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The Antarctic and Belgium,
a Hundred Years of History, Research and Mysteries:
To mark the centenary of the Belgica, a book by a belgian journalist,
Michel Brent, has been published by Labor (October
1997). Written in narrative style, it retraces the story of Belgium's
relationship with the 6th continent since 1897, which was the
year in which the Belgica first overwintered in Antarctic waters,
right up to today. As the cover notes state:
One hundred years ago, the three-masted Belgica,
under the command of Adrien de Gerlache, took the first scientific
expedition to the Antarctic. Since that time, Belgium has always
played a full part in the history of the 6th continent, with its
dramas, suffering and achievements... In addition to the finest
hours of its exploration and the significant role that our country
has played in opposing mining in the Antarctic, the discovery
of the 6th continent tells a story, page after page, of fabulous
human adventures, such as the exploits of the glaciologists who
face the polar climate to sink deep bore holes and bring back
samples of ice which can provide us with vital information about
the climate on Earth 300,000 and even 400,000 years ago.
The routes taken by these adventurers and scientists - recounted
here as they lived through each day - brings up the debate about
the ozone layer, the future of whales, ice dynamics, listening to
the great depths and the analysis of meteorites, reminding us of
the scope of the planetary stakes woven across this final untouched
world. Will man be capable of dealing with the problem of ultra-violet
radiation which is attacking the surface waters of the Southern
Ocean - the very place where there is the world's greatest stock
of food? How will science behave in the face of the dangers represented
by global warming and the increase in ocean levels? The reply to
these questions depends on the fate that the future holds in store
for the ice-bound continent. For the time being, Antarctica as been
proclaimed a World Nature Reserve, devoted entirely to science and
peace. But only for a period of 50 years... |
