Arctic (see pages 24 to 25).

Cook’s voyage had alerted sealers to the rich harvest in the Antarctic. Sealers came mainly from Britain and the US and later from Australia and France. Some are remembered in the names of places they found. James Weddell reached the

J ames Clark Ross (1800-1862) was an experienced Arctic and Antarctic explorer.

southern point 74° 15’S, a record at the time, in the Weddell Sea. John Biscoe sailed around Antarctica finding Enderby Land and the Biscoe Islands. He was the first person to confirm seeing the mainland of East Antarctica, describing black mountains showing through the ice.

B orchgrevink (1864- 1934) wintered here on Cape Adare. He was the first to do so.

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