Chapter 05 of 5
A Continent Without Borders
The Antarctic Treaty and the geography of scientific sovereignty.
- Geopolitics
The Great Freeze
In 1959, twelve nations signed the Antarctic Treaty, effectively freezing all territorial claims for the sake of science.
- Legal Status
Terra Nullius no More
Antarctica is not a country, but it isn't lawless; it is the world's only landmass dedicated solely to peaceful cooperation.
- Sovereignty Paradox
Overlapping Pie Slices
Before the treaty, nations claimed triangular sectors meeting at the South Pole, many of which overlapped and conflicted.
17 more cards in this chapter
Could you answer this?
Which 1991 agreement specifically banned all mining and mineral extraction in Antarctica?
❄️ McMurdo Station: The Antarctic Metropole
- 01The Volcanic AnchorThe strange geography of Ross Island and its frozen bridge.
- 02Logistics of the VoidLanding planes on ice and the engineering of the Ice Pier.
- 03The Long Night: Winter-OverLife at the edge of the world during total solar absence.
- 04The Dry Valleys: Earth's MarsA journey to the McMurdo Dry Valleys, a snowless desert.
- 05A Continent Without BordersThe Antarctic Treaty and the geography of scientific sovereignty.