Introduction

The Antarctic Treaty means that nearly sixty countries must work in tandem with one another to maintain order, peace, and efficiency of operations. Although numerous Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) have made huge leaps forward and are leading bodies in the continued research and protection of the continent, many countries have their own Antarctic programs and projects. These countries' government programs have made strides in international collaboration by commonly working together, welcoming each other onto their bases, and sharing resources. Signatory countries do not have any obligation to maintain Antarctic programs, and not all do, but a few key countries have made amazing contributions to the scientific community around the globe. Let's take a look at the countries with the most impressive Antarctic programs and milestones.

Major Countries Involved in Antarctic Research

United States

The USA has historically been one of the leading countries when it comes to Antarctic programs. Their government runs the United States Antarctic Program (USAP), and has made much progress with climate change and biological studies.

McMurdo Station, located on Ross Island is USAP's largest established base that can house around 200 people overwinter, and up to a thousand in the summer months.

The USA still maintains Operation Deep Freeze as well, which since 1955 has been a supportive program to resupply Antarctic bases and provide safe transport.

Some past contributions from the United States have included projects involving ice core research, the ozone hole over Antarctica, astrophysical observations from their South Pole station, glaciology, plate tectonics, and marine biology. For example, the WAIS Divide Ice Core Project was commenced to drill an ice core sample from the depth of over 3km. This sample holds frozen information on the climate as far back as nearly 70, 000 year ago. The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station has also supported many of these projects, including astronomy through their South Pole Telescope (SPT) and BICEP telescope, which monitor cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) and provides an ideal location for visual observations (no light pollution, total darkness half of the year). Their South Pole station also contributes to meteorological data and has helped keep track of and research the ozone hole over the continent.

Although for many years USAP has been a very involved program, recently America's investment in the Antarctic has seemingly been declining, with their last significant policy statement being in 1994 despite many other countries continuing to make new statements and policies in the 21st century. Additionally, unlike other involved countries, such as Argentina, the Antarctic agenda does not seem to be of any political concern to the government. With recent shifts in management and the introduction of Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) by Elon Musk, a high number of USAP project managers have been fired as well. This tells the rest of the world that the US is not planning to continue their dedication on the same level as the past, and due to the nature of shared resources and locations between signatory parties, it has the potential to negatively impact the projects of other countries as well.

Some ways the USA could become more involved in the Antarctic today could be by updating it's 1994 policy as a signal to allies that it is still paying attention, moving forward with environmental agreements and promises made at ATCM meetings from 2004-2009, and having the secretary of state publicly discuss future plans for their program.

United Kingdom

The UK runs the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), and boasts quite an impressive Antarctic history.

In Antarctica, 'British Antarctic Territory ' refers to the 5,425,000 square km between 20° and 80° West, and South of 60° latitude, claimed by the British Government, and extends to the South Pole. The climate here varies with the seasons, the Peninsula sees around 0°C in the summer and as low as -20°C in the winter. The inner ice sheets and land see -20°C in the summer up to -60°C in the winter.

All claims to sovereignty are suspended under the Antarctic Treaty, however the UK still acts administratively in this area despite no legal claims to land and makes money off of selling stamps, taxing scientists that over-winter in their bases, providing services and through interest that is accrued by assets and funds used to support Antarctic activities. Tourists on ships out of Ushuaia (and sometimes Punta Arenas in the summer seasons) can only reach British Antarctic Territory for most of their tours.

England's exploration of Antarctica begins largely with Capt. Robert Falcon Scott, who led the British National Antarctic Expedition expedition from 1901-03. At this time, very few people had actually seen the continent through it's thick stormy clouds and navigated through it's unforgiving waters. For this reason, the expedition was dedicated as purely scientific, and held the promise of discovery of a new unmapped land. The ship did not gain sight of Antarctica until five months following their launch, on January 8th of 1902. When they did land, they took a number of samples and specimens. They were surprised to discover more than 500 new specimens of marine life, some of which they brought home to be studied.

Sir Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922) was also a well-known pioneer in early exploration of the continent, who attended his first Antarctic expedition with Capt. Robert Falcon Scott from 1901-1903, after attending Dulwich College. Inspired by the success of his first expedition, he then went on to lead the Nimrod expedition in 1908. On this expedition, Shackleton’s sledging party made it to the South Magnetic Pole, and when they returned the ship had set sail two days prior without them. They made a signal fire and were retrieved. Shackleton was knighted and made a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order. Following Shackleton's leadership, the UK picked up their Antarctic activity significantly, however it wasn't until 1944 that the British Government first created stations in Antarctica, as part of “Operation Tabarin”. This operation was later renamed the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) in 1945, and again to the "British Antarctic Survey" in 1962. During the first year of the operation, each station was designated by a code letter for military reasons, and this system has been preserved since, with each new station being designated the same way.

The British Antarctic Survey, runs three primary bases: Rothera, Halley VI, and Signy. There are still others, but usually no more than four to six bases are occupied at any point during the year. Their most active season was in 1958-59, where 13 stations were occupied. By 1962, Britain had 19 bases, but not all were occupied. The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty was passed in 1998, which required for abandoned stations to be cleaned up.

Because Britain had so many bases, some were kept, some shut down, 4 were safely preserved as “heritage” sites for tourists and historical purposes, and others were traded off to other countries. Out of their current bases, they operate 4 De Havilland Twin Otters to Chile, as well as a Dash-7 aircraft. They also have multiple ships (RRS Ernest Shackleton and RRS James Clark Ross) that travel all the way from the UK to Antarctica for supplies.

The UK's plethora of bases over the years has led to some pretty interesting and successful research projects, including the discovery of many subglacial Antarctic lakes, equipping seals with environmental sensors, and their BIOPOLE project which investigates how the Antarctic biosphere regulates chemical balances in the entire ocean. Additionally, Jonathan Shanklin (while working with the BAS at Halley Research Station), discovered the hole in the ozone layer. Ironically, he had compared data in an attempt to prove that concerns about the Concorde aircraft damaging the ozone layer were baseless, but was shocked to find the opposite was true.

Australia

Australia's most influential expeditions were arguably Douglas Mawson's (1882-1958) expedition to the magnetic South Pole in 1911, as well as the BANZARE of 1932.

Firstly, Douglas Mawson attended Shackleton's Nimrod expedition of 1907-09, and went on to lead the Australasian Antarctic Expedition from 1911-14. The expedition included 31 members and was done aboard the vessel 'Aurora'. Among other landmark accomplishments (including setting up multiple bases), the expedition allowed Mawson and a small sledging crew to set off for the South Pole. Only Mawson survived this journey, with one member, Belgrave Ninnis, falling to his death through a large ice crack (along with the majority of their supplies), and the other, Xavier Mertz, passing away from exhaustion and starvation. Mawson miraculously survived the trip back, however the ship had already left only hours prior. He was forced to overwinter with the six men search party that had been left behind for them.

Undeterred, he called for another expedition nearly 20 years later. This famous expedition was the British, Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition, known as BANZARE, which took place from 1929-31. This expedition did not rely on bases from which to explore the continent, but instead was the result of many voyages along the Antarctic coast. The findings regarding oceanography and biology were published in 13 publications. Australia based many of their (later dismissed) territorial claims off of the work done mapping this area.

Australia runs the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), which had it's beginning as the Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition (ANARE) program founded in 1947. ANARE's original goal was to establish permanent Australian residency research stations in Antarctica. Their planning began before WWII, however was put on hold until it's end. They purchased a ship suitable for Antarctic Waters in 1939, HMAS Wyatt Earp, of which command was given to Sir George Hubert Wilkins (1888–1958). Multiple locations were approved for stations in the late 40s, where the ship was sent to establish them. These locations included the subantarctic islands of Macquarie Island and Heard Island, with the former still housing an active base in the 21st century.

Following the construction of Australia's bases, HMAS Wyatt Earp set off to search for possible base locations on the mainland. They traveled quite a ways South, but did not make it as far as the mainland before being forced to turn around due to weather conditions. The ship was then retired from the Australian Navy, causing ANARE to lose six years of potential exploration before another suitable ship became available.

When they finally came across SS Kista Dan, a notably larger Danish vessel with a better ability to hold appropriate cargo (such as small aircraft for mapping/scouting), the Government allowed ANARE to set up a more dedicated Antarctic program. ANARE Club, a society for past ANARE members, was founded in 1951 in order to maintain a network for researchers and scientists and is still extremely active.

Australia currently owns four research stations that operate for the entirety of the year. They are the Mawson, Davis, Casey, and Macquarie Island stations. The first three stations are at port locations near the coastline facing Australia. Additionally, they operate several smaller, unstaffed stations for weather metrics or that serve specific purposes. These stations are often described as being 'run like small towns'; they generate their own electricity, process sewage, and supply food and water. They provide housing for residents, including amenities such as kitchens, dining areas, libraries, and recreation rooms. The larger stations are equipped with laboratories, workshops, stores, and communication arrays.

Australia has always been a country involved in Antarctic politics, policies and research, and still runs many influential projects. They are active in the studies of sea ice, ocean levels, and the atmosphere, all particularly in the East Antarctic. In addition, they work to understand the environmental footprint left by humans, and how to reduce impacts of chemicals, fuels, sewage, air pollution, invasive species, and wildlife migration (sometimes in the context of climate change). One interesting project in an inquiry on bioaccumulation and fuel characteristics in harsh, cold environments.

Argentina

Argentina runs the Argentine Antarctic Institute (IAA), and has a long history with the continent. The first Argentinian in Antarctica was Ensign José María Sobral, who joined a Swedish expedition in 1902. The vessel this expedition took place on sank, however Argentina's heroic rescue strengthened relationships between the two countries. Following this, they set up their first station at the South Orkney Islands in 1904.

The IAA was not founded until April 15, 1951 (along with the signing of the Antarctic Treaty), but it has made many valuable contributions over the years since then. The IAA runs an impressive 13 stations, with six being operated year-round, and the other being temporary. Their bases include Spring Base, Petrel Base, Base Brown, which inhabit sites that are common tourist stops during months they are not in operation.

Their scientific focuses are on climate change and oceanographic phenomena. In 2008, the IAA conducted their first sequencing of the genome of an organism external to Argentina, a bacteria which they classified as Bizionia argentinensis. They have also been active in monitoring the ice breakage and movement in the Mar de Flota (a straight with lots of ice activity) recently, including the giant iceberg A68a which takes up 5,800 km². They have also been active in environmental protection by proposing (with Chile) Marine Protected Areas in both the Western Antarctic Peninsula and Southern Scotia Arc.

India

The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) is a polar research program funded by the Indian Government, focusing bilaterally on both the North and South Poles.

A relatively new (but not any less involved) program, the NCPOR was founded in 1998. NCPOR oversees the Indian Antarctic Program, which runs their Maitri and Bharati stations.

India first became involved in the Antarctic in 1981, launching their first 77-day expedition to the continent. To do so, they were required to use one of Norway's vessels as they did not have any suitable boats in their fleet. Following this expedition, the country indicated their interest in becoming more involved in the continent, and successfully became a signatory nation to the treaty. They became a member of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) in 1984, and have supported advocation for the MPAs in East Antarctica and the Weddell Sea area since then.

Their first base, called the Dakshin Gangotri station, lasted only seven years (from 1983-90), but construction on the Maitri base had started during this time in the Schirmacher Oasis (a dry plateau surrounded by freshwater lakes in East Antarctica). In order to to meet the needs of residents, this base relies solely on the large, nearby freshwater lake, Lake Priyadarshinione.

Following this, it wasn't until 2005 that India came across a location that well fit the needs of a desired larger base. They began construction on their modern Bharati base on Larsmann Hill (an area with multiple bases due to it’s conditions being considered an Antarctic “oasis” ). It is located on the southeastern shore of Prydz Bay in Eastern Antarctica.

The station's modern design is three times larger than it's counterpart and includes emergency shelters and summer camps.

India's areas of study include environmental science, biology, biochemistry, physical science, and Earth science. They have put a lot of focus on studying ice cores specifically, taking sediment core samples from the nearby lakes. As well, India has successfully identified 32 new species of bacteria that can only be found in the Antarctic, contributed greatly to mapping, and monitors seismological activity.

Working Together

It is impossible to list every single country's history and involvement in the Antarctic, but the influential nations listed above have all had engaging involvements and made commendable contributions to the continent, whether recent or in the past. Their hard work and willingness to put aside differences and work together, sharing resources and bases not only with other powerful countries, but with countries that don't have their own antarctic programs (or budgets for it) as well, has greatly strengthened international relationships within the scientific community. It has also allowed smaller countries to practise research on important topics that they would otherwise be unable to give the attention to.

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