Desarrollo de la Antártica

NORWEGIAN ANTARCTIC RESEARCH PAST AND PRESENT* Olav Orhe~m Norsk Polarinstitutt. ABSTRACT Norwegían Arctic exploratíon led to Antarctíc interest, first in whalíng and exploration, and later to scientífic studies. The most recent Norwegian expedition took place in Dronníng Maud Land, Wed· dell Sea and at Bouvetoya during January and February this year. The 24 expedition members studied meteorology and glaciology on 'Riiser·Larsenisen, geology and bíology in Vestfjella, and conducted studies in oceanography, marine biology, marine geophysics, marine geology, and sea ice in the 'I\ledde11 Sea. The expedition also worked for three days al Bouvetoya. I'NTRODUCTION The geography of Norway IS similar to Chile: long and narrow, stretching towards the polar region. In Norway most of llhe p'opulation Iive along the coast, and a larger proportion of our people live nortlh of the Arctic cÍrc1e than in any other country. It was therefore natural that Norwegíans should engage in polar exploratíon. From the second haH oI last century numerous Norwegian expeditions worked in the ArctÍc. Sorne of these had scientific aims, such as the classic expedition led by Fridtjof Nansen, whioh drifted wil:h "Fram" across the Arctic Ocean. IBut most expeditions were simply for fishing 01' hunting, because Norway in those days was a poor country and a11 sources of food and income were of importance. At the turn oI the century the Norwegian tradition of seamanship and Arctic exploration led Norwegian also to the Antarctic. The experience in polar travel developed in t:he Arctic was the main reason why many expeditions from different nations had mostly Norwegian members. :Sorne Norwegians became we11 known, such as Captain C. A. Larsen, who explored the east síde of the Antarctic * Publication N9 2 of the Norwegían Antarctic R..esearch Expeditions (1976/ 77) . 154