We are going to Antarctica (1)

What if you could escape to the furthest corner of the world? Away from the geopolitical tensions that are shaking the world order? Where can you go and at what price? In the two-part 'Frontline: Ticket to Antarctica', journalist Bram Vermeulen and photographer and filmmaker Kadir van Lohuizen investigate the impact of luxury tourism and climate change on Antarctica. They visit the most expensive hotel in the world and discover absurd situations there. They also go to Antarctica's main attraction: an endangered penguin colony. Frontline was broadcast by the VPRO starting March 26, 2026. In several blogs, we highlight the most important aspects of Antarctica.

Antarctica

Antarctica is the continent surrounding the Earth's South Pole. With a surface area of ​​14 million square kilometers, Antarctica is the fifth largest continent, after Eurasia, Africa, North America, and South America, and ahead of Australia.

Antarctica is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean (according to the old classification of oceans). All sea areas around Antarctica, south of the 60th parallel, are designated as the Southern Ocean (or Antarctic Ocean). The land and water around Antarctica are collectively referred to by the term Antarctic.

On a map, Antarctica is usually shown with the prime meridian at the top.

Antarctica is almost entirely covered by an ice sheet, and the continent is the coldest region on Earth. The lowest temperature ever recorded at a weather station was at the Vostok Station, 1000 kilometers from the South Pole: -89,2 °C (unofficially -91 °C). According to NASA measurements, a temperature of -93,2 °C was observed on August 10, 2010, on a plateau near the center of Antarctica. It is unknown whether this cold record will be recognized by the World Meteorological Organization.

 

Antarctica is the continent with the lowest average humidity. 90% of all the ice in the world is located in Antarctica. The average thickness of the ice sheet is 2034 meters, and at its thickest point, the ice is even 4776 meters thick.

 

Territoriale claims

Antarctica is not politically divided, but various countries, particularly those located close to the continent, claimed different parts in the first half of the 20th century. These claims have little practical significance, but they are adhered to by many cartographers, causing the continent to resemble a huge sliced ​​“ice cake” on political maps. Most of these countries have observation or research centers in Antarctica within their claimed territory.

Other countries, whether or not with bases on the continent, have not claimed any territory, but some countries, including Russia, reserve the right to do so in the future. The claims are not recognized by other countries or by the United Nations. A number of countries, including the Netherlands, have also explicitly rejected these territorial claims.

The Antarctic Treaty maintains the status quo and freezes all sovereignty claims for the duration of the treaty. The parties, the countries that have entered into the treaty, include all countries with a territorial claim, as well as countries without a claim that are active in the area, such as Belgium, the Netherlands, Russia, the US, and South Africa. Article IV of the treaty protects both parties with and without territorial claims. Their activities under the treaty cannot be considered a waiver of their claims or an acknowledgment of the claims of other states. Furthermore, their actions during the duration of the treaty cannot be used to substantiate their position or to contest that of other states. During the duration of the treaty, the parties cannot make new claims or expand their existing claims.

 

The Antarctic Treaty governs international relations regarding Antarctica, the only uninhabited continent. The treaty establishes freedom of scientific research and prohibits military activity on the continent. For the purposes of the treaty system, Antarctica is defined as all land and ice shelves south of the 60th parallel south.

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The treaty was initially signed by 12 countries, including the United States and the Soviet Union, which decided to leave Antarctica undisturbed as a scientific reserve and not to organize military activity on this continent. This was the first agreement regarding the reduction of armaments during the Cold War arms race. Furthermore, the Antarctic Environment Protocol, added to the treaty in 1998, makes it impossible to exploit mineral resources on the continent until at least the year 2048.

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The main treaty was opened for signature on 1 December. 1959 and officially ratified on June 23 1961The original signatories were the 12 countries active in Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58. These countries were Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and South Africa. Several countries signed later. These countries are: Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, India, Italy, South Korea, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and Uruguay.

Management is governed by the meetings of the consultative members (countries with research activities in Antarctica). At the end of 1999, there were 44 members (27 consultative and 17 acceding). Among the consultative (voting) members are the seven countries that claim parts of Antarctica as national territory.

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The claims of Argentina, Chile, and the United Kingdom overlap. Russia, the United States, and some other nations have reserved the right to claim parts at a later date as well. The Netherlands and the US do not recognize the claims of other countries.

 

<strong> More info: </strong>

VPRO, Frontline from March 26, 2026, Antarctica: https://npo.nl/start/serie/frontlinie/afleveringen

Previous Antarctica blogs: https://www.postzegelblog.nl/tag/antarctica/