History in a nutshell – Refuge huts in the Antarctic

Refuge huts are interesting buildings in the Antarctic and have next to their emergency purpose also some very delicate political function. They can still be used in case travelers are experiencing distress at sea (private yachts mainly). This special hut is at Petermann Island and is run by Argentina since 1955.

Refuge hut at Petermann Island, photo taken in January 2020 ©Ursula Rack

August Petermann was a publisher in Germany from the mid-19^th century. ”Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen” was the German written equivalent to the geographical publications of the Royal Geographical Society in London. Petermann itself has never been to the Polar Regions but he supported the research and exploration in these areas. Eduard Dallmann (1830–1896) gave the island its name when he discovered it on the search for whaling hunting grounds.

Jean Baptiste Charcot (1867–1936), a French explorer from the Heroic era, visited this island twice and at his second expedition overwintered here in 1908/09. Some remains of the overwintering are still to see on the island.

Charcot at Petermann Island, enjoying the outdated paper, a pipe, and Mumm bubbly. It is often told they celebrated Bastille Day (14 July) in that photo. However, this cannot be the case because in July it is dark in the Antarctic.
Photo credit: https://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/History/antarctic_whos_who_charcot_francais.php

In 1982, three young members from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) crossed the sea ice from Faraday Station to Petermann Island. When they sought to leave the ice broke up and they had to seek refuge in the hut. After several weeks of waiting, the sea ice formed again and after leaving a message of their plans, made their way back. However, they never arrived at Faraday Station. Their colleagues searched for them and found the message in the hut. All attempts failed to find the men or their bodies. BAS erected a cross next to the hut to commemorate their fellows.

Cross to remember the scientists from BAS who vanished in 1982 after living in the refuge hut for several weeks. Photo taken in January 2020 ©Ursula Rack

SCAR OSC 2020 – online conference

The SCAR OSC 2020 online conference started already one week before the official opening on 27 July 2020. The online sessions are accessible when one is registered. I submitted two abstracts which has been accepted as orals.

Session 38: (click here to open the slide show)

History from the freezer: early scientific observations of Antarctic ice

Curating a recent Antarctic photo exhibition showing the diversity of work in the Antarctic it became clear that a majority of viewers were highly responsive to landscape pictures showing ice in its large variety. Photos shown were ‘the’ favourite personal pictures of a diverse group of University researchers who had travelled to the Antarctic. The viewers’ choice of more than 200 submitted ballot papers revealed that pictures of icebergs fascinated most.

At the same time, many questions were asked about the history of early Antarctic exploration, the motivation of scientists, how findings were made, and the legacy of these findings. Paintings, photos and descriptions of ice are available from early explorers who studied the ice. Many of them were geologists such as Hartley Ferrar (Scott expedition 1901–1903). His accounts on ice observations show a great passion and diversity in observation techniques. Otto Nordenskjöld, leader of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition (1901–1903) shaped the name ‘ice shelf’ based on his observations. David Paige, artist at Byrd’s expedition 1933–1935, caught the icy world in stunning paintings.

This paper shows the exploration of Antarctic ice from a historical angle and focuses on early explorers’ findings and their legacy that is still motivation and the basis of current research of a changing polar world. It will appear that ice has still its fascination until today and that the mystery of the icy world has been attracting both scientists and the public alike.

Session 39 (Click here to open the slide show)

Gender – does it really matter?

Headlines such as “…First black woman to reach both North Pole and South Pole”(1)  or “50 years women in the Antarctic”(2)  give the impression that we meet the target of acknowledging the achievements of female pioneers in the Antarctic. It also shows that the history of women and indigenous people seems still a short one. Indigenous people, black men, black women, white women in the Antarctic – does gender matter? The answer lies already in the questions itself because we still make these inquiries.

Concerning women, however, there are strong voices supporting women in the Antarctic as L.N. Bernacchi and F. Debenham did bearing the idea of bringing women to the southern continent from the start. In some cases, indigenous women worked as sealers until a change of law made this illegal. Women were also an important factor back home although their history is often overlooked.

The gender and race question is still highly discussed even when there are some achievements, but there is still more to do to satisfy the demand for proper gender history. This paper will introduce some historic cases where women and indigenous people made their footprint on the white continent but have been often overlooked or were only presented as an example of good will

.(1) https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/26/us/barbara-hillary-dead.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur(2)  https://twitter.com/hashtag/WomenInAntarctica?src=hashtag_click