Desarrollo de la Antártica

EL DESARROLLO DE LA ANTARTICA Tthey inust have concentrated areas for ,breeding and it is assumed that tlhese hreeding areas are on the fringe of the pack-ice belt in about September, but the ships are never down there at that time and so people have not seen thern. However, it would be more difficult to organi2e harvesting of these in Antarctica, where they are so iwidely dispersed, than it is in Newfoundland OY Greenland. Sorne day it may prove possible to develop a southern sealing industry based upon the killing of male crabeater seals along the fringes of the pack-ice during the breeding period of October-November. IPer– haps history will repeat itself and, when whaling ceases to be profi– table, the resources of such factory ships an crasers will be transferred to hunting seals. THE AIR ROUTE OF ANTARGfICA R!ecent years have seen tlhe development of air routes across the Arctic which nave considerably shortened flight distances between Me continents of the Northern Hemisphere. Something similar is bound to develop in the Soutlhern Hemis~here in the not too distant future. However the only practicable air route is that from Australia to South America. Trhe great circle route from Melbourne to Buenos Aires would pass near McMurdo Sound, where the Americans nave a large base. No other trans-Antarctic route is of any importance. If you want to go from Australia to South Africa tlhe great circle route passes across the lndian Ocean over the !les de Kerguelen, and from South ,Africa to South America it is furtlher north again. At present Australia and South America have little direct communication with each other. Few regular shi,ps ply directly between I:Jhese two countries and nhe journey by air from Melbourne to Chile passes via Tahiti and Easter ,lsland. If you travel by the great circle air route from Melbourne to Buenos Aires via McMurdo the total distance is 6,000 nautical miles and if you terminate at the tip of South America (for example Punta Arenas) you would reduce this by 1,000 miles again. Compare this with tlhe distance by available air services today via Honolulu and San Francisco, which is 15,300 nautical miles. Sooner or later 1 am sure I:Jhat an air route will be established from Australia to Ohile and Argentina over this path. What would be involved if you wanted to develop such an air route? Not nearIy as muan as you might imagine. 1 do not envisage 34