Many of our members are either already working hard in their field camps on the world's highest, driest, coldest, and windiest continent and many more are getting ready to head to the frozen paradise. So as we continue to celebrate "Antarctic Day" this month, I also wanted to share with you some of the rich history that Norway has in the Antarctic.
This month we celebrate the "Race to the Pole" where Norwegian Roald Amundsen and his team arrived at the South Pole on 14 December 1911, just 1 month before Robert F Scott and his group. The tales from these journeys are quite inspirations and if you haven't read much about this, I recommend you do - it will give you a new appreciation for this dangerous continent that so many of us feel is home. Many years later, the first woman to ski solo across the Antarctic - Norwegian Liv Arnesen.
Today, researchers from Norway spend their time in many places on the continent, but Troll Station is the main hub of activity. Troll is located in Dronning Maud Land and operated by the Norwegian Polar Institute. In just a few weeks, a new project will start called "Ice Rises" which will be looking at the mechanisms involved in ice shelf collapse. Stay tuned for more information on this project as APECS is helping to connect researchers in the field with students, teachers and the general public from about the world.
Here are a few resources and links with more information about the long rich history of Norway in the Antarctic:
Antarctic Explorers, history and timeline: http://www.south-pole.com/homepage.html and http://www.norwaysforgottenexplorer.org/english/heroes/
Liv Arenesen's upcoming expedition
Information on Norway's Troll Station: http://www.npolar.no/en/about-us/npi-in-the-south/troll.html
"Norway in the Antarctic, from conquest to modern science": http://www.haugenbok.no/resverk.cfm?stipr=aktoer-0_1749-2_13&cid=193274
