ANTARCTIC PENINSULA & TIERRA DEL FUEGO
BALKEMA – Proceedings and Monographs in Engineering, Water and Earth Sciences
Antarctic Peninsula & Tierra del Fuego: 100 years of Swedish-Argentine scientific cooperation at the end of the world
Edited by Jorge Rabassa & María Laura Borla
Proceedings of “Otto Nordenskjöld’s Antarctic Expedition of 1901–1903 and Swedish Scientists in Patagonia: A Symposium”, held in Buenos Aires, La Plata and Ushuaia, Argentina, March 2–7, 2003.
LONDON / LEIDEN / NEW YORK / PHILADELPHIA / SINGAPORE
Cover photo information: “The Otto Nordenskjöld’s Expedition to Antarctic Peninsula, 1901–1903. The wintering party in front of the hut on Snow Hill, Antarctica, 30th September 1902. From left to right: Bodman, Jonassen, Nordenskjöld, Ekelöf, Åkerlund and Sobral. Photo: G. Bodman. From the book: Otto Nordenskjöld & John Gunnar Andersson, et al., “Antarctica: or, Two Years amongst the Ice of the South Pole” (London: Hurst & Blackett., 1905)”. Taylor & Francis is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” © 2007 Taylor & Francis Group plc, London, UK All rights reserved. No part of this publication or the information contained herein may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, by photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written prior permission from the publishers. Although all care is taken to ensure the integrity and quality of this publication and the information herein, no responsibility is assumed by the publishers nor the author for any damage to property or persons as a result of operation or use of this publication and/or the information contained herein. Published by: Taylor & Francis/Balkema P.O. Box 447, 2300 AK Leiden, The Netherlands e-mail:
[email protected] www.balkema.nl, www.taylorandfrancis.co.uk, www.crcpress.com British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Antarctic Peninsula and Tierra del Fuego : 100 years of Swedish-Argentine scientific cooperation at the end of the world : proceedings of Otto Nordenskjöld’s Antarctic Expedition of 1901–1903 and Swedish scientists in Patagonia : a symposium held in Buenos Aires, La Plata, and Ushuaia, Argentina, March 2–7, 2003 / edited by Jorge Rabassa & María Laura Borla. p. cm. ISBN-13: 978-0-415-41379-4 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Svenska sydpolar-expeditionen (1901– 1903)–Congresses. 2. Scientific expeditions–Antarctica–Congresses. 3. Antarctica–Discovery and exploration–Swedish–Congresses. 4. Antarctica–Discovery and exploration–Argentine–Congresses. 5. Nordenskjöld, Otto, 1869–1928–Travel–Antarctica–Congresses. I. Rabassa, Jorge II. Borla, María Laura. G850 1901.S84 A58 2006 919.8´9–dc22 ISBN 0-203-94569-7 Master e-book ISBN
2006028788 ISBN10: 0-415-41379-6
ISBN13: 978-0-415-41379-4
Contents Preface
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List of contributors
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Part 1
Natural History
EDGARDO ROLLERI The work of Nordic geologists in Argentina
1
3
JAN LUNDQVIST Carl Caldenius and other links between the Nordenskjöld expedition and recent Argentine–Swedish cooperation in Quaternary geology
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CHRISTIAN HJORT, ÓLAFUR INGÓLFSSON AND KENT LARSSON Straddling the Drake Passage: A summary of Otto Nordenskjöld’s and his geological co-worker’s achievements in Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego and the Antarctic Peninsula
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PER HOLMLUND AND STIG JONSSON Swedish glaciological work around the Weddell Sea during the last century
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MARCELO A. REGUERO AND ZULMA GASPARINI Late Cretaceous–Early Tertiary marine and terrestrial vertebrates from James Ross Basin, Antarctic Peninsula: A review
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ROBERTO C. MENNI AND LUIS O. LUCIFORA An appraisal of the report by Einar Lönnberg (1905) on fishes collected by the Swedish South Polar Expedition
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INGIBJÖRG S. JÓNSDÓTTIR Botany during the Swedish Antarctic expedition 1901–1903
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SUSANA B. DIAZ, GUILLERMO A. DEFERRARI, PAULA K. VIGLIAROLO, DON W. NELSON, M. CAROLINA CAMILIÓN AND CLAUDIO E. BRUNAT Ozone and UV-B irradiances over Antarctica in the last decades
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OSCAR BIANCIOTTO, LUIS PINEDO, NEMESIO SAN ROMÁN, ALICIA BLESSIO, EVA MARÍA KOCH AND CÉSAR B. COSTA Salt-marsh vegetation as biological indicator of increased solar UV-B radiation consequence of ozone global depletion
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MARCELA CIOCCALE AND JORGE RABASSA One hundred years ago: The Swedish Expedition to the South Pole (October 16th, 1901, Göteborg-December 2nd, 1903, Buenos Aires). Its scientific production and historical implications
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Contents
Part 2
Human Sciences
NOEMÍ M. GIRBAL-BLACHA Pioneers of scientific cooperation: About memory, oblivion and representations of the past
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AANT ELZINGA South Polar imaginations and geopolitical realities – Contextualising Otto Nordensjöld’s scientific internationalism and its limits
143
TORGNY NORDIN Open horizons: A trek through Otto Nordenskjöld’s many landscapes
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MONIKA SCHILLAT Pemmican and penguin-breast, but no pie: Daily problems of Polar explorers during the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration
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LISBETH LEWANDER To remember and restore the Argentine rescuers of the Nordenskjöld Expedition 1901–1903
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ERNESTO L. PIANA, MYRIAN R. ALVAREZ AND NADIA S. RÚA Sea nomads of the Beagle Channel and surrounding areas
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Preface “... The bids started between Bödman and Ekelöf: the “Antarctic” will come before November 20th or not; a meal would be paid in the first harbor to be reached. [November 1902] (…) As days go by, and the season advances, many hopes and illusions fall down, but new ones are forged because the excitement increases. [December 1902] (…) Åkerlundh, who was one of those coming from Seymour Island, told me: “An Argentine vessel has come, the Captain has been in Stockholm and Dr Nordenskjlöld says his name is Martín”. It was an indescriptible moment I have felt but I cannot describe. What I can say is that in such moment I was proud of my homeland, I felt proud to be a partner of those men aboard the “Uruguay”… [November 8th, 1903]1
An international scientific symposium on the expedition led by Otto Nordenskjöld to Antarctica in 1901 and the celebration of its centennial was held at the University of Göteborg, Sweden, on May 10th to 13th, 2001. This meeting was sponsored jointly by the University of Göteborg and the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences in Göteborg. All papers and contributions presented in this symposium were published in the book titled “Antarctic Challenges. Historical and current perspectives on Otto Nordenskjöld’s Antarctic Expedition, 1901–1903”.2 Otto Nordenskjöld left the harbour of Göteborg on October 16th, 1901, in a vessel named “Antarctic”, under the command of Captain Carl Larsen, heading to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where they picked up a young Sub-Lieutenant of the Argentine Navy, José María Sobral, under a general agreement of scientific and logistic cooperation between Sweden and Argentina. Thus, the Navy Alférez Sobral joined the expedition and became the first Argentinian to step on Antarctic territories. When no news from the expedition reached the outer world in more than one year, the authorities noticed something had happened to the “Antarctic”. Most likely, she had sunk. This possibility made the Government in Buenos Aires decide to send a rescue ship, the “Uruguay” corvette, under the command of Captain Julián Irizar, which successfully completed the task on December 2nd, 1903. These facts inspired one of us (JR), who was participating at the Göteborg symposium and during a lovely excursion to the Göteborg’s marine surrounding on board the steamship “Bohuslän”, to propose the organization of a second symposium in Argentina, as a symbol of continuing the Swedish-Argentine scientific cooperation. After an unexpected delay due to one of the most serious political and economic crisis in our country during 2001–2002, the symposium was finally held in Argentina between
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March 2nd and March 7th, 2003. This meeting commemorated not only Nordenskjöld’s expedition but Swedish-Argentine early scientific fieldwork in Patagonia and Antarctica, as well as the present status of our knowledge in the natural sciences in the Archipelago of Tierra del Fuego, the Antarctic Peninsula and the sub-Antarctic seas. The meeting was sponsored by the Swedish Programme for Social Science Research in the Polar Regions Center for History of Science, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (Stockholm, Sweden), the Swedish Embassy in Buenos Aires, the Museo de La Plata, the Universidad Nacional de La Plata (La Plata) and the Laboratorio de Geología del Cuaternario, CADIC-CONICET (Ushuaia, Argentina). The event was named “Otto Nordenskjöld’s Antarctic Expedition of 1901–1903 and Swedish Scientists in Patagonia: A Symposium” and the activities were developed in the cities of Buenos Aires, La Plata and Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego). The Programme Committee was integrated by Urban Wråkberg (Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences – Chairman), Jorge Rabassa (CADIC-CONICET, Ushuaia, – Vice Chairman), Ólafur Ingólfsson (The University Courses on Svalbard, Norway) and Torgny Nordin (Göteborg University). The symposium was funded by the Swedish Institute, Stockholm, and the publication of this book has been possible thanks to a grant by the Bergvall Foundation to Urban Wråkberg. A volume of “Abstracts with Programs”, including all papers and oral communications was edited by Urban Wraakberg and Jorge Rabassa. This was intended as a series of Swedish-Argentine workshops commemorating Otto Nordenskjöld’s Antarctic expedition of 1901–1903 and early scientific fieldwork in Patagonia. Historical reflections were presented as well as research overviews by scientists active today. The workshops were organized by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Laboratorio de Geología del Cuaternario, CADIC-CONICET, Ushuaia, in co-operation with the Swedish Embassy in Buenos Aires, the Museo de La Plata, the Universidad Nacional de La Plata, CONICET, the National Research Council of Argentina, the Armada Argentina and the Instituto Browniano in Buenos Aires. Logistic support provided by CADIC, the Austral Research Center of CONICET at Ushuaia, Museo de La Plata, Armada Argentina Headquarters, and Area Naval Austral of the Armada Argentina, is deeply acknowledged. The meetings took place from March 2nd to 7th 2003 in the cities of Buenos Aires, La Plata and Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. The program of activities developed on a very tight schedule. On March 2nd, early in the morning, the Swedish participants were received in Ezeiza, Buenos Aires International Airport and transferred to down-town Buenos Aires. In the afternoon, a visit to the “Uruguay” Corvette, in Buenos Aires docks, an Argentine National Monument and a museum itself was organized. The visit was guided by Real Admiral (R) Laurio H. Destéfani, former commander of the ship and a distinguished historian and writer. Adm. Destéfani offered a commemoration talk about Nordenskjöld’s Expedition and the life of Alférez José María Sobral. On March 3rd, the group was transferred by bus to the city of La Plata, capital of the Province of Buenos Aires, located 60 km south of the Federal District. La Plata is a very modern city, founded in 1882, based upon a geometrical design following a project by the French architect and urbanist Pierre Benoit. The Museo de La Plata, in the Paseo del Bosque,
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is one of the highlights of the city’s architecture. The Museo is one of the oldest and most prestigious scientific institutions of Argentina, dedicated to the Natural Sciences and Anthropology. It is an institute of the Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de La Plata. This Faculty offers today graduate and postgraduate degrees in Geology, Geochemistry, Geophysics (in collaboration with the University’s Observatory), Biology, Ecology, Paleontology, Anthropology and Archaeology. The present Natural Sciences Doctoral Program dates back to 1946. The Museo was founded in 1877, even before the city itself was founded, by Perito Francisco P. Moreno, a world-wide known naturalist, who was a personal friend of Otto Nordenskjöld’s and many other Nordic scientists. It hosts very fine collections in Vertebrate Paleontology and South American Archaeology, among other materials. The building was designed by a Swedish architect, Mr. Aberg, in the late 1800’s. In the morning, sessions were opened at the Museo Auditorium. A welcome address was given by the University and Museum authorities. Then, opening remarks by Dr Urban Wraakberg, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and the Swedish Ambassador in Buenos Aires, Madeleine Ströje-Wilkens, were presented to the audience. Then, lectures by distinguished Museo invited scholars were offered. Emeritus Professor Dr Edgardo O. Rolleri referred to “The work of Nordic geologists in Argentina”, Professor Dr Roberto Menni did so on “Atlantic and Antarctic fishes described by Einar Lönnberg from the collection of the Swedish South Polar Expedition”, Dr Marcelo Reguero and Prof. Dr Zulma Gasparini lectured on “Vertebrate Paleontology of James Ross Basin, Antarctica: 100 years later”, and finally, Prof. Dr Eduardo P. Tonni presented his talk on “The Paleogene Antarctic Penguins”. Afterwards, a visit to several of the Museo exhibition rooms was lead by its Director, Dr Silvia Ametrano. Before returning to Buenos Aires, the Cathedral was visited. Built in the late 1800’s, La Plata Cathedral is the largest gothic cathedral outside Europe, and the world largest made of mud bricks instead of stone, due to the peculiar geological characteristics of the Buenos Aires Pampas, where the closest rock outcrops to La Plata are located 400 km to the southwest, elsewhere covered by a thick loess mantle. Finally, a press conference and reception was offered at the Swedish Embassy in Buenos Aires. On March 4th, the participants departed from Aeroparque Jorge Newbery (Buenos Aires domestic airport) to Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego. Ushuaia, founded in 1884, is the capital of the Province of Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur. This is the newest Argentine province, achieving its present provincial status as recently as 1991. The permanent population of Ushuaia is currently about 50,000. It is the southernmost city in the world, at almost lat. 55° S, approximately the latitude Malmö, in southernmost Sweden. Thus, all of Sweden is located closer to the North Pole, than Ushuaia is relatively to the South Pole. It is the gate to Antarctica and over 90% of the tourist and logistics ships going to the Antarctic Peninsula depart from its harbor. It is also the only Argentine city located on the “other” side of the Andean Cordillera, and the only large human settlement on the Scotia Plate. The rest of Argentina is placed on the South American Plate. Both plates are divided by the Magellan Fault, a large, first-order, structural lineation of our planet, which is closely followed by E-W trending Lago Fagnano. The Tierra del Fuego National Park was visited in the afternoon. The participants walked in pristine Nothofagus forests in a formerly glaciated environment, including the fjord-like morphology of the Beagle Channel and Lago Roca, and watched Subantarctic
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marine birds at Bahía Lapataia. Then, the group visited the Martial Glacier Cirque and enjoyed a view of the Beagle Channel and the Fuegian Andes. On March 5th, academic sessions started at CADIC, the Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas. CADIC is a regional research center of CONICET, the National Research Council, devoted to the study of the Natural and Atmospheric Sciences and Archaeology of Southern Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego and the Subantarctic Islands. Built in 1984, it hosts today a permanent staff of over 100 scientists, technicians, doctoral students in residence and administration clerks. Many visiting scientists, from other centers in Argentina and from the rest of the world, come to this center to participate in joint research project with CADIC members. Several CADIC projects are, or have been, funded by Swedish organizations. The academic sessions took place at CADIC’s “Bernardo Houssay” Auditorium. Dr Bernardo Houssay was the first Argentine Science Nobel Prize in 1948 and the founder and first President of CONICET in 1957. A welcome address was offered by Dr Eduardo Olivero, then Director of CADIC, Dr Noemi Girbal, member of CONICET Directoriat, on behalf of the President of CONICET, Dr Eduardo Charreau, and Vice-Admiral (R) Oscar Albino, on behalf of the Navy’s “Instituto Browniano”. Then, lectures were presented by Swedish visitors and Argentine scientists. In addition to those papers included in this volume, the following contributions were given: Urban Wråkberg, “Beyond the Great Barrier: The problems of transferring technology and scientific issues to Antarctica in the early 20th century”, Eduardo Olivero, “Advances in the upper Cretaceous stratigraphy of the James Ross Basin since the Swedish South Polar Expedition (1901–1903)”, Adrián Schiavini, “Oh, no! Penguin stew again! Your only choice for surviving over wintering”, Ingibjörg Jónsdóttir, “Botany in the West Antarctic region: from Skottsberg to modern research”, Jorge Calvo, “How difficult is it to survive below the ice?”, Gustavo Lovrich, “The new colonizers: the return of crabs to the Antarctic”, Natalie Goodall, “Beachcombing, from flowers to bones”, Jorge Strelin, “Neoglacial chronology of the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and the Scotia Arc”, and Alvar Sobral (son of Sub-Lieutenant José María Sobral), “José María Sobral (April 14th, 1880-April 14th, 1961): a biographical overview”. A visit to the Ushuaia Navy Base and former prison was organized. The Maritime Museum is located in this historical building, where several remains of Otto Nordenskjöld’s Expedition have been kept. The Old Prison was a horrendous institution from the late 1800’s until the 1950’s, where the Federal State would send not only the most dangerous convicts, mostly second-offender criminals but also including political figures of those times. On March 6th, the academic sessions continued at CADIC and a visit to the Museo del Fin del Mundo (The Museum of the End of the World) was offered in the evening. On the following day, the group departed from the Navy Base Harbor in a Navy ship towards Estancia Harberton, sailing along the Beagle Channel, which was discovered by Robert Fitz Roy, during the first trip of the “H.M.S. Beagle” in the 1820’s. In the second voyage of the “Beagle”, in 1832, Charles Darwin was on board, and their trip across the Channel is marvellous described in his books. The Channel has eventually quite rough seas, and this was proven when several participants could not disembark at Harberton. The ship sailed from the Ushuaia Bay, across the Bridges Islands, where two species of sea lions and many species of marine birds were seen. Though it was too late in the season, Magellanic penguins were seen catching fish in the Beagle Channel waters. A magnificent glacial landscape was observed on both sides of the Beagle Channel. The Northern shore of the Channel belongs to Argentina, the Southern one is Chilean territory. Different aspects of the
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Natural History and Archaeology of the Beagle Channel were discussed by CADIC scientists on board. Estancia Harberton (“estancia” stands for “ranch”) is the oldest European settlement in the Beagle Channel, founded in 1886, as a Christian mission by Thomas Bridges, an Englishman priest. The Estancia Harberton has been in the hands of the Bridges family since then. The party was hosted by Mrs. Nathalie R.P. Goodall, the wife of Thomas Goodall, a great-grandson of Thomas Bridges. Mrs. Goodall is a distinguished biologist, who has been active in Fuegian and Antarctic research for the last forty years. She is a world authority in Subantarctic cetaceans and marine birds. The Harberton Ranch is the place where J.G. Andersson, together with two of his Swedish mates, spent some time before sailing to Antarctica with the “Antarctic”, in the Southern summer of 1903, exactly 100 years before. The vivid description of his observations and experiences in Andersson’s books is remarkable and we had the chance to see the start of the “Camino de los Pioneros”, the mountainous route that Andersson and his mates, together with two Ona natives, took in 1903, carrying a boat on their shoulders, to cross the Fuegian Andes and reach the Lago Fagnano. The participants who were able to land before waves and winds became too demanding could visit the Harberton Ranch and the Acatushun Museum. Mrs. Goodall offered a guided tour of the Estancia and Museum. They returned to Ushuaia by bus. The other members of the group sailed back to Ushuaia. On March 8th, the group departed by bus to Lago Fagnano for a full-day field trip across the Fuegian Andes to the central Lago Fagnano depression. The Natural History of Tierra del Fuego was discussed with local CADIC scientists. The following day, Swedish participants and Argentine visitors returned by plane to Buenos Aires. The manuscripts of this book were originally gathered by Urban Wråkberg, from the Swedish participants, and by Jorge Rabassa, on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Later, personal circumstances unfortunately forced Dr Wråkberg to leave these responsibilities, thus postponing the final organization of this book. Dr Wråkberg’s efforts, with the help and support of Dr Christian Hjort and Ambassador Ströje-Wilkens, were very important in the process of obtaining the funds for the publication. All of them discussed with us about the editing and preparation of this volume. The financial support of the Bergvall Foundation and the institutional assistance by Dr Wråkberg are greatly appreciated. This volume has two sections, one devoted to those papers concerning the Natural History of the Antarctic Peninsula, Tierra del Fuego and the Subantarctic seas, and the other one that encompasses the contributions dealing with the Historical, Epistemological and other Human Sciences. As a whole, the volume presents a selection of research projects directly or indirectly related to the Nordenskjöld’s Expedition, which offers an appropriate scenario for future scientific cooperation between Sweden and Argentina, as it had been very common and mutually rewarding in the last decades of the XIXth century and the first half of the XXth century. Otto Nordenskjöld was one of the pioneers in such binational, scientific cooperation. His works in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego are paramount milestones in our knowledge of the Geology and Quaternary glaciations in these regions. He was in Ushuaia when this city was not more than a bunch of scattered houses and a gloomy, hideous prison. He brought the
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“Antarctic” to Ushuaia’s harbour in December 1901 to load coal, fresh water and supplies. He sailed from here to an unforgettable experience in the Antarctic Peninsula, in which the courage, endurance and personality of all expedition’s members came to the surface. Unbelievably, nobody seems yet to have thought about bringing the story of this expedition to a novel or a film. Surprisingly, many other insignificant tales have been given endless space in world-wide culture, certainly deserving it much less than Nordenskjöld’s epics. Perhaps this Symposium will stimulate some other artists’ imagination, as it has already happened in Argentina with the production of a documentary film on the Expedition. The “Uruguay” Corvette, the Museo de La Plata, Ushuaia, the Estancia Harberton. From the same places where Nordenskjöld and his brave companions stepped one day, we now salute their heroic saga, hoping that a new promising period has started for renewed and permanent Swedish-Argentine scientific cooperation. Generosity, braveness, courage, discipline, commitment, search for knowledge, fellowship. All of them values highlighted in each of the works presented in this volume. May this compilation inspire future generations and encourage them in other to continue this trace, opened by Otto Nordenskjöld and his team more than one hundred years ago. Ushuaia, March 2006 Jorge Rabassa and María Laura Borla
REFERENCES 1. Sobral, J.M.: “Dos años entre los hielos 1901–1903”. Colección Reservada, Museo del Fin del Mundo, Ushuaia, y Editorial Universitaria de Buenos Aires, 2003. 2. Elzinga, A., Nordin, T., Turner, D., Wråkberg, U.: “Antarctic Challenges. Historical and current perspectives on Otto Nordenskjöld’s Antarctic Expedition, 1901–1903”. Acta, Regiae Societatis Scientiarum et Lltterarum Gothoburgensis, Interdisciplinaria 5, Royal Society of Arts and Sciences, Göteborg, 2004.
List of contributors
MYRIAN R. ALVAREZ Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC), CONICET, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina OSCAR BIANCIOTTO Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC), CONICET, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina ALICIA BLESSIO Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC), CONICET, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina MARÍA LAURA BORLA Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina CLAUDIO E. BRUNAT Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC), CONICET, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina M. CAROLINA CAMILIÓN Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC), CONICET, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina MARCELA CIOCCALE Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina. Present address: Universidad Nacional de Chilecito, Chilecito, La Rioja, Argentina CÉSAR B. COSTA Universidade de Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil GUILLERMO A. DEFERRARI Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC), CONICET, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina SUSANA B. DIAZ Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC), CONICET, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina AANT ELZINGA Emeritus Professor, Department of History of Ideas and Theory of Science, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden ZULMA GASPARINI CONICET and Departamento Paleontología de Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, Universidad de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s/n, 1900, La Plata, Argentina
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List of contributors
NOEMÍ M. GIRBAL-BLACHA CONICET and Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, Quilmes, Argentina CHRISTIAN HJORT Dept.of Geology, Lund University, Sweden PER HOLMLUND Department of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden ÓLAFUR INGÓLFSSON Dept. of Geology and Geography, University of Iceland INGIBJÖRG S. JÓNSDÓTTIR The University Centre in Svalbard, N-9171 Longyearbyen, Norway STIG JONSSON Department of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden EVA MARÍA KOCH Horn Point Institute, Maryland University, U.S.A KENT LARSSON Dept.of Geology, Lund University, Sweden LISBETH LEWANDER Dept. of Gender Studies, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden LUIS O. LUCIFORA CONICET and Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Pesquero (INIDEP), Mar del Plata, Argentina. JAN LUNDQVIST Stockholm University, Sweden ROBERTO C. MENNI CONICET and Museo de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina DON W. NELSON Los Angeles, California, U.S.A TORGNY NORDIN Dept. of Philosophy, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden ERNESTO L. PIANA Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC), CONICET, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina LUIS PINEDO Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC), CONICET, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
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JORGE RABASSA Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC), CONICET, Ushuaia, and Professor of Geography Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia-San Juan Bosco, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina MARCELO A. REGUERO Departamento Paleontología de Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, Universidad de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s/n, 1900, La Plata, Argentina EDGARDO ROLLERI Emeritus Professor of Geology, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque, 1900 La Plata, Argentina NADIA S. RÚA Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC), CONICET, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina NEMESIO SAN ROMÁN Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC), CONICET, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina MONIKA SCHILLAT Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia-San Juan Bosco, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina PAULA K. VIGLIAROLO Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC), CONICET, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
Part 1
Natural History
The work of Nordic geologists in Argentina EDGARDO ROLLERI
ABSTRACT: The presence and work of a group of Swedish and Finnish geologists, who visited Argentina since the last decades of the 19th century and during the first half of the 20th. century, is herein presented in a very synthetic way. Their activities represented a significant contribution to the geological and paleontological knowledge of the Argentine territory, mostly unknown from a scientific point of view at that time. Some of them, as O. Nordenskjöld, J.G. Andersson, Th. G. Halle and P.D. Quensel, produced significant advances through the discovery of new geological evidence in the different regions that they studied. Others introduced new methodologies through their work, as C.z. Caldenius, in the chronological investigation of glaciolacustrine deposits, or P. Hagerman, in the study of grain-size methods in sedimentology, as well as the correlation of well-identified volcanic tephra layers from San Carlos de Bariloche to Tierra del Fuego, as V. Auer did, or a new stratigraphic-structural geological scheme for the Fuegian Andes, as it was proposed by E.H. Kranck.
1 INTRODUCTION I do believe that it is always good that people get together to remember grateful and farreaching events that have taken place in older times and which, when time goes by, have acquired more relevant and significant values, because they allow to see what levels of the sublime mankind can achieve if their efforts are concealed towards a noble ideal. The commemoration of the Centennial of the Swedish Expedition to the Antarctic Continent, a central motive to this publication, commoves the spirits that assays the dimension of sacrifice to which some men are capable of being exposed, following the generous desire of a better acquaintance with the natural world and to provide this knowledge for the intellectual and material enrichment of mankind. It is well known that the investigation about the composition and nature of the geological resources of Argentina, when extensive areas of its territory were still unknown, started when the 19th century had already begun with the explorations conducted by the French naturalist, Alcides D’Orbigny and the famous English scientist Charles Darwin. It is also true that, forced by the urgency of finding new potential mining areas which would allow to increase the gold and silver sources that were originally found by the Spanish “conquistadores” in Mexico and Peru, the exploration extended to the Argentine territory into the northern and western Andean areas, carried on before the trips of the aforementioned distinguished naturalists. This background and the arising of a plausible idea of a growing country and a politicalsocial organization which advanced rapidly and freely, generated some political and cultural institutions in which, unfortunately, the first mining exploration efforts did not succeed.
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Antarctic Peninsula & Tierra del Fuego
Such efforts were trapped in a complex mixture of good will, diverse interests and an evident lack of experience of the ruling class. This mixture led to the failure of these first experiences and left behind an atmosphere of potential loss in the world mining productive activity. However, as the constitution was becoming enforced, supporting the concept of the Argentine nation, some personalities started to appear, such as the first Argentine naturalist, Dr Francisco Javier Muñiz. He managed to compile, during his field excursions along the Río Luján valley, a noted fossil collection, partially given by General Juan Manuel de Rosas to the English consul and to the admiral in charge of the French fleet landing in Buenos Aires, in the 1830s. This episode took place at the times of D’Orbigny and Darwin’s visit and it aroused high interest among the European scientists. It was even enlarged after the first works by Florentino Ameghino, a distinguished vertebrate palaeontologist, together with the creation of several scientific institutions, such as the Academia Nacional de Ciencias de Córdoba where several German geologists such as A. Stelzner, L. Brackebusch and G. Bodenbender worked. By that time, the Italian geologists Peregrino, Strobel and Ramorino had already joined the Department of Geology of the University of Buenos Aires, improving its production. Public awareness was raised towards Natural History scientific research, particularly between 1850 and 1870 under the government of Justo José de Urquiza, Bartolomé Mitre and Domingo F. Sarmiento who promoted the creation of both official and private institutions such as the Sociedad Científica Argentina, the Instituto Geográfico Argentino and the Museo de La Plata. The Museo de La Plata, where the 2003 Nordenskjöld Symposium took place, was founded by Dr. Francisco P. Moreno. Moreno held endless expeditions to Patagonia and was the chief of the Boundary Commission between Argentina and Chile (1892–1898) during which “he surveyed excellent maps of the Patagonian Cordilleran region between southern latitudes 38° and 58° ”, as Carl Caldenius stated1.
2 OTTO NORDENSKJÖLD’S EXPEDITION (1901–1903) This was the best scenario to welcome the outstanding idealist we mentioned in the introduction: Dr. Nils Otto Gustaf Nordenskjöld, born in Sjögelo, province of Jonköpping, Sweden, on December 6th, 1869 (Figure 1). He belonged to a family of explorers who first studied chemistry at the Upsala University and then geology, which was the topic of his doctoral dissertation. After several explorations conducted in Greenland, he planned an expedition to Tierra del Fuego between 1895 and 1897, where he was accompanied by Per Dusén as a botanist and Axel Ohlin as a zoologist. The results of this expedition were published in three volumes between 1899 and 1907, in which he offered a different theory about the origin of the “Rodados Tehuelches” or the “Patagonian Shingle Formation”. This unit had been interpreted as of marine genesis by Charles Darwin, and considered afterwards as glaciofluvial deposits by other authors or as a combined product of various geomorphological agents, including the successive glaciations. The papers described also the existence of a wide net of braided streams and discussed the climatic changes that had occurred under the influence of the northwards
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Figure 1. Nils Otto Nordenskjöld.
displacement of the Antarctic climatic belts and other factors which had not been deeply considered before. One of the most outstanding results of Nordenskjöld’s first trip of 1895–1897 to Tierra del Fuego and the adjacent Patagonian lands, was a preliminary essay on the regional extension of the different Quaternary glaciations. He presented the occurrence of at least two glaciations, the first being the largest. Nordenskjöld recorded important observations in the Fuegian and Magellanic Cordillera which were related with the appropriate comparison of the diorites and granodiorites that form these ranges and their similarities with other rocks that are integrating the Central and Northern Chilean Cordillera. Nordenskjöld was the first researcher to recognize the remarkable extension and uniformity of the volcanic complex “Quemado” and he had also the opportunity of collecting fossils at Cerro Toro, Cerro Ballena and other localities that provided a better knowledge and a more exact chronology of the sedimentary sequences of the Fuegian environment. Working together with Dusén in 1895, he collected Late Cretaceous and Tertiary plant fossils that Dusén described, in the cliffs of Sierras de Carmen Sylva, the Río Cóndor valley, and other sites in Tierra del Fuego. The Antarctic continent offered plenty of possibilities in exploration which caught Nordenskjöld´s interest. It was a challenge that the famous explorer was unable to avoid. Therefore, he imagined the task of entering the frozen Antarctic world to gather the secrets of its true nature and geography and its almost unknown geology. Keeping this in mind, he immediately started to work in its organization.
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It is perhaps unnecessary to quote any details of the expedition, since it was clearly documented by Nordenskjöld himself in his famous book2 (“Voyage to the South Pole”, 1904) and also by José María Sobral in his work “Dos años entre los hielos”3 (“Two years amidst the ice”, 1905), including a conference by Karl Skottsberg, a member of the expedition, and the careful work of Rear Admiral Laurio H. Destéfani4 about the life and work of Sobral, the young Argentine Navy officer who had been selected in Buenos Aires to join the expedition (Figure 2). Adding all these contributions, it appears, with unquestionable evidence, the strong features that forged the personality of Otto Nordenskjöld, who was responsible of choosing the appropriate men for each of the tasks in such a difficult enterprise. Dr. Nordenskjöld’s strong personality helped him choose the correct person for every task, which they had to perform with adjusted precision and sustained continuity. It must be highlighted that, in this case, those tasks were carried out amidst furious snow and wind storms and in extremely low temperatures that reached ⫺41°C. Six men stayed at Snow Hill: Nordenskjöld himself, Gosta Bodman (meteorologist; Figure 3), Erik Ekelöf (physician and bacteriologist; Figure 4), José María Sobral and two seamen, Jonassen, skillful carpenter and Akerlund, who was the cook of the camp. Nordenskjöld himself bought and fit the “Antarctic”, the ship whose commander was Captain Carl Anton Larsen (Figure 5), an experienced Norwegian seafarer of the Arctic and Antarctic seas who discovered the first fossils at Seymour Island, when he disembarked in this island as commander of the Jason whaleboat in 1893 (see map of Figure 6).
Figure 2. José María Sobral.
Figure 3. Gosta Bodman.
Figure 4. Erik Ekelöf.
Figure 5. Carl A. Larsen.
Figure 6. Antarctic map of Nordenskjöld’s expedition.
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The second commander and Nordenskjöld´s main collaborator was Dr Johann Gunnar Andersson, a naturalist born in Knista, Sweden, in 1874. In 1902 he sailed to join the “Antarctic” (Figure 7) at Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, and conducted relevant geological and paleontological investigations. Andersson had been trained as a geologist, but he was hired by the Chinese government to develop an important geoarchaeological work related to the finding of Homo erectus. Andersson arrived to Port Stanley (Puerto Argentino) at the Islas Malvinas (Falkland Islands), on February 21st, 1902, where he conducted important geological studies in the archipelago. To this respect, Andersson concluded that both larger Malvinas islands were forming one single land in preglacial times, when they were located between 46 and 73 m above their present level, opposite to the raising trend of the Patagonian coast. Towards the end of March 1902, the “Antarctic” arrived at Malvinas and sailed off again on April 11th, 1902, to the South Georgias, where they stayed until they returned to Malvinas on June 15th, 1902. On July 4th, the “Antarctic” arrived at Malvinas to leave Dr Axel Ohlin. He was sick and finally returned to Sweden where he died on July 12th, 1903. From the mapping projects and reconnaissance work of Andersson, we should point out some important contributions related to the geology of the Islas Malvinas – in which he cited the occurrence of crystalline basement at Cape Meredith, also known as Cabo Belgrano-, the geology of Tierra del Fuego5 and the geological description of Graham Land6. Being prepared at Ushuaia for a new trip to recover the expedition members who stayed at Snow Hill, the “Antarctic” departed from Tierra del Fuego on October 5th, 1902 (Figure 7).
Figure 7. The “Antarctic” sailing off from Buenos Aires Harbour, on 21st December, 1901. Oil painting by Emilio Biggeri. Original in the Museo Naval de la Nación, Buenos Aires.
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Figure 8. Original sketch of the early 20th century, with toponyms of the time, showing the last portion of the route of the “Antarctic” (dotted line in the Sea), the shipwreck site, the position of Paulet Island, the sledge trips by Nordenskjöld and colleagues to the ice barrier (thicked solid line), now known as the Larsen Ice Shelf, and around James Ross Island (thinner solid line), and the trip on foot by Andersson and colleagues from Hope Bay to Snow Hill (dotted line around the Islands).
She sailed around the northern portion of Trinity Peninsula or Louis Philippe Land and tried to open her way through the sea ice towards the island. In this situation, Andersson exposed to Larsen his idea of reaching Snow Hill by land, a plan that the Captain considered as a plausible alternative. When a second try to cross the ice pack failed, Andersson, Lieutenant Duse and Seaman Toraf Grunden disembarked at Hope Bay on December 29th, 1902. Thanks to the writings by Nordenskjöld himself, as well as by Captain Larsen and even to the dramatic description by Carl Skottsberg, the expedition botanist, the vicissitudes of the arrival of the “Antarctic” crew to the northern shore of Paulet Island after the shipwreck are well known (Figures 8, 9, 10). All the crew managed to get there and winter in this remote island, except Seaman Wenesgard who died on June 7th, 1903. In the meantime, those who had disembarked at Hope Bay – Andersson, Duse and Grunden – after a first attempt to reach Snow Hill by land, decided to winter there to continue their trip on September 29th, 1903. The unexpected meeting took place on October 14th, 1903, at Vega Island, where Nordenskjöld and Jonassen had gone on their own as well, to find the rest of the expeditionaries (Figures 8, 11). They all returned to Snow Hill where
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Figure 9. The sinking of the “Antarctic”.
Figure 10. The “Antarctic” disappears.
on November 8th at 10 pm Captain Larsen and five mates, who had decided to go directly to Snow Hill aboard a whaling boat and after looking for the Hope Bay crew, arrived as well. On November 9th, 1903, the corvette “Uruguay” (Figure 12), sent by the Argentine Government, arrived at Snow Hill (Figures 13, 14), fulfilling a rescue trip under Captain
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Figure 11. The expeditionaries at Snow Hill.
Figure 12. The “Uruguay” corvette in Antarctica.
J. Irizar´s command (Figure 15), starting their way back to Argentina on the following day. The rest of the crew at Paulet Island and the collections gathered in different sites were picked up before heading back to Argentina. On December 2nd, 1903, the “Uruguay” reached Buenos Aires port, culminating a solidarity task that shocked the world. It must be definitely said that the brilliant work of these first Nordic geologists, including the contributions of other scientists such as Bodman and Duse in Meteorology, Skottsberg in Botany, Ekelöf in Biology, A. Ohlin and K.A. Andersson in Zoology, set up successful bounds. The first achievement being the graduation of Underlieutenant José María Sobral, who completed his undergraduate and doctoral studies in Geology at the Upsala University under Otto Nordenskjöld’s distinguished direction.
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Figure 13. The Navy men of the Argentine “Uruguay” corvette found the members of Nordenskjöld’s expedition at Seymour Island. A drawing published in the illustrated supplement of the “Le Petit Parisien” journal, Paris, 1903.
Figure 14. The officers of the Argentine “Uruguay” corvette.
Figure 15. Captain Julián Irizar, in command of the “Uruguay” corvette.
3 THE WORK OF OTHER NORDIC GEOLOGISTS IN ARGENTINA Nordenskjöld’s expedition opened the gates for further Nordic scientific contributions in Argentina. We have already mentioned the work of J.G. Andersson in classic papers about the Malvinas/Falkland Islands and Graham Land. As a consequence of the great interest that was aroused by the findings of Nordenskjöld’s expedition, and taking also into
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account the remaining aims, another expedition was organized in Sweden between 1907 and 1909, this time under the direction of Carl Skottsberg. In this trip, the Swedish geologists Thore G. Halle and Percy Quensel were in charge of the geological, petrographical and paleontological investigations. Thore G. Halle (1884–1964) published in 1910 his contribution to the knowledge of the structure and history of the Malvinas Islands, in the Bulletin of the Geological Institution of the University of Upsala7. In this work he stated his opinion, which was coincident with that of J.G. Andersson, about the Precambrian age of the gneisses and schists outcropping at Cape Meredith, underlying Devonian sandstones whose occurrence and age have been very useful in certain paleogeographic interpretations. To the Devonian faunas noted by Halle, it should be added his findings of a Neopaleozoic flora. It should be noted also that this researcher clearly depicted the possible correlations between the Malvinas Islands and South Africa, particularly about the Malvinas Permian glacial conglomerates and similar deposits in the South African Neopaleozoic units. Halle also investigated and collected fossil plants in Patagonia, from Lago San Martín and the Río de los Fósiles to Tierra del Fuego and the Chilean Archipelago, describing firstly the Cretaceous plants. The marine fossils found by Halle in these regions were later studied by Stolley. Concerning Percy D. Quensel, he was a Swedish geologist (Figure 16) born in Marstrand on September 8th, 1881. He completed his studies at the University of Upsala, where he later became a professor. When he was 26 years old, between 1907 and 1909, he came to Argentina in Skottsberg’s expedition, conducting surveys in the Southern Patagonian Andes, from the Penas Gulf to Tierra del Fuego. From this study, we have inherited the first complete geological map of these ranges. In addition to taking care of topics on the petrology and metamorphism of the sedimentary and volcanic series, subjects in which he was an expert, he also studied the Quaternary geological formations, interpreting the displacement of the water divide from the line of the highest summits eastwards, when the morainic deposits become significant, determining the installation of the Andean lakes and interfering with the dominant eastward drainage towards the Atlantic Ocean. Upon returning to Sweden, he worked on regional geological studies and, together with H. G. Backlund, who will be cited below, he studied the ranges of western Sweden. He also performed some research on the nature and characteristics of the pegmatites, with outstanding contributions. He also developed field studies in Canada, United States, Mexico, Japan and China. In 1939, he was proposed as a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences and in 1948 he was awarded with a position in the National Committee in Crystallography. In Argentina, he has been honored by giving his name to a mountain in Tierra del Fuego, and to a mountain range in Greenland. Quenselite, a hydrated lead and manganese oxide found in Vernisland, Sweden, has also been named in his memory. In the brief summary that we are offering about the work of the distinguished Nordic geologists, trying to cite them in an approximate chronological order of their generous participation in the Argentine History of Geology, it is now the moment of citing a notable Swedish geologist and petrologist, Helge Gotrik Backlund, who worked for the “Dirección General de Minas, Geología e Hidrología” of Argentina (a precedent institution of the present Geological Survey) in the first decades of the 20th century. Backlund (1878–1950) had arrived together with other German colleagues who joined the Geological Division of the cited “Dirección de Minas”. Considering Backlund’s strong
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Figure 16. Dr Percy D. Quensel.
petrographical preparation, he was committed to the study of samples from Cerro Negro, at the Sierras Bayas of the Province of Buenos Aires. From the investigation, it came out that these rocks were mylonites, a type of metamorphic rock that had not been described in Argentina yet. Because Backlund had been trained on the geology and structure of the Fennoscandian Precambrian rocks, which hold a high degree of similitude with these Pampean rocks, he was able to immediately identify the various structural complications and the transformation of the rocks as a consequence of tectonic deformation. The paper, published as “Boletín N° 2”, of the B Geological Series of the “Dirección de Minas”, appeared in 1913, strongly reinforcing Backlund’s high competence. This researcher had also the responsibility of describing the eruptive rocks found by Gerth in the Andean ranges of Mendoza, located between the Río Grande and Río Atuel valleys, a paper that was later published by the Institute of Mineralogy of the Abo Geological Academy (1923). He also conducted studies in the Cordillera del Viento, in northern Neuquén, Northern Patagonia, where he observed phyllites of ancient aspect, whose age he was unable to determine. When he returned to Europe in 1918 he was designated as a Professor of Geology at Turku University, in western Finland, later moving to the University of Upsala, where he lectured and studied the granitization process and the intricate structure and history of the Swedish Precambrian terrains, studies in which Percy Quensel took part as well. Towards the end of the 1920s, the figure of a distinguished Swedish geologist appeared in Argentina, whose work on the Quaternary Glaciations of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego has persisted as a classic of the Argentine geological literature, becoming a classic. We are referring to Dr. Carl C:zon Caldenius, whose personality and extensive work have been amply treated by Jan Lundqvist (this volume) and his data included in this review (Figure 17).
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Figure 17. Dr Carl Caldenius in Värmland. Photo by Jan Lundqvist, 1952.
Caldenius was one in a group of Swedish geologists that were hired by the Argentine government for different scientific tasks, in various parts of the country. This group was composed by Seth Rosén, stratigrapher; N.A. Lannefors, mining geologist; S. A. Wasman, metallurgist, and Caldenius himself, who had special interests in Applied Geology and Geochronology, perhaps influenced by his advisor, Dr Gerard De Geer. Caldenius had been born on February 12th, 1887. He was 38 years old when he came to Argentina. The official decision concerning the demand of Swedish scientific cooperation in Argentina came out from contacts between Gerald De Geer, the founder and head of the Stockholm Geochronologic Institute, and Dr José María Sobral who, as stated above, had obtained his doctorate in Geology at Upsala. Dr. Sobral had already returned to Argentina and had become the head of the “Dirección Nacional de Geología y Minería”, the Argentine Geological Survey of those days. The paper that deals with the Quaternary glaciations in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, the result of Caldenius’ extensive fieldwork, could not be edited in Argentina due to political circumstances (the military coup of September 1930), thus forcing its publication in Sweden.1 The field campaigns (Figure 18), which were three in total, took place in three austral summers between 1925 and 1928, and they were the basis for the meticulous description of the composition, distribution and extension of the different glacial deposits and the position of the ice in the glacial times as identified by Caldenius (Figure 19). Following the general work lines established by De Geer in his European studies, Caldenius tried, by means of his detailed surveying of the glaciogenic sections, to count the varves (annual glaciolacustrine rhythmites) in many different and well chosen localities and
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Figure 18. Caldenius’ car trapped in a peat bog, somewhere in Patagonia during fieldwork.
Figure 19. Caldenius’ original map of Patagonian and Fuegian glacial geology.
to correlate the various varve sections studied. Though the paradigm for these studies, based on “telecorrelation” of supposedly coeval global cold episodes, has been already replaced, these studies remain as a fundamental investigation onto which we should sometime return. Caldenius’ glacial chronology was later revised, as Caldenius himself had predicted it would happen, thanks to later investigations in the Patagonian Andes, and specially,
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thanks to the absolute radiometric dating techniques which, of course, were not available in Caldenius’ times. Today, when technological resources and techniques such as aerial photographs, satellite imagery and other methodological approaches are at the scientists’ disposal, it stays for ever the admiration that produces to compare the vision offered today by the aforementioned satellite images with the glacial boundaries, as well as the extension and distribution of glacial deposits from Caldenius’ maps, who obviously did not count on such resources (Figure 18). Caldenius left also a paper dealing with the “Rodados Tehuelches” or “Patagonian Shingle Formation” as it had been named by Charles Darwin. He studied the composition and origin of this unit, leaving firm bases for the analysis of this problem, which has later received the attention of many important Argentine and foreign researchers, and in which there are still many unsolved problems. Out of the group of Swedish geologists who arrived with Caldenius to work in the “Dirección General de Geología y Minería” there are several published papers, some authored by Seth Rosén, but particularly, other by N.A. Lannefors, dedicated to the use of the different mineral resources, and several others by S.A. Wasman, devoted to methalic minerals. When this group of Swedish geologists was already working in Argentina, Erik Ljungner (Figure 20) and Tor Henrik Hagerman arrived as well, under contracts by the Argentine Government. Erik Ljungner (May 21st, 1892-March 3rd, 1954) had graduated in Geology in 1924 and obtained his doctorate at the University of Upsala in 1927. In that same year he was designated by the Argentine Government, until 1931. During this period, he studied the region
Figure 20. Dr Erik Ljungner.
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of the Nahuel Huapi National Park, in the Northern Patagonian Andes. Following his interests in Physical Geography and Geomorphology, on which he had briefly been a lecturer at University of Lund, he developed surveying projects in areas of difficult access, though of great landscape beauty. He published a map with its corresponding memoir, in the Bulletin of the Geological Institution of Upsala. In it, Ljungner established a series of units, recognizing a basement composed of high-metamorphic rocks, which he assigned to the Precambrian or the Palaeozoic, overlain by quartz-porphyritic volcanics considered to be Rethic and, finally, the sedimentary rocks of the “Serie de Millaqueo”, which he assigned – with doubts – to the Liassic. The “Serie Granodiorítica”, today named as “Huemul Granite” and “Viento Granite”, was considered as belonging to the Malm plutonism or may even be Cretaceous in age, intruded by the plutonic rocks that he named the “Tristeza Granite”. Later, he recognized the deposition of a very thick volcano-sedimentary sequence that Ljungner attributed to the Oligocene-Lower Miocene, closed by Miocene folding movements, originating talus breccias over which, as interpreted by Ljungner, the first Pleistocene glaciation extended. He discussed later the installation of the Mount Tronador volcanic series and a new, Late Pleistocene glaciation. In 1941, following Ljungner’s papers, and with the help of Helge Backlund, then the Director of the Geological Institution of Upsala, Walter Larsson chose as his doctoral thesis the petrological study of the rock samples that Ljungner had collected during his field campaigns, the first one in 1931, and a second one in 1932–1934, when he had already finished his contract with the government. Concerning his work in the Lake Nahuel Huapi area, many more modern studies have been made there by Argentine and foreign geologists, based on new methodological concepts and techniques. Notwithstanding, Ljungner’s stratigraphic and structural models have firmly persisted in the literature. Ljungner showed in many publications, including not only the geology but also the topography, geomorphology and climatology, the versatility of his academic background, establishing also the vegetation types for each of the studied zones. Back to Sweden, Ljungner was a professor of Geography in Upsala and Lund and he continued working and publishing articles on the Andean region of Argentina and Chile. Among this highly qualified group of Swedish geologists, there should still be one more mentioning: Ror Henrik Hagerman, who came to Argentina also under contract of the Argentine government, at the same time as Ljungner did. Hagerman was born in Stockholm on June 27th, 1899, where he did his studies in Geology. He was incorporated to the “Dirección General de Minas y Geología” between 1927 to 1932, when he became a member of Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales (YPF, then the state-owned oil company), working in the sierras of Santa Bárbara, Cachipunco, Centinela, Ronda and Maíz Gordo, in northern Argentina. He presented extensive reports with excellent maps and geological sections of these ranges, including sedimentological investigations of clastic materials of the geological formations of Northern Argentina, which were later published in volume 139 of the “Boletín de Informaciones Petroleras” (1936). This paper should be noted in the first place, because Hagerman presented here a new method for the statistical study of sandstone particles. This method had been already published in Sweden in 1924, with a later presentation at the World Oil Geology Congress, London 1933. Today, it may be said that Hagerman’s 1936 contribution is the first rigorous sedimentological paper published in Argentina. Concerning the geological survey of the aforementioned mountain ranges, Hagerman carried out a stratigraphic description that, although it could be considered today as
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informal, has the great quality of including all sedimentological variations which fit within the concept of formation and an exact and careful observation on the structural style of the ranges as a whole. This differentiated the studied ranges from the “Sierras Subandinas”, a Subandean system as it had been previously created by the great Italian geologist Guido Bonarelli who had included the ranges studied by Hagerman into the same unit. On the basis of all the complete reports from Hagerman, together with some more modern information of stratigraphical and structural and the advances in the seismic-geophysical knowledge, he founded the creation of a new geological province, which we have named as the “Sierra de Santa Bárbara”. During the remaining period of Hagerman’s stay in Argentina, he performed geological surveying of several areas of the province of Salta, in Northern Argentina, until he resigned and returned to Sweden in 1935. He continued his work in his own country, with many contributions until 1980. Hagerman died in 1986, at the advanced age of 87 years, leaving for all those who have known his work the memories of a competent, serious and far-sighted scientist. This grateful remembrance of the Nordic geologists who had contributed to the knowledge and advance of the Argentine geology would be unfairly complete if the work of two distinguished Finnish scientists, Enrik H. Kranck and Vaïno Auer, were not mentioned. As Kranck himself has quoted, both researchers arrived at Argentina taking part of an expedition to Tierra del Fuego and Southern Patagonia, organized by the Geographical Society of Finland. The leader of the expedition was Professor Vaïno Auer; he invited Kranck to become a member of it, including also Dr Rovainen, a botanist, and Dr E. Hyyppa, as Auer’s assistant. Kranck was in charge of the regional geological investigations of the Fuegian Cordillera, while Auer dedicated more to the peaty areas of central Tierra del Fuego. It should be noted that, when this expedition arrived, Dr José María Sobral was Director General of Geology and Mining, and in the formal presentation of his work, Kranck acknowledged the generous support of several Swedish geologists as Percy Quensel and Helge Backlund. The work of Enrik Kranck in Tierra del Fuego and the Magellanic Archipelago extended during five months, which prevented him (as he himself mentioned) from performing detailed systematic observations. However, Kranck produced a geological map of the studied zone (Figure 21), the most complicated sector of the Fuegian Cordillera in geological terms, where the structures change their strike and are almost oriented straight to the east. For many years, the geological map served as a basis and guide for later investigations. Kranck’s work includes a physiographical characterization of the different units, a geological description and a detailed petrological report of each of them. The cited geological map is completed with a block diagram of high didactic significance, perhaps the first block diagram ever published in Argentine geology. The excellent contribution of this author was published in Finland not much later.8 In his later professional years, Kranck was a professor of Physical Geography at Neuchatel University, Switzerland, and a petrologist at McGill University, Canada, between 1948 and 1966. He died in 1989, at the advanced age of 91. Vaïno Auer (Figure 22) spent many years of his life working in Argentina. He arrived in Argentina with E. Kranck in 1928 and performed detailed studies in his first five-month season until the end of the Austral summer of 1929. In spite of this short time, Auer was
The work of Nordic geologists in Argentina
Figure 21. Kranck’s geological map of Tierra del Fuego.
Figure 22. Dr Vaïno Auer.
21
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able to return to Finland with 66 cores, 1300 peat samples, 11,000 plant specimens and 500 soil samples. Out of his investigation and as the first significant result, three volcanic ash horizons were identified in the Fuegian bogs, a material that allowed him to relatively date the most important post-glacial events and a first way to define the history of the Fuegian peatlands and the changes in climate and vegetation during the Late Glacial and Holocene. A second expedition to Patagonia, developed between 1937–1938, allowed him to expand these studies using the opening of new roads in the Nahuel Huapi National Park area, in Northern Patagonia. There, he was able to investigate numerous tephra layers that he correlated with similar ones found in Tierra del Fuego. In 1946, Auer led another trip, as a consultant for the Argentine Ministry of Agriculture; his visit was specifically requested by the Argentine President to the Finnish President. He worked until 1953, but he returned to Argentina between 1956 and 1957, being responsible for the research coordination not only in scientific projects, but also in detailed mapping projects related to agricultural problems, such as irrigation planning and land distribution. One of the first experiences of his initial work in Argentina was to revise a section that that had been surveyed by, as Auer himself said, “my friend Carl Caldenius”. In that section, Auer noted the existence of a very thin ash layer. In that moment, Auer imagined that if that bed was found in an extended area it would become a time control bed for the study of bogs. With this idea in mind, he worked in the sources of the Río Grande / Grande River, Tierra del Fuego, and was fortunate enough to find, in the very same core, three volcanic ash beds separated by interbedded peat layers. He immediately realized that there were three different volcanic eruptions which were responsible for the successive accumulation of the tephra beds. Advances in the investigations demonstrated the wide extension of these beds, which were identified both in their petrographical nature and the pollen content of the adjacent peat layers. Subsequent research showed that this could become a reliable correlation method. He could also characterize later with higher certainty the climatic variability and depict, with the support of the ash beds, the boundaries of the forest boundaries since glacial times to present. Auer called these lines “isohylochrones”, of which he gave examples referred to different tree species. One of the most complete studies in this subject was published later in Argentina.9 As stated by his fellow-citizen and admirer, Hikki Hirvas in March 1994 in a scientific meeting in Ushuaia, who offered a warm portrait of Vaïno Auer, it is of little importance that we agree or not with Auer’s interpretations, since it is undeniable that Auer’s work had a great influence in the development of Quaternary studies both in Argentina and Finland; several generations of geologists of both countries should be greatly indebted to him for the professional formation that he gave. When he returned to Finland, Auer was invited to occupy a position of Professor of Geology and Paleontology at the University of Helsinki in 1957, until his retirement in 1963. He also died at the advanced age of 86 in Helsinki, in 1981. Finally, a few words of thankful memories to Dr Walther Larsson who, though he never visited Argentina, had the chance of studying the samples collected by Erik Ljungner in his two expeditions to Northern Patagonia. His work is dedicated to the petrologic study of the interglacial volcanic rocks of Mount Tronador, in the Northern Patagonian Andes, which is a magnificent complement to Ljungner’s careful investigations.
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4 FINAL CONSIDERATIONS This tight summary of the work by Nordic geologists in Argentina is finally a touching homage to those valiant and fearless men who took part in the Swedish Expedition to the Antarctic, one hundred years ago. None of the unfavorable circumstances stopped them and in the middle of the worst adversities which seemed overwhelming, they found the moral and physical strength to resist and modify their fates, while waiting for their rescue, a later great achievement of the Argentine corvette “Uruguay” and her captain, Julián Irizar, who brought them back to civilization on December 2nd, 1903.
REFERENCES 1. Caldenius, C.: Las glaciaciones Cuaternarias en Fuego-Patagonia. Geografiska Annaler, 14 (1–2), Stockholm, and Dirección de Minas y Geología, Publicación N° 95, Buenos Aires, 1932. 2. Nordenskjöld, N.O.: Viaje al Polo Sur. Casa Editorial Maucci, Barcelona, Spain, 2 vols. (Volume 1, 1904; Volume 2, 1905). 3. Sobral, J.M.: Dos años entre los hielos. Author edition. Buenos Aires, 1905. 4. Destéfani, L.H.: El Alférez Sobral y la soberanía argentina en la Antártida. EUDEBA, Buenos Aires, 1976. 5. Andersson, J.G.: Contributions to the Geology of the Falkland Islands. Wiss. Ergebn. Schwed. Südpolar Exped., 1901–1903, 2 (2). Stockholm, 1908. 6. Andersson, J.G.: On the Geology of Graham Land. Bulletin Geological Institution of Upsala 7 (1906) pp.19–74. 7. Halle, T.G.: On Quaternary deposits and changes of sea level in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. Bulletin Geological Institution of Upsala 9 (1910) pp.93–119. 8. Kranck, E.: Geological investigations in the Cordillera of Tierra del Fuego. Acta Geographica, 4 (2). Helsinki, 1932. 9. Auer, V.: Las capas volcánicas como base de la cronología post-glacial de Fuego-Patagonia. Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería, Dirección General de Investigaciones Agrícolas, Instituto de Suelos y Agrotecnia, Public. N° 9, Buenos Aires, 1950.
Carl Caldenius and other links between the Nordenskjöld expedition and recent Argentine–Swedish cooperation in Quaternary geology JAN LUNDQVIST
The paper gives a summary of the life and work of Carl C:zon Caldenius who was a leading Quaternary geologist at the geological Survey of Argentina (Dirección de Minas, Geología e Hidrología) between 1925 and 1930. He made extensive mapping and geochronological work all over Patagonia, a work that, as far as the mapping is concerned, is still considered a masterpiece, correct into detail. At the same time as Caldenius a few other Swedish geologists were also employed at the Survey. Erik Ljungner is also briefly presented here. These scientists form a link between the 1901–1903 Nordenskjöld expedition to Antarctica and Patagonia and today’s Swedish-Argentinean cooperation in geology. As a consequence of Otto Nordenskjöld’s expedition to Antarctica 1901–1903 a continued and intensified cooperation between Swedish and Argentinean scientists was established. The young Sub-lieutenant José María Sobral who participated in the expedition as the first Argentinean in Antarctica became interested in geology and also a great friend of Sweden. He gave up his military career to become a geologist and went to Sweden for studies in geology. There he took a doctor’s degree at Uppsala University 1913.1 Its topic was the Precambrian bedrock in the Nordingrå region, a beautiful and interesting area that has recently been included in UNESCO’s World Heritage list. He even married a Swedish lady, Elna Klingström. Upon his return to Argentina, he was employed by the Geological Survey of Argentina (Dirección de Minas, Geología e Hidrología) where he later became its director. Impressed as he was by the competence of Swedish geologists he decided to recruit Swedish experts to his staff. With this intent he contacted his Swedish colleagues, notably professor Gerard De Geer at Stockholm University. De Geer was the inventor of the clay-varve dating method.2 This method implied use of the annual layers (varves) in glacial clays for construction of a time-scale of the glacial time. Series of varves could be correlated from one site to another. In this way the retreat of the inland-ice margins could also be reconstructed. The method works quite well on short distances. So-called teleconnections over longer distances have been seriously questioned, but De Geer was convinced about this possibility. His idea was that the thickness of the varves reflected the annual discharge of meltwater from the inland ice, a factor that was supposed to be controlled by the activity of the sun. He wanted to extend his method to cover the whole globe and was therefore interested in Patagonia where it was already known that varved glacial clay did exist. Another Swede, Percy Quensel, later to become professor of petrology and Precambrian geology in Stockholm, had observed this.
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Figure 1. Carl Caldenius demonstrating his map sheet “Halmstad” in southern Sweden. Photo J. Lundqvist 1958.
As a result of Sobral’s initiative one of De Geer’s most estimated pupils, Carl Caldenius who had recently graduated, became employed as a state geologist at the Survey in 1925. He was to stay as such for five years. At the same time two others of De Geer’s students were sent out on similar missions, Ernst Antevs to North America and Erik Norin to central Asia on one of Sven Hedin’s expeditions. Carl Caldenius,3,4,5 or Carl Rupert Carlzon as was his original name, was born on February 12th 1887 as the son of a well-known business man in Stockholm, Jacob Alfred Carlzon. He wanted early to be an engineer but with a great interest in nature. In order to qualify for geotechnical work he was eager to learn its basics, that is geology and started to study for Gerard De Geer in Stockholm where he got his bachelor’s degree in 1911. During his continued studies he worked also for the Swedish State Railroads with geotechnical problems (1914–1922). However, he became so fascinated by geology that, after participating in an excursion led by De Geer in Jämtland, Central Sweden, he stayed in the area to perform basic geological research on his own. In this work Caldenius on the basis of glacial striae defined the easternmost position of the ice divide of the last Weichselian ice sheet,6 a result that has not been revised since then, even though Erik Ljungner, one of the Swedes that would follow Caldenius in Argentina, demonstrated later that it had been situated farther east than the striae show.7 In 1924, having adapted the name Caldenius in 1920, the work resulted in his doctoral thesis “Stratigraphy and geochronology of Lake Ragunda”.8 Clayvarve chronology was an important part of this work although the most valuable aspect probably was the clarification of the general stratigraphy of marine, lacustrine and fluvial sediments in the river valleys of northern Sweden. This stratigraphic model is still used for scientific as well as applied purposes. In his service in Argentina Caldenius’s job was to map the well-developed moraines that occur in front of most of the long lakes at the eastern foot of the Andes. Behind the moraines glacial lakes had been ponded up when the lake basins were blocked by glaciers at their western end where the natural spillways in many cases are situated, debouching
C. Caldenius and links: Nordenskjöld expedition and Argentine–Swedish cooperation 27
Figure 2. Very thick sequence of glaciolacustrine sediments at Rio Corintos, one of Caldenius’s key sections. Steps have been cut in two places. The size of the section is demonstrated by two persons standing on each of them. Photo R. Cordini 1926.
Figure 3. Clay varves at Lago Epuyén. The dark layers represents winter sedimentation and lighter layers the summers. Photo R. Cordini 1925.
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Figure 4. Caldenius with boxes with clay samples at a camp in Patagonia. Probably photo by R. Guiñazú 1927.
either towards the Pacific or eastwards. The thick sediments deposited in these lakes were often clays with well-developed annual varves. Caldenius measured the varves according to De Geer’s original method. Varve series, and later also boxes with clay cores, were mailed to Sweden where De Geer tried to correlate them with the varves of the so-called Swedish Time Scale, a standard that he had developed for Sweden. Caldenius studied the moraines at most of the lakes, from Lago Nahuel Huapi in the north to Lago Fagnano in Tierra del Fuego. Many of them were mapped in detail, a work that is still considered correct into details. In this work he had invaluable help of topographic maps made by the great Argentinean geographer, Francisco Moreno. He wanted to extend his work also to the Chilean side of the Andes but for bureaucratic reasons this became virtually impossible. However, he could do some studies also at Lago Llanquihue and the Chiloë Island. The mapping is without any doubt the most valuable outcome of Caldenius’s work in South America. On most of the maps one can easily distinguish four different moraine ridges or ridge complexes in front of the lakes.9 In a later paper Caldenius mentioned that there were even five moraines. According to his clay-varve datings they all belonged to the last glaciation, in Europe known as Weichsel or Würm, in North America as Wisconsin. An oldest stage, by Caldenius called the Initioglacial, was supposed to originate from the earliest advance of glaciers deriving from an ice field covering the main part of the Andes. The three inner moraines were correlated with three retreat stages of the Weichselian ice, in Scandinavia called the Dani-, Goti- and Finiglacial stages. In this respect, however, it has been shown by later scientists (first by Egidio Feruglio10 and John Mercer11) that Caldenius was seriously mistaken. New datings by means of palaeomagnetism by the Swedish geologist Nils-Axel Mörner and his Argentinean partner Claudio Sylwan have demonstrated that in fact most of Caldenius’s moraines are much older, even millions of years instead of roughly 14,000–10,000.12 Since Caldenius was a critical and careful scientist it is surprising that he could make such serious mistakes. It appears from the correspondence between him and Gerard De Geer that the varve series which he continuously delivered to his institute in Stockholm were
C. Caldenius and links: Nordenskjöld expedition and Argentine–Swedish cooperation 29
Figure 5. Map of the moraines (dark arcs) in front of Lago Buenos Aires. Areas between them are glacial sediments, for instance, such as shown in Figure 3. From (9), Plate 24.
carefully studied by De Geer. Swedish and Argentinean series matched each other almost perfectly. Where individual varves seemed to be missing De Geer informed Caldenius about this whereupon Caldenius returned to the site and could verify that in fact he had missed some varve at the first identification. Reading this, one really wonders how the mistakes could be made but, on the other hand, looking at Caldenius’s varve diagrams one hardly becomes convinced by the similarities. Reading in a letter from De Geer to Caldenius dated March 21st, 1929 one becomes even more suspicious: “As you can see, I have in some places exchanged or added some pieces of diagram that seem to me to be more normal” [translated from Swedish]. Although the study of moraines and their dating was the main aim of Caldenius’s work in South America he performed also other studies. In Tierra del Fuego he tried to sample peat sequences in bogs, however, according to himself with rather poor result. The sampling difficulties were considerable. Nevertheless he made some progress and provided professor Lennart von Post in Stockholm, father of the pollen analysis, with samples along a transect from the highland at Lago Fagnano down to the grassland towards the Atlantic. von Post made pollen analyses on these series, published several years later in the journal Ymer.13 Caldenius studied and discussed also the Tehuelche formation that covers large parts of Patagonia east of the Andes and contributed to a conclusive interpretation of these problematic deposits.14 In short, this formation consists of alluvium from the eastern foot of the
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Antarctic Peninsula & Tierra del Fuego
Figure 6. Varve diagram from (9), Plate 17. The upper part shows varve series from the so-called Swedish Time Scale. Peaks mark thick varves and troughs the thinner ones. In the lower part two Patagonian diagrams are shown, the main one from Lago Buenos Aires. To facilitate comparison, these diagrams are turned upside-down.
Andes that has later been redeposited by solifluction, water and wind. The redeposition marks the climate change at the beginning of the Quaternary period. The work in Patagonia implied considerable problems, logistic as well as in terms of personal hardship. Caldenius travelled with different means of conveyance, oxen, horses, and old cars. He describes from his expedition to southern Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego how the engine of the ship in Straits of Magellan came loose and they were drifting for some time in the strait. He continued from Rio Grande with his wife, three workmen, one cook, two coachmen, one Indian boy, eleven horses and sixteen oxen with two carts. The carts were often stuck in bogs and it could take days to get them loose. Only during the last expedition, 1928–1829, he could use a car that was modern for its time, a “Rugby” (export version of the American car “Star”) with a four-cylinder, 2.2 litre engine. When the expedition was finished its meter stopped on 16,320 km. Considering the fact that even today travelling in this vast country may offer logistic problems Caldenius’s travels are impressive, indeed. This is even more admirable when we realise that neither Caldenius himself nor his wife Selma, who always followed him, looked like what we today would consider tough field persons. But, as it will be commented on in the following, appearances were deceptive.
C. Caldenius and links: Nordenskjöld expedition and Argentine–Swedish cooperation 31
Figure 7. Passing a bog in Tierra del Fuego where one of the oxen has got stuck in the wet ground. Caldenius is the man with a hat in the centre. Probably photo by R. Guiñazú 1927.
When Caldenius finished his work for the Survey great problems had come up due to a military revolution against Constitutional President Hipolito Yrigoyen on September 6th, 1930. One consequence of the revolution was that Sobral had to resign from the Survey. It entailed also problems for the printing of Caldenius’s impressive report on his four-year work. The new leaders of the Survey showed little interest in its publication, in this respect encouraged by their German employees who considered the Swedes rivals. However, the new President of Argentina, Lieutenant General José Felix Uriburu, seems to have understood its value and after contact with the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Swedish Consul General in Buenos Aires, Don Pedro Svensson, it was decided that it would be printed in Spanish in the Swedish journal Geografiska Annaler and in Argentina as well, by Dirección General de Minas, Geología e Hidrología.9 The printing was made possible by financial support from three Swedish merchants, Axel Ax:son Johnson and Hilding and Ernst Ohlson. Caldenius’s work in Argentina is considered one of the most important contributions in glacial geology in that country, and he himself a real pioneer. His work is not only impressive and important from a scientific point of view for which the Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography awarded him the Anders Retzius silver medal in 1933. The results attracted attention even in Swedish newspapers in a way that would not be the case today. February 24th, 1930 one could read in one of the main newspapers a full-page article with the headline “Northern and southern hemisphere were simultaneously glaciated. A Swedish scientific exploit” [translated from Swedish]. The work had also a great impact on Swedish–Argentinean scientific cooperation. When he had left Argentina Caldenius wanted to extend his geochronological work to other parts of the southern hemisphere. As soon as in 1933–1934, he set out on a new expedition, then to Australia and New Zealand. This time, however, he was less successful.
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Figure 8. Caldenius (right) in a field camp on the River Klarälven, south-western Sweden. From left are Åke Sundborg, later to become professor of geography at Uppsala University, mrs Gerd Sundborg, and a student working as field assistant, Åke Falk. Photo J. Lundqvist 1953.
In addition to Quaternary varves he made an attempt to use varve-like layers in Carboniferous sediments in order to establish a time scale for the Gondwana glaciation.15 Like in Tierra del Fuego he collected also peat for pollen analysis in New Zealand. Six bog areas were sampled, all situated in the southern part of the South Island. Lennart von Post together with Lucy M. Cranwell from Auckland Institute and Museum analysed samples from the deepest cores and published the results in Geografiska Annaler 1936.16 Back in Sweden Caldenius worked as a consultant, a geotechnician in geology to use his own words. He participated in several large constructions such as bridges and the reconstruction of the sluice system in Stockholm. In 1944 he was employed by the Geological Survey of Sweden where he stayed until his retirement in 1955. At the same time and until his death he served as a senior lecturer at Stockholm University. In his service for the Survey Caldenius worked mainly with applied geology – geotechnics as well as environmental problems. In the mid 1950s we worked together on the River Klarälven in Värmland, southwestern Sweden, and its erosion problems. Caldenius was leader of a project group in which I did the geological mapping. The most important outcome was the big monograph by Åke Sundborg on the River Klarälven that has become a standard work used all over the world.17 Caldenius initiated also another important study of erosion. It concerned the shores of the large Lake Vättern in Sweden and was performed by John O. Norrman who published it as a thesis in Geografiska Annaler 1964.18 The results have been applied on erosion problems along coasts in many parts of the world. In those days it was also possible to do some basic research at the Geological Survey. Caldenius did so, among others, studying clay-varve chronology in the area where the Baltic Ice Lake, an early glaciolacustrine stage of the Baltic Sea, was suddenly drained to the ocean. This happened when the ice margin started to retreat after the Younger Dryas cold event.19 The lake level was lowered with 26 metres when around 10,000 km3 water was emptied into the sea. Traces of this event are seen as huge deltas of extremely coarse boulder-rich gravel. There are different opinions how this drainage took place. According to some
C. Caldenius and links: Nordenskjöld expedition and Argentine–Swedish cooperation 33
authors it happened in weeks or months, according to others it lasted many years. Some authors have identified two or even three separate outbursts.20 Caldenius in his clay-varve series did not find traces of more than one event. He pointed out that traces of such a catastrophic event would occur as coarse-clastic beds both outside the place of drainage and in the lake itself. When Caldenius discussed the dating possibilities of the event he had again become critical against long-distance correlation of varves or “teleconnections”. Caldenius was also responsible for one geological map sheet, scale 1:50,000. 21 It was a masterpiece and according to him it should serve as a model for future maps. Unfortunately, neither economy nor time permits such detailed work nowadays when shortsighted demands for ostensible profit control geological mapping. Although service for the Geological Survey implied work only in Sweden, Caldenius never lost his interest in international cooperation. He was on his way to southern Europe when World War II broke out. He got held up in Denmark where he used his unintentional stay for geochronological work at Glacial Lake Stenstrup.22 After the war, Caldenius and I participated together in the 4th INQUA Congress in Italy. As one of the leading Swedish delegates Caldenius took part in scientific as well as geopolitical discussions. He was elected to the board of the new journal Quaternaria, and became later also corresponding member of the Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana, in Rome. Due to Caldenius’s international engagement he has been considered a predecessor of IGCP (International Geological Correlation Programme). Caldenius was not a lover of big words. He described his trials and tribulations in Patagonia only with some few dry understatements. In discussions he could express himself not only critically but in fact rather sarcastically. His ironic style is visible in many discussions published in the proceedings of the Geological Society in Stockholm (now GFF). One example is the discussion about a possible readvance of the inland ice on the coast of the southern part of the Gulf of Bothnia, a theory that Caldenius did not support. He characterised it simply as “ghostly visions”,23 an expression that was not appreciated by his opponents. In another discussion his attitude was called “hostile” and his way of writing “insinuating”.24 To be with him in the field was different, a pleasure where little was noticed of this outward official attitude. It was not only a pleasure but also very instructive. Toward friends Caldenius was amiable and generous with his knowledge. As already stated here, Caldenius did not look like the tough field person he really was. Even in the field he was usually very correctly dressed and looked more like a clerical employee. Although he was not a tall man he had an air of great authority that could persuade even the strictest doorkeeper to let him enter a fashionable restaurant with clothes dirty from work in a clay pit. As a scientist he was extremely critical and careful. Therefore it is surprising that he could be responsible for the doubtful long-distance correlations between clay varves in Sweden and Patagonia. This is even stranger since he was from the beginning sceptical against such correlations and, as mentioned above, he became critical also later on. Nevertheless, in Patagonia he accepted the idea, and wrote in a letter to Gerard De Geer in July 1927 that “now I surrender unconditionally” [translated from Swedish]. Perhaps his loyalty against De Geer can explain this: The mission he had got from his teacher required a good result. Caldenius and Sobral in a way followed each other: Both were elected members of the Swedish Geological Society on November 5th, 1908 and both died in 1961, Caldenius on the 10th of August and Sobral on his 81st birthday, April 14th. Both have passed away but the Swedish-Argentinean cooperation established by them continues.
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Figure 9.
Erik Ljungner. Photo J. Lundqvist 1952.
Together with Caldenius three other Swedish geologists had become employed by the Argentinean Geological Survey: stratigrapher Seth Rosén, mining geologist Nils Albert Lannefors and the metallurgist Sven Axel Wässman. Sobral was more than satisfied and sent a telegram to Gerard De Geer asking for more Swedes. In 1927 therefore the geographer Erik Ljungner25 and the geotechnician Tor Hagerman were employed. Erik Ljungner, born 1892, had studied glacial morphology on the small scale in Sweden. His dissertation dealing with “fracture tectonics and morphology on the Swedish Skagerrak coast”26 is a basic work, the results of which are applied in detailed interpretations of glacially sculptured rocks. He was employed by the Geological Survey in Buenos Aires in October 1927 and was to stay there until 1931. His main task was a study of the morphology in the Nahuel Huapi national park. After the difficulties in connection with the revolution in Argentina in 1930 Ljungner left the country. However, he returned in 1932 on a two-year expedition of his own to conclude the work.27 The Nahuel Huapi work resulted in a 360 pages monograph28 that unfortunately could not be finished until in 1959, completed by his wife Anna five years after his death. Other aspects of his work in Argentina were published as a series, Misión cientifica sueca Ljungner (Llungner) a la Patagonia 1932–1934. Seventeen large and small papers were published, five of them with Ljungner as the only author. In Sweden, where he was appointed professor at Lund University in 1948, he continued to work mainly in the Scandinavian mountain range. His work concentrated on the glacial development, where he made important comparisons between this area and the Patagonian Andes.29 In Scandinavia, like in the Andes, glaciation had started on the maritime western side of the mountains. In Scandinavia, however, the centre of the ice sheet moved to a position far east of the range which was not the case in South America. He even, only on the basis of glacial striae, identified an early Weichselian interstadial in Scandinavia7, a model that was not stratigraphically confirmed until 20 years later. Tor Hagerman was the other Swede employed in Buenos Aires in 1927. He worked for the Geological Survey until 1932 and after that he continued another three years working for
C. Caldenius and links: Nordenskjöld expedition and Argentine–Swedish cooperation 35
Figure 10. Field camp at El Chorro, northern Argentina. Tor Hagerman is the standing man with beard and leather jacket. To the right of him a co-worker, I. Mitnowetsky. Photo in the Geochronological museum, Stockholm University.
the Argentine oil business (Dirección General de los Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales). He worked mainly on sedimentological problems in the provinces of Salta and Jujuy in northern Argentine. The results were published as his doctor’s thesis 30 and also in Argentina. 31 His conclusions have been applied widely also in his later work as a consultant in geotechnics in Sweden. For this purpose Hagerman founded a consulting firm, Hagconsult AB. The Argentine-Swedish cooperation has been resumed in more recent time, after some years’ deplorable break. It has taken place partly within the activity of INQUA (International Union for Quaternary Research), especially within its Commission on Genesis and Lithology of Quaternary Deposits (later: Commission on Glaciation). There were long discussions especially within its Work Group for genesis and classification of Quaternary deposits. This group held a most fruitful meeting under the leadership of Jorge Rabassa in 1982 in Neuquén and San Carlos de Bariloche, followed by an excursion southwards in Patagonia. Moraine forms and their genesis were discussed, for instance at the Río Manso glacier. 32 Redating of Caldenius’s moraines has been performed lately by Argentine geologists under the leadership of Nils-Axel Mörner from Stockholm University (e.g., 12). In this connection studies of sea-level changes along the Atlantic coast of Patagonia were also made. Stratigraphic problems were the topic of another meeting organised by Jorge Rabassa within the author’s IGCP project 253 “Termination of the Pleistocene”.33 This event took place in Tierra del Fuego in 1994. New glaciological maps of Tierra del Fuego were presented and we made excursions to the northern part of the province as well as along the Beagle Channel. The area with its interesting sites formed a link between the Nordenskjöld expedition, the work of Caldenius, and recent Swedish-Argentine cooperation. This field programme was partly repeated in 2003 to celebrate the centenary of Nordenskjöld’s expedition. There is a mutual hope that this chain of cooperation will not be broken, but continue in the future to attack problems still unsolved. One most important issue is the correlation between the northern and the southern hemisphere. This applies to long-term climate changes, such as glacials/interglacials, as well as short-term fluctuations.
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REFERENCES 1. Sobral, J.M.: Contributions to the geology of the Nordingrå region. Thesis. University of Upsala, 1913, 177 pp. 2. De Geer, G.: A Geochronology of the last 12 000 years. Congrès Géologique International, comte rendue de la XI:e session, Stockholm (1910), pp.241–257. 3. Lundqvist, J.: Carl C:zon Caldenius and the Swedish work on Quaternary geology in Argentina. Quaternary of South America and Antarctic Peninsula 1 (1983), 1–4. Also pp. 453–454 in ref. 30. 4. Lundqvist, J.: Carl C:zon Caldenius – geologist, geotechnician, predecessor of IGCP. Boreas 20 (1991), 183–189. 5. Lundqvist, J.: Carl Caldenius och Patagoniens glacialgeologi. Ymer 121 (2001), 143–152. 6. Carlzon, C.: Några iakttagelser angående isdelaren i Jämtland. Geologiska Föreningens i Stockholm Förhandlingar 31 (1909), 209–224. 7. Ljungner, E.: Den sista nordiska nedisningens förlopp. Geologiska Föreningens i Stockholm Förhandlingar 67 (1945), 225–240. 8. Caldenius, C.C.: Ragundasjöns stratigrafi och geokronologi. Sveriges Geologiska Undersökning Ca 12 (1924), 1–91. 9. Caldenius, C.C.: Las glaciaciones cuaternarias en la Patagonia y Tierra del Fuego. Una investigación regional, estratigráfica y geocronológica. – Una comparación con la escala geocronológica sueca. Dirección General de Minas, Geología e Hidrología 95. Buenos Aires (1932), 164 pp. Also in Geografiska Annaler 14 (1932), 1–164. 10. Feruglio, E.: Descripción Geológica de la Patagonia. Vol. 3. Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales III. Buenos Aires (1950), 431 pp. 11. Mercer, J.H.: Glacial History of southernmost South America. Quaternary Research 6 (1976), 125–166. 12. Mörner, N.-A. and Sylwan, C.: Magnetostratigraphy of the Patagonian moraine sequence at Lago Buenos Aires. Journal of South American Earth Sciences 2 (1989), 385–389. 13. von Post, L.: Pollenstatistiska perspektiv på Jordens klimathistoria. Ymer 64 (1944), 79–113. 14. Caldenius, C.C.: The tehuelche or Patagonian shingle-formation. Geografiska Annaler 22 (1940), 160–181. 15. Caldenius, C.: Carboniferous varves, measured at Paterson, New South Wales. Geologiska Föreningens i Stockholm Förhandlingar 60 (1938), 349–364. 16. von Post, L. and Cranwell, L.M.: Post-Pleistocene pollen diagrams from the southern hemisphere. I. New Zealand. Geografiska Annaler 18 (1936), 308–347. 17. Sundborg, Å.: The River Klarälven. A study of fluvial processes. Geografiska Annaler 38 (1956), 125–316. 18. Norrman, J.O.: Lake Vättern. Investigations on shore and bottom morphology. Geografiska Annaler 46 (1964), 1–238. 19. Caldenius, C.: Baltiska issjöns sänkning till Västerhavet. En geokronologisk studie. Geologiska Föreningens i Stockholm Förhandlingar 66 (1944), 366–382. 20. E. g. Sauramo, M.: Kvartärgeologiska studier i östra Fennoskandia. Geologiska Föreningens i Stockholm Förhandlingar 64 (1942), 209–267. 21. Caldenius, C., Larsson, W., Mohrén, E., Linnman, G. and Tullström, H.: Beskrivning till kartbladet Halmstad. Sveriges Geologiska Undersökning Aa 198 (1966), 138 pp. 22. Caldenius, C.: Till frågan om Stenstrupsjöns varvserier. Preliminärt meddelande. Geologiska Föreningens i Stockholm Förhandlingar 62 (1940), 173–181. 23. Caldenius, C.: De kvartärgeologiska spöksynerna i Gävletrakten. Geologiska Föreningens i Stockholm Förhandlingar 73 (1951), 696–699. 24. Jakobson, B. and Kjellman, W.: Genmäle [Reply to criticism by Caldenius]. Geologiska Föreningens i Stockholm Förhandlingar 70 (1948), 491–493. 25. Hoppe, G.: I Otto Nordenskjölds efterföljd: Erik Ljungner (1892–1954) i Patagonien och annorstädes. Ymer 121 (2001), 117–132. 26. Ljungner, E.: Spaltentektonik und Morphologie der schwedischen Skagerrak-Küste. Bulletin of the Geological Institutions of the University of Upsala 21 (1930), 255–478. 27. Ljungner, E.: Rapport från Patagonienexpeditionen. Geologiska Föreningens i Stockholm Förhandlingar 55 (1933), 643–647.
C. Caldenius and links: Nordenskjöld expedition and Argentine–Swedish cooperation 37 28. Ljungner, E.: Nahuel Huapi. Ein geographischer Querschnitt durch die Anden im nördlichen Patagonien. University of Uppsala (1959), 360 pp. 29. Ljungner, E.: East-West Balance of the Quaternary Ice Caps in Patagonia and Scandinavia. Bulletin of the Geological Institutions of the University of Upsala 33 (1949), 11–96. 30. Hagerman, T.H.: Granulometric studies in northern Argentine. With a short chapter on the regional geology of Central South America. Geografiska Annaler 18 (1936), 125–213. 31. Hagerman, T.H.: Investigaciones sobre el material clástico en formaciones del Norte Argentino. Boletin de informationes petroleras 1936, 75–120. 32. Evenson, E.B., Schlüchter, Ch. and Rabassa, J. (editors): Proceedings of the INQUA symposia on the genesis and lithology of Quaternary deposits/USA 1981/Argentina 1982. Tills and Related Deposits. Genesis/Petrology/Application/Stratigraphy. A. A. Balkema/Rotterdam (1983), 454 pp. 33. Lundqvist, J., Saarnisto, M. and Rutter, N. (editors): IGCP 253 – Termination of the Pleistocene – Final Report. Quaternary International 28 (1995), 201 pp.
Straddling the Drake Passage: A summary of Otto Nordenskjöld’s and his geological co-worker’s achievements in Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego and the Antarctic Peninsula CHRISTIAN HJORT, ÓLAFUR INGÓLFSSON AND KENT LARSSON
1 INTRODUCTION On December 5th, 1895 Otto Nordenskjöld and his team were put ashore from the Argentine naval vessel Uruguay at Bahia San Sebastian on northern Tierra del Fuego, the start of a two year (1895–1897) geological survey of southernmost South America. When, eight years later, on November 11th, 1903, the same ship Uruguay evacuated Nordenskjöld’s Swedish Antarctic Expedition from Snow Hill island in the Weddell Sea, an imposing introductive chapter of Swedish research in the southern parts of the Southern Hemisphere was closed. Besides the solid scientific base for future geological work in these southern areas that was laid by these expeditions, they also induced a fruitful Argentine-Swedish cooperation in various fields of science, notably geology. This has, although with varying intensity, lasted into our days and is presently of good standing. This brief summary of the main geological results from Otto Nordenskjöld’s expeditions, one to each side of the Drake Passage, is based on two recently published overviews; one on the pre-Quaternary geology1 and one on the Quaternary, mainly the glaciation history.2 References to the original scientific papers, reports and maps are found there.
2 ANDEAN GEOLOGY, ANTARCTIC FORESTS AND A PRELUDE TO THE SUPERCONTINENT CONCEPT The main results of the hard-rock geological work in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego 1895–97 were summarized on a geological map in scale 1: 1,500,000, “Geological Map of the Magellan Territories”, published in 1899. A few years later these results were followed up by further Swedish work, carried out by the students Percy Quensel and Tore Halle. They both got their Ph.D. in Uppsala, 1911, on the geology of the Patagonian Cordillera and on the Falkland/Malvinas Islands, respectively. Halle also contributed to our knowledge of the Quaternary of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, through a paper published in 1910.
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With the knowledge summarized on the map mentioned above, Nordenskjöld came to Antarctica in 1901 and he soon realized that he was still working along the Andean mountain range. That is, along its southern continuation which, as we know today, became disconnected from the main range in South America by an extension of the Pacific Plate pushing towards the east, forming the Drake Passage and with the Scotia Arc manifesting the disturbances along its front. This important conclusion, that the Andes continued into Antarctica, was supplemented by the finding that, although long ago, there had been forests growing in Antarctica. That may, however, not have been too much of a surprise, since one main reason for going there at all had been to follow up findings of fossil wood made on Seymour Island in the Weddell Sea by the Norwegian captain C.A. Larsen. Larsen was there on sealing-expeditions aboard the Jason in 1892–1893 and 1893–1894 and these fossils were the first ever to be brought out of Antarctica – and now Larsen was captain on Nordenskjöld’s expedition ship Antarctic. On Seymour Island Nordenskjöld found remnants of extinct giant penguins and, perhaps more important, of Tertiary trees like Nothofagus and Araucaria, showing a clear affinity with the Tertiary floras of South America. The second geologist on the expedition, Johan Gunnar Andersson, who was forced to spend a winter in Hope Bay on the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, encountered a rich Mesozoic fossil flora there, in shales of a mountain they named Mount Flora. Originally these ferns, cycads and conifers were given a Jurassic age, but today they are mostly regarded as dating from the early Cretaceous. The Andean type geology, including the rich fossil flora of South American and Indian affinity, led Nordenskjöld to conclude that some time in the past Antarctica had belonged to a larger coherent continent, allowing the free movement of plants and animals. With this postulation he added crucial new information to the Gondwana supercontinent hypothesis, put forward in 1885 by the Austrian geologist Eduard Suess. That the climate on that continent had been much warmer than in our time was evident from the existence of forests in Antarctica – and, although it did not have much to do with the ideas about Gondwana, a much warmer than present Tertiary climate had already been documented by fossil forest floras also in the Arctic, e.g. on Svalbard. Thus Otto Nordenskjöld deserves recognition as one of the early proponents of what has nowadays evolved into the well documented concept of plate tectonics (continental drift). It should also be mentioned that the very first geological map to come out of Antarctica also emanated from this expedition. It was printed in J.G. Andersson’s classic work “On the Geology of Graham Land ”, published in 1906.
3 ICE-AGES OF THE SOUTH The main issue for the expedition to southernmost South America in 1895–1897 was to study the ice-age history. At that time the ice-age concept was not more than 50 years old, and it had been only 20 years since the Swede Otto Torell had finally convinced the European scientific community that a large ice-sheet from the north had inundated also the northern parts of central Europe, like Germany and Poland. A specific purpose with this expedition to the south was also to compare the glacial history there with that in the Northern Hemisphere. According to the so called Croll-hypothesis (a forerunner to the now prevailing Milankovich theory) large scale climatic shifts like ice-ages should have been out of phase between the two hemispheres, due to the geometric relationships between Earth and Sun. Before the Swedish expedition only Charles Darwin in 1833 and Louis Agassiz (one of the original Swiss ice-age
Otto Nordenksjöld’s and his geological co-worker’s achievements
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pioneers) in 1872 had made some observations on former more extensive glaciation along the Beagle Channel and the Magellan Strait, but in fact, it was still a virgin country. Travelling on foot, by boat and on horses with mule-trains during the two southern summer seasons of 1895–1896 and 1896–1897, Nordenskjöld and his partners mapped the glacial deposits on Tierra del Fuego and southern Patagonia, in both Argentina and Chile. The glaciation map they produced, published in 1898, showed that glaciers from the Andes had at one or more times extended eastwards all the way to the Atlantic, both along the Magellan Strait and the Beagle Channel. Ice-dammed lakes had existed in southern Patagonia and extensive moraine systems were also mapped at the eastern ends of the many glacially overdeepened lakes along the eastern flank of the Andes. And the weight of the ice had caused the land to subside, as evidenced by later elevated marine sediments. Geological deposits of special interest were the Patagonian Gravels, glacifluvial sediments which predated much of the valley formation, and the mainly eolian, loessic Pampas Formation with its profusion of fossil vertebrates. Nordenskjöld soon concluded that there had been more than one major glaciation in southern South America, and thus contributed to the end of “monoglacialism” – a conservative belief that if such a strange thing as an ice-age had really happened, it had at the most only happened once! The glaciation connected with the Patagonian Gravels was, from paleontological evidence, dated to the late-Pliocene, which was partly correct. But the basically geomorphological and intiutive correlation of the maximum glaciation in these southern lands with the Last Glacial Maximum in the Northern Hemisphere was about one
Figure 1. Cockburn Island, c. 450 m high, situated north of Snow Hill Island and famous for its geology, which includes the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary. At the bottom lie upper Cretaceous and lower Tertiary marine sediments, capped by volcanic rocks from the “James Ross Island Volcanic Group” which form the characteristic plateau. Above follow younger Tertiary marine sediments, including the famous “Pecten Conglomerate”. Quaternary glacial and marine deposits overlap the older sequence. Photo from J.G. Andersson’s collection, taken during the expedition.
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million years off the mark – nobody to be blamed so long before the absolute dating methods which help us today! This documentation of extensive former glaciations in Patagonia and on Tierra del Fuego wetted the appetite and was one of the main factors behind the decision to proceed southwards to Antarctica, with the 1901–1903 expedition. There, still today only c. 2% of the land is free of ice, but the Polish scientist Henryk Arctowski who wintered with the Belgicaexpedition 1898–1899 had noted that glaciation had been even more extensive before. Both Nordenskjöld and J.G. Andersson worked with the glacial studies during the Antarctic expedition. During brief spells of work in Tierra del Fuego, and on South Georgia and the Falkland/Malvinas Islands, Andersson also contributed to our knowledge of these areas. It may be mentioned that the today widely used term “solifluction” was introduced into the geological terminology in 1906, through a paper Andersson wrote and which to a large extent was based on his experiences from the Falklands/Malvinas Islands where, among other things, he studied the famous “stone runs”. The results from the Swedish Antarctic Expedition 1901–1903 confirmed that glaciation along the Antarctic Peninsula had earlier been much more extensive than today. The ice had, for example, been about 300 m thicker on some nunataks along the western Weddell Sea, ice from the peninsula mainland had overridden Seymour Island eastwards and deposited crystalline erratic rocks on its top plateau, and the glaciers had isostatically depressed the land, creating a now elevated “post-glacial” marine limit at 20 m a.s.l.
4 CONCLUSIONS Our present knowledge of the geology of Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego and the Antarctic Peninsula, from the roots of the Andes to present-day lake sedimentation, is certainly much wider and much more detailed compared to the time when Nordenskjöld and his friends left the Peninsula. Not least because we now have access to absolute dating methods one could not even dream about hundred years ago. But much of what they and all their colleagues working up the material at home concluded after these two pioneering expeditions is still very valid, like the main outline of maximum glaciation as printed on that old map from 1898. They laid the foundation upon which the rest of us have been building ever since!
REFERENCES 1. Larsson, K.: Nordenskjöld’s Prophecy. In: A. Elzinga, T. Nordin, D. Turner and U. Wråkberg (eds): Antarctic Challenges: Historical and Current Perspectives on Antarctica on the Occasion of the Centenary of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition 1901–1903. Kungliga Vetenskaps-och Vitterhets-Samhället, Göteborg, 2004, pp.175–187. 2. Hjort, C. and Ingólfsson, Ó.: Otto Nordenskjöld’s contribution to glaciation history – a bipolar effort with southern focus. In: A. Elzinga, T. Nordin, D. Turner and U. Wråkberg (eds): Antarctic Challenges: Historical and Current Perspectives on Antarctica on the Occasion of the Centenary of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition 1901–1903. Kungliga Vetenskaps-och Vitterhets-Samhället, Göteborg, 2004, pp.188–199.
Swedish glaciological work around the Weddell Sea during the last century PER HOLMLUND AND STIG JONSSON
ABSTRACT: Sweden has a long tradition in glaciological research in polar regions. Several Swedish geologists made important contributions to implement the Ice Age concept on the international scientific arena in the second half of the 1800s. After the active phase of Arctic expeditions in the late 19th century the first Antarctic expedition was performed in 1901–1904 by Otto Nordenskjöld. Half a century later the Norwegian-British-Swedish Maudheim expedition was run and became one of the first modern Antarctic expeditions. Since the 1980s the glaciological programmes have been intensified in Antarctica because of the nationally organised Swedish Antarctic Research Programme (SWEDARP) organised by the Swedish Polar Secretariat. Research is basically carried out within large scientific consortiums such as ITASE, ISMASS, ANTIME and EPICA but there are also smaller national projects. In this paper we are reviewing some highlights from the past hundred years of Swedish glaciology in Antarctica.
1 INTRODUCTION At the end of the 19th century the knowledge of ice sheets, specially former ones, was surprisingly high and the Swedish scientific community had been an early contributor to the development of the Ice Age paradigm. One of the most important reasons for the fast scientific development at that time was the wealth of results from polar expeditions, particularly those to Spitsbergen. Sweden, for instance, had carried out 31 official polar expeditions between 1837 and 1915. Geology, and in particular glacial geology, was on the agenda for most of them. The famous 1901–1904 Antarctic expedition led by Otto Nordenskjöld is a good example. This was in the era of exploration and early scientific exploration, but data useful for present studies in glaciology can be found in the photographic documentation, meteorological observations and also in descriptive records. After World War II glaciology became much more focussed on the physics of ice and on the use of geophysical methods which allowed completely new scientific surveys to be made. The Norwegian-British-Swedish expedition of 1949–1952 became one of the first international polar expeditions which is often referred to as the initiation of the modern era of Antarctic research; particularly as it was followed by the International Geophysical Year 1957 and later the formation of SCAR in 1958. Although projects associated with single Swedish scientists were carried out during the sixties and the seventies, the next major effort was the initiation of the Swedish Antarctic Research Programme (SWEDARP) by the Swedish Polar Secretariat. This organisation was
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formed in 1984 and sent its first expedition to Antarctica in the austral summer of 1987/88. Soon after, expeditions were sent on an annual basis but with responsibilities for the logistics and organisation rotating between three Nordic countries (Sweden, Norway and Finland). The current Swedish glaciology programme in Antarctica is climate oriented with focus on mass balance studies, ice coring and quaternary glacial variations (including modelling). In this paper we are summarising the Swedish glaciological research from the Nordenskjöld expedition to the present. 2 THE NORDENSKJÖLD EXPEDITION 1901–1904 A question which was of concern for Otto Nordenskjöld, and which still is on the scientific agenda, is what the Antarctic Ice sheet looked like during the last glaciation, the Weichselian Ice Age. The discovery of macro fossils in till on Cockburn Island during his expedition clearly indicated a larger ice sheet extent and perhaps a sign of intraglacial variations in ice extent, similar to those found in the Northern Hemisphere. This observation was correct but it is still today not clear whether this larger extent was primarily due only to lower sea level, which allowed the grounding line to migrate seawards, or if it was due to a colder climate. The expedition was based on the northernmost tip of Snow Hill Island, which is ice free, while the rest of the island is covered by an ice cap. The expedition members made use of the ice cap for mass balance studies, but they also made glaciological observations when they were exploring the surrounding areas (Ross Island, Seymour Island, Prince Gustav Channel and the Larsen Ice Shelf) (Figure 1). Their observations of for example ice shelf
Figure 1. Part of a map from the 1901–1904 Antarctic Expedition showing explored coast parts. Note that there is no shelf ice in Prince Gustafs Channel.
Swedish glaciological work around Weddell Sea during last century
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extent are most valuable today as they precede photogrammetric mappings later executed by about 50 years. The first accurate maps of the ice shelves came when satellite images became available during the 1970s and it is clear that they are all more extent in the early satellite images than they were in the beginning of the 20th century. In October 1902 a sledge party led by Otto Nordenskjöld left Snow Hill and travelled towards southwest across sea ice until October 7 when they reached Christensen Island. Much of the way they were about 10–20 km from the low ice barrier Larsen had found already in 1893. From Christensen Island they could also see King Oscar II Coast beyond the ice barrier as well the as the Seal Nunataks. To the south was the glaciated Robertson Island; in fact Nordenskjöld described this as the only ice cap, similar to that on Snow Hill Island, which they saw on a six weeks long sledge trip. The ice surface between the ice barrier and King Oscar II Coast was also explored and found to be very flat but increasing in altitude along the ice barrier from about 15 m a.s.l. in the north to 30 m in the south and above 40 m in the south westernmost part. In crevasses which the sledge party met with, they could clearly see the interior structure of the ice It was described as a sedimentary structure with thin layers of blue and white firn ice. He does not believe that this ice mass is of continental origin, i.e. a floating piedmont glacier extended into the shelf environment as had been suggested by Gourdon1 and Hobbs2. Instead, he believes it to be a remnant of a former, larger ice sheet which “presently is quickly disappearing”. He also states that it might be either grounded on the sea bottom or floating. In his first account from the expedition he calls this ice mass a “low ice terrace” but in his official expedition report he suggests that it should be called “Schelfeis” or shelf ice.3 The area north of Seal Nunataks and Christensen Island has lately been called Larsen A Ice Shelf. But after1995, when the whole shelf ice collapsed, the correct term is Larsen Bay. Nordenskjöld could also indirectly describe the 1903 extent of the Prince Gustav Channel Shelf Ice, a shelf ice which more or less collapsed already during the late 1990s. The field party had namely travelled by dog sledges clock-wise around Ross Island and on sea ice, though Nordenskjöld mentions that there are frequent ice boulders that sometimes make travelling difficult.4 This includes an area where the shelf ice was grounded on Ross Island during the second half of the 20th century. The fact that they saw no shelf ice and the observation of numerous seals on the sea ice in 1903 clearly indicates that the ice shelf was smaller in area in early 20th century compared to later that century until it disintegrated in late 1990s.
3 NORDENSKJÖLD AND AHLMANN: TWO SWEDISH GEOGRAPHY PROFESSORS WITH STRONG INTEREST IN GLACIOLOGY Although Otto Nordenskjöld had graduated with a doctor’s degree in geology in 1894 his scientific interests were wider than that, as he also stated in a biographical note to the Royal Academy of Sciences in Stockholm in 1917. He added that “My foremost interest in life is the study of the polar nature”. His great interest in glaciers is clearly seen in the first volume of the expedition report.3 Among other things he discussed the origin of shelf ice and also the classification of Antarctic glaciers. He compared his own morphological classification with those of Ferrar6, Gourdon1, Drygalski5 and Hobbs.2 Interesting is also to see that the authors of the classifications he discussed most, have been remembered in the names given to two glaciers (Hobbs Gletscher and Gourdon Gletscher) located west of Snow Hill Island on the other side of Admiralty Sound.
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As glaciology in Europe often is studied in geography departments (but often also in meteorology and geology departments), it is not strange to find that the geologist Otto Nordenskjöld became a professor in Geography at the Gothenburg University when he returned from Antarctica. Another Swedish geography professor with his main research interests in glaciology and polar studies, was Hans W:son Ahlmann, who was a geography professor at the Stockholm University between 1929 and 1950. Internationally he is most known for his thermal classification of glaciers in which he distinguished between temperate, subpolar and high polar glaciers. This is the classification scheme he proposed after the Swedish-Norwegian Arctic Expedition in 1931.7,8 Ahlmann also became fascinated by the air photos from Dronning Maud Land, which had been published after the German Antarctic Expedition 1938/39.9 The Norwegians had earlier explored the coastal areas of Dronning Maud Land, but the German photos were from the interior nunatak areas and they could possibly be an analogue for ice age Scandinavia where nunataks had been suggested for the higher mountain areas. In 1944 he published an article in Swedish in which he made comparisons between the glacial geomorphology of present day Antarctica and Ice Age Scandinavia. Ahlmann then had successful discussions with the Norwegians and the British about sending a joint expedition. The idea was further developed in collaboration with professor H.U. Sverdrup, director of the Norwegian Polar institute, and J.M. Wordie and L. Kirwan from British Antarctic Survey. The two-year over wintering expedition took off from Europe in 1949 for Antarctica.
4 THE NORWEGIAN-BRITISH-SWEDISH EXPEDITION 1949–1952 The expedition was based at the Maudheim over wintering station (71° S, 11° W) built on the Ekström Ice Shelf in Dronning Maud Land. The scientists were specialists in geology, geophysics, glaciology, surveying and meteorology. Using weasels the geophysicists made seismic traverses to inland Antarctica and managed to receive good data on ice thicknesses; in fact the first reliable and systematic seismic data from Antarctica. This expedition was carried out short after the termination of the second world war and new technical equipment was available in combination with new advancements in science. The international approach was also new, making this expedition an important time marker indicating the beginning of modern research activities in Antarctica which was manifested by the formation of SCAR in 1958. The glaciological programme of the Maudheim expedition was led by Valter Schytt (who later became professor in glaciology at the Stockholm University). The glaciologists also made traverses inland Dronning Maud Land travelling with dog sledges (Figure 2). Inland they studied the accumulation pattern as well as nunatak areas including studies of moraines and blue-ice areas. But the most important research concerned the snow/ice stratigraphy and ice shelf formation at the site where Maudheim was situated. At Maudheim the net accumulation was 70 cm snow per year in an area with an annual temperature of –17.5°C. A 100-meter ice-core was recovered and sampled and the conclusions were that annual layers were detectable by crystallographic analysis, although they could not be visually observed (Figure 3). At a depth of approximately 60 m the permeable firn turned into impermeable glacier ice. The glaciologists were also able to state that the ice shelf was the extension of the inland ice sheet. This was determined by ice velocity measurements in combination with budget calculations at the drill site. The thickness of the ice shelf was approximately 200 metres at the station site.
Swedish glaciological work around Weddell Sea during last century
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Figure 2. Dog sledges heading inland from Maudheim in February 1951.
Figure 3. Valter Schytt. Valter Schytt in the ice core laboratory at Maudheim in 1950. The drill was a Canadian built modified rock coring drill which had been tested on Hardangerjökeln in Norway prior to the expedition.
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In Sweden Valter Schytt founded the Tarfala Research Station aimed for glaciological research. The Tarfala station is based on the mass balance series of Storglaciären, which began with the hydrological year of 1945/46.10 Tarfala has, since it was formed, been closely linked to glaciological studies in polar regions, especially Antarctic programmes. 5 EXPEDITIONS RUN BY THE SWEDISH POLAR SECRETARIAT SINCE 1987 5.1
The area close to the Wasa and Svea summer stations
Sweden has two small stations on the Antarctic continent. They are both located in Dronning Maud Land and they are named Wasa and Svea. The Wasa station is located at the level 450 m a.s.l. on the nunatak Basen (73° 03' S and 13° 40' W) in the Vestfjella range about 150 km from the coast. The station was built in 1989 and is designed for 10–15 persons and is well equipped. The Vestfjella mountain range (73–74° S, 13–16° W was mapped by the use of aerial photographs taken during the Norwegian-British-Swedish Expedition in 1949–1952 (Gjaever and Schytt 1963) and later from Landsat images (IFAG 1988–1989). The physical geography of the nunataks and the surrounding area was studied by Jonsson in the austral summer 1984–1985.11,12 Immediately north-west of central Vestfjella is an ice dome called Högisen, which has more or less buried the highest parts of the range. Ice from the 900 m high Högisen Ice Dome is draining towards southeast through the central parts of Vestfjella where after this ice joins a major ice stream, Veststraumen. The general ice flow direction in Veststraumen is southwest. The summits in the central part reach about 1000 m a.s.l. while in the southern and northern parts the summits are generally 500–700 m a.s.l. The Heimefrontfjella mountain range is situated about 150 km southeast of Vestfjella. The range is about 150 km long and reduces the outflow of ice from the interior (Amundsenisen) to Maudheimvidda situated downstream. The drop in elevation is about 1500 m. The highest mountain, Paalnibba, reaches 2711 m a.s.l. East of the range (75° 10' S, 10° 30' W and 8° 30' W) there are two subglacial mountains, covered by only a few hundred metres of ice. The mountains are visible on satellite images as an unevenly wrinkled surface.13 The snow surface in this area is rough with up to one metre high sastrugi. The annual rate of snow accumulation is probably low as the flux rates in the Heimefrontfjella valleys draining the area are low. This area is an extension of the saddle like ice divide from the Dome F ending at Heimefrontfjella. The Svea station is located in Scharffenbergbottnen (74° 35' S and 11° 13' W) (Figure 4) at 1250 m a.s.l. in the Heimefrontfjella range about 300 km from the coast. It is a small summer station built in January 1988. The northernmost part of Heimefrontfjella, called Milorgfjella was first observed during the German Antarctic Expedition in 1938–1939.9 The whole range was later mapped and named during the Norwegian-British-Swedish Expedition 1949–1952.14 The range contains four groups of mountains separated by valleys. The most prominent valley is called Kibergdalen. 5.2
Ongoing projects
The glaciological projects run on modern time are of two different size orders. The large size projects are part of international net works and they are by themselves the reason for
Swedish glaciological work around Weddell Sea during last century
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Figure 4. The blue ice area of Scharffenbergbotnen.The ice flows opposite to the valley floor slope due to high evaporation rates in the valley. Ice mass is removed and the ice surface is lowered. The lowest point is thus close to the head of the valley (right in picture). At the entrance of the valley the ice thickness exceeds 1000 metres.
executing an expedition and they also govern the large scale site selection. The smaller sized projects have a short term character and site selection is to a significant extent influenced by other projects. The major funding agencies for the research is the Swedish Research Council for Natural Sciences (VR) and the research frame works funded by the European Union. In addition to the facilities provided by the two stations there is a well developed concept of Hägglund vehicles for ground transportation and for long distance scientific traverses on the polar plateau. For one single season Toyota Landcruisers were successfully used for light weight transportations (Figure 5). 5.2.1
Mass balance and ice movement in the large cirque of Scharffenbergbotnen
Scharffenbergbotnen is a 3 ⫻ 6 km large ice-filled cirque on the down slope side of central Heimefrontfjella and its long axis is orientated NW-SE (Figure 4). Inside the cirque are seen two separate blue-ice areas, which means that the mass balance of those two areas must be negative. This can also be seen from the topography as the ice surface slopes from the entrance of the cirque towards the steep and 1000 m high headwall of the cirque. Below the headwall the ice surface is at an altitude of approximately 1150 m a.s.l., while the ice thickness is 400 m. At the entrance to the cirque, where the ice thickness is 1000 m, the ice surface is approximately 80–100 m higher than at the lowest point in the cirque. This of course means that there must be an ice flow into the cirque from Maudheimvidda. This inflow of ice approximately balances the net evaporation of ice which takes place in the blue-ice areas. The maximum evaporation takes place just below the steep headwall and so far a maximum of annual evaporation of 22 cm ice has been measured at this spot.12 The
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Figure 5. Radar equipment attached to a Toyota jeep modified for snow driving. The large 150 MHz dipole antennae are used for ice depth measurements and mapping of the sub glacial relief. The smaller ones next to the car body are 1 GHz radar antennae for snow layer thickness measurements.
meteorological parameters governing these high evaporation rates are studied by using automatic weather stations and other standard meteorological equipment, partly in cooperation with Utrecht University, The Netherlands. 5.2.2
Stability and the balanced flow of the Veststraumen ice stream
Mass balance and mass flux calculations suggest a more or less steady state situation for the Maudheimvidda basin, though there are large uncertainties on the ice flux estimates. However, longitudinal radio-echo soundings of Veststraumen (the main outlet glacier draining Maudheimvidda), as well as modelling experiments indicate an unbalanced state of the ice stream. This apparent paradox stresses the need of further investigations of outlet glaciers in Dronning Maud Land. Those would show whether the geometry of Veststraumen reflects a surge like behaviour or not. The ice stream becomes afloat about 100 km upstream where the shelf ice begins, indicating the appearance and importance of subglacial bedrock obstacles (so called pinning points). Small changes in the flux rates, due to minor sea level or ice thickness changes, may result in a significant surface elevation change within the Maudheimvidda basin. The fact that the ice stream becomes afloat 100 km upstream the site where the proper ice shelf is formed (where the ice thickness suddenly decreases from about 1000 m to about 500 m) is a large potential for error in mass balance calculations. Melt rates underneath floating parts of ice streams can be several times larger than the net accumulation at the surface indicating a substantial negative mass balance. Thus, though measurements at the boundary between the ice stream and the ice shelf indicate a balanced state between accumulation and ice mass transport at the boundary of the area, there might be a significant deficit of mass at present in the area. So far (the measurements have been running since 1989), we have velocity measurements from about 30 sites within the 20,000 km2 large drainage basin, and accumulation measurements along a profile crossing the area. The annual ice flux at the grounding line is 12 (⫾1)
Swedish glaciological work around Weddell Sea during last century
51
km3.15 A similar study but at a smaller scale was performed at Plogbreen in 2002–2003 by Pohjola.16 5.2.3
The variability in snow layer thicknesses within the Maudheimvidda basin
In order to model ice sheets a reliable mass balance scheme is needed. Snow radar has been used successfully to map snow layering in Antarctica over large distances, showing a great variability in thickness, not simply described by elevation and distance to the coast.17,18,19,20 The soundings have been executed from bandwagons, jeeps, skidoos and from helicopters (Figure 5). The radar registrations are calibrated by shallow firn cores. The aim of the study is to map the present accumulation pattern in this part of Antarctica, and to develop a plausible, physically grounded mass balance relation useful for modelling of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. In 1991–1992 we conducted an inland traverse21 which became one of the initial efforts of the SCAR programme International Trans Antarctic Scientific Expeditions (ITASE). We now have data from another three long traverses, sampled during the 1993–1994, 1996–1997 and the 1997–1998 field campaigns. 5.2.4
Changes in ice dynamics and ice thickness in Maudheimvidda over time
Analysis of the subglacial relief provides us with data on the long-term development of the ice sheet such as how it was formed and whether or not there has been changes in the thermal conditions over time. The glacial landscape beneath the Maudheimvidda Ice Sheet in East Antarctica was most probably formed during a more temperate phase of the Antarctic glaciation than the present. We have studied landscape morphology beneath the Maudheimvidda Ice Sheet, western Dronning Maud Land, by radio-echo soundings during several austral summers since 1987/88. The subglacial landscape found in the vicinity of the nunatak ranges Heimefrontfjella and Vestfjella has an alpine relief formed by glacial erosion.22,23,24,25 According to calculations of the temperature distribution within the ice sheet, the studied cirques and u-shaped valleys are at present covered by cold based ice, incapable of forming such features.23 This, together with the observation that individual mountain block topographies has constrained the ice flow that eroded the cirques, indicates that these landforms predate the present ice sheet. Furthermore, a subglacial valley interpreted as containing a preserved floodplain has been mapped beneath the high altitude polar plateau of Amundsenisen. It is situated approximately 300 km from the coast where the present ice sheet surface is at 2100 m. Modelling experiments conclude that basal temperatures are below the freezing point at present.23,26 During Northern Hemisphere glaciations the ice surface has probably varied vertically less than 100 metres.26 Thus the glacial landscape pre-dates the polar ice cap and during its existence no glacial erosion has acted on the ground. 5.2.5 Deep ice core drillings
Sweden is part of the European Programme on Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA) since it was formed in the mid 1990s. The programme had two target spots for deep drillings one on Dome Concordia where the drillings are more or less done with an estimated bottom ice age of one million years. The aim with this drill campaign is to get an as long ice core record as possible, a target which successfully has been reached. The second drill site is in the Atlantic sector at (75° S, 0 ° E), a site now called the Kohnen station. This site was chosen after an intense pre site survey conducted by primarily Germany, Britain, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands during the 1990s. The aim with this on going
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drilling campaign is to catch the Atlantic signal and the hope is to be able to link the Antarctic data with the Greenland ice cores. The core will probably cover the last 200,000 years or so, or at least one glacial cycle. The drilling campaign was terminated in January 2006 when they reached the bedrock at a depth of 2774.15 m. The core covers several glacial periods.
REFERENCES 1. Gourdon, E.: Expedition antarctique francaise 1903–05. Geogr. Physique, Glaciologie, Pétrographie, Paris 1908. 2. Hobbs, W.H.: Characteristics of Existing Glaciers. New York, 1911. 3. Nordenskjöld, O.: Deie Schwedische südpolar-expedition und ihre geographische tätigkeit. Wissenschaftlische ergebnisse der Schwedischen südpolar-expedition 1901–1903, under leitung von Dr. Otto Nordenskjöld. Band1, Lieferung 1. Generalstabens litografiska anstalt, Stockholm 1911, 232 p. 4. Nordenskjöld, O., Andersson, J.G., Larsen, C.A. and Skottsberg, C.: Antarctic. Två år bland Sydpolens isar. Albert Bonniers förlag, Part 1, 486 pp. Stockholm, 1904. 5. Drygalski, E.v.: Spitzbergens Landformen und Ihre Vereisung. Abh. Akad. Wiss. München. Mat. – Phys. Klasse XXV. München, 1911. 6. Ferrar, H.T.: Report on the field-geology of the region explored during the Discovery Expedition. National Antarctic Expedition 1901–04, Vol. I. (1907). 7. Ahlmann, H. W:son: The Swedish-Norwegian Arctic expedition 1931, part VIII Glaciology. Geografiska Annaler 15 (1933), pp.161–216. 8. Ahlmann, H. W:son.: Contribution to the physics of glaciers. The Geographical Journal, LXXXVI (2), (1935), pp.97–113. 9. Ritscher, A.: Deutsche Antarktische Expedition 1938/39. Text and Figure/Map volumes. Koeler and Amelang, 304 pp. Leipzig, 1942. 10. Holmlund, P. and Jansson, P.: The Tarfala mass balance program. Geografiska Annaler 81A (4) (1999), pp.621–631. 11. Jonsson, S.: Observations on the physical geography and glacial history of the Vestfjella nunataks in western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, Department of Physical geography, Stocjholm University, Report STOUNG 87, 86 pp., 1988. 12. Jonsson, S. and Holmlund, P.: Evaporation of snow and ice in Scharffenbergbottnen, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. Annals of Glaciology 14 (1990), p.342. 13. IFAG, 1988–89: Satellite image maps covering Ritscherhochland, Vestfjella, Heimefrontfjella, Tottanfjella, Fossilryggen and mannefallsknausane, published by Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy, Richard-Strauss-Allee 11, D-60598 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. 14. Gjaever, J. and Schytt, V.: General report of the expedition. Norwegian-British-Swedish Antarctic Expedition, 1949–52, Scientific Results, Norsk Polarinstitutt. vol. VI., 41 pp., 1963. 15. Holmlund, P., Brown, I.A., Näslund, J-O. and Pettersson, R.: Balanced flow of the Veststraumn ice stream, Dronning Maud land, Antarctica. Poster presented at the IGS-SCAR ISAG-7 meeting, Milan August 2003. 16. Pohjola, V.A., Hedfors, J., Holmlund, P.: Investigating the potential to determine the upstream accumulation rate, using mass flux calculations along a cross-section on a small tributary glacier in Heimefrontfjella, D.M.L., Antarctica. Annals of Glaciology 39, (2004). 17. Holmlund, P., Gjerde, K., Gundestrup, N., Hansson, M., Isaksson, E., Karlöf, L., Nyman, M., Pettersson, R., Pinglot, F., Reijmer, C., Stenberg, M., Thomassen, M., Wal, van de, R., van der Veen, C., Wilhelms, F. and Winther, J-G.: Spatial gradients in snow layering and ten metre temperatures at potential EPICA-DML drill sites. Annals of Glaciology 30, (2000), pp.13–19. 18. Oerter, H., Graf, W., Wilhelms, F., Minikin, A., Miller, H.: Accumulation studies on Amundsenisen, Dronning Maud Land, by means of tritium, dielectric profiling and stable isotope measurements: first results from the 1995–96 and 1996–97 field seasons. Annals of Glaciology 29 (1999), pp.1–9.
Swedish glaciological work around Weddell Sea during last century
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19. Richardson, C., Aarholt, E., Hamran, S-E., Holmlund, P. and Isaksson, E.: Spatial distribution of snow in Western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, mapped by a ground based snow radar. Journal of Geophysical Research 102 (B9) (1997), pp.20 343–20 353. 20. Richardson, C. and Holmlund, P.: Regional and local variability in snow layer depths from a 500 km continuous radar traverse on the polar Plateau in Central Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica. Annals of Glaciology 29 (1999), pp.10–16. 21. Isaksson, E., Karlén, W., Gundestrup, N., Mayewski, P., Whitlow, S. and Twickler, M.: A century of accumulation and temperature changes in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. Journal of Geophysical Research 101 (1996), pp.7085–7094. 22. Herzfeld, U.C. and Holmlund, P.: Geostatistical analyses of radio-echo data from Scharffenbergbotnen, Queen Maud Land, East Antarctica. Zeitschrift für Gletscherkunde und Glacialgeologie, 24 (2) (1988), pp.95–110. 23. Holmlund, P. and Näslund, J-O.: The glacially sculptured landscape in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, formed by wet-based mountain glaciation and not by the present ice sheet. Boreas, 23 (1994), pp.139–148. 24. Näslund, J.O.: Subglacial preservation of valley morphology at Amundsenisen, western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 22 (1997), pp.441–455. 25. Steinhage, D., Nixdorf, U., Meyer U. and Miller H.: New maps of the ice thickness and subglacial topography in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, determined by means of airborne radio echo sounding. Annals of Glaciology 29 (1999), pp.267–272. 26. Näslund, J.O., Fastook, J.L. and Holmlund, P.: Numerical modelling of the ice sheet in western Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica: impacts of present, past and future climates. Journal of Glaciology, 46 (152) (2000), pp.54–66.
Late Cretaceous–Early Tertiary marine and terrestrial vertebrates from James Ross Basin, Antarctic Peninsula: A review MARCELO A. REGUERO AND ZULMA GASPARINI
ABSTRACT: Since Dr. Otto Nordenskjöld, leadership of the Swedish South Polar Expedition, first stepped on shore at Penguin Point, Seymour Island, 100 years have passed. The discoveries of the last three decades have shown how visionary his statement about the importance of Seymour Island and the surrounding islands has been in the evolution of the biota in the Gondwana. The Antarctic Peninsula region contains an unparalleled record of Antarctic marine and terrestrial vertebrates from the last 100 million years. A unique collection of latest Cretaceous marine and terrestrial vertebrates has been recovered from Seymour (López de Bertodano Fm.), Vega (López de Bertodano Fm.), and James Ross (Santa Marta, Hidden Lake and Rabbot formations) islands. Five genera of mosasaurs, Leiodon, Mosasaurus, Hainosaurus, Plioplatecarpus, and Lakumasaurus, and at least two genera of plesiosaurs, Aristonectes and Mauisaurus, document one of the greatest diversity of marine reptiles in the south of Gondwana. Ankylosaur, theropod (James Ross Island), hypsilophodontid (Vega Island), and hadrosaur (Seymour and Vega islands) dinosaurs have also been recorded in coastal facies of the same units. Frequently associated to remains of marine reptiles and dinosaurs shark teeth (mostly hexanchids) were exhumated. The Cretaceous avifauna consists entirely of representatives of modern birds orders (charadriiforms, gaviids, and presbyornithids), which is absolutely unique compared to avian faunas from elsewhere in Gondwana. A numerous and very rich collection of Tertiary marine and terrestrial vertebrates has been recovered from Seymour Island. From the marine realm skeletons of archaeocete whales (Basilosaurus and Zygorhiza), turtles, sharks (17 species), chimeroids, rays, oplegnathids, billfishes, merluccids, and penguins have been recovered partially. Noteworthy, the Eocene La Meseta Fm. contains the only association of Cenozoic plants and land vertebrates known from the whole Antarctic Continent at about latitude 63° south. The La Meseta Fauna (Cucullaea Allomember, Middle Eocene, Seymour Island) contains at least ten mammal taxa, predominantly tiny marsupials (mostly endemic and new taxa), ungulates, sudamericids, and edentates. The endemism of these marsupials suggests the existence of some form of isolating barrier (climatic and topographic) during the Eocene. Faunistic evidence, mainly from the ungulates (Trigonstylopidae and Sparnotheriodontidae), strongly suggests that this Antarctic fauna derived from Paleocene Patagonian ones. The occurrence of sudamericids on Seymour Island, that had become extinct elsewhere in the Paleocene of South America, also indicates that isolation may have allowed extended survival of this Gondwanic group in the Eocene of Antarctica, and the factors that caused their extinction elsewhere did not affect Antarctica. The Eocene avifauna, besides penguins, consists of representatives of modern flying birds orders (pelagornithids, falconids, and presbyornithids) and cursorial phorhoracoids and ratites. Finally, Antarctica as the central component of Gondwana was connected to all the other landmasses (Africa, South America, Australia, India, New Zealand) and played an important role in creating the
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strongly disjunct distribution patterns of the biota through the last 100 million years as we can see in the Southern Hemisphere today.
1 INTRODUCTION Since the beginning of the 20th century when members of the Swedish Expedition (1901–1903) gathered the first fossil collection of marine vertebrates (penguins and whales) in Seymour Island, Antarctica has been considered a key continent in the reconstruction of the fauna in the Southern Hemisphere. The principal Late Cretaceous and Paleogene sedimentary sequence in Antarctica is the James Ross Basin1 located in the Weddell Sea, adjacent to the northern part of the Antarctic Peninsula (Figure 1). This basin has yielded one of the most diverse and wellpreserved assemblages of marine and terrestrial fossils from anywhere in Antarctica. Cretaceous and Paleogene beds of the James Ross Basin are exclusively marines and are only exposed on James Ross, Vega, Snow Hill, Seymour and the nearby Cockburn islands. They are comprised of shallow marine shelf deposits of the Hidden Lake, Santa Marta, López de Bertodano (Late Cretaceous/Early Paleocene) and Sobral Formations (Early
Figure 1. Map of the James Ross Basin, Antarctic Peninsula. The numbered areas refer to localities where marine and terrestrial fossil vertebrates has been recovered: (1) Cape Lachman, Hidden Lake Fm., Coniacian-early Santonian; (2) Santa Marta Cove, Santa Marta Fm., early Santonian-late Campanian; (3) “The Naze” Peninsula, Cape Lamb Member, López de Bertodano Fm., late Campanian-early Maastrichtian; (4) Sandwich Bluff, Sandwich Bluff Member, López de Bertodano Fm., late Maastrichtian; (5) Eastern Cape Lamb, Cape Lamb Member, López de Bertodano Fm., late Campanian-early Maastrichtian; (6) Western slope of La Meseta, Seymour Island, La Meseta Fm., late Early Eocene-Late Eocene; (7) López de Bertodano, Seymour Island, López de Bertodano Fm., late Campanian-Early Paleocene.
Late Cretaceous–Early Tertiary marine and terrestrial vertebrates
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Paleocene) and the incised valley systems of the Cross Valley (Late Paleocene) and La Meseta (late Early to Late Eocene) formations (Figure 2). Main regressive periods are documented by the unconformities at the base of the Cross Valley and La Meseta Formations. They may be eustatic or tectonic in origin, or a combination of the two.2,3 Within the past three decades numerous works have been devoted by different countries to the fossil vertebrates of this basin. Argentina was one of these countries that contributed with concerted efforts with numerous findings. These studies documented a rich and abundant Cretaceous marine (Tables 1 and 2), and Eocene marine (Tables 3 and 4) and terrestrial (Table 5) vertebrates.
Figure 2. Time scale and stratigraphy for Late Cretaceous-Early Tertiary rocks in the James Group Basin, Antarctic Peninsula. Temporal and sedimentary units not to scale.
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In this paper we will systematically and chronologically (Late Cretaceous and Tertiary) review the fossil vertebrate fauna of the James Ross Basin, including some previously unreported Eocene taxa.
2 LATE CRETACEOUS 2.1.
Marine vertebrates
The first remains of marine reptiles from Antarctica were fragmentary postcranial bones of plesiosaurs collected from middle Campanian of the Vega and James Ross islands.4 Today, and as a result of fieldwork carried out in the Antarctic Peninsula by several expeditions from different countries, the marine reptiles from the James Ross Basin are represented by several partial skeletons recovered from the Campanian and Maastrichtian horizons of Vega, James Ross, and Seymour islands (Table 1). Recent studies indicate that the plesiosaurs recorded belong to the Elasmosauridae clade. Morturneria seymouriensis5 from the López de Bertodano Formation (CampanianMaastrichtian) of Seymour Island was regarded to be a juvenile of Aristonectes parvidens from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia6; whereas the presence of cf. Mauisaurus from the uppermost section of the López de Bertodano Formation, close to the K/T boundary on northern Seymour Island, is suggested by Chatterjee and Small5 and Gasparini et al.7 Coincidentally, Fostowicz-Frelik and Gazdzicki8 refer to cf. Mauisaurus several isolated remains found in the lower Maastrichtian of Seymour Island and upper Maastrichtian of James Ross Island. The presence of mosasaurs in the James Ross Basin was originally documented two decades ago by Gasparini and del Valle.9,10 Martin et al.11 reported, on the basis of isolated vertebrae, teeth, skull and jaw fragments, at least four taxa of mosasaurs in the Late Cretaceous units of the Marambio Group (Figure 2). They were identified as Leiodon, Plioplatecarpus, Mosasaurus cf. lemmonieri, and cf. Hainosaurus. Recently, a very well preserved single skull of mosasaur, the first known from Antarctica, was discovered in rocks of Campanian-Lower Maastrichtian in the NW of the James Ross Island (Figure 1). This specimen was described by Novas et al.12 as a new tylosaurine, Lakumasaurus antarcticus. Its record confirms the presence of tylosaurine in the Late Cretaceous of Western Antarctica. According to recent studies there is a remarkable convergence in the James Ross Basin of marine reptiles with known record in the Late Cretaceous of both Hemispheres such as the mosasaurs Tylosaurus, Hainosaurus and Mosasaurus11 with others known from South Gondwana like the tylosaurine Lakumasaurus12, and the elasmosaurid Aristonectes also known from Chile and Patagonia, and cf. Mauisaurus from Chile, Patagonia and New Zealand6 (Figure 3). Sharks from the Late Cretaceous of James Ross Basin are not as abundant as they are in the Eocene sediments of La Meseta Formation of Seymour Island (see below). Table 2 lists those described and figured with their geographic location and references. Interestingly, several teeth of Notidanodon described by Cione and Medina13 were found associated with plesiosaur skeletons, the holotype of Lakumasaurus and the ankylosaur, which it was presumed to have been predated.12,14 It seems likely that the apparent abundance of Notidanodon in the Santa Marta and López de Bertodano formations is related to the number of plesiosaurs and predatable reptile carcasses.
AVES GAVIIDAE Neogaeornis sp. ANATIDAE Vegavis iaai CHARADRIIDAE Gen. et sp. indet.
DINOSAURIA Ankylosauria Antarctopelta oliveroi Hypsilophodontidae Hadrosauridae ?Hadrosauridae Theropoda
Leiodon sp. Pliopatecarpus sp. cf. Hainosaurus Mosasaurus cf. lemmonieri Lakumasaurus antarcticus
Seymour Is. Vega Is. Vega Is.
López de Bertodano Fm. López de Bertodano Fm.
Vega Is. Vega and James Ross Is. Seymour Is. James Ross Is.
López de Bertodano Fm. López de Bertodano Fm. López de Bertodano Fm. Hidden Lake Fm.
López de Bertodano Fm.
James Ross Is.
Vega Is. Vega Is. Vega Is. Vega Is. James Ross Is.
Seymour Is.
Santa Marta Fm.
López de Bertodano Fm. López de Bertodano Fm. López de Bertodano Fm. López de Bertodano Fm. Santa Marta Fm.
López de Bertodano Fm.
Seymour Is.
López de Bertodano Fm.
Aristonectes parvidens
MOSASAURIA Mosasauria indet.
James Ross and Vega Is. Seymour Is.
López de Bertodano Fm. López de Bertodano Fm.
PLESIOSAURIA Elasmosauridae indet. cf. Mauisaurus sp.
Geographic location
Stratigraphy
Taxon
Case & Tambussi32
Clarke et al.31
Chatterjee29; Olson30
Gasparini et al.15,17; Olivero et al.16; Ricqlès et al.18; Salgado & Gasparini14 Hooker et al.19 Case et al.22; Novas et al.21 Rich et al.20 Molnar et al.23
Gasparini & del Valle 9,10; Chatterjee & Zinsmeister96 Martin et al.11 Martin et al.11 Martin et al.11 Martin et al.11 Novas et al.12
del Valle et al.4 Chatterjee & Small5; Gasparini et al.6; Fostowicz-Frelik & Gazdzicki8 Chatterjee & Small5; Gasparini et al.7
Source
Table 1. Taxonomic list, stratigraphy, geographic locations and references for marine and terrestrial vertebrates from the Cretaceous of the James Ross Basin, Antarctic Peninsula.
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Figure 3. Late Cretaceous (⬃75 Ma.) paleogeographic reconstruction of southern continents showing the distribution of plesiosaurs taxa. Compiled from distributional data after Gasparini et al.7; Woodburne and Zinsmeister 70; Lawver et al.76 Abbreviations: NZ, New Zealand.
2.2.
Terrestrial Vertebrates
The Late Cretaceous deposits of the James Ross Basin, Antarctic Peninsula, have grudgingly produced dinosaur specimens (Table 1), which is not entirely surprising as these deposits correspond predominantly, if not exclusively, to marine shallow shelf to near shore deposits. The initial reports of Antarctic dinosaurs have been from several islands in the James Ross Basin along the eastern coast of the Antarctic Peninsula (Figure 2). During the austral summer of 1986, fieldwork by the geologists of the Instituto Antártico Argentino in the James Ross Island resulted in the discovery of the first dinosaur from Antarctica. It was exhumed in the area of Santa Marta Cove, in the northern area of James Ross Island (Figure 2), in shallow marine shelf deposits referred to the upper Campanian (Santa Marta Fm.). It represents a medium-size ankylosaur.15,16 Originally, it was referred to an ankylosaurid ankylosaur.17,18 However, new material recovered from the same specimen few years later allows reconsideration about its systematic allocation and
TELEOSTEI BERYCIFORMES Antarctiberyx seymouri AULOPIFORMES ENCHODONTIDAE Enchodus sp. ACTINOPTERYGII indet. Sphaeoronodus? sp.
HOLOCEPHALI CALLORHYNCHIDAE Ischyodus dolloi CHIMAERIDAE Gen. et sp. indet.
SQUATINIDAE Squatina sp. ORTHACODONTIDAE Sphenodus sp. SELACHII indet. “Ptychodus”
CLAMYDOSELACHIDAE Clamydoselachus thomsoni HEXANCHIDAE Notidanodon dentatus
Taxon
Seymour Is. James Ross Is. James Ross Is.
Santa Marta Fm.
Santa Marta Fm.
Seymour Is.
López de Bertodano Fm.
López de Bertodano Fm.
Seymour Is.
Seymour Is.
Richter & Ward92
Richter & Ward92
Grande & Chatterjee80
Stahl & Chatterjee81
Stahl & Chatterjee82
Woodward83
Grande & Eastman38; Richter & Ward92
Seymour and James Ross Is.
López de Bertodano Fm.
López de Bertodano Fm.
Richter & Ward92
Cione & Medina13; Grande & Chatterjee80; Richter & Ward92
Richter & Ward92
Source
James Ross Is.
Seymour and James Ross Is.
López de Bertodano Fm.; Santa Marta Fm.
Santa Marta Fm.
James Ross Is.
Geographic Location
Santa Marta Fm.
Stratigraphy
Table 2. Taxonomic list, stratigraphy, geographic locations and references for Chondrichthyes and Teleostei fishes from the Late Cretaceous of the James Ross Basin, Antarctic Peninsula.
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Figure 4. Late Cretaceous (⬃75 Ma.) paleogeographic reconstruction of southern continents showing the distribution of dinosaur taxa. Compiled from distributional data after Rich et al.94; Woodburne and Zinsmeister71; Lawver et al.77 Abbreviations: NZ, New Zealand. For reference of dinosaur silhouettes see Figure 2.
represents a new taxon having a mixture of features between the two families, Ankylosauridae and Nodosauridae.14 The Antarctic dinosaur fauna shows a remarkably supremacy of herbivorous. To the ankylosaur of James Ross Island we add an ornithopod found in the Late CampanianEarly Maastrichtian rocks in Vega Island19 (Figure 2), a probable hadrosaur from the latest Maastrichtian of Seymour Island20, an hadrosaur from the Cape Lamb Member at “The Naze” Peninsula on James Ross Island21 (Figure 2), and a latest Maastrichtian Hadrosauridae Hadrosaurinae? from Vega Island.22 Up to now, the distal part of a theropod tibia, recovered from the Coniacian-Santonian (Hidden Lake Fm.) of James Ross Island, is the single evidence of a carnivorous dinosaur and represents the oldest record of the group in the James Ross Basin.23 There are many studies that focused the important role of the Antarctic Peninsula in the dispersal of the tetrapods to or from Gondwanan continents or Laurasia.24,25,26 The dispersal of dinosaurs into Antarctica from South America in the Late Cretaceous and monotremes into South America from Australia via Antarctica in the Paleocene27, implies a connection, either as an island chain or as an isthmus, between Patagonia and the Antarctic Peninsula. By the Late Cretaceous or early Tertiary the Antarctic Peninsula-Andean
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Cordillera was being fragmented and pushed eastward, and it can be expected that vertebrate dispersal became more of a “sweepstakes” type. Thus, Peninsular Antarctica was thought to be a “bridge” providing the only land link between Australasia and South America.28 Unfortunately, the dinosaurs from the James Ross Basin do not provide conclusive evidence about their paleobiogeographic relationships due to their fragmentary nature and their little known phylogeny. The first record of a Mesozoic Antarctic birds is a loon (Gaviidae) and it was collected from the Maastrichtian levels of the López de Bertodano Formation of Seymour Island.29 Later, Olson30 referred it to Neogaeornis. A second Cretaceous bird, a Presbyornithidae, was collected in Cape Lamb, Vegas Island.31 Recently, Case and Tambussi32 reported a charadriiform undetermined bird from the López de Bertodano Formation in Vega Island. 3 TERTIARY 3.1.
Middle-Late Eocene marine vertebrates
The Antarctic Eocene marine vertebrates are numerous and diverse (Tables 3 and 4). They come exclusively from La Meseta Formation, Seymour Island. This unit consists of poorly consolidated clastic sediments, approximately 700 m thick3 (Figure 5). The predominantly marine-estuarine fill grades upwards into unconfined, tide- and wave-dominated shelf deposits.3 The marine La Meseta fauna includes sharks, bony fishes, turtles, penguins and whales. Cione et al.33 published the first comprehensive description of sharks from the La Meseta Formation. Sharks remains, largely represented by isolated teeth and vertebrae and a few poorly preserved dorsal spine, are extremely abundant and diverse in the coarser sand facies of the Cucullaea I Allomember. The Cucullaea I Allomember contains the bulk of the fossil sharks localities. During the austral summers of 1992–1998 more than 10,000 teeth of fishes were recovered by dry-sieving and surface-prospecting by Argentine teams from two localities (IAA 1/90 and 2/95, Figure 5) of the Cucullaea I Allomember. Interestingly the level of diversity from a single locality (IAA 1/90, Figure 5) of the La Meseta Formation is much higher than the level of diversity for most extant cool temperate shark faunas and nearly equal to a present-day tropical shark fauna.34 At least 21 taxa of sharks between 11 families (Table 2) occur in this horizon. Long35 pointed out that this Antarctic fossil shark assemblage constitutes a very complex assortment of sharks from many different habitats converging on one specific locality. While the diversity of the elasmobranch fauna in the La Meseta Formation seems to be abundant and quite diverse, the teleost fishes appear to be low and poor (Table 2). Teleost fishes are represented by gadiforms36, clupeiforms37, siluriforms38, perciforms39,40,41, beryciforms42, and chimaeriforms.43 A large osteichthyan vertebra tentatively assigned to the rare genus Xiphiorhynchus (billfish) was recovered from the Acantilados Allomember.41 According to the strontium (Sr) isotope dating44, the age of the fossil-bearing horizon ranged between 52.4 and 54.3 Ma (Figure 5) The presence of billfish in Antarctica agrees with the high temperature suggested for the time of the deposition of the bearing rocks.45,46 The only record of reptile in the Eocene of Antarctica is a Cryptodira turtle. De la Fuente et al.47 assigned several plates from the Cucullaea I Allomember to a leatherback turtle (Dermochelyidae) very close to the extant species Dermochelys coreacea.
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Figure 5. Stratigraphic section of the La Meseta Formation, Seymour Island showing the fossiliferous levels, datations and localities. Modified from Reguero et al.44
The other frequently encountered marine fossil vertebrate group from La Meseta Formation is the Spheniscidae (penguins). The first collection of fossil penguin bones from Seymour Island was gathered by the members of the Swedish South Polar Expedition in 1901–1903. The lower levels of the La Meseta Formation (Ypresian, late Early Eocene Acantilados Allomember, ⬃52–54 Ma) only recently yielded small undetermined penguins,
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Figure 6. Relationships between the evolutionary history of Antarctic fossil penguins (A), stratigraphy (B), temperature (C), and sea level (D) at high latitudes during the Cenozoic. The temperature curve is for surface waters. Time scale is according to Berggren et al.79 Abbreviations: Ac. A., Acantilados Allomember; B. P. A., Bahía Pingüino Allomember; C. A., Campamento Allomember; CI. A., Cucullaea I Allomember; CII. A., Cucullaea II Allomember; S. A., Submeseta Allomember; V.d. F. A., Valle de las Focas Allomember.
whereas the highest levels (Priabonian, Late Eocene, Cucullaea II and Submeseta Allomembers, ⬃34–36 Ma) document a major taxonomic and body size diversity with ten species co-occurring sympatrically (Figure 6). The Antarctic fossil record of this group was reviewed recently by Myrcha et al.48 and is summarized by E.P. Tonni (unpublished data). A new taxon of penguin was recovered from the dark mudstones of the lower part of the Bahía Pingüino Member49 in the upper third of the Late Paleocene (Thanetian, 55–56 Ma) Cross Valley Formation on Seymour Island.50 The large “Cross Valley” penguin represents the oldest penguin known and confirms the range of the Spheniscidae from the Recent into the Late Paleocene. The large body size of the “Cross Valley penguin” suggests that the large body size in Antarctic penguins was acquired at least twice, in the Late Paleocene (warming period, Climatic Optimum) and Late Eocene (cooling period) respectively, under dramatically different environmental conditions. The Eocene/Oligocene transition was characterized by a sharp climatic deterioration linked to the progressive separation of South America and Antarctica and the strengthening of the Circum Antarctic Current (Figure 7). The effect of these changes in the Antarctic marine fauna is unknown, but the disappearance of sharks, crabs, and Anthropornis nordenskjoeldi and several other large Eocene penguins in the James Ross Basin broadly coincides with these events. At least one
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Figure 7. Antarctic oceanic circulation pattern compiled and tentative during the Paleogene. (A) Late Paleocene (Thanetian) and (B) Late Eocene (Priabonian). Dotted line denotes continents; heavy black line, continental shelves to present. Relative position of continents after Lawver and Gahagan.78
species of giant penguin, Palaeeudyptes antarcticus, however, survived into the Early Oligocene of New Zealand.51 Whale remains occur sporadically throughout the La Meseta Formation. Wiman52 referred the whale fossils collected by the Swedish South Polar Expedition to the archaeocete basilosaurine genus Zeuglodon. The presence of archaeocete dorudontine whales in Eocene strata of La Meseta Formation was demonstrated by Borsuk-Bialynicka.53 Cozzuol54 reported the presence of the archaeocete Zygorhiza in the uppermost part of the La Meseta Formation (Submeseta Allomember). A primitive mysticete, Llanocetus denticrenatus, from the Submeseta Allomember was described by Mitchell.55 3.2.
Terrestrial vertebrates from La Meseta Formation (Eocene)
The relationships of the Antarctic terrestrial vertebrates show that the land mammal population of the Antarctic Peninsula was mainly composed of South American autochthonous suprageneric taxa. Furthermore, the taxa known from the La Meseta local fauna, four families of marsupials (Polydolopidae, Microbiotheriidae, Derorhynchidae and Prepidolopidae), two families of Gondwanatheria (Gondwanatheriidae and Sudamericidae), and two families of South American ungulates (Trygonostylopidae and Sparnotheridontidae), primarily show a particular resemblance to the Patagonian fauna. In Antarctica, the first terrestrial mammal was found in the Eocene La Meseta Formation.56 It was referred to the extinct marsupial family Polydolopidae. Representatives of this family are known from strata of Middle Paleocene to Early Oligocene age in Patagonia, southern Argentina, Chile, and Brazil. Since the first report of this fossil mammal the record of this group has grown principally as a result of Argentine field works on Seymour Island. Later work within the same unit recorded a ground-dwelling bird57, and, subsequently new terrestrial mammal remains were announced. To a second polydolopid taxon, Polydolops
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67
seymouriensis, described by Case et al.58 and Candela and Goin59 was added a microbiotheriid60, and the first terrestrial placental, a Tardigrada or Vermilingua edentate.61 Between 1990–2000 new discoveries of cursorial and flying birds62,63, marsupials64,65, edentates66, South American ungulates67,68,69 and gondwanatheres44, increased notably our knowledge of the Eocene terrestrial Antarctic fauna. Recently a single lower molar of a marsupial was recovered from a concentrate of sediment (from IAA 1/90 locality) at the Vertebrate Paleontology laboratory of the Museo de La Plata. Certainly it corresponds to a new taxon of marsupial (F.J. Goin, personal communication, 2003). The well-known diversity of one of the mammal-bearing horizons of the Cucullaea I Allomember can be taken to represent essentially a single fauna70 and therefore compared with other faunas from elsewhere, i.e. Patagonian.44 There are 14 reported terrestrial vertebrate taxa (Table 5), 12 of which occur in a single level. This terrestrial vertebrate fauna, though numerically small, strongly suggests a Middle Eocene age based on phylogenetic relationships of the polydolopids and sparnotheriodontids.71,72 This age assignment correlates well with the Middle Eocene age of the ichthyofauna found in the same depositional horizon (Table 3), and with age-data from marine microfossils.73 The strontium datation
Table 3. Taxonomic list, stratigraphy, and references for the Chondrichthyes fauna from the Eocene (La Meseta Formation) of Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Taxon HEXANCHIDAE Heptranchias howelli Hexanchus sp. SQUALIDAE Squalus woodburnei Squalus weltoni Centrophorus sp. Dalatias licha Deania sp. SQUATINIDAE Squatina sp. PRISTIOPHORIDAE Pristiophorus lanceolatus GINGLYMOSTOMATIDAE Pseudoginglymostoma cf. P. brevicaudatum STEGOSTOMASTIDAE Stegostoma cf. S. fasciatum ODONTASPIDIDAE Odontaspis rutoti Odontaspis winkleri Carcharias macrota CETORHINIDAE Cetorhinus sp. LAMNIDAE Isurus praecursor Lamna cf. L. nasus Carcharocles auriculatus
Stratigraphy (Allomember)
Source
Cucullaea I Cucullaea I
Long84 Cione & Reguero [87]
Cucullaea I Cucullaea I Cucullaea I Cucullaea I Cucullaea I
Long84 Long84 Long84 Long84 Long84
Cucullaea I
Welton & Zinsmeister86
Cucullaea I, Submeseta
Grande & Eastman38; Long84
Cucullaea I
Long84
Cucullaea I
Long84
Acantilados, Cucullaea I Acantilados, Cucullaea I Acantilados, Cucullaea I
Long84 Long84 Cione et al.33
Cucullaea I
Cione et al.88
Cucullaea I
Cione et al.33; Grande & Eastman38 ; Cione & Reguero93 Long84 Welton & Zinsmeister86 (Continued)
Cucullaea I Cucullaea I
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Table 3. (Continued) Taxon MITSUKURINIDAE Anomotodon multidenticulata CARCHARHINIDAE Scoliodon sp. MYLIOBATIDAE Myliobatis sp. HOLOCEPHALI CALLORHYNCHIDAE Ischyodus dolloi CHIMAERIDAE Chimaera seymouriensis
Stratigraphy (Allomember)
Source
Cucullaea I
Long84
Cucullaea I
Long84
Acantilados, Cucullaea I
Cione et al.33
Cucullaea I
Grande & Eastman,38; Ward & Grande,43
Cucullaea I
Ward & Grande,43
Table 4. Taxonomic list, stratigraphy, and references for the teleostean fishes and reptiles from the Eocene (La Meseta Formation) of Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Taxon CLUPEIFORMES CLUPEIDAE Marambionella andreae PERCIFORMES OPLEGNATHIDAE Oplegnathus sp. XIPHIORHYNCHIDAE cf. Xiphiorhynchus TRICHIURIDAE Trichiurus sp. LABRIDAE Gen. et sp. indet. SILURIFORMES INCERTAE SEDIS Siluriformes undetermined GADIFORMES MERLUCCIDAE “Mesetaichthys” BERYCIFORMES Gen. et sp. indet. CRYPTODIRA DERMOCHELYIDAE “Psephophorus”sp.
Stratigraphy (Allomember)
Source
Acantilados
Jerzmanska36
Cucullaea I
Cione et al.40
Acantilados
Cione et al.41
Cucullaea I
Long39
Cucullaea I
Long94
Cucullaea I?
Grande & Eastman38
Cucullaea I, Submeseta
Jerzmanska & Swidnicki36
Acantilados
Doktor et al.42
Cucullaea I
De la Fuente et al.47
yielded an age between 52.4 and 54.3 Ma (Figure 5). It yields an age consistent with its stratigraphic position and associated fauna. Sr isotope dating from the top of the La Meseta Formation (Submeseta Allomember) yields an age of ⬃34.2 Ma74 and also is consistent with the stratigraphy (see Figure 5) and the fauna. Based on this temporal determination, the age of the La Meseta Formation falls in the gap recognized between the Vacan and Barrancan “subages” in Patagonia.44 Therefore, the La Meseta Formation would
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Table 5. Taxonomic list, stratigraphy, and references for the terrestrial and marine mammals from the Eocene (La Meseta Formation) of Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Taxon
Stratigraphy (Allomember)
MAMMALIA MARSUPIALIA POLYDOLOPIDAE Polydolops dailyi
Cucullaea I
Polydolops seymouriensis MICROBIOTHERIIDAE Gen. et sp. indet. Marambiotherium glacialis DERORHYNCHIDAE Derorhynchus minutus Pauladelphys juanjoi Xenostylus peninsularis Gen. et sp. indet. PREPIDOLOPIDAE Perrodelphys coquinense GONDWANATHERIA SUDAMERICIDAE Sudamerica? sp. XENARTHRA Tardigrada indet. LITOPTERNA SPARNOTHERIODONTIDAE Notolophus arquinotiensis ASTRAPOTHERIA TRIGONOSTYLOPIDAE Trigonostylops sp. MAMMALIA INCERTAE SAEDIS Gen. et sp. indet. 1 Gen. et sp. indet. 2 CETACEA ARCHAEOCETI Zeuglodon sp. Zygorhiza sp. MYSTICETI CRENATICETI Llanocetus denticrenatus
Cucullaea I
Source
Woodburne & Zinsmeister 56; Candela & Goin59 Case et al.58; Candela & Goin59
Cucullaea I Cucullaea I
Goin & Carlini60 Goin et al.65
Cucullaea I Cucullaea I Cucullaea I Cucullaea I
Goin et al.65 Goin et al.65 Goin et al.65 Goin et al.65
Cucullaea I
Goin et al.65
Cucullaea I
This paper
Cucullaea I
Carlini et al.61; Vizcaíno & Scillato Yané66
Cucullaea I, Submeseta
Bond et al.67; Vizcaíno et al.69
Cucullaea I
Hooker68; Marenssi et al.89
Cucullaea I Acantilados
Goin & Reguero90 Vizcaíno et al.69
Submeseta Submeseta
Wiman52; Borsuk-Bialynicka53 Cozzuol54
Submeseta
Mitchell55
partly fill this considerable temporal gap in the Eocene record of the mammalian evolution in South America. The taxonomic analysis of the La Meseta fauna reveals a modest diversity, including three avian and six mammalian ordinal groups (Table 4). The most abundant element of the fauna is a suite of marsupials, numbering approximately 6 taxa (4 new genera). Among the terrestrial mammals the dominant taxa are the litoptern sparnotheriodontids (South American ungulates) and the marsupial polydolopids. They are not usually dominant
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Table 6. Taxonomic list, stratigraphy, and references for the terrestrial and marine birds from the Eocene (La Meseta Formation) of Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Taxon AVES RATITAE Gen. et sp. indet. PHORUSRHACIDAE Gen. et sp. indet. FALCONIDAE Gen. et sp. indet. PSEUDODONTORNITHIDAE Gen. et sp. indet. DIOMEDEIDAE Gen. et sp. indet.
Stratigraphy (Allomember)
Source
Submeseta
Tambussi et al.62
Submeseta
Case et al.57
Cucullaea I
Tambussi et al.63
Cucullaea I
Tonni & Cione85; Tonni88; Tonni & Tambussi89
Cucullaea I
Tambussi & Tonni87
elements in much larger thanatocoenoses elsewhere in South America (Patagonia). The endemic polydolopines are closely related to the Casamayoran genus Polydolops thomasi. The dental features of the Polydolopidae, with “plagiaulacoid” specialization suggest scansorial and more probably arboreal types, indicating forested habitats.75 Relict marsupial species in the La Meseta Formation such as Derorhynchus minutus, Pauladelphys juanjoi, and Xenostylus peninsularis (Derorhynchidae) and Perrodelphys coquinense (Prepidolopidae), indicate that whatever factor led to their extinction elsewhere did not affect Antarctic Peninsula at this time (Eocene). If these factors were of a biological type, isolation may be suggested, since these factors could not reach the Antarctic Peninsula. The tardigrade edentate represents the earliest unquestionable record of this group in the world.66 Previously, the earliest record came from the Deseadan (Late Oligocene) of Patagonia and Bolivia. The Seymour Island litoptern sparnotheriodontid taxon is endemic at the generic level, and has a close affinity with one undescribed Vacan taxon of Paso del Sapo, Chubut Province.44 Ongoing studies indicate that the Antarctic sparnotheriodontids can be distinguished from South American species and thus pertain to species, even genus, distinct from those of Patagonia. The Antarctic gondwanathere sudamericids represent the youngest record of the group. The Gondwanatheria is a peculiar mammal order with a widespread Gondwanic distribution in the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia, Madagascar, India, Tanzania, and in the early Paleocene of Patagonia. These mammals bear gliriform incisors, and were the earliest South American mammals to develop hypsodont cheek teeth with thick cementum. Among the terrestrial birds (Table 6), two flightless forms were reported (a phororhacoid and a ratite). The ratite was found in the upper levels of the unit (Submeseta Allomember). Ratites are mainly distributed in the southern continents and probably have a Gondwanan origin (e.g. Cracraft [25]). The record of a phororhacoid bird is consistent with the previous discovery of avian ichnites76 on Fildes Peninsula, King George Island. Several of these footprints may belong to phororhacoids. Paleobotanical and geological evidence from the Antarctic Peninsula indicates that at this time (middle Eocene), the Antarctic Peninsula was a densely forested high cordillera.44
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Figure 8. Reconstruction of the environment and vertebrate assemblage from the middle Eocene of Antarctic Peninsula based on the paleontologic evidence from La Meseta Formation (Cucullaea I Allomember), Seymour Island. Modified from Reguero et al.44
Reconstruction of the fauna and flora from La Meseta Formation (Cucullaea I Allomember) is shown in Figure 8.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to thank the Instituto Antártico Argentino and Fuerza Aérea Argentina for providing the means and logistical support in Antarctica. Special thanks go to Fred Goldberg (Sweden) for supporting a travel study for one of us (M.A.R.) to Sweden. The authors acknowledge the support provided by the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), PIP grant 06298 (to Z.G.) and National Geographic Grant 6615–99.
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22. Case, J.A., Martin, J.E., Chaney, D.S., Reguero, M.A., Marenssi, S. A., Santillana, S.N. and Woodburne, M.O.: The first duck-billed dinosaur (Family Hadrosauridae) from Antarctica. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 20 (2000), pp.612–614. 23. Molnar, R.E., López Angriman, A. and Gasparini, Z.: An Antarctic Cretaceous theropod. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 39 (1996), pp.669–674. 24. Keast, A.: Introduction: The southern continents as backgrounds for mammalian evolution. In: Keast, A., Erk, F.C. and Glass, B. (eds.): Evolution, Mammals, and Southern Continents, State University of New York Press (1972), Albany, pp.19–22. 25. Cracraft, J.: Mesozoic dispersal of terrestrial faunas around the southern end of the world. Mémoires du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle 88 (1975), pp.29–54. 26. Woodburne, M.O. and Case, J.A.: Dispersal, vicariance, and the post-Gondwana Late Cretaceous to early Tertiary biogeography from South America to Australia. Journal of Mammalian Evolution 3 (1996), pp.121–161. 27. Pascual, R., Archer, M., Ortiz Jaureguizar, E., Prado, J.L., Godthelp, H. and Hand, S.H.: First discovery of monotremes in South America. Nature, 356 (1992), pp.704–705. 28. Case, J, Martin, J.E., Chaney, D.S. and Reguero, M.: Late Cretaceous dinosaurs from the Antarctic Peninsula: remnant or immigrant fauna? Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Supplement to N° 3 (2003), pp. 39A. 29. Chatterjee, S.: The oldest Antarctic bird. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 9 (1989), pp.16A. 30. Olson, S.: Neogaeornis wetzeli Lambrecht, a Cretaceous loon from Chile (Aves: Gaviidae). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 12 (1992), pp.122–124. 31. Clarke, J. A., Tambussi, C. P., Noriega, J. I., Erickson G. M. and Ketcham, R. A. Definitive fossil evidence for the extant avian radiation in the Cretaceous. Nature, 443 (2005) pp.305–308. 32. Case, J.A. and Tambussi, C.P.: Maastrichtian record of neornithine birds in Antarctica: comment on a Late Cretaceous radiation of modern birds. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 19 (1999), Supplement to Number 3, pp.37R. 33. Cione, A.L., del Valle, R.A., Rinaldi, C.A. and Tonni, E.P.: Nota preliminar sobre los pingüinos y tiburones del Terciario inferior de la isla Vicecomodoro Marambio, Antártida. Contribuciones del Instituto Antártico Argentino 213 (1977), pp.1–21. 34. Case, J.A.: Evidence from fossil vertebrates for a rich Eocene Antarctic marine environment. In: Kennett, J.P. and Warnke, D.A. (eds): The Antarctic paleoenvironment: a perspective on global change. Antarctic Research Series 56, 1992, pp.119–130. 35. Long, D.J.: Paleoecology of Eocene Antarctic sharks, In: Kennett, J.P. and Warnke, D.A. (eds): The Antarctic paleoenvironment: a perspective on global change, Antarctic Research Series 56, 1992, pp.131–139. 36. Jerzmanska, A.: First articulated teleost fish from the Paleogene of West Antarctica. Antarctic Science 3 (1991), pp.309–316. 37. Jerzmanska, A. and Swidnicki, J.: Gadiform remains from the La Meseta Formation (Eocene) of Seymour Island, West Antarctica. Polish Polar Research 13 (1992), p.241–253. 38. Grande, L. and Eastman, J.: A review of Antarctic ichthyofaunas in the light of new fossil discoveries. Palaeontology 29 (1986), pp.113–137. 39. Long, D.J.: Fossil cutlassfish (Perciformes: Trichiuridae) teeth from the La Meseta Formation (Eocene), Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. PaleoBios, 13 (1991), pp.3–6. 40. Cione, A.L., Azpelicueta, M.M. and Bellwood, D.R.: An oplegnathid fish from the Eocene of Antarctica. Palaeontology 37 (1994), pp.931–940. 41. Cione, A.L., Reguero, M.A. and Elliott, D.H.: A large osteichthyan vertebra from the Eocene of Antarctica. N.jb.Geol.Paläont.Mh. 9 (2001), pp.543–552. 42. Doktor, M., Gazdzicki, A., Jermanska, A., Porebski, S.J. and Zastawniak, E.: A plant-and-fish assemblage from the Eocene La Meseta Formation of Seymour Island (Antarctic Peninsula) and its environmental implications. Palaeontologia Polonica 55 (1996), pp.127–146. 43. Ward, D.J. and Grande, L.: Chimaeroid fish remains from Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Antarctic Science 3 (1991), pp.323–330. 44. Reguero, M.A., Marenssi, S.A. and Santillana, S.N.: Antarctic Peninsula and Patagonia Paleogene terrestrial environments: biotic and biogeographic relationships. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 2776 (2002), pp.1–22.
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45. Case, J.A.: Paleogene floras from Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. In: Feldmann, R.M. and Woodburne, M.O. (eds.): Geology and Paleontology of Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Geological Society of America, Memoir 169, Boulder, 1988, pp.523–530. 46. Stilwell, J.D. and Zinsmeister, W.J.: Molluscan systematics and biostratigraphy: Lower Tertiary La Meseta Formation, Seymour Island. Antarctic Research Series 55 (1992), 152 pp. 47. de la Fuente, M.S., Santillana, S.N. and Marenssi, S.A.: An Eocene leatherback turtle (Cryptodira: Dermochelyidae) from Seymour Island, Antarctica. Studia Geologica Salmanticensia 31 (1995), pp.17–30. 48. Myrcha, A., Jadwiszczak, P., Tambussi, C., Noriega, J., Gazdzicki, A., Tatur, A. and del Valle, R.A.: Taxonomic revision of Eocene Antarctic penguins based on tarsometatarsal morphology. Polish Polar Research 23 (2002), pp.5–46. 49. Marenssi, S., Santillana, S. and Rinaldi, C.: Paleoambientes sedimentarios de la Aloformación La Meseta (Eoceno), Isla Marambio (Seymour), Antártida. Contribuciones del Instituto Antártico Argentino 464 (1999), 51 pp. 50. Tambussi, C.P., Reguero, M.A., Marenssi, S.A. and Santillana, S.N.: The earliest known penguin and the evolution of spheniscid size. I Congreso Latinoamericano de Paleontología de Vertebrados, octubre 2002, Santiago, Chile. Resúmenes, pp.53. 51. Marples, B.J.: Early Tertiary penguins of New Zealand. New Zealand Geological Survey, Palaeontological Bulletin 20 (1952), pp.1–66. 52. Wiman, C.: Über die alttertiaren Vertebraten der Seymourinsel. Wiss. Ergebnisse der Schwedishen Süspolar-Expedition 1901–1903 3 (1905), pp.II–6. 53. Borsuk-Bialynicka, M.: New remains of Archaeoceti from Paleogene of Antarctica. Polish Polar Research 9 (1988), pp.437–445. 54. Cozzuol, M.A.: Comentarios sobre los Archaeoceti (Mammalia, Cetacea) de la isla Vicecomodoro Marambio, Antártida. In: Quiroga, J.C. & Cione, A.L. (eds.): 5th Jornadas Argentinas de Paleontología Vertebrados, Abstracts (1988), La Plata, pp.32. 55. Mitchell, E.D.: A new cetacean from the late Eocene La Meseta Formation, Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 46 (1989), pp.2219–2235. 56. Woodburne, M.O. and Zinsmeister, W.J.: Fossil land mammal from Antarctica. Science 218 (1982), pp.284–286. 57. Case, J.A., Woodburne, M.O. and Chaney, D.S.: A gigantic phororhacoid(?) bird from Antarctica. Journal of Paleontology 61 (1998), pp.1280–1284. 58. Case, J.A., Woodburne, M.O. and Chaney, D.S.: A new genus and species of polydolopid marsupial from the La Meseta Formation, late Eocene, Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. In: Feldmann, R.M. and Woodburne, M.O. (eds.): Geology and Paleontology of Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Geological Society of America, Memoir 169, Boulder, 1988, pp.505–521. 59. Candela, A. and Goin, F.J.: Revisión de las especies antárticas de marsupiales polidolopinos (Polydolopimorphia, Polydolopidae). Terceras Jornadas de Comunicaciones sobre Investigaciones Antárticas, Resúmenes (1995), Buenos Aires, pp.55–58. 60. Goin, F. and Carlini, A.: An early Tertiary microbiotheriid marsupial from Antarctica. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 15 (1995), pp.205–207. 61. Carlini, A.A., Pascual, R., Reguero, M.A., Scillato Yané, G.J., Tonni, E.P. and Vizcaíno, S.F: The first Paleogene land placental mammal from Antarctica: its paleoclimatic and paleobiogeographical bearings. IV International Congress of Systematic and Evolutionary Biology, Maryland, Abstracts (1990), pp.325. 62. Tambussi, C.P., Noriega, J.I., Gazdzicki, A., Tatur, A., Reguero, M.A. and Vizcaíno, S. F.: Ratite bird from the Paleogene La Meseta Formation, Seymour Island, Antarctica. Polish Polar Research 15 (1994), 15–20. 63. Tambussi, C.P., Noriega, J.I., Santillana, S.N. and Marenssi, S.A.: Falconid bird from the middle Eocene La Meseta Formation, Seymour Island, West Antarctica. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Abstracts 15 (1995), pp.55A. 64. Goin, F.J., Reguero, M.A. and Vizcaíno, S.F.: 1995. Novedosos hallazgos de “comadrejas” (Marsupialia) del Eoceno medio de Antártida. III Jornadas de Comunicaciones sobre Investigaciones Antárticas, Buenos Aires, Resúmenes (1995), pp.59–62. 65. Goin, F.J., Case, J.A., Woodburne, M.O., Vizcaíno, S.F. and Reguero, M.A.: New discoveries of “oppossum-like” marsupials from Antarctica (Seymour Island, Medial Eocene). Journal of Mammalian Evolution 6 (1999), pp.335–365.
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66. Vizcaíno, S.F. and Scillato Yané, G.J.: An Eocene tardigrade (Mammalia, Xenarthra) from Seymour Island, West Antarctica. Antarctic Science 7 (1995), pp.407–408. 67. Bond, M., Pascual, R., Reguero, M.A., Santillana, S. N. and Marenssi, S. A.: Los primeros ungulados extinguidos sudamericanos de la Antártida. Ameghiniana 16 (1990), pp.240. 68. Hooker, J.J.: An additional record of a placental mammal (Order Astrapotheria) from the Eocene of Western Antarctica. Antarctic Science 4 (1992), pp.107–108. 69. Vizcaíno, S.F., Bond, M., Reguero, M.A. and Pascual, R.: The youngest record of fossil land mammals from Antarctica, its significance on the evolution of the terrestrial environment of the Antarctic Peninsula during the late Eocene. Journal of Paleontology 71 (1997), pp.348–350. 70. Vizcaíno, S.F., Reguero, M.A., Goin, F.J., Tambussi, C. P. and Noriega, J. I.: Community structure of Eocene terrestrial vertebrates from Antarctic Peninsula. In: Casadio, S. (ed.): Paleógeno de América del Sur y de la Península Antártica. Asociación Paleontológica Argentina, Publicación Especial 5, Buenos Aires, 1998, pp.177–183. 71. Woodburne, M.O. and Zinsmeister, W.J.: The first land mammal from Antarctica and its biogeographic implications. Journal of Paleontology 58 (1984), pp.913–948. 72. Soria, M.F.: Los Proterotheriidae (Litopterna, Mammalia), sistemática, origen y filogenia. Monografías del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales 1 (2001), pp.1–167. 73. Coccozza, C. and Clarke, C.: Eocene microplankton from La Meseta Formation. Antarctic Science 4 (1992), pp.355–362. 74. Dingle, R. and Lavelle, M.: Late Cretaceous-Cenozoic climatic variations of the northern Antarctic Peninsula: new geochemical evidence and review. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 107 (1998), pp.79–101. 75. Pascual, R.: Nuevos y singulares tipos ecológicos de marsupiales extinguidos de América del Sur (Paleoceno tardío o Eoceno temprano) del noroeste argentino. Actas II Congreso Argentino de Paleontología y Bioestratigrafía y I Congreso Latinoamericano de Paleontología 2 (1980), Buenos Aires, pp.151–173. 76. Covacevich, V. and Rich, P.V.: New birds ichnites from Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, West Antarctica. In: Craddock, C. (ed.): Antarctic Geoscience. University of Wisconsin Press. Madison, 1982, pp.245–254. 77. Lawver, L.A., Gahagan, L.M. and Coffin, F.M.: The development of palaeoseaway around Antarctica. In: Kennett, J. P. & Warnke, D. A. (eds): The Antarctic paleonvironment: a perspective on global change, Washington (1992), Antarctic Research Series 65, pp.7–30. 78. Lawver, L.A. and Gahagan, L.M.: Evolution of Cenozoic seaways in circum-Antarctic region. Paleogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 198 (2003), pp.11–37. 79. Berggren, W.A., Kent, D.V., Swisher, C.C., III and Aubry, M.P.: A revised Cenozoic geochronology and chronostratigraphy. In: Berggren, W.A., Kent, D.V., Aubry, M.-P. & Hardenbol, J. (eds.): Geochronology Time Scales and Global Stratigraphic Correlation, Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists Special Publication 54 (1995), pp.129–212. 80. Grande, L. and Chatterjee, S.: New Cretaceous fish fossils from Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Palaeontology 30 (1987), pp.829–837. 81. Stahl, B.J. and Chatterjee, S.: A Late Cretaceous chimaerid (Chondrichthyes, Holocephali) from Seymour Island, Antarctica. Palaeontology 42 (1999), pp.979–989. 82. Stahl, B.J. and Chatterjee, S.: A Late Cretaceous callorhynchid (Chondrichthyes, Holocephali) from Seymour Island, Antarctica. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 22 (2003), pp. 848–850. 83. Woodward, A.S.: On fossil fish-remains from Snow Hill and Seymour Islands. Wiss. Ergeb. Schwed. Südpolar-Exped., 1901–1903, 3 (1908), pp.1–4. 84. Long, D.J.: The shark fauna from La Meseta Formation (Eocene), Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 12 (1992), pp.1–32. 85. Tonni, E.P. and Cione, A.L.: Una nueva colección de Vertebrados del Terciario inferior de la isla Vicecomodoro Marambio (Seymour Island), Antártida. Obra del Centenario del Museo de La Plata 5 (1978), pp.73–79. 86. Welton, B. and Zinsmeister, W.J.: Eocene neoselachians from the La Meseta Formation, Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Contributions in Science, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County 329 (1980), pp.1–10. 87. Tambussi, C.P. and Tonni, E.P.: Un Diomedeidae (Aves, Procellariformes) del Eoceno tardío de la Antártida. In: Quiroga, J.C. & Cione, A.L. (eds.): 5th Jornadas Argentinas de Paleontología Vertebrados, Abstracts (1988), La Plata, pp.4.
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88. Tonni, E.P.: Un pseudodontornítido (Pelecaniformes, Odontopterygia) de gran tamaño, del Terciario temprano de Antártida. Ameghiniana 17 (1980), pp.273–276). 89. Tonni, E.P. and Tambussi, C.P.: Nuevos restos de Odontopterygia (Aves, Pelecaniformes) del Terciario temprano de Antártida. Ameghiniana 21 (1985), pp.121–124. 90. Goin, F. and Reguero, M.: Un “enigmático insectívoro” del Eoceno de Antártida. Ameghiniana 30 (1993), pp.108. Aires, 1998, pp.185–198. 91. Chatterjee, S. and Zinsmeister, W.J.: The Cretaceous marine vertebrates from Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Antarctic Journal USA (1982), Review, pp.66. 92. Richter, M. and Ward, D.J.: Fish remains from Santa Marta Formation (Late Cretaceous) of James Ross Island, Antarctica. Antarctic Science 2 (1990), pp.67–76. 93. Cione, A.L. and Reguero, M.A.: New records of the sharks Isurus and Hexanchus from the Eocene of Seymour Island, Antarctica. Proceedings of the Geologists’Association 105 (1994), pp.1–14. 94. Long, D.: An Eocene wrasse (Perciformes; Labridae) from Seymour Island. Antarctic Science 4 (1992), pp.235–237. 95. Rich, T.H., Vickers-Rich, P. and Gangloff, R.A.: Polar Dinosaurs. Science 295 (2002), pp.979–980. 96. Bond M., Reguero, M. A., Vizcaíno, S. F., and Marenssi, S. A. A new “South American ungulate” (Mammalia: Litopterna) from the Eocene of the Antarctic Peninsula. In: Francis, J. E., Pirrie, D. & Crame, J. A. (eds.): Cretaceous-Tertiary High-Latitude Palaeoenvironments, James Ross Basin, Antarctica. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 258 (2006), pp.163–176.
An appraisal of the report by Einar Lönnberg (1905) on fishes collected by the Swedish South Polar Expedition ROBERTO C. MENNI AND LUIS O. LUCIFORA …qu’enfin l’art de la critique était aussi peu connu alors des naturalistes que des historiens, ce qui est beaucoup dire… George Cuvier, Discours préliminaire, Recherches sur les ossements fossiles de cuadrupèdes.
ABSTRACT: During 1901 and 1903 the Swedish South Polar Expedition collected 52 fish species from Tierra del Fuego, Malvinas Islands, South Georgia and Antarctica. Axel Johan Einar Lönnberg, who later also studied other Magellanic fishes, reported these species in 19051. He described 23 new species. Only three of them, Notothenia karlandrea, N. dubia and N. brevipes, resulted synonyms of Patagonothen sima, Trematomus vicarius and N. tessellata, respectively. Lönnberg described the following new species: two from Tierra del Fuego, Isla de los Estados (Staaten Island) and adjacent seas (Patagonotothen brevicauda and Muraenolepis microps), two from Islas Malvinas (Falkland Islands) and the Burdwood Bank (Crossostomus fasciatus and Careproctus falklandicus), seven from South Georgia Islands (Careproctus georgianus, Trematomus vicarius, Trematomus hansoni georgianus, Lepidonotothen larseni, Gobionotothen gibberifrons, Artedidraco mirus, and Champsocephalus gunnari) and three from the “true” Antarctic Region (Chionodraco hamatus, Artedidraco skottsbergi and Lindbergichthys nudifrons). He also described six new pelagic or benthopelagic species (Sio nordenskjöldi, Krefftichthys andersoni, Protomyctophum paralellum, Gymnoscopelus braueri, Borostomias antarcticus and Bathylagus gracilis). This work has been considered a valuable addition to the systematics and biology of the Graham Land and neighbouring islands.2 It is also an important contribution to the ichthyology of the Magellanic area and the Subantarctic islands. Lönnberg also contributed to the biological concept of Antarctica as a “life zone” and to its zoogeography. The contribution of the Swedish South Polar Expedition and Lönnberg to the knowledge of the diversity of the South Atlantic and Antarctic fishes is substantial, and is widely recognised.
1 INTRODUCTION During 1901 and 1903 the Swedish South Polar Expedition collected 52 fish species from Tierra del Fuego, Islas Malvinas (Falkland Islands), South Georgia and Antarctica. Axel Johan Einar Lönnberg, who later also studied other Magellanic fauna, made the report on these fishes,1 describing 20 new species. In his review of the Antarctic fish fauna, Andriashev2 considered Lönnberg’s work a valuable addition to the systematics and biology of the Graham Land and neighbouring islands. But Lönnberg greatly contributed also to the knowledge of the Magellanic fauna, which is the one living around the southern tip of South America, particularly off Argentina.3,4,5,6 Ringuelet,7 in a brief historical essay on Argentine marine ichthyology, wrote that “During 1901 and 1903, the Swedish South Polar Expedition ship Antarctic, under the
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direction of Dr. Otto Nordenskjöld, obtained fishes from Fuegia, Malvinas Islands, the Burdwood Bank and neighbouring waters”…1 “increase the list [of Argentine fishes] with seven species of which two resulted synonyms”. This author, two years later (1907), studied the Magellanic fishes collected by captain R. Paessler (1886–1904), and those obtained by Dr. W. Michaelsen (1892, 1893) with the ship Sara from the Naturhistorischen Museum of Hamburg. He added nine species to Magellanic waters. Miller,8 quoted 12 species reported by Lönnberg1,9 from the Weddell Sea and adjacent waters.
2
LÖNNBERG’S CONTRIBUTIONS
A summary of new fish species resulting from the work of Lönnberg, based on material collected by the expedition, according to his own exposition and taxonomic studies made subsequently, is given in Table 1. Though in his own words “the expedition could not afford to spend much time for exploring the deep sea and it was not especially fit out for such work”, Lönnberg described
Table 1. Number of species obtained by the Swedish South Polar Expedition from southern South America, the Subantarctic islands and Antarctica, and new species described by Lönnberg. Sample area Tierra del Fuego, Isla de los Estados (Staaten Island) and adjacent seas Islas Malvinas/Falkland Islands and Burdwood Bank
Number of species collected 12 species 14 species
South Georgia Island
10 species
“True” Antarctic Region
7 species
Pelagic and benthopelagic species
9 species
New species/genus 2 new species: Patagonotothen brevicauda Muraenolepis microps 2 new species: Crossostomus fasciatus Careproctus falklandicus 7 new species: Careproctus georgianus Trematomus vicarius Trematomus hansoni georgianus Lepidonotothen larseni Gobionotothen gibberifrons Artedidraco mirus Champsocephalus gunnari Artedidraco is also a new genus. 3 new species: Chionodraco hamatus Artedidraco skottsbergi Lindbergichthys nudifrons 6 new species: Sio nordenskjöldi Krefftichthys andersoni Protomyctophum paralellum Gymnoscopelus braueri Borostomias antarcticus Bathylagus gracilis
Appraisal of report by Einar Lönnberg (1905) on fishes 79
six new species of four families including ridgeheads (Melamphaidae), lantern fishes (Myctophidae), snaggletooth (Astronesthidae) and deep sea smelts (Bathylagidae). So his statement is a bit modest. These species were captured mainly at 49° 56' S, 49° 56' W in waters 2700 m deep, and were reported also in Lönnberg.10 The fish species described in the report are only a part of the material obtained by the expedition, as a considerable amount was lost during the wreck of the “Antarctic”. This did not impede that the remaining one formed the basis of a more than considerable contribution to the ichthyology of South America and Antarctica. Illustrations in Figure 1 show the general aspect and morphology that are rather common in Subantarctic and Antarctic fishes, as can be seen in some species described by Lönnberg. Different geographic areas are often inhabited by different groups of organisms, and in each one fishes look different. Cold waters have many of their own. This is because animals exposed to similar selection pressures are likely to evolve similar adaptations. This principle of convergence states that where pressures on the organisms are particularly extreme, they will converge – be alike- in morphology, physiology, behaviour and ecology, approaching optimal designs for that particular set of environmental forces.11 Though we are considering research work made a century ago, the results look very positive nowadays. Moreover, the style of the writer is very concise and to the point, in so to speak, a modern fashion; or may be, in a classic one. Günther style was similar. Several observations on nomenclature, meaning the manner and rules for naming the organisms, are rather clearer and more serious than many written presently. Most of Lönnberg statements on zoogeography are still valid, not in a historical but in a factual sense. Gon and Heemstra12 state that Lönnberg and Regan (some years later), were the first to define the Antarctic Region on the basis of physical and biological characteristics. Lönnberg defines the region considering summer temperatures of the sea below 0ºC from the surface to 1450 m, including coastal Antarctica and the South Shetland Islands. Lönnberg disagreed with Dollo on the position of the South Shetlands, considering that they were truly Antarctic, a criterion followed at present.13 He also noted the high endemism of fish species around South Georgia, and attribute it to a long and complete isolation from other shores or shallow waters (the island is surrounded by water more than 3000 m deep).13 On 1906 Lönnberg published a report on the fishes of South Georgia, adding the new species Chaenichthys aceratus (now in the genus Chaenocephalus), and the new genus Chionodraco, for his previous species Chaenichthys hamatus. One of Lönnberg’s species, Lindbergichthys nudifrons, was recently reported from the Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego, and is considered an example of “The very limited interchange between the fish faunas of the Patagonian – Falkland and the Antarctic regions…”.14 We particularly like Lönnberg’s discussion on the relationship between geographic distribution and taxonomic level, and his noticeable advanced form of discussing isolation. Lönnberg wrote that: “The localities group themselves, however, naturally round certain geographical areas, viz. Tierra del Fuego with Staaten Island and surrounding seas, the Falklands with the Burdwood Bank, South Georgia and finally the South Shetlands-Graham Land complex of islands and lands. I have therefore found it most suitable to treat the fishes of these areas separately, the more so as, as will be shown in the following, these areas from a zoogeographical point of view, to a certain degree, form units. By this I mean that the fishes of one such area are not all of them wholly identical with those of another area, but at least some of them represented by similar fishes which in certain instances, although in many respects corresponding, are
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Figure 1. A: Gobionotothen gibberifrons, B: Artedidraco mirus, C: Artedidraco skottsbergi, D: Patagonotothen brevicauda, E: Trematomus hansoni georgianus. All after Lönnberg, 1905a.
specifically different, in others only subspecifically, or racially. This difference is a natural result of isolation, because the shore fishes of one district have been prohibited by wide interjacent areas of deep water to interbreed with their congeners in another district”. He combines these arguments with biological ones, particularly the presence of demersal eggs in many shore cold water fishes.
Appraisal of report by Einar Lönnberg (1905) on fishes 81
Lönnberg also provides valuable observations on the biology, particularly reproduction and anatomy of cod icefishes or nototheniids. There is also evidence of ecological thinking, in the insistence on the kinds of bottoms and on the importance of temperature, widely accepted today. This is charmingly shown in his description of “Fishing at Paulet Island” through holes in the ice, where he considers abundance, size of fishes, depth (8 m to 20 m), kind of bottom (stony with a rich growth of algae), and constancy of temperature at surface and under the ice (respectively ⫺1.9°C and ⫺2.0°C). This is probably the best place to remember that most fishes were obtained and many observations were made by K.A. Anderson, zoologist of the expedition.
3 FINAL CONSIDERATIONS From 23 species that Lönnberg described in his report, 20 are still valid. Only 3 resulted synonyms, meaning that they were already described. So, the expedition and its ichthyologist, discovered a nice fauna, composed by 20 species including a new genus. It is interesting to see how a work made so long ago has not been affected by time. According to Knox,15 there are 120 fish species in Antarctica. Being so, Lönnberg described over 16% of them. This is a wonderful contribution by any standard, old or new. May be the only advantage Lönnberg had was to be a pioneer. Only thirty years before the Swedish Expedition, in places like Madeira during the voyage of the Challenger, “fish almost unknown to the naturalist might be found in the market”.16 Moreover, these results allow us to treat some points related with understanding of science, particularly, the close relationship between science and the real world as we perceive it. Lönnberg deplored the lost of material collected in the Bransfield Strait, but several notes and color sketches on that material subsist, and he included them in the report, because “these notes are, although incomplete, of great interest”. This is an important trait in which science differs from other disciplines. We may have the near absolute security that there will be new specimens which will correspond to descriptions, figures and information of Lönnberg. In fact, the revision of modern sources shows that this is so. In a more general sense, the Swedish Expedition is an example of a part of science somewhat forgotten in the heavy philosophical web of modern epistemology. This aspect is the role of discovery in the advancement of science. We refer to the situation in which certain facts may not always be previewed, and that there is often a lot of chance in the process of research. New facts or new places, or new communities, they were often unexpected. The discovery of x-rays was always cited in this context. As Dyson17 says, talking about the discovery of gamma-ray bursts, “it was totally unexpected; it was totally unintended; it arose from a new tool of observation, rather than from a new idea”. Borges18 mentions that in ancient Greek literature a black swan means an impossibility; they did not know that there are black swans in Australia. In the case of great expeditions, it can be said that there is an active belief in that exploration will provide new facts and material, but the existence of new species is only forwarded in a rather generalised form. The richness of fish species discovered by the expedition, and the fact that the validity of practically all of them survived during near a century of revision, examination and testing, many of them indeed without even nomenclature changes, is the best proof of the consistency of the work of Lönnberg.
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The contribution of the Swedish South Polar Expedition, and Lönnberg, to the knowledge of the diversity of the South Atlantic and Antarctic fishes is substantial, and is widely recognised.
REFERENCES 1. Lönnberg, A.J.A. 1905a. The fishes of the Swedish South Polar expedition. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Südpolar Expedition 1901–1903, 5 (6): 1–72, 5 láminas. 2. Andriashev, A.P. 1965. A general review of the Antarctic Fish Fauna. Pp.343–402. In: Andriashev, A.P. and P. Ushakov (Eds.). Biogeography and ecology of Antarctica. W. Junk Publishers, The Hague. 3. Lönnberg, A.J.A. 1907. Fische. Hamburger Magalhaensische Sammelreise, 8 (6): 1–16. 4. Norman, J.R. 1937. Coast Fishes. Part II. The Patagonian region. “Discovery” Reports, 16: 1–150. 5. Menni, R.C. 1981. Sobre la distribución de los peces marinos de la Argentina. Pp.57–73. In: Symposia, VI Jornadas Argentinas de Zoología, La Plata. 6. Menni, R.C.; R.A. Ringuelet and R.H. Arámburu. 1984. Peces Marinos de la Argentina y Uruguay. Hemisferio Sur, Buenos Aires, 359 pp. 7. Ringuelet, R.A. 1984. Breve reseña histórica de la ictiología Argentina y Uruguaya. Pp.3–8, In: Menni, R.C.; R.A. Ringuelet and R.A. Arámburu. Peces Marinos de la Argentina y Uruguay. Hemisferio Sur, Buenos Aires. 8. Miller, R.G. 1993. History and atlas of the fishes of the Antarctic Ocean. Foresta Institute for Ocean and Mountain Studies, Nevada. 9. Lönnberg, A.J.E. 1906. Contributions to the fauna of South Georgia. I. Taxonomic and biological notes on vertebrates. Kungl. Sv. Akademiens Handlingar, 40 (5): 91–100. 10. Lönnberg, A.J.E. 1905b. Pelagische von der schwedischen Südpolar – Expedition 1901–1903 erbeutete Fische. Zool. Anz., 28 (23): 762–766. 11. Helfman, G.S.; B.B. Collette and D.E. Facey. 1997. The diversity of fishes. Blackwell Science, Massachusetts. 12. Gon, O. and P.C. Heemstra (Eds.). 1990. Fishes of the Southern Ocean. J.L.B. Smith Institute of ichthyology, Grahamstown. 13. Briggs, J.C. 1974. Marine Zoogeography. McGraw Series in Population Biology, New York. 14. Stehmann, M. and A.V. Balushkin. 1993. Results of the research cruises of FRV “Walther Herwig” to South America. LXXI. A first record of the Antarctic fish Lindbergichthys nudifrons (Lönnberg, 1905) from the Beagle Canal, Tierra del Fuego (Pisces, Perciformes, Nototheniidae). Arch. FischWiss., 41 (3): 203–210. 15. Knox, G.A. 1994. The biology of the Southern Ocean. Cambridge University Press, Studies in Polar Research. 16. Linklater, E. 1972. The voyage of the Challenger. Doubleday & Co., New York. 17. Dyson, F. 1977/1978. Through a glass, brightly. Time Magazine, Special Issue, p.95. 18. Borges, J.L. 1988. Edward Kasner & James Newman: Matemáticas e imaginación. Pp.35–36, In: Biblioteca personal (prólogos), Alianza Literatura, Buenos Aires.
Botany during the Swedish Antarctic expedition 1901–1903 INGIBJÖRG S. JÓNSDÓTTIR
1 INTRODUCTION After decades of little exploration, there was a revival in scientific research in Antarctica by the turn of the 20th century, inspired by new technology and new attempts to launch whaling in Antarctic waters. When raising funds for scientific expeditions to the not yet fully explored and frozen continent, the emphasis was primarily on geo-sciences, i.e. geography, geology and geophysics. This was also the case when the Swedish geologist Otto Nordenskjöld planned his expedition with the vessel Antarctic to the Antarctic Peninsula. However, botany has a long scientific tradition in Sweden ever since the days of Carl von Linné and reaching far beyond the boarders of Sweden. Two of Linné’s apprentices, Daniel Solander and Anders Sparrman, had participated in expeditions to the southern hemisphere led by the British explorer Captain James Cook, and visited some areas that were later visited by Nordenskjöld’s expedition in 1901–1903. During Cook’s expedition 1768–1770 with the Endeavour, Solander had the opportunity to explore the flora of Tierra del Fuego for a few days, in the company of the famous British naturalist Joseph Banks. This adventure almost got him killed in an unexpected blizzard in the Tierra del Fuego Mountains. Sparrman, on the other hand, visited South Georgia during James Cook’s second southern hemisphere expedition with the Resolution in 1772–1776. Otto Nordenskjöld was therefore true to Swedish academic traditions when he decided to include botany in the scientific program of his expedition. He engaged a young botanist, Carl Skottsberg, who was only 20 years old at the time of departure from Göteborg in 1901. In this paper I will give a brief overview of the botanical research carried out by Skottsberg during this historical expedition, but first a few words about the realities of Nature that met the young botanist in terms of the terrestrial flora and vegetation. This account is largely based on a recent paper by Jónsdóttir and Moen.1
2 ANTARCTIC TERRESTRIAL FLORA AND VEGETATION Compared to the Arctic, the diversity of the terrestrial Antarctic flora is poor. The main reason for this is the difference in distribution of land and sea around the two poles. In Antarctica, cold seas shield a large ice-covered continent from other landmasses, whereas in the Arctic a central ocean is surrounded by landmasses in relatively close proximity to
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land areas of temperate climates. In addition, warm ocean currents reach far into the Arctic Basin, facilitating dispersal and survival of organisms. No such currents reach coastal Antarctica. However, in spite of sparse vegetation and low species diversity, Antarctica and the subantarctic islands, have drawn considerable botanical interest, primarily for studies of plant distribution and adaptations to extreme environments. 2.1
Origin of the flora
Many of the early botanists visiting the Antarctic region speculated on the origin of the present flora and how plants could have been transported there from other continents. One of them was Skottsberg.2,3,4,5 The seasonally ice- and snow-free areas in West Antarctica are very limited (c. 10 and 40% in the maritime Antarctic Islands and South Georgia, respectively, and less than 1% in continental Antarctica).6,7 During the Pleistocene maximum glaciations, ice-free areas were even fewer and smaller and those available were most likely too harsh to host more than a few species of bryophytes, lichens and microorganisms. A low degree of endemism among all groups of plants and the lack of endemism among vascular plant species, even on most of the subantarctic islands, further support this view.2,5,8,9,10 Therefore, the majority of the recent terrestrial flora must have invaded the area relatively recently from temperate areas farther north. Accordingly, the vascular flora of South Georgia has a striking similarity with the flora of the Magellan province of the Fuegian region.5 Skottsberg2,5 argued that most plant propagules must have been carried by the wind from temperate regions into Antarctica. Later research has provided strong evidence for this general view.9,11 There are also strong indications that birds may be an important long distance dispersal factor, at least for seeds.12 Although the taxonomy of the terrestrial cryptogam flora of the region is still inadequate, it is evident that it has a strong affinity to the Fuegian region. However, many species of bryophytes and lichens have a wide distribution, some showing circumpolar and other cosmopolitan or even bipolar distribution.10,13 In contrast to the terrestrial flora, the marine flora of Antarctica is well developed, mainly of circumpolar distribution. One explanation is that the marine flora has probably not suffered the same deprivation of species during previous glaciation maxima.4 2.2
Vegetation zones
The vegetation zonation of the Earth is closely related to global climate gradients, especially temperatures. On a large scale, vegetation zones on the northern hemisphere are mirrored on the southern hemisphere although strongly modified by different distribution of land and oceans. One of the earliest attempts to describe vegetation zonation in Antarctica was made by Skottsberg, who described the vegetation of the West Antarctic and extended it into the cold temperate region of the Southern Hemisphere.5,14,15 Others have built on this early attempt and today the most frequently used zonal division is based on Greene16 and Longton.10,17 This scheme identifies four polar regions (i.e. zones) extending from the West Antarctic, along the Antarctic Peninsula, through the Scotia Ridge and to the southernmost parts of South America, i.e. the frigid, cold, cool and mild regions, respectively (Figure 1). Although in some areas we may see striking similarities, the polar vegetation zones in the two hemispheres do not directly correspond to each other due to differences in land mass distribution, climate, species composition and diversity. The absence of large herbivores in Antarctica in combination with the paucity of the flora has resulted in unique plant communities.
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Figure 1. A Map of the areas visited during the Swedish Antarctic expedition showing its division into regions based on vegetation zones (based on Longton10).
The mild region does not extend to Antarctica. It includes the Malvinas Islands (Falkland Islands) and the Magellanic moorland region of southern Chile. Its closest counterpart in the Northern Hemisphere is what is usually referred to as the Subarctic. Although the average temperature of the warmest month exceeds 10°C, a criterion commonly used for the southern limit of the true Arctic, the Malvinas Islands are naturally treeless and in the Chilean region Nothofagus forests, often dominated by N. Antarctica, only develop in sheltered river valleys. The reason for this is probably a combination of an extreme maritime climate and heavy grazing, a situation also found in subarctic Faroe Islands, Iceland and Southwest Greenland. The mild region includes a variety of vegetation types, many of them dominated by dwarf shrubs.10,17 A typical feature is the many cushion-forming plant species, an adaptation that benefits plants growing under extremely windy conditions (Figure 2). The cool region, usually referred to as the Subantarctic12, is represented only by South Georgia in the West Antarctic Region (Figure 1). A comparable vegetation zone in the Northern Hemisphere is much better represented and covers much of what is usually called the Arctic tundra, i.e., relatively closed vegetation beyond the limit of tree growth.10 South Georgia is an isolated, mountainous island, approximately 170 km long, and 2–40 km wide with a northwest to southeast axis. About 60% of the island is covered by permanent ice, and the highest peak reaches 2,960 m. The climate is characterised by a relatively small annual range in air temperature and by long, cool and humid summers; the climate is much harsher along the south coast than along the north coast of the island. The Swedish botanist Anders Sparrman was the first botanist to visit South Georgia, together with Captain James
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Figure 2. The open and windswept landscape of the Malvinas Islands (Falkland Islands) within the mild Antarctic zone. Typical cushion forming plants are in the foreground. (Photograph: I.S. Jónsdóttir).
Cook when he discovered and claimed South Georgia for the British Empire in 1774. Will18 provided the first accounts of the flora of South Georgia and during the Swedish Antarctic expedition Skottsberg had the opportunity to complement it. He also provided description of the vegetation, first in a paper published before the return of the expedition19 and later in the expedition report series.2 The flora and vegetation of the island has been thoroughly studied by many prominent botanists during the last decades20 showing that Skottsberg encountered 19 of the 25 vascular plant species, or 76% of the vascular flora, 86% of the moss species but less than 50% of the liverwort and lichen species. The terrestrial flora on South Georgia is species-poor and, as mentioned above, with only 25 taxa of indigenous vascular plants. Of these, only six species develop extensive stands and dominate distinct plant communities: Acaena magellanica, Deschampsia antarctica, Festuca contracta, Juncus scheuchzerioides, Parodiochloa flabellata, and Rostkovia magellanica. The cryptogam flora comprises a larger number of species or c. 115 species of mosses21, c. 80 liverworts24, and c. 200 species of lichens.22 Since the days of Skottsberg, the flora and vegetation has changed considerably because a number of plant species have been introduced on the island. Around 40 of the introduced vascular species have survived for several decades, and about 25 of these can now be regarded as naturalised. On certain parts of the Island, the vegetation has also changed in response to two introduced herbivorous mammals, i.e. the reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) that was repeatedly introduced on purpose between 1911 and 1925 during the Norwegian whaling era, and the accidentally introduced brown rat (Rattus norvegicus). For instance, the introduced grass species Poa annua now dominates some coastal areas grazed by the reindeer.20 Five broad categories of plant communities that were also distinguishable in the beginning of the 20th century can be recognised on the island. These occupy coastal habitats up to 100–200 m altitude. The first category is grasslands, where the two most common types
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(A)
(B)
Figure 3. In South Georgia (the cool Antarctic zone) there are great contrasts between (A) the rugged, glaciated inland and (B) the productive coastal areas. The fur seals inhabit and fertilize the tussock grass (Parodiochloa flabellate) along the coasts and the introduced reindeer utilizes the nutritious leaf bases during winter (Photographs: I.S. Jónsdóttir).
are tussock grasslands and dry grasslands. Tussock grasslands form a distinctive zone along much of the coast, and are dominated by Parodiochloa flabellata that may reach 2 m in height (Figure 3). Tussock leaf bases are rich in carbohydrates and are heavily grazed by the introduced reindeer, especially during winter when this may be the only available food besides seaweed which has drifted ashore. Dry grasslands, on the other hand, are found in the upland, well-drained sites and are dominated by Festuca contracta. The second category, bogs and mires, usually occur in valley floors and basins between low hills. Peat may accumulate in these communities to 3 m in depth, with the base being almost 10,000 years old.23 The rush Rostkovia magellanica is the most common vascular plant species, and many mosses and
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liverworts are also found. There are also seepage slopes and small springs where peat does not accumulate and these may be fairly species-rich and are often dominated by bryophytes. Herbfield communities, the third category, are typical of sheltered slopes and flat stony flood plains and are dominated by the woody perennial Acaena magellanica. This community is the closest counterpart to Arctic dwarf shrub communities. The moss turf community (“moss banks”), the fourth category, is a very distinctive turf up to 1 m thick, and formed predominantly by Polytrichum strictum. Juncus scheuchzerioides is also often present. Moss turf communities become even more distinct in the cold region of the maritime Antarctic (see below). On dry stony ground, the fifth category may be found: fellfield communities. These are characterised by an open vegetation of scattered mosses, lichens and vascular plants.20 The cold region is confined to West Antarctica and is usually referred to as the maritime Antarctic.20 It includes the islands along the Scotia Ridge south of South Georgia (South Sandwich, South Orkney and South Shetland Islands), the northwest part of the Antarctic Peninsula and adjacent islands south to Marguerite Bay (Figure 1). The climate is moist maritime, the mean monthly temperatures exceed 0°C for one to four months in the summer, and the annual precipitation is between 350 and 500 mm. Plant diversity decreases from the cool to the cold region and includes only two vascular species, the grass Deschampsia antarctica (Poaceae) (Figure 4a) and the dicotyledon herb Colobanthus quitensis (Caryophyllaceae). Cryptogams predominate in terrestrial ecosystems of this region. The cryptogam flora accounts for only about 100 species of mosses21, 27 species of liverworts24, 250 species of lichens22, and less than 50 macrofungi, but the species diversity declines with decreasing temperatures and precipitation from north to south.10 This region is regarded as a semi-desert, although mosses and the two phanerogams may form closed stands in wetter habitats with some peat formation in the northern coastal areas. Lichens are predominant in more exposed habitats and inland areas12,13 (Figure 4b). The closest counterpart in the Northern Hemisphere would be the polar desert.10 Within this region there is a large variation in geology with potential effects on plant community development, ranging from various metamorphic rocks to volcanic rocks with sedimentary rocks occurring only locally. However, soil moisture has an overriding role in shaping the communities. Skottsberg3 made an early attempt to classify the vegetation of the South Shetland Islands, Graham Land and the surrounding islands visited by the Antarctic expedition, but since then these have been refined after more thorough studies by Lewis Smith.12,13 Lewis Smith recognised two vegetation formations: the widespread Antarctic cryptogam formation and the very restricted Antarctic herb formation. On the basis of the growth form of the predominant species the cryptogam formation is further divided into eight subformations, nine if the snow algae community is included. One of the most remarkable plant communities is the semi-ombrotrophic Tall Moss Turf subformation, commonly termed “moss banks”, similar to those found in South Georgia. The moss banks are dominated by either Polytrichum strictum (P. alpestre) or Chorisodontium aciphyllum, or both these species. The mosses develop 1–2 m thick turf on north-facing hillsides, permanently frozen below the active layer of 20–30 cm and typically with a vertically eroded downhill edge. The ecology of the moss banks has been intensively studied25, and the well-preserved peat that reaches the age of 5,500 years has also been subjected to paleoclimatic studies.26 The frigid region comprises the majority of the landmass, i.e. almost all of continental Antarctica except the northwest part of the Antarctic Peninsula. It lacks any counterpart in the Northern Hemisphere.10 Apart from snow algae, plant life is confined to the ice-free coastal strips and nunataks. This region offers only hostile environments with very low
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(A)
(B)
Figure 4. The vegetation in the cold Antarctic zone is dominated by cryptogams. (A) The grass Deschampsia antarctica, one of the two vascular plant species in the cold zone of Antarctica, grows together with mosses in moist habitats. (B) The fruticose lichen, Usnea fasciata, assumes dominance in the drier habitats of the zone, here with fruiting bodies. Both photographs are from Livingston Island. (Photographs: Ó. Ingólfsson).
precipitation and temperatures that are seldom above freezing, except in coastal areas. Plant diversity is extremely low both with regard to species and growth forms. In all the frigid region of Antarctica there are approximately 20 species of mosses, one liverwort,24 90 lichen species,22 and two macrofungi.10 Some of the islands visited by the Swedish Antarctic expedition belong to this region, and on one of them, Paulet Island, Skottsberg had an unwanted opportunity to study it for more than 8 months.3 He described extremely poor vegetation, and observed that at the most favourable sites the plants were frequently in severe competition for space with the penguins that gather in large and dense breeding colonies during the summer months (Figure 5). On the few ice-free sites, sparsely vegetated areas are interspersed with more extensive areas totally devoid of macroscopic life. Elsewhere, one or a few species of lichens or mosses dominate the vegetated areas.10 Light and Heywood27 suggested that Antarctic lakes provide a more favourable physical environment for certain species of moss
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Figure 5. Adelie penguin colony in Hope Bay. In the frigid zone of Antarctica, terrestrial cryptogam plants compete with penguins for the limited ice-free space. Skottsberg described the same situation on Paulet Island where he over wintered for eight months together with 19 other members of the Swedish Antarctic expedition. (Photograph: Ó. Ingólfsson).
(e.g. Campylium polygamum and Dicranella sp.) than the surrounding land and that most of the plant biomass occurs in aquatic habitats. 3 BOTANICAL RESEARCH DURING THE ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION What was the aim of the botanical studies during the Swedish Antarctic expedition in 1901–1903 and what were the expedition’s botanical expectations? This is a reasonable question to ask in the light of our present day reality: when planning a scientific expedition today, every part of the scientific program must rest on well-defined scientific questions. However, the situation was quite different one century ago when large parts of the frozen continent were still unknown and the floras and faunas of many places in the southern hemisphere, even far north of Antarctica, were poorly explored. At the time of Otto Nordenskjöld’s expedition, the expedition botanist had to live up to expectations that were probably no less than today, although of different nature: systematic documentation and collection of species to get a better idea of “what was there”. Besides that, the most intriguing biological questions for Antarctic research in the beginning of the 20th century were related to “bipolarity”, i.e. to which extent the same species were represented at the two polar areas and how well the two hemispheres compared to each other in terms of biogeography and adaptations.28 Other fascinating types of questions were on the relatedness of contemporary floras and faunas of continents that were found to be geologically related based on fossils and other geological evidence. As mentioned above, Skottsberg later addressed some of these questions in publications resulting from the Swedish Antarctic expedition and later expeditions to the southern hemisphere. During the Swedish Antarctic expedition Skottsberg visited northern Graham Land (the northernmost part of the Antarctic Peninsula), the South Shetland Islands and subantarctic South Georgia, as well as the Malvinas Islands and Tierra del Fuego. Although Skottsberg devoted most of his active life to taxonomic and phytogeographic research of flowering plants, his doctoral thesis was based on studies of marine brown algae in the Antarctic and subantarctic waters during the Antarctic expedition, completed in 1907, four years after the return of this historic expedition.29 Even later during his carrier his Antarctic collections continued
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Figure 6. Skottsberg during one of his south hemisphere expeditions – archive photo provided by KVA/Wråkberg.
to inspire him to write papers on marine algae.30,31,32 Besides collections of marine algae, Skottsberg also brought back valuable collections of freshwater and terrestrial algae, lichens, bryophytes and vascular plants, in spite of losing some samples when the expedition vessel, Antarctic, was crushed by the sea ice and sank. Some of the collections brought home he wisely handed over to other specialists: Foslie33 wrote on coralline algae (Corallinaceae), Stefani34 on liverworts, Cardot35,36 on mosses and Darbishire37 on lichens. The majority of the taxonomic work by Skottsberg is still today recognised as valid, in spite of recent research using new techniques.1,38 In addition to reports on the systematic collections, Skottsberg wrote several papers on phytogeography and vegetation of West Antarctica, South Georgia, the Malvinas and Tierra del Fuego based on his observations during the expedition as accounted for above. Taken together the botanical part of the expedition programme was most productive and contributed significantly to the knowledge of the flora and vegetation of this area, thanks to Nordenskjöld’s choice for the botanical post of the expedition. In addition to fourteen botanical reports published in the series Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Südpolar-Expedition 1901–1903, at least eight additional scientific papers on botany are fully or partly based on the Antarctic expedition. The botanical success of the expedition can also be viewed differently: Skottsberg’s participation in the Swedish Antarctic expedition marked the beginning of a rich academic carrier (for detailed accounts on Skottsberg’s academic activity see Salisbury39, Peterson40, Nordenstam41,42 and Weimarck 38). He returned a number of times to the southern hemisphere later in his life (Figure 6) although he never went as far south
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again as during his first expedition. Already in the years 1907–09 he led the Swedish Magellan expedition to Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, the Malvinas Islands, and South Georgia. The Juan Fernandez Islands with their unique flora became among his favourite area from where he described many new plant species and got deeply involved in the conservation of the threatened flora and vegetation. As modern botanical research in Antarctica takes new turns and addresses new questions, it builds on the solid pioneering work of the early botanists like Carl Skottsberg. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to acknowledge Jorge Rabassa and Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas in Ushuaia, the Swedish Embassy in Buenos Aires, Instituto Antártico in Buenos Aires, Museo de La Plata, The Argentine Navy, Natalie Goodall at Estancia Harberton for hospitality during the Jubilee Symposium in Argentina and The Royal Swedish Academy of Science for inviting me to participate in the Swedish delegation. REFERENCES 1. Jónsdóttir, I.S. and Moen, J.: Botany in the West Antarctic Region: From Skottsberg to Modern Research Antarctic Challenges. In: Elzinga, A., Nordin, T., Turner, D. Wråkberg, U. (eds): Historical and Current Perspectives on Antarctica on the Occasion of the Centenary of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition 1901–1903. Kungl. Vetenskaps- och Vitterhets-Samhället, Göteborg (in preparation). 2. Skottsberg, C.: The Vegetation in South Georgia. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Südpolar-Expedition 1901–1903 unter Leitung von Otto Nordenskjöld vol. 4 part 12, 1911. 3. Skottsberg, C.: Einige Bemerkungen über die Vegetationsverhältnisse des Graham Landes. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Südpolar-Expedition 1901–1903 unter Leitung von Otto Nordenskjöld vol. 4 part 13, 1912. 4. Skottsberg, C.: Communities of Marine Algae in Subantarctic and Antarctic Waters. Kongl. Svenska Vetenskapsakademiens handlingar 19 (1941), pp.1–92. 5. Skottsberg, C.: Remarks on the Plant Geography of the Southern Cold Temperate Zone. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London 152 (1960), pp.447–457. 6. Greene, S.W., Gressitt, J.L., Koob, D., Llano, G.A., Rudolph, E.D., Singer, R., Steere, W.C. and Ugolini, F.C.: Terrestrial life of Antarctica. Antarctic Map Folio Seris 5. Geographical Society, New York, 1967. 7. Walton, D.W.H.: The Terrestrial Environment. In: R.M. Laws (ed.): Antarctic Ecology. 1. Acad. Press, London, 1984, pp.1–60. 8. Lamb, I.M.: Antarctic Terrestrial Plants and their Ecology. In: M.W. Holdgate (ed.): Antarctic Ecology. 2. Acad. Press, London, 1970, pp.733–751. 9. Robinson, H.E.: Observations on the Origin and Taxonomy of the Antarctic Moss Flora. In: G.A. Llano (ed.): Antarctic Terrestrial Biology. Antarctic Research Series 20, Amer. Geophys. Union, Washington, D.C., 1972, pp.163–177. 10. Longton, R.E.: The Biology of Polar Bryophytes and Lichens. Studies in Polar Research, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1988. 11. Marshall, W.A.: Biological Particles over Antarctica. Nature 383 (1996), p.680. 12. Lewis Smith, R.I.: Terrestrial Plant Biology of the Sub-Antarctic and Antarctic. In: R.M. Laws (ed.): Antarctic Ecology. 1. Acad. Press, London, 1984, pp.61–162. 13. Lewis Smith, R.I.: Terrestrial and Freshwater Biotic Components of the Western Antarctic Peninsula. In: R.M. Ross, E.E. Hofmann, and L.B.Quetin, (eds): Foundations of Ecological Research West of the Antarctic Peninsula. Antarctic Research Series 70, Amer. Geophys. Union, Washington, D.C., 1996, pp.15–59.
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14. Skottsberg, C.: On the Zonal Distribution of South Atlantic and Antarctic Vegetation. Geographical Journal 24 (1904), pp.657–663. 15. Skottsberg, C. Some Remarks upon the Geographical Distribution of Vegetation in the Colder Southern Hemisphere.” Ymer 25 (1905), pp.402–427. 16. Greene, S.W.: Plants of the Land. In: R. Priestley, R.J. Adie and G. De Q. Robin (eds): Antarctic Research. Butterworth, London, 1964, pp.240–253. 17. Longton, R.E.: Terrestrial Habitats – Vegetation. In: W.N. Bonner and D.W.H. Walton (eds): Antarctica. Key Environments. Oxford: Pergamon, 1985, pp. 73–105. 18. Will, H. (1890). Vegetations-Verhältnisse Süd-Georgiens. In: Hrsg. von G. Neumayer (ed.): Die Internationale Polarforschung 1882–83. Die Deutsche Expedition und ihre Ergebnisse. 2. Berlin: Asher, 1890, pp.174–194. 19. Skottsberg, C.: The Geographical Distribution of Vegetation in South Georgia. Geographical Journal 20 (1902), pp. 498–502. 20. McIntosh, E. and Walton, D.W.H.: Environmental management plan for South Georgia. British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, 2000. 21. Ochyra, R., Lewis Smith, R.I., and Bednarek-Ochyra, H.: The Moss Flora of Antarctica. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, (in prep.). 22. Øvstedal, D.O., and Lewis Smith, R.I.: Lichens of Antarctica and South Georgia. A Guide to their Identification and Ecology. Studies in Polar Research, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2001. 23. Lewis Smith, R.I. and Walton, D.W.H.: South Georgia, Subantarctic. In: T. Rosswall and O.W. Heal (eds): Structure and Function of Tundra Ecosystems. Ecological Bulletins 20 (1975), pp.399–423. 24. Bednarek-Ochyra, H., Vána, J., Ochyra, R. and Lewis Smith, R.I.: The liverwort flora of Antarctica. Polish Academy of Sciences, Krakow, 2000. 25. Fenton, J.H.C. and Lewis Smith, R.I.: Distribution, Composition and General Characteristics of the Moss Banks of the Maritime Antarctic. British Antarctic Survey Bulletin 51 (1982), pp.215–236. 26. Björck, S. Malmer, N., Hjort, C., Sandgren P., Ingólfsson, Ó., Wallén, B., Smith, R.I.L. and Liedberg-Jónsson, B.: Strategraphic and paleoclimatic studies of a 5500-year-old moss bank on Elephant Island, Antarctica. Arct. Alp. Res. 23 (1991), pp.361–374. 27. Light, J.J. and Heywood, R.B.: Is Vegetation of Continental Antarctica Predominantly Aquatic? Nature 256 (1975), pp.199–200. 28. Wråkberg, U.: Den internationella antarktisforskningen och Otto Nordensjölds sydpolarexpedition 1901–03. Ymer 121 (2001), pp.25–50. (In Swedish) 29. Skottsberg, C.: Zur Kenntnis der subantarktischen und antarktischen Meeresalgen 1. Phæophyceen. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Südpolar-Expedition 1901–1903 unter Leitung von Otto Nordenskjöld vol. 4 part 6, 1907. 30. Skottsberg, C.: Communities of Marine Algae in Subantarctic and Antarctic Waters. Kongl. Svenska Vetenskapsakademiens handlingar 19 (1941), pp.1–92. 31. Skottsberg, C.J.F.: Antarctic phycology. In: Carrick, R., Holdgate, M. and Prévost, J. (eds): Biologie Antarctique. Hermann, Paris, 1964, pp.147–154. 32. Kylin, H. and Skottsberg, C. (1919). Zur Kenntnis der subantarktischen und antarktischen Meeresalgen. 2. Rhodophyceen. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen SüdpolarExpedition 1901–1903 unter Leitung von Otto Nordenskjöld vol 4 part 15, 1919. 33. Foslie, M.: Antarctic and subantarctic Corallinaceae. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Südpolar-Expedition 1901–1903 unter Leitung von Otto Nordenskjöld vol. 4 part 5, 1907. 34. Stefani, F.: Hepaticae. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Südpolar-Expedition 1901–1903 unter Leitung von Otto Nordenskjöld vol. 4 part 1, 1905. 35. Cardot, J.: Notice préliminaire sur les mousses recueillies par l’Expédition antartique suédoise, 2. Espèces de la Géorgie du Sud, 3. Espèces de l’Antarctide. Bul. Boissier,Genève, Sér. 2, Tome 142 (1906), pp.456–458. 36. Cardot, J.: La flore bryologique des Terres magellaniques, de la Géorgie du Sud et de l’Antarctide. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Südpolar-Expedition 1901–1903 unter Leitung von Otto Nordenskjöld vol. 4 part 8, 1908. 37. Darbishire, O.V.: The Lichens. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen SüdpolarExpedition 1901–1903 unter Leitung von Otto Nordenskjöld vol. 4 part 11, 1911.
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38. Weimarck, G.: Carl Skottsberg in Antarctica. The Inception of a Great Career. In: A. Elzinga, T. Nordin, D. Turner, and U. Wråkberg (eds): Historical and Current Perspectives on Antarctica on the Occasion of the Centenary of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition 1901–1903. Kungl. Vetenskaps- och Vitterhets-Samhället, Göteborg, 2004, pp.79–88. 39. Salisbury, E.J.: Carl Johan Skottsberg (1880–1963). Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 10 (1964), pp.245–256. 40. Peterson, B.: Carl Skottsberg 1880–1963. Taxon 13 (1962), pp.1–7. 41. Nordenstam, B.: Carl Skottsberg, en mångsidig och vittberest botanist. Till fjälls. Svenska Fjällklubbens årsbok 68–69 (1999), pp.24–28. 42. Nordenstam, B.: Med Carl Skottsberg till världens ände. Ymer 121 (2001), pp.131–141.
Ozone and UV-B irradiances over Antarctica in the last decades SUSANA B. DIAZ, GUILLERMO A. DEFERRARI, PAULA K. VIGLIAROLO, DON W. NELSON, M. CAROLINA CAMILIÓN AND CLAUDIO E. BRUNAT
ABSTRACT: During the 1970s scientists’ concern about the effects of anthropogenic emissions on the ozone layer started. Later, in the middle 1980s, ozone depletion over Antarctica during the spring was discovered. Satellite and ground based measurements indicated a pronounced increase in ozone destruction inside the polar vortex until the middle 1990s. Stratospheric ozone concentration and UV-B radiation at the earth’s surface are inversely related. However, other factors such as solar zenith angle, cloud cover and aerosols also affect solar irradiance measured at ground level and, hence, variations of UV-B radiation at the earth’s surface are not easily derived only from ozone concentrations. Spectral measurements of solar radiation are essential in UV-B studies, since they provide detailed information on the environmental conditions. In 1988, the National Science Foundation (US) initiated the activities of the NSF UV Radiation Monitoring Network. Four spectro-radiometers (SUV-100) were installed in Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic stations (South Pole, McMurdo, Palmer and Ushuaia). This network was later augmented by installing two new spectro-radiometers (Barrow, Alaska and San Diego, California). A time series of approximately ten years is now available from all stations. This database constitutes the basis for atmospheric studies and provides supporting data for biological research. Nevertheless, the time series for these measurements are still relatively short to determine trends. However, systematic measurements of total ozone column have been performed since the late 1950s at ground stations and, since the late 1970s, global coverage is available from instruments installed on satellites (Nimbus-7, Meteor-3, Adeos, Earth-Probe, Gome). Long-term ground level irradiance time series provided by broadband instruments (Pyranometers, UV and erythemally weighted) are also available from many sites around the world. Using a multi-regressive model, we were able to extend narrow-band and biologically weighted irradiances, from total ozone column and ground level irradiance measured by broadband instruments. Data from pyranometers belonging to the NOAA/CMDL surface radiation budget was used to obtain a time series of narrowband and biologically weighted irradiance for South Pole, dating back to the late 1970s. In this paper, we will present a discussion on the evolution of the ozone hole and UV-B irradiances over Antarctica, during the past decades, using the above-discussed data sets.
1 INTRODUCTION At the early seventies, the first studies alerting on the possibility of depletion in the ozone layer, because of anthropogenic emissions, appeared. Later, in the middle eighties, strong stratospheric ozone depletion during spring, was discovered over Antarctica, which was called the “ozone hole”. After that, the scientific community has made big efforts to carry
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out atmospheric and biological studies, including human health. They were directed to evaluate the consequences of this phenomenon, to make the necessary decisions to revert the present situation to scenarios before 1970. In 1985, after the discovery of the “ozone hole”, the Vienna Convention to Protect the Ozone Layer was held. This meeting produced a general international agreement, which allowed the beginning of negotiations to take specific steps on the compounds that caused ozone depletion. In 1987, the Montreal Protocol established a list of ozone depleting products and faced out policies. The measures proposed in the Montreal Protocol were, then, strengthened by the Amendments of London (1990), Copenhagen (1992) and Montreal (1997). Ground-based ozone measurements have been performed systematically since 1957. In 1978, NASA started satellite measurements, which allow daily world coverage. Both sets of data indicate that ozone destruction inside the polar vortex has been increasing in the last two decades. Destruction rate was larger until the middle nineties, slowing down in the last years. According to models, the present situation would continue, modulated by natural dynamic variations, up to around year 2010. Then, recovery of the ozone layer would start. Because of the modulation imposed by natural variability, the recovery trend would not be detected immediately.1 Stratospheric ozone and UV-B radiation at the earth’s surface are inversely related. Then, atmospheric and biological studies on UV-B radiation have increased after the discovery of the “ozone hole”. Other factors as: solar zenith angles, cloud cover, altitude and aerosols, also affect solar irradiances. In consequence, the variation of UV-B radiation at the earth’s surface is complex and cannot be derived only from ozone variations. Since ozone cross section and ecosystems effects are both wavelength dependent, the determination of irradiances spectra at the earth’s surface is essential in studies related to ozone depletion. In 1988, the National Science Foundation (US) initiated the activities of the NSF UV Radiation Monitoring Network, installing four spectroradiometers SUV-100 in Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic stations. At present, time series of around ten years are available for all sites. Since these time series are still relatively short, several methodologies have been developed to extend spectral irradiance time series, using other available data.
2 OZONE In 1839, C.F. Schöenbein discovered the ozone and in 1850 it was established that it is a natural component of the atmosphere. In 1913, it was determined that most of this gas was in the stratosphere. At present, it is known that 90% of the atmospheric ozone is in that layer. Ozone is poisonous; then it can produce dangerous effects if more than certain amount is present in the air that is breathed by humans or animals. Nevertheless, stratospheric ozone is essential to protect all types of life in the planet. This gas filters solar UV-B radiation, which can produce harmful effects on humans and ecosystems. In addition, stratospheric ozone contributes to regulate the temperature of the planet. When absorbing solar UV-B radiation, ozone increases the temperature of the atmospheric layer where it is present. This mechanism produces a temperature inversion, which is a characteristic of the stratosphere. In 1930, Chapman formulated his photochemical theory on ozone formation. He established that atomic oxygen and solar radiation are both necessary to produce ozone. Atomic oxygen is obtained from molecular oxygen decomposition, which is produced by effect of
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solar radiation. Molecular oxygen is more abundant closer to the ground. Meanwhile, solar radiation maximizes at the top of the atmosphere, diminishing towards the earth’s surface, being attenuated by different atmospheric components. Hence, there is a height where the conditions for ozone formation optimise. This occurs at around 20 to 30 km from the earth’s surface.2 In 1934, balloon ozone-sondes proved that stratospheric ozone concentration varies with height, with a maximum at about the middle height of the layer (20 to 30 km). Natural destruction of ozone is produced by a succession of processes, which involve solar radiation, oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen. In the last decades anthropogenic compounds released to the atmosphere have been destroying stratospheric ozone with consequent increment of the UV radiation. In 1920, G.M.B. Dobson developed an instrument, which bears his name, for routinely measurement of the total ozone column. This instrument is based on ozone strong absorption at Hartley band (UV-B). It deduces the total ozone column, relating pairs of wavelengths in the ultraviolet, which have different ozone absorption coefficients. The total ozone column is measured in Dobson Units. One Dobson Unit is a height of one millimetre of pure gaseous ozone at 0°C and 1,013 hPa. In 1957, a worldwide network of Dobson instruments was installed. At present, about 100 of these photometers are distributed all over the world. During the seventies, the Brewer spectrophotometer was developed.3 It measures total ozone column and UV radiation. Using an algorithm, this instrument can also perform ozone profiles, and infer other compounds concentration (e.g.: nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide). Near 100 of these instruments are installed in different countries. Other instruments, which use different methods and bands, are also available to determine total ozone column. All the above-mentioned instruments measure the total ozone column from the ground, and provide only the value at the place where they are installed. Since 1978, measurements performed by instruments installed on satellites are available. This type of measurement presents the advantage of determining the total ozone column all over the planet daily. The total ozone column is obtained by comparison of the radiation coming from the Sun and the backscattered radiation, which results from the reflections at different layers of the stratosphere. Usually, these measurements do not detect the ozone present at the troposphere. TOMS (Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer) is the most common of the instruments installed on satellites. One of these instruments was on board satellite Nimbus-7 (NASA) from 1978 up to 1993, when it failed. Later, it was replaced by instruments of the same type, installed on satellites ADEOS (1996–1997) and Earth Probe (1996 to present). 2.1
Ozone depletion
In 1971, H.S. Johnston warned about the possibility that, an increase in the number of commercial supersonic airplanes could cause damage to the ozone layer.4 Later, in 1974, M. Molina and S. Rowland alerted on the effect that chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) could have on this layer.5 At the middle eighties, an analysis of ground measurements performed by the British Survey, revealed important stratospheric ozone depletion, during spring, at Halley Bay, where measurements had been carried out since 1957.6 Then, these findings were confirmed by observations made with the satellite Nimbus-7/NASA. Later, it was established that spring stratospheric ozone depletion had started by the middle seventies, being very mild at the beginning and accentuating with time. This phenomenon was called the “ozone hole”. In 1995, Molina, Rowland and P. Crutzen won the Nobel Prize, for their findings in this field.
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The “ozone hole” is produced by the conjunction of three factors. Two of them are natural (Polar Vortex and Polar Stratospheric Clouds) and one is anthropogenic (Chlorofluorocarbons). The Polar Vortex constitutes a barrier that isolates the Antarctic stratosphere during winter and part of spring, avoiding the interchange of air masses with lower latitudes. Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSC) are crystal clouds, formed in the Antarctic stratosphere, under very low temperature conditions. They favour ozone destruction by means of heterogeneous chemical reactions, which are produced at their surface. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) are compounds synthesized in the laboratory, which are not present in nature. These compounds were developed by 1920. Because of their low production cost and easy storage and manipulation conditions, their use has increased exponentially since 1940. They have many uses: refrigeration, aerosols propellants, production of foams to extinguish fires, etc. CFC’s are very stable while being at the troposphere. When they ascend through the stratosphere and reach heights where the solar radiation is more intense, the radiation dissociates them, leaving the chlorine free. These chlorines are responsible for ozone destruction by means of a chain of chemical reactions. During winter, the vortex isolates the Antarctic stratosphere, where ozone and chlorine are present. Starting spring, when the sun illuminates Antarctica, and in presence of PSC, ozone destruction by free chlorine is produced. By middle spring, when the temperature increases at the stratosphere, the vortex becomes weaker, and finally breaks down, allowing the interchange of air masses with others at lower latitudes. The total ozone column over Antarctica recovers slowly, reaching near normal values during summer. This process has been repeating every season for more than twenty years. Satellite and ground based measurements indicate that ozone destruction, inside the polar vortex, increased rapidly between middle seventies and middle nineties; showing a lower increase rate in the last years. The evolution of the “ozone hole” can be observed in Figure 1. The monthly mean measurement of the total ozone column for October, from 1980 to 2000, with a step of 4 years is shown. Increase in size and depth of the “hole” can be observed. Two parameters are usually considered to evaluate the “ozone hole”: (a) Area, which is defined by the area with total ozone column bellow 220 DU and, (b) Minimum total ozone
Figure 1. Evolution of the ozone hole, monthly mean for October, from 1980 to 2000, in steps of four years. Increased of zone destruction inside the Polar vortex can be followed. (Courtesy NASA/GSFC, Code 916).
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column at 60 to 90° S. These parameters are shown in Figure 2, as a yearly function. The area of the “ozone hole” increased rapidly from the early eighties up to the middle nineties, reaching a value of 25 million km2 in 1994 (Figure 2A). After that, the value shows some oscillations, with a small positive trend. Accordingly, minimum total ozone column has
(A)
(B)
Figure 2. Evolution of the ozone hole (A) Area averaged over 30 days and (B) Minimum total ozone column. The area and depth of the “hole” increased rapidly until middle nineties, showing a more stable behaviour in the last years. (Courtesy NASA, GSFC). (See that there is a shift in date in Figure B).
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decreased until 1995, when a value of 88 DU was observed. Then, the minimum value remained between 90 and 140 DU (Figure 2B). (See there is a shift in year in Figure 2B).
3 UV-B RADIATION In 1880, Hartley demonstrated that ozone strongly absorbs UV-B radiation. This means that, with all other factors remaining constant, ozone depletion produces an increase in UV-B radiation at the earth’s surface. Consequently, after the discovery of the “ozone hole”, research on variation of UV-B radiation and its effects has increased. Since other parameters, as solar zenith angle (related to time of the day, season and latitude), cloud cover, altitude and aerosols also affect irradiance, the variation of UV-B radiation at the earth’s surface cannot be easily derived just from ozone variations. Susceptibility of biological systems to solar radiation is wavelength dependent. The function used to quantify this susceptibility is called action spectrum.7 Usually, solar radiation is weighted by these functions, to evaluate the radiation’s possible effect. The integration of the product of the irradiance and the action spectrum is called effective irradiance. Figure 3 shows the following data: action spectra for parameterisation of DNA damage,8 plants related effects using a parameterisation9 for biological response to UV-B when plants chromospheres are involved10 and erythemal effect.11 Action spectra for DNA shows a more pronounced decrease with increasing wavelengths, reflecting that it is more sensitive to ozone changes. Before the discovery of the ozone depletion, the instruments that measured solar radiation used, in general, broadband filters. Some of them measured global radiation (e.g.: pyranometers) or the UV band. Others used a weighting filter, simulating an action spectrum, usually erythemal (e.g.: biometers). Because of the large variation in the magnitude of the UV-B irradiance with wavelength, broadband measurements do not provide enough information, in studies related to ozone depletion. Therefore, spectral measurements of solar radiation became a key issue, after the discovery of the “hole”. At the late eighties, large efforts were
Figure 3. Action spectra for: DNA damage, erythemal and effect on plant-chromospheres. DNA is the most sensitive to ozone changes since the weighting function falls rapidly with wavelength (4 orders of magnitude between 290 and 320 nm).
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put in developing instruments performing spectral measurements. In 1988, the National Science Foundation (US) initiated activities of the NSF UV Radiation Monitoring Network, installing spectroradiometers at South Pole, Mc Murdo, Palmer and Ushuaia.12 This network was later improved, adding instruments at Barrow and San Diego. At present, time series of around ten years are available for all stations. They constitute the basis for atmospheric studies, and provide supporting data for biological research.13 Figure 4 shows the Arctic and, subAntarctic and Antarctic, stations of the network. Measurements of high spectral resolution irradiances are provided by spectroradiometers SUV-100 (Biospherical Instruments Inc., San Diego). These instruments are scanning double monochromator-based spectroradiometers, with an irradiance collector that follows Lambert cosine law. They measure solar radiation at ground level, scanning across the ultraviolet and part of the visible spectrum (280–605 nm). These spectroradiometers have a bandwidth of 1 nm. Data was collected hourly from the beginning of the Program until mid-1996 (or beginning 1997, depending on the site), and quarter-hourly since then to present. In all cases, measurements were performed between sunrise and sunset. The spectroradiometers have automatic response and wavelength calibrations once a day, with internal Hg and Halogen-Tungsten lamps. External response calibrations are performed every two weeks, with a 200 W external lamp. Periodically, usually once a year during site visit, external response and wavelength calibrations are carried out. This calibration is performed with independent standard lamps, which are checked frequently by standard laboratories.14 The network is an effort of the Office of Polar Programs of NSF. Data is processed by Biospherical Instruments Inc., under contract of Raytheon Polar Services. Based on satellite measurements, an algorithm to infer UV radiation at the earth’s surface has been developed.15,16,17,18 The total ozone column, clouds and ground reflectivity, aerosols concentration, extraterrestrial solar flux, temperature profiles and pressure, are some of the parameters used in the code. This algorithm allows obtaining daily world coverage of spectral irradiance time series, but with low temporal and spatial resolution (only one measurement per day and in a grid of 1 degree in latitude per 1.25 degrees in longitude). In addition, the influence of aerosols and clouds are in process of improvement. Figure 5 shows the image for December 21st, 1982, which provides an example of winter irradiance distribution in the
Figure 4. Arctic and, sub-Antarctic and Antarctic, stations of the NSF UV Radiation Monitoring Network. Near 10 years times series of spectral irradiance are available at present for all sites.
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Figure 5. Daily integrated UV erythemal weighted irradiance. Winter for the Northern Hemisphere and summer for the Southern Hemisphere (Courtesy NASA/GSFC).
Northern Hemisphere and summer irradiance distribution in the Southern Hemisphere. Latitudinal irradiance gradient because of solar zenith angle variation is clearly seen in both hemispheres. In addition, at high altitude regions, larger irradiances, compared to surrounding places at similar latitude but at sea level, can be observed. Finally, it should be pointed out that, an image corresponding to summer irradiance in Northern Hemisphere would show slightly lower irradiances than the values observed in this image for the Southern Hemisphere. This results from larger Earth-Sun distance and natural differences in ozone amounts.
4 TEN YEARS TIME SERIES In order to determine extreme situations in the last ten years, we considered historical ozone minimum and DNA effective irradiance maximum, at the three Antarctic stations (South Pole, Mc Murdo and Palmer). We used TOMS data (from satellites: Nimbus-7, Meteor-3 and Earth’s Probe) for the total ozone column. This data set presents a gap in year 1995. DNA weighted irradiance was calculated from the spectral measurements of the NSF Radiation Monitoring Network. Table 1 summarises the results. It is observed that historical maximum of DNA effective irradiance and minimum total ozone column did not occur at the same date, or even at the same season. While historical minima of total ozone column have occurred in October, maximum DNA effective irradiances were present in November. This has also been observed in Ushuaia, and it is a consequence of the natural decrease of solar zenith angles towards the summer.19 Of the three stations, Palmer experienced the highest DNA effective irradiance on November 1st, 1997, and, as it could be expected, South Pole got the lowest total ozone column.
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Table 1: On the left: Maximum Irradiance (South Pole: 31/Jan/91–31/Dec/2000, Mc Murdo: 1/Jan/90–31/Dec/2000, Palmer: 15/Mar/90–31/Dec/2000, and corresponding total ozone column on that date. On the right: Minimum Total ozone column (All sites October 1978–December 2000), with corresponding maximum irradiance for that date. Max DNA weighted irradiance
South Pole Mc Murdo Palmer
Min ozone
Date
Ozone [DU]
Irradiance [W/cm2]
Date
Ozone [DU]
Irradiance [W/cm2]
29 Nov 92 28 Nov 98 1 Nov 97
187.3 192.9 154.7
0.11 0.35 0.91
15 Oct 98 3 Oct 94 1 Oct 98
102.4 125.5 124.1
0.03 0.06 0.26
Figure 6. Satellite image of the “ozone hole” for November 1st, 1997. The vortex position is eccentric and it is elongated in the direction of the Antarctic Peninsula with low ozone amounts over Palmer Station (Courtesy NASA/GSFC ).
Analysing the “ozone hole” satellite image, for November 1st, 1997 (Figure 6), it is observed that the vortex exhibits an eccentric position towards the Western Hemisphere. In addition, it is elongated in the direction of the Antarctic Peninsula, resulting in low ozone values on that region. Magnified images, for the region around Palmer Station, of daily-integrated erythemal weighted irradiance and total ozone column (NASA/GSFC), for the same date, are shown in Figure 7. Irradiances over Palmer Station are considerably larger than values at surrounding areas (upper plate). Analysing the ozone image (lower plate), spots of very low ozone amounts are observed (between 125 to 150 DU). Figure 8 shows the planispheric view of the erythemal irradiance. Because of the combination of solar zenith angles and total ozone column values, the daily-integrated irradiance
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Figure 7. Daily integrated erythemal weighted irradiance, on November 1st, 1997, derived from TOMS/Earth Probe (upper plate). Total ozone column measured by TOMS/Earth Probe (lower plate). (Courtesy NASA, GSFC, Code 916). Irradiance over Palmer is much larger than values at surrounding places, at the same latitude, in accordance to spots of low ozone amounts air masses.
Figure 8. Worldwide daily-integrated irradiance weighted by erythemal action spectrum, on November 1st, 1997.
over Palmer Station is similar to the integrated irradiance at sites between 20° N and 40° S, not affected by the “ozone hole”. (See colour red). As above-mentioned, several factors other than ozone, affect UV irradiance. Then, when integrating irradiances over long periods the resulting value will depend on the variation
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Figure 9. Annual-integrated DNA weighted irradiance. Inter-annual variability at South Pole results mainly from differences in depth and timing of the “ozone hole”.
of all these parameters (mainly cloud cover, albedo and the total ozone column). Figure 9 shows annual-integrated DNA weighted irradiance, for the three Antarctic Stations plus Ushuaia and San Diego, for comparison. All stations show some variability, but it is relatively larger at the Antarctic stations. Since clear skies are predominant at South Pole20 and ground is always covered by ice (constant albedo), the inter-annual variability at this site is mainly due to depth and timing of the “ozone hole”. It should also be pointed out that annual-integrated irradiance at San Diego is more than twice the values observed at the other four sites.
5 RECONSTRUCTED TIME SERIES Time series of spectral measurements are still relatively short for some studies (for example, the determination of trends). However, systematic measurements of the total ozone column have been performed since the late fifties, at several ground stations; and global coverage provided by satellite measurements, since the late seventies. Long-term irradiance time series obtained from broadband instruments are also available from many sites around the world. We developed a multi-regressive model to infer narrow-band and biologically weighted irradiance, from the total ozone column and irradiance measured by broadband instruments.21 Later, using pyranometer data from the NOAA/CMDL surface radiation budget database, we obtained a time series of narrowband and biologically weighted irradiance, for the South Pole, dating back to the late 1970s.20 Reconstructed time series of daily-integrated DNA effective irradiance, for South Pole, is shown in Figure 10. For the period 1979–1998, the effective irradiance was calculated with the above-described methodology; whereas for 1999–2001 and gaps 1991–1998, it was obtained from spectral measurements of the NSF UV Radiation Monitoring Network. An
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Figure 10. Reconstructed and measured daily-integrated DNA weighted irradiance, South Pole (1978–2000).
Figure 11. Daily-integrated DNA effective irradiance, historical maximum for South Pole and San Diego. Maximum values at South Pole, during spring, are similar to those observed during spring and summer at San Diego.
important increase, in spring irradiances, can be observed since 1985 up to 1998. After that, the situation does not show important changes. This result is in agreement with the evolution of the minimum ozone value inside the “ozone hole” (see Figure 2B). Historical maximum of daily-integrated DNA weighted irradiance, for South Pole and San Diego, are shown in Figure 11. Julian day for San Diego is in the upper x axes and for South Pole in the lower ones. Time series were shifted every six months to coincide with the summer
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solstices. Historical maximum irradiances at the end of spring, over South Pole, exhibit similar values to those observed during the summer at San Diego. Since the number of daylight hours in summer at South Pole is almost twice the number at San Diego for the same season, it may be easily inferred that instantaneous values are always lower at South Pole. Despite this, it should be considered that the presence of snow in Antarctica should increase the actinic flux. Those historical maximum irradiances at South Pole that are close to summer values at San Diego, correspond to low ozone events, occurring near the summer solstice (sun closer to the zenith). For example, the maximum value observed in Figure 11, corresponds to November 29th, 1998, when the measured total ozone column, over South Pole was 159 Dobson Units. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This publication was partially supported by the CRN-026, of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change. The authors want to thank Dr P. Penhale and NSF Polar Programs, and CADIC/CONICET for their support to perform this study. They also want to thank Mr C.R. Booth and the UV Group, Biospherical Instruments Inc (BSI), San Diego, for providing spectral irradiance databases; and Drs R. Mc Peters and J. Herman, NASA GSFC, for images and values of total ozone column, and images of erythemal weighted irradiance. In addition, the authors are grateful to NOAA/CMDL for providing the broadband irradiance data for the South Pole. REFERENCES 1. WMO: Scientific assessment of ozone depletion 2002. World Meteorological Organization, Global Ozone Research and Monitoring Project (2002), Report No 47. 2. Goody, R.M. and Walker, J.C.G.: Atmospheres, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall Inc., 1982. 3. Kerr, J.B and Brommeland, R.S.: Performance evaluation of the Brewer ozone Spectroradiometer. Proc. WMO Symposium on the geophysical aspects and consequences of changes in the composition of the stratosphere. WMO Report No 511, Geneva, Switzerland, (1978) p.123. 4. Johnston, H.S.: Reduction of stratospheric ozone by nitrogen oxide catalysts from supersonic transport exhaust. Science 173 (1971), pp.517–522. 5. Molina, M.J. and Rowland F.S.: Stratospheric sink of chlorofluormethanes: chlorine atom-catalysed destruction of ozone. Nature 249 (1974), pp.810–812. 6. Farman, J.C., Gardiner, B.G. and Shanklin, J.D.: Large losses of Total Ozone in Antarctica reveals seasonal ClOx/NOx interaction, Nature 315 (1985), pp.207–210. 7. Nobel, P.S.: Biophysical plant physiology and ecology, Freeman and Co, New York, 1983. 8. Setlow, R.B: The wavelengths in sunlight effective in producing skin cancer: A theoretical analysis. Proceeding of the National Academy of Science, U.S.A. 71 (1974), pp.3363–3366. 9. Green, A.E.S., Sawada, T. and Shettle, E.P.: The middle ultraviolet reaching the ground. Photochemistry and Photobiology 19 (1974), pp.251–259. 10. Caldwell, M.M.: Solar UV Irradiation and the Growth and Development of Higher Plants. In Photophysiology, Ed. by A.C. Giese, Academic Press, New York, Vol. 6 (1971), pp.131–177. 11. Mc Kinlay, A.F. and Diffey, B.L.: A Reference Action Spectrum for Ultra-violet Induced Erythema in Human Skin, Human Exposure to Ultraviolet Radiation: Risks and Regulations. WR Passchler and BMF Bosnajanovic (Eds), Elsevier, Amsterdam (1987), pp.83–87. 12. Booth, C.R., Lucas, T.B., Morrow, J.H., Weiler, C.S. and Penhale, P.A.: The United States National Science Foundation’s Polar Network for monitoring ultraviolet radiation. In: Ultraviolet Radiation in Antarctica Measurements and Biological Effects. Antarctic Research
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13. 14. 15. 16. 17.
18. 19.
20. 21.
Antarctic Peninsula & Tierra del Fuego Series, 62, 17–37, C. Susan Weiler and Polly A. Penhale (Eds), American Geophysical Union, Washington DC, 1994. Booth, C.R.: NSF UV Radiation Monitoring Network, Vol. 1–9, Biospherical Instruments Inc. San Diego, CA, USA, 1992–2000. Booth, C.R., Ehramjian, J.C., Mestechkina, T., Cabasug, L.W., Robertson, J.S. and Tusson, J.R.: NSF Polar programs UV spectroradiometer network 1995–1997 operations report, Rep. 241 pp., Biospherical Instruments Inc, San Diego, CA, USA, 1998. Cebula, R.P., Hilsenrath, E. and Deland, M.T.: Middle ultraviolet solar spectral irradiance measurements, 1985–1992, from SBUV/2 and SSBUV instruments, The Sun as Variable Star: Solar and Stellar Variations, J.M. Pap et al. (Eds), Cambridge University Press (1994), pp.81–88. Eck, T.F., Bhartia, P.K. and Kerr, J.B.: Satellite estimation of spectral UVB irradiance using TOMS derived total ozone and UV reflectivity, Geophys. Res. Lett., 22 (1995), pp.611–614. Cebula, R.P., Thuillier, G.O., VanHoosier, M.E., Hilsenrth, E., Herse, M., Brueckner, G.E., Simon, P.C.: Observations of the solar irradiance in the 200–350-nm interval during the ATLAS-1 mission: A comparison among three sets of measurements – SSBUV, SOLSPEC, and SUSIM, Geophys. Res. Lett., 23 (1996), pp.2289–2292. Li, Z., Wang, P. and Cihlar, J.: A simple and efficient method for retrieving surface UV radiation dose rate from satellite. Journal of Geophysical Research, 105, 4 (2000), pp.5027–5036. Díaz, S.B., Booth, C.R., Lucas, T.B. and Smolskaia, I.: Effects of Ozone Depletion on Irradiances and Biological Doses over Ushuaia, In: Impact of UV-B radiation on pelagic freshwater ecosystems. C.E. Williamson and H.E. Zagarese (Eds). Archiv. Fur Hydrobiologie. Ergebnisse de Limnologie; 43 (1994), pp.115–122. Díaz, S., Nelson, D., Deferrari G., and Camilión, C. :In press. Estimated and Measured DNA, Plant-Chromosphere and Erythemal-Weighted Irradiances at Barrow and South Pole (1979–2000). Journal of Agronomy and Forest Meteorology. Díaz, S.; Nelson, D., Deferrari, G. and Camilión, C.: A Model to Extend Spectral and Multiwavelength UV Irradiances Time Series. Model Development and Validation. Journal of Geophysical Research, Atmospheres, Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 108 (2003), D4, 4150, doi:10.1029/2002JD002134.
Salt-marsh vegetation as biological indicator of increased solar UV-B radiation consequence of ozone global depletion OSCAR BIANCIOTTO, LUIS PINEDO, NEMESIO SAN ROMÁN, ALICIA BLESSIO, EVA MARÍA KOCH AND CÉSAR B. COSTA
ABSTRACT: In order to analyze the effects of different levels of natural UV-B radiation on dominant genera – Salicornia, Puccinellia, Spartina and Juncus – of salt-marshes in situ, UV-B attenuation experiments were done on land margin ecosystems of middle (Juncus and Spartina), high (Salicornia and Puccinellia) and low (Juncus) latitudes. Physiological, morphological, demographic and phenological changes generated by the effects of natural UV-B levels have been evaluated. These experiments were done with the reduction of UV spectrum short wavelengths (280–320 nm) by covering plots with UV-B opaque (Mylar) and comparing them with UV-B transparent (Aclar) plastic screens and unscreening control plots. Shoot length in Salicornia ambigua was not affected by UV-B attenuation. However, the contents of shielding pigments and cuticle thickness – both were lower under attenuated UV-B treatments – (25–48% and 21–40% respectively) showed significant differences between treatments. For pigment level these effects appeared in the first part of the growing season; for cuticle thickness, along the whole period. Biomass and density of shoots were higher (17 and 40 % increase) in attenuated UV-B radiation parcels. Also, at the end of the growing season (March) the number of dead shoots was lower in coincidence with the longest growing period (30 days longer). Slight changes in species composition at community level (Salicornia–Pucinellia) were found. In Puccinellia preliminary results showed that UV-B attenuation increments vegetative growth, through higher fully expanded leaves and higher pigment content. Another salt-marsh dominant genera like Spartina and Juncus did not display any change in growth parameters at medium and low latitude as the result of UV-B attenuation. Salicornia seems to be an appropriate biological indicator to allow the assessment of the significance of the ozone depletion impact upon Subantarctic ecosystems.
1 INTRODUCTION The study of the effects of natural UV-B radiation over the living organisms has resulted in a lot of information specially about terrestrial communities1,2,3,4,5,6 and marine ecosystems (plankton)7,8,9,10 but in little information on coastal marine environments as those inhabited by halophytic plants. The global ozone level depletion and in particular, the reduction of stratospheric ozone concentration in the Antarctic portion during the southern spring time generate an increase of ultraviolet B-radiation11,12,13 that has induced changes in vegetation in the southernmost region.5,6,14,15,16
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In 1997, research work about the effects of UV-B solar radiation on salt-marshes vegetation along a North-South latitudinal gradient was started in Chesapeake Bay (USA), Lagoa dos Patos (Brazil), Río Chubut outlet (Patagonia, Argentina) and Bahía San Sebastián (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina). Since 2000, research carried out in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, has been deepened and extended on salt-marshes communities with a differentiated tidal regime in the Río Chico outlet situated near Bahía San Sebastián and along the Beagle Channel coast. The objective of evaluating halophytic species along a latitudinal gradient was due to the lack of similar studies on dominant salt-marsh ecosystems and comparing the short and long-term effects of various UV-B radiation levels at different places in the Americas.
2 DESCRIPTION OF THE SITES 2.1
Latitudinal gradient
This study was carried out at four sites along a latitudinal gradient in the Americas. (1) Bishop’s Head Point in the Chesapeake Bay, the northernmost study site, is located in the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge (NWR; 39° 00⬘N, 75° 23⬘W) on the Atlantic Coast of the United States, in the lowest zones of marshes, on communities of Spartina alterniflora and Juncus roemerianus; (mean annual rainfall: 1,130 mm, mean annual temperature: 13°C, soil salinity: 12 psu and 17 psu); (2) Patos Lagoon estuary (Brazil, 32° 08⬘S, 52° 06⬘W) on marshes flooded during the exceptionally high water levels in dense stands of Juncus effuses; (3) Río Chubut outlet (Argentina, 43° 20⬘S, 64° 24⬘ W – mean annual rainfall: 190 mm; mean annual temperature: 13.3°C; westerly winds: 7.9 m/s) on marshes of Spartina longispica and Salicornia ambigua. (4) San Sebastian Bay, the southernmost site (53° 27⬘S, 68° 04⬘W), is situated in Tierra del Fuego Island, Argentina (mean annual rainfall: 300 mm; mean annual temperature: 5.5°C; westerly winds: 16 m/s; soil salinity: 18–35 g/l) on marshes of Salicornia and Puccinellia (Figure 1A). As to the species above mentioned and studied at the four sites, we should say that Spartina, Juncus and Puccinellia species have basal meristems often located below sediment surface while the Salicornia species is a chamaephyte with meristems 8–12 cm over the sediment surface. (For further details see Koch et al.17). The salt-marsh vegetation studied at the various sites was exposed to different levels of UV-B radiation in an UV-B exclusion experiment; where plots (1.2 ⫻ 1.2 m) covered with UV-B opaque filters (Mylar – attenuated UV-B), with UV-B transparent filters (Aclar – near ambient UV-B) and uncovered plots (ambient UV-B radiation) were established in a randomly experimental design with three repetitions (n⫽3). Shoot/tiller density and shoot/leaf length, protective pigment content, cuticle thickness, biomass, surface area vegetation coverage and phenology parameters were measured. The microclimate as well as soil conditions under these treatments and adjacent open areas were monitored during the three growing seasons.17 The spectral climate under the films was measured with an IL 1700 research radiometer. The low UV-B treatment (Mylar) allowed approximately 32% transmission of the daily
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Figure 1. (A) Salt-marsh study sites locations along the latitudinal network and (B) Sites of Tierra del Fuego.
ambient UV-B, while near-ambient UV-B treatment allowed 87% of the daily ambient UV-B to reach the plant canopy. Differences between treatments of climatic and soil conditions below filters and open areas were not found, with the exception of wind speed that was 30% lower under the filters.16 2.2
Tierra del Fuego Project
Since the year 2000 onwards, two new sites have been included in this research: one at the outlet of Río Chico on a Salicornia and Puccinellia communities, in a saline, windy environment frequently flooded by tidal waters; and the other on the Beagle Channel coast on implanted salt-marshes located in intertidal areas. In the Río Chico and the Beagle Channel studies, the experiment was designed in 10 pair-plots (n⫽10) arranged for attenuated UV-B and near-ambient UV-B treatments (Figure 1B). The same parameters assessed at the latitudinal gradient experiment were taken here on two species: Salicornia and Puccinellia.
3 EFFECTS ALONG THE LATITUDINAL GRADIENT On the results of the first two years of the experiment carried out on salt-marshes at differing latitudes in the Americas (Table 1), Koch et al.17 found that at mid latitudes in the northern and southern hemisphere (38° N and 32° S) effects of natural UV-B radiation on Juncus and Spartina genera were not observed, however at high latitudes natural UV-B radiation (near ambient) increased tiller density of Spartina (Río Chubut site, 43° S) and induced the opposite effect in Salicornia by diminishing their shoot density as well as increasing their UV-B absorbing pigment contents and cuticle thickness (San Sebastian Bay site, 53° S). Such an impact on Salicornia was more evident from the second growing season onwards. See references 8 to 20.
NS
Saline Freq. Flooded
NS
Saline Freq. Flooded
At ⬎ Na ⭓ Am
NS
Saline windy Freq. flooded
Saline windy Freq. Flooded
Na ⬎ At ⫽ Am
Third year At ⬎ Na ⫽ Am
Am ⭓ Na ⬎ At
NS
NS
NS
NS
Cuticle thickness
At ⬎ Na
NSNa ⬎ At
Na ⬎ At ⬎ Am
Early gr. Season Am ⬎ Na ⬎ At Early gr. Season An > Na > At
NS
NS
NS
NS
Cumulative effects
At ⬎ Na ⬎ Am Cumulative tendency
UV-B absorbing pigments Biomass
Note: At: attenuated UV-B; Na: near ambient UV-B; Am: ambient UV-B; NS: non-significant differences/trends were observed. Freq: frequently; Infreq: infrequently or exceptionally flooded.16,17
Puccinellia sp.
Puccinellia sp.
Salicornia ambigua
Salicornia ambigua
Salicornia ambigua
Salicornia ambigua
NS
Saline windy Infreq. flooded
End of growing season Am ⬎ Na ⬎ At
Saline
NS
Early season: At ⭓ Na ⫽ Am
NS
Saline
Spartina alterniflora Spartina longispica
Early season: At ⬎ Na ⭓ Am Late season: NS
NS
Shoot or tiller length
Saline
NS
Saline Freq. Flooded
Juncus effuses
NS
Saline
Bishop's Head Point. USA (38º 00' N, 75º 23' W) Lagoa dos Patos Brasil (32º 07' S, 52º 09' W ) Bishop's Head Point. USA Río Chubut Argentina (42º 46' S, 65º 02' W) Río Chubut, Argentina (42º 46' S, 65º 02' W) Bahía San Sebastián, Argentina (53º S, 68º W) Río Chico, Argentina (53º 30' S, 68º 00' W) Ushuaia Argentina.(54º 16' S, 73º 00' W) Río Chico, Argentina (53º 30' S, 68º 00' W) Ushuaia, Argentina (54º 16' S, 73º 00' W
Juncus roemarius
Density
Environment
Site
Species
Table 1. Summary of three UV-B treatments effects on salt marsh plants species along a latitudinal gradient (1998–2000) and on salt marsh species of Tierra del Fuego (2002–2003).
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4 LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF SOLAR RADIATION ON PLANT GROWTH AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CLIMATE ADAPTATION In infrequently flooded salt-marshes (saline, windy environment in San Sebastian Bay), the growth of annual shoot length was not affected by solar UV-B radiation, confirming in this way our preliminary results observed during previous years. But absorbing pigment contents at 290 nm over the 3-year experiment as well as cuticle thickness increased significantly (Figures 2–3). Most revealing effects of natural UV-B radiation on pigment contents were observed during the southern spring at the beginning of the growing season (November–December).
Figure 2. Effects of UV-B level on absorbing compounds extracted from Salicornia ambigua at early summer and late spring during the three years. The absorbance values at 290 nm were normalised by the sample weight and related to 1 ml of methanol. The results from one-way ANOVA shown consistent differences between treatments. Columns values represent averages and thin lines the standard error of the mean (n⫽9).
Figure 3. Effects of solar UV-B on cuticle thickness of Salicornia ambigua measured during the three experimental years. Data analysed by one-way ANOVA, shown significative differences during spring and summer with higher thickness in near ambient and ambient UV-B radiation level. Bars represent average and thin lines a standard error (n⫽18), data from [16].
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Table 2. Effects of UV-B solar radiation on biomass production and number of live shoots per square meters of Salicornia ambigua measured at the end of the experiment.16 Treatment
Density (live shoots/m2)
Dry mass (gr/m2)
Ambient UV-B Near-ambient UV-B Attenuated UV-B
11,963 10,997 17,765
741.87 1142.09 1369.15
p ⬍ 0.001
p ⫽ 0.058
Figure 4. Effects of solar UV-B on length of tiller leaf and spike of Puccinellia sp. in Río Chico, Tierra del Fuego. Bars represent averages and lines standard errors (n⫽10).
Figure 5. Effects of UV-B level on absorbing compounds extracted from Salicornia ambigua at early summer 2001 in Río Chico, Tierra del Fuego. The absorbance values were normalised by the sample weight and related to 1 ml of methanol. The results from one-way ANOVA shown consistent differences between treatments. Columns values represent averages and thin lines the standard error of the mean (n⫽9).
Besides that, a decrease of 17% of dry biomass weight and, of 40% of shoot density was consistently noted over the third growing year (Table 2). Some phenological changes (30day shortening of growing period) as well as changes in the composition of species in the surface coverage vegetation: decrease of Salicornia and augment of Puccinellia by UV-B exposure effects were also noticed.16
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In frequently flooded salt-marshes, the above mentioned effects were not observed during the first year, as noted in previous experiments. During the 2002–2003 second growing season (Río Chico site) tiller leaf shortening in Puccinellia sp. was observed (Figure 4) and in Salicornia ambigua the protective pigment contents along the 305 nm wavelength increased significantly (Figure 5). 5 DISCUSSION Described experiments make up a first attempt to study natural UV-B radiation impact on salt-marshes vegetation at differing latitudes as well as further halophytic communities in the southern hemisphere environment exposed to the ozone depletion during spring time. From the results obtained we could make some preliminary conclusions: (1) There could be a latitudinal effect of UV-B solar radiation on salt-marshes studied related to their proximity to the Antarctic ozone depletion. (2) There could exist some physiological climate adaptation and morphological changes closely related to high latitude in the southern hemisphere and, (3) The impact would be different on each of the species studied (Table 1). UV-B radiation impact at high latitudes in the southern hemisphere can be noted in the Spartina longispica by an augment of tiller density, and in Salicornia ambigua by the production of protective screening. At mid latitudes similar impact was not observed in Juncus effusus, Juncus roemerianus or Spartina alterniflora. According to the location of meristems, different effects of UV-B radiation were observed among different halophytic species. Plants with basal meristems (Juncus and Spartina) were less affected than those with apical meristems (Salicornia).17,18,19,20 In the same way Costa21 found that Salicornia gaudichaudiana seedlings exposed to UV-B, showed high levels of protective pigments and inhibitory effects in shoot growth.21 In another series of experiments similar to ours at high latitudes (Antarctica), Day et al. found up to 43% of reduction in leaf elongation in Deschampsia antarctica and up to 25% reduction in number of green leaf in Colobantus quitensis.6 Ballaré and co-workers5 compared these results with less but consistent biologically UV-B effects of 3–4% in growth inhibition, found in diverse herbaceous species of three ecosystems in Tierra del Fuego. Accordingly, they concluded that the greater biological impact detected in Antarctica could be explained because of the higher depletion of ozone layer on that region with an enhancement of UV-B around 62%, while in Tierra del Fuego, biologically effective UVB radiation was estimated in an increase of around 25%. Long-term experiments carried out in Tierra del Fuego confirm previous findings in Salicornia ambigua. Hence, in plants exposed to UV-B radiation, inhibitory effects in productive parameters were observed and a long-term screening climate adaptation with accumulative effects over the three growing-season periods was found.16 In Tierra del Fuego, results obtained during the 2001–2003 period confirmed the ones observed in Salicornia ambigua over previous years (Figure 5). And in Puccinellia sp UV-B radiation effects showed a small but consistent reduction in leaf elongation (Figure 4). Seasonal increase of UV-B induced similar behavioural patterns in marine organisms living in Tierra del Fuego and Antarctica–phytoplankton – with consistent augment of protective pigments called mycosporine like amino acid (MAAs).8,9,10
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Hernando & San Román22 found that UV-B irradiance produce growth rate and photosynthesis inhibition on low-MAAs-valued micro algae communities of the Beagle Channel. There would be a more evident effect of natural UV-B irradiance on some halophytic plants growing at mid and high latitudes in the southern hemisphere, namely Spartina, Salicornia and Puccinellia species, with the same reaction as other autotrophic microorganisms of marine environments. Effects seem to be more closely related to the historical adaptability of species that for ages grew at low radiation levels at high latitudes and consequently react to a seasonal increasing radiation due to the ozone depletion than to the absolute radiation values at that latitude.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work was supported by the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina, while the Plexiglas filters and travel expenses were covered by the InterAmerican Institute (IAI) for Global Change Research (ISP2). We thank Eva María Koch for organising the marsh network along the Americas. We thank Luis Orce and Alejandro Paladini for their technical assistance in obtaining radiation data. The pigment analysis was collected by the Laboratorio de Bromatología, Municipalidad de Ushuaia, Argentina. Thanks to Alizya Klueneberg, Pat Neale, Joe Sullivan, Cecilia Rousseaux, Carlos Ballaré, César Costa and Mónica Bertiller. Thanks to Carlos and Javier Oviedo, Martín Quiroga and Enrique Barrio for their help in field, to the farmer Federico Romero for letting us carry out the study at Río Chico and to Maria Luisa Frau Labarda for her help in the translation.
REFERENCES 1. Caldwell, M.M., Teramura, A.H., Tevini, M., Bornman, J.F., Bjorn L.O and Kulandaivelu. G.: Effects of Increased Solar Ultraviolet Radiation on Terrestrial Plants. Ambio, Vol. 24, No. 3 (1995), pp.166–173. 2. Beggs, C.J., Schneider-Ziebert, U. and Wellmann, E.: UV-B radiation and adaptative mechanisms in plants. In: R.C. Worcester and M.M. Caldwell (eds), Stratospheric ozone reduction, solar UV radiation and plant life. Springer Verlag, Berlin, (1986), pp.313–325. 3. Searles, P.S., Kropp, B.R., Flint S. and Caldwell. M.: Influence of solar UV-B radiation on peatland microbial communities of southern Argentinia. New Phytologist 152 (2001), pp.213–221. 4. Day, T.A.: Multiple trophic levels in UV-B assessments-completing the ecosystem. New Phytologist, 152 (2001), pp.183–185. 5. Ballare, C.L., Rousseaux, M.C., Searles, P.S, Zaller, J.G., Giordano, C.V., Robson, T.M., Caldwel, M.M., Sala, O.E. and Scopel, A.L.: Impacts of solar ultraviolet-B radiation on terrestrial ecosystems of Tierra del Fuego (southern Argentina). An overview of recent progress. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology 62 (2001), pp.67–77. 6. Day, T.A., Ruhland, C.T. and Xiong, F.S.: Influence of solar ultraviolet-B radiation on Antarctic Terrestrial Plants: result from a 4-year field study. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology 62 (2001), pp.78–87. 7. Adams, N.L., Carroll, A.K. and Shik, J.M.: Mycosporine-Like Amino Acid (Maas) enriched embryos of the green sea urchin show reduced UV-Induced Cytokinetic Jelay: Evidence For Maas As Photoprotectants (Abstract). American Zoologist 34 (1994), pp.123 A. 8. Carreto, J.I., De Marco, S.G. and Lutz, V.A.: UV Absorbing Pigments in the Dinoflagellates Alexandrium excavatum and Prorocentsum micans, Effects of Light Intensity. In: Red Tides. T. Okaichi; D.M. Andersen. T. Nemoto (eds) Elsevier, New York. (1989), pp.333–339.
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9. Helbling, E.W., Hernando, M., Holm-Hansen, O. and Villafañe, V.E.: Efectos de la radiación UV en el fitoplancton del Canal Beagle, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. XVII Jornadas De Ciencias Del Mar. Concepción, Chile (1996), pp.149–150. 10. Hernando, M.P., Carreto, J.I., Marginan, M.O., Ferreyra., G.A. and Grob, C.: Effects of solar radiation on growth and Mycosporine-like amino acids content in an Antarctic diatom. Polar Biology 25 (2002), pp.12–20. 11. Orce, V.L., and Helbling, E.W.: Latitudinal UVR-PAR measurements in Argentina: extent of the “ozone hole”. Global and Planetary Change 15 (1997), pp.113–121. 12. Diaz, S.B., Deferrari, G., Martinioni, D. and Oberto, A.: Regression analysis of biologically effective integrated irradiances versus ozone, clouds and geometric factors. Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics 62 (2000), pp.629–638. 13. Rousseaux, M.C., Ballare, C.L., Giordano, C.V., Scopel, A.L., Zima, A.M., SzwarcbergBracchitta, M., Searles, P.S., Caldwell, M.M. and Diaz. S.B.: Ozone depletion and UVB radiation: impact on plant DNA damage in southern South America. Plant Biology, vol.96, No.26 (1999), pp.15310–15315. 14. Rousseaux, M.C., Scopel, A.L., Searles, P.S., Caldwell, M.M., Sala, O.E. and Ballare, C.L.: Responses to solar ultraviolet-B radiation in a shrubdominated natural ecosystem of Tierra del Fuego (southern Argentina). Global Change Biology 7 (2001), pp.467–478. 15. Koch, E.M.: The effect of UV-B radiation on salt-marsh vegetation along a latitudinal gradient. Progress Report Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research Meeting. Quebec, Canada 1998. 16. Bianciotto, O.A., Pinedo, L.B., San Román, N.A., Blessio, A.Y. and Collantes. M.B.: The effect of natural UV-B radiation on a perennial Salicornia salt-marsh in Bahía San Sebastian, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina: a 3-year field study. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology 70 (2003), pp.177–185. 17. Koch, E.W., Klueneberg, A., Neale, P., Sullivan, J., Costa, C., Gonzalez, T., Bertiller, M., Beeskow, A.M., Sain, C.L., Helbling, W., Dutro, V., Coronato, F., Tourn, M., Bianciotto, O., Pinedo, L., San Román, N., Blessio, A., Orce, L. and Collantes, M.: Final Report, in Workshop “The impact of UV-B radiation on salt-marsh vegetation along a latitudinal gradient”August 31st–September 4th 2000, Horn Point, Maryland, USA. Unpublished manuscript (2000), pp.26–28. 18. San Román, N.A., Bianciotto, O.A. and Pinedo, L.B.: Effects of UV-B solar radiation on saltmarsh vegetation in San Sebastian Bay, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. Proceedings of the Sixth International Symposium of Cold Regions Development. Hobart, Tasmania, Australia (2000), pp.5–8. 19. Bianciotto, O.A., Pinedo, L.B., Bertiller, M. Beeskow, M.A., Koch, E.M., Costa, C.S.B., Sain, C.L. and Helbling, W.: Efectos de la radiación UV-B solar sobre especies vasculares dominantes en marismas de diferentes latitudes. Resúmenes IV Jornadas Nacionales de Ciencias del Mar. Puerto. Madryn, Argentina (2000), p.41. 20. Bianciotto, O., Pinedo, L., San Román, N. and Blessio, A.Y.: Efectos de la radiación UV-B solar sobre la estructura y fisiología de plantas en una comunidad de Salicornia ambigua en Bahía San Sebastián, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. Resúmenes IV Jornadas Nacionales de Ciencias del Mar, Puerto Madryn, Argentina (2000), p.40. 21. Costa, C.S.B.: Impactos da radiaçao UV sobre as plantas de marismas. Workshop GRUVS, Radiaçao UV no Sul do Brasil; Sintesis de Conhecimento. Libro de Resumes, (2003). 22. Hernando, M. and San Román, N.: Preliminary data on cronical effects of ultraviolet radiation on the population dynamics of some phytoplankton species of the Beagle Channel, Argentina. Scientia Marina 63 (Supl.1) (1999), pp.81–88.
One hundred years ago: The Swedish Expedition to the South Pole (October 16th, 1901, Göteborg-December 2nd, 1903, Buenos Aires). Its scientific production and historical implications MARCELA CIOCCALE AND JORGE RABASSA
ABSTRACT: One hundred years ago, the Swedish expedition to the South Pole was starting. Its most important dates and facts are herein summarized, as well as the scientific production directly or indirectly associated with it during the following decade. The importance of this expedition for the development of science and geographical exploration in Antarctica and Argentina is discussed.
1 THE FIRST EXPEDITIONS TO THE SOUTH POLE During the last years of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, the exploration of the southern polar regions was started by different countries, basically European, with the objective of conducting scientific research works. By then, the Southern Pole was a great challenge, perhaps the last one, both for explorers and scientists. This immense region beyond the 60° S latitude parallel presented countless risks, provided the seduction of the unknown and, especially, in the colonial views of those times, offered the hope of discovering new economic resources. The voyages around the Antarctic lands performed by different expeditions, the British ones by James Cook and James Ross, the Russian by Bellingshausen, the American by Wilkes, the French by Dumont d’Urville, and the valiant advances of the British and American sealers Biscoe, Morrell, Weddel, Palmer, Pendtlon, Balleny, the German Dallmann and the Norwegian Larsen and Evensen, had achieved to define in a quite precise way the boundaries of what was then named as the “Last Continent”. The Antarctic region that corresponds approximately to the southern extreme of South America (between the 120° and 60° W longitude) was the objective of important expeditions. Particularly, those to the West of Grahamland by Cook (1774), Gerlache (1899) and Charcot (1908–1910); to the North by Dallmann (1873–74) and to the East by Larsen (1893), Nordenskjöld (1902–1903) and Skottsberg (1907–1908) are worth mentioning. 2 DR. OTTO NORDENSKJÖLD’S EXPEDITION ON BOARD THE ANTARCTIC: 1901–1903 The non-governmental Swedish expedition conducted by Dr. Otto Nordenskjöld was motivated by the proposals of the scientific congresses of London (1895) and Berlin (1899), which
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sustained the first joint international effort in Antarctica. This project was financed by donations in two ways: currency from different people interested in the promotion of science and goods from private organizations. It should be noted that Otto Nordenskjöld was a professor of Geology at the University of Uppsala and counted on the valuable experience already acquired as a member of the Swedish Commission to Southern Patagonia (1895–1897), in which he had performed important works, among which his outstanding geological map of the Magellanic territories (1899) should be mentioned. Undoubtedly, the knowledge obtained in the Southern end of the American continent was a worthy element in the observation and interpretation of the geology of the Antarctic region. The expedition also counted with the valuable experience of the Norwegian captain Carl Larsen who was in command of the whaler ship “Antarctic”. Larsen had been one of the pioneers in the scientific expeditions to the Southern Pole. Between 1890 and 1894, he lead a reconnaissance mission with the “Janson”, reaching as far South as the 64° 40' S latitude in the Wedell Sea, making important discoveries, such as the Land of King Oskar II and the finding of abundant fossil remains. The group on board of the “Antarctic” was composed by seven scientists, five officers and seventeen crew members and service staff. The scientists’ team had been carefully selected and each of them was responsible for a set of specific activities: O. Nordenskjöld, was the expedition director and he would make the geological studies in the wintering station (Snow Hill); S.A. Duse was in charge of the cartography and the meteorological records at Snow Hill; J.G. Andersson would study the geology of the islands of the South Atlantic (Malvinas/Falklands and Southern Georgias islands); G. Bodman would be performing the magnetic observations at the winter station; E. Ekelöf was the expedition medical doctor and in charge of the sampling and study of bacteria; K. Skottsberg would investigate those aspects related with the botany of the visited areas and, finally, A. Ohlin, professor of Geology, unfortunately abandoned the expedition towards the end of 1902 due to health problems, and his tasks would be taken over by J.G. Andersson. During their stay in Buenos Aires (November 1901), a very young Argentine Navy Under-Lieutenant (“Alférez” in the Spanish terminology of the times) José María Sobral boarded the “Antarctic”, integrating the crew as part of the agreement signed with the Argentine Government, which provided food and coal through the local Navy to the expedition. In this way, the Swedes obtained additional logistic support in Tierra del Fuego and the Argentine Navy had the opportunity to send one of its officers to be in contact with the Polar lands. The Argentine Lieutenant would provide collaboration in the measurement tasks at the wintering station. The itinerary of the expedition aimed at the exploration of the territories East of Graham Land, reaching as far South as feasible, to install a winter station as close as possible to the South Pole. To achieve this objective, it was planned that a small group would be based on land during the winter to conduct magnetic and meteorological observations, as well as to perform geological, geographic and biological surveys. Meanwhile, the rest of the “Antarctic” crew would attain oceanographic works in Tierra del Fuego, Malvinas/Falklands and the Southern Georgias islands. At the end of the winter, this group should go on search of the explorers at the continent and complete the exploration activities in the Weddell Sea. This was certainly a good plan which, finally, would not be completed in the way the explorers had planned. The wreckage of the “Antarctic” was undoubtedly the crucial point of this expedition, challenging the courage, the knowledge and the capacity of these men, placing them in a paramount place within Antarctic exploration, considering that, in spite of the problems and
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accidents, the entire expedition (except for O. Wennersgaard, sailor), returned home safe and sound. It should be noted that this happy ending was possible thanks to the decision of the Argentine Government and Navy who, showing their interest and compromise with the expedition, immediately initiated the preparation of an travel to rescue them, when the silence indicated that the “Antarctic” could have had an accident during the 1902–1903 Southern Hemisphere summer. This honorable aim was achieved successfully by Captain Julián Irizar and the “Uruguay” corvette in November 1903.
3 THE KEY MOMENTS OF THE EXPEDITION 1901. One of the first quotes about the expedition has been found in YMER (1900, 20:339), when Otto Nordenskjöld published the news about the start of his trip for the year 1901. October 1901. The expedition departed towards Antarctica from the harbor of the city of Göteborg on board of the “Antarctic”. December 1901. The expedition arrived at the port of Buenos Aires, where it loaded coal and fresh food. José María Sobral, the invited Argentine Navy Sub Lieutenant, joined the scientific group with the objective of participating in the research activities. December 1901. The “Antarctic” sailed away from the Buenos Aires harbor towards Port Stanley (Malvinas/Falklands Islands) where they completed the dog teams. From there, it sailed towards the Southern Shetland Islands, navigating in search of the Eastern Antarctic Peninsula. February 1902. Otto Nordenskjöld, together with his team, disembarked at Paulet Island, to follow by land to the South, and to establish his base in Snow Hill Island, while the rest of the crew returned to the North, to cover the geological research tasks by J.G. Andersson. The Snow Hill Base is today a field museum recovered by work of historians of the Argentine Antarctic Institute. November 1902. The “Antarctic” intended to return to Snow Hill, as it had been programmed, but they found that the frozen seas and huge icebergs closed their way. December 1902. Captain Larsen, noting the impossibility of reaching the winter station from the sea, sent a whaling boat with three men (Andersson, Duse and Grunden) with the objective of making contact with Otto Nordenskjöld’s group. February 1903. The “Antarctic” sank west of Paulet Island, after being trapped by the ice in one of her tries to reach farther south positions. The crew, after two weeks of survival on board, reached the island and prepared to winter there, building stone huts and waiting for an improbable rescue. September 1903. Nordenskjöld and some of his teammates, exploring the area of James Ross and Vega Islands, unexpectedly met Andersson and his group, who had started their walking trip from Hope Bay (Bahía Esperanza) towards Snow Hill. October 1903. From the Buenos Aires harbor, the Argentine rescue expedition, under the command of Captain J. Irizar on board the “Uruguay” corvette, sailed away towards the Antarctic seas. This is a significant moment because it depicts the first official intervention of Argentina in the Antarctic continent. November 1903. Nordenskjöld and Irizar met in Seymour Island. The Snow Hill party was rescued together with all their scientific collections. A few days later, the “Antarctic” crew is picked up at Paulet Island.
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December 1903. On December 2nd., the “Uruguay” entered the Buenos Aires harbor.
4 SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS AND BOOK PRODUCTION The bibliographic investigation was based upon the revision of scientific publications of the times of the expedition, edited in different countries, such as Sweden, Germany, Argentina, France and England, surveying of books written by the members of the expedition and related bibliographic material. The possibility of having access to complete collections of scientific journals of those times at the Academia Nacional de Ciencias of Córdoba, Argentina, has allowed the availability of an excellent documentary data base, which provided the chance of understanding the impact that this expedition had upon the international scientific environment of the time, and, particularly, in a special way, upon the Argentine Republic. All publications between 1890 and 1928 have been revised taking as earliest boundary the Swedish expedition to the Magellan Straits region, and as youngest limit, the latest publications corresponding to the Swedish voyages of Nordenskjöld (1901–1903) and Skottsberg (1907–1909). As a product of this search, a listing of over 87 bibliographic references has been obtained. Almost all periodical publications consulted contained at least one article referring to this significant expedition. This characteristic exposes clearly the importance and relevance that this expedition had in the international scientific environment of those times. The results of the investigations performed by the participant scientists were published in Swedish, Spanish, German, French and English. This circumstance permitted that the contents and significance of the expedition discoveries and scientific conclusions had world-wide relevance. A large group of important scientific papers were presented in the journal YMER, Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi. In it, not only all expedition members published some of their contributions, but also those researchers who had worked in the study of the collected specimens, both geological and biological. In this journal, J.G. Andersson published (1909) the first synthesis of the scientific results achieved by the expedition. The journal Geografiska Annaler published, among others, the synthesis work by Otto Nordenskjöld, entitled “The Scientific Results of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition of 1901–1903” (1924, Band VI: 122–130). The Transactions of the Swedish Academy of Science published part of the results reached by the expedition scientists, including the important contribution by G. Enderlein (vol. 48), which deals with the insects of the Magellanic region. The specific results on geological topics were extensively exposed in the Bulletin of the Geology Institute of the University of Uppsala. In this journal, the ideas of O. Nordenskjöld, J.G. Andersson and J.M. Sobral were exposed. J.G. Andersson’s “On the Geology of Graham Land” (1906) should specially be noted. The Geographical Journal published the contributions of O. Nordenskjöld and the work of J.G. Andersson, and especially, those referred to their observations in the Southern Atlantic islands during the winter of 1902. The Boletín del Instituto Geográfico Argentino, a Buenos Aires publication, exposed the results achieved by the expedition and its consequences for the knowledge of the Argentine
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Republic. Volume XXII (1903) is totally dedicated to the impressions of the voyagers as soon as they returned from Antarctica and the preliminary scientific results. Other surveyed publications of equal importance also reported about the scientific results of the expedition: the Kungl. Svenska Vetenskapsakademie Handl. (Sweden), Dr. A. Petermanns (Germany), the Boletín del Centro Naval (Argentina), etc., among others. Numerous books were written in several languages, reviving the history of this experience, both by the explorers themselves as by different authors who became interested in the heroic achievements of the “Antarctic” crew. Among them, a work of the explorers may be distinguished (Nordenskjöld, Andersson, Larsen and Skottsberg, 1904), entitled “Antarctic” zwei Jahre in Schnee und Eis am Südpol” (407 pages, four maps and over 300 figures). In this book, they describe the different stages of their trip, their scientific observations (either anthropological, biological, geological, geographic, etc.), their way of life in the polar lands, the loss of the “Antarctic”, the rescue by the “Uruguay”, their return to Buenos Aires and the trip back to Sweden on board the “Tijuca”. It should be noted the fast and intense effort of all authors, who, having finished their trip in 1903, published their work in 1904. This book was immediately translated into different languages, such as English, and particularly, Spanish (“Viaje al Polo Sur. Expedición Sueca a bordo del ‘Antártico’”, the Barcelona edition of 1904, in two volumes), among others. In this edition, Otto Nordenskjöld dedicated the book “To the sailors of the Argentine Republic and to the distinguished chiefs, officers and crew of the ‘Uruguay’”. The work published in 1920 under the title: “Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der schwedischen Südpolar Expedition 1901–1903” (Lithographic Institute Swedish General Staff) includes most part of the investigations conducted by the members of the expedition and by other scientists who were in charge of the study of the collections. This work represents the final report of the scientific results reached by the expedition, is composed by six volumes that contain a total of 59 special chapters. Its 4,000 pages, 322 maps, photos and illustrations of the text, reflect the magnitude of this work, which has been translated into English, French and German. The first volume basically includes aspects related to the geography, oceanography and geomagnetism. Nordenskjöld, under the title “Die Expedition und ihre geographische Tätigkeit”, refers the history of the expedition and the works they performed, specially those in connection with the physical geography; in “Die ozeanographischen Ergebnisse”, he continues with the physical geography of the region, particularly the cartographic material. These documents include a topographic map at 1:1,000,000 scale, comprising the northern portion of the Antarctic region, that constitutes the result of the measurements performed by S.A. Duse and the great geological map at 1:5,000,000 scale, prepared by Nordenskjöld himself, that shows the same area as the previous one, but extending northwards, even to the southernmost tip of South America. In this volume, the results of the geomagnetic observations have also been included. The second volume comprises the meteorological results, and it was written by the expedition meteorologist G. Bodman. Most of the volume is dedicated to tables with the measurements, completed with the interpretation of the results and a comparison with other polar investigations. The third volume contains the geological and palaeontological results which should be considered as the most important contributions of the expedition. The palaeontological sites found (although they were only two) allowed to form a collection larger than
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those obtained by all the previous Antarctic expeditions altogether. A group of scientists studied the samples that were sent to Sweden: G. Andersson, J. Felix (corals), J. Lambert (sea-urchins), R. Holland (foraminifera), and T.G. Halle (Mesozoic flora). At the end of this volume, G. Bodman performed and described petrographic and chemical analyses, which allowed him to confirm the ancient connection between South America and the mountainous ranges of Graham Land, naming this region as the “Antarctic Andes” for the first time. The fourth volume includes those topics related with the various botanical observations and collections. The different papers were written by G. Andersson, C. Skottsberg, H. Kylin, D. Hylmö and W. Carlson. It should be noted the important work done by C. Skottsberg, the botanist of the expedition, which studied the species of the Southern Georgias and those of the continent. His investigations are summarized in a map of the geographical distribution of plants in the Antarctic region. Volumes fifth and sixth include the results of the zoological work of the expedition. The species collected were studied by C. Zimmer (Cumacea), Th. Mortensen (sea-urchins and crinoids), I. Arwidsson (maldanids), C. Blochmann (brachiopods) and O. Carlgren (Aktinia). There were numerous findings of new forms of life and the elaboration of important observations and comparisons with other regions completed the studies.
5 THE SCIENTIFIC RESULTS OF THE EXPEDITION The scientific results reached by the expedition were highly significant in all disciplines, having a noted international impact, clearly reflected in the quantity and quality of the produced scientific publications. Undoubtedly, the Swedish expedition amply fulfilled its objective of reconnaissance and investigation of the region east of the Graham Land. Concerning this, O. Nordenskjöld himself (1924) referred: “...the west coast has also been explored by the expeditions of De Gerlache y Charcot; but in the east coast district, which is even more interesting in many aspects, no other scientific expedition except the Swedish one has even yet been active”. The most important contributions of the expedition may be ordered in two major groups. On one side, the discoveries performed by the team of O. Nordesnkjöld in the continent during the two winters spent at Snow Hill, and in the other, those studies conducted by the group of J.G. Andersson during his excursion along the South Atlantic islands. As it has been stated before, the most important contributions of the expedition were those related to physical geography, geology and palaeontology. In this sense, the Antarctic observations had been strengthened by the previous knowledge that O. Nordenskjöld had of the Magellanic region, during the voyages of the Swedish Commission to Southern Patagonia, several years before. Doubtlessly, the most important geographical discovery was that the lands of LouisPhilippe were connected with the Danco Land, establishing the existence of a major peninsula, where the previous expeditions had postulated a vast group of islands for the region, without connection with the continent. The German journal “Petermman’s” (volume 16) published in July 1904 (cartographic section) four maps showing the geographical discoveries performed between 1873 and 1903 by Dallmann (1873–1874), Larsen (1893), Gerlache (1898–1899) and Nordenskjöld (1901–1903). This historical cartographic series clearly shows the important contribution of the expedition to the geographic knowledge east of
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Graham Land. The map prepared by Nordenskjöld already showed a very similar configuration to the modern maps of the region. The collection of fossils obtained in the Antarctic lands was another of the great scientific contributions of the expedition. These findings, together with the important geological observations, allowed to establish firm analogies with the southernmost portion of South America.
6 THE IMPACT OF THE SWEDISH EXPEDITION IN THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC There were numerous expeditions that had the Antarctic continent as their destination during the last decades of the 19th. century and beginnings of the XXth. But only the Swedish Expedition had such a high impact in the Argentine society, widely extending outside the academic and scientific environment. During this period, Argentina was conducting the exploration and research activities in the National Territories. The whole occupation of Patagonia, after a bloody war against the indigenous nations, had been completed only 10 years before Nordenskjöld’s first expedition to Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. Ushuaia, the southernmost town in the world, where the expedition obtained supplies before sailing south to the Antarctic seas, had just been founded in 1884. The Museum of Natural Sciences of La Plata, which Nordenskjöld was academically connected to, had been founded in 1877, and the University of La Plata, which annexed then the existing Museum, only four years before his expedition, in 1897. The extensive common boundary with the Republic of Chile along the Andean Cordillera, the longest in the world, was still being marked out by international commissions. Argentina was then a country in full development and expansion, due to the favorable international market circumstances for its growing agricultural economy. With the purpose of investigating the enormous new Patagonian territories and their natural resources, a large number of tasks of exploration and investigation were performed, and many distinguished European scientists had been selected to conduct these works. In this way, the Swedish Expedition found an appropriate terrain to establish relationships with the most important research centers of South America, later among the most active outside Europe, as for example the Universities of Córdoba (founded in 1613), and Buenos Aires (established in 1826), and the cited University and Museum of La Plata. The Argentine Government participation in the Swedish expedition, as the cooperation with the supply of coal and food for the “Antarctic”, and the generous O. Nordenskjöld’s offer of incorporating a young Argentine Navy officer to the expedition crew, as well as the decision of sending copies of all performed observations and duplicates of all geological, biological and palaeontological specimens to different institutions in the Argentine Republic, publicly expressed the feeling that both nations were jointly supporting the project. The wreckage of the “Antarctic” challenged the previous compromise of the Government of the Argentine Republic when signing the cooperation treaty with the expedition authorities. When the conviction that something serious had happened to the vessel and to the explorers reached Argentina, its Government responded with the preparation and assembling of the “Uruguay” and the organization of the first Argentine polar expedition. This paramount decision not only saved the lives of the members of the expedition and rescued the scientific patrimony that they had fruitfully collected, but also marked the initiation of the Argentine national presence in the Antarctic territories, which has continued without interruption since
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then. An immediate consequence that emerged from this naval experience was the purchasing of a whaling station by Great Britain at the Southern Orkneys, where a meteorological observatory has been active continuously since 1904, precisely one-hundred years ago, operated by the Argentine Navy and the Argentine Antarctic Institute. This fact was noticed by O. Nordenskjöld himself, during his conference in Buenos Aires, after being rescued (1903), when he stated: “The expedition of the ‘Uruguay’, besides being the first one ever started from the Southern Hemisphere, certainly will not be the last one sent by the Argentine Republic…” A sample of the scientific importance of the Swedish investigators and their importance in the Argentine scientific development was exposed by the incorporation of O. Nordenskjöld and C. Skottsberg to the National Academy of Sciences of Argentina as Correspondent Members already in 1912. Finally, Alférez José María Sobral, the young Sub Lieutenant that accompanied Nordenskjöld and his team-mates in the 2-year wintering at Snow Hill, became so interested in his chief ’s geological studies and so deeply involved in the principles of scientific research learned from the Swedish investigators, that he took a historical decision. He left the Argentine Navy and accepted an invitation from Nordenskjöld to continue his studies in Geology at the University of Uppsala, where he got his doctorate in Earth Sciences under Nordenskjöld supervision, thus becoming the first Argentine ever to achieve such formal academic degree in an European university. Sobral got married to a Swedish lady, formed his family and raised his children in Sweden. Years later, he returned to Argentina to become the first Director of the recently created “Dirección de Minas y Geología”, the predecessor institution of the present Argentine Geological Survey. Excellent scientific results in Antarctica and the Southern Atlantic Islands. The First Argentine in Antarctica. The First Argentine expedition to the Antarctic Peninsula. The First Argentine Scientific Base in the Southern Orkneys. The First Argentine with a formal doctoral degree in Geology. Admiration and recognition from all academic centers of the world. Prestige, fame and a fully granted place in the History of Geographical Sciences and Exploration for Otto Nordenskjöld and his companions. Certainly, no minor achievements for the Swedish Expedition to Antarctica and long-lived consequences for Argentine science. On behalf of the scientists of Argentina, we salute the great Otto Nordenskjöld. 7 A PRELIMINARY BIBLIOGRAPHIC LIST OF THE SWEDISH EXPEDITIONS AND RELATED INVESTIGATIONS 1. Andersson, G. 1902. Den svenska Sydpolarexpeditionen. YMER Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi 22: pp.106–107. 2. Andersson, G. 1904. Den svenska antarktiska undsättningsexpeditionen. YMER Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi, 24: 122–125 (News). 3. Andersson, G. Nordenskjöld, O., Andersson, J.G., Larsen och C.A., Skottsberg, C. 1905. “Antarctics”. YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 25: 104–106. (Comment/anmälan). 4. Andersson, G. 1907. Eric Ekelöf, Studier beträffande den antarktiska luftens och markens bakterienalt, utförda under den svenka sydpolarexpeditionen 1901–1904. YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 27: 203–205. (Comment/anmälan). 5. Andersson, G. 1909. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der schwedischen Südpolar-Expedition 1901–1903. YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 29: 134–140. (Comment/anmälan). 6. Andersson, G. 1914. Den antarktiska inlandsisen. YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 34: 130 (News).
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7. Andersson, G. 1920. Otto Nordenskjölds forskningsresa till Sydamerika. YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 40: 230. 8. Andersson, J.G. 1901. Svensk Sydpolarexpedition. YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 21: 342–343. 9. Andersson, J.G. 1902. “Antarctics”, Vinterexpedition till Syd-Georgien. YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 22: 409–421. 10. Andersson, J.G. 1902. Antartic-expeditionens arbeten på Falkland söarma och Eldslandet 1902. YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 22: 515–528. 11. Andersson, J.G. 1903. The scientific work of the Swedish Antarctic expedition at the Falkland Islands and in Tierra del Fuego. The Geographical Journal, Vol. XXI: 154–162. 12. Andersson, J.G. 1903. Informe sobre la campaña de invierno del Antarctic en las Georgias del Sur. Historia, Buenos Aires, año I, t. I. : 77–81. 13. Andersson, J.G. 1904. The winter expedition of the “Antarctic” to South Georgia. The Geographical Journal, Vol. XX: 405–408. 14. Andersson, J.G. 1904. Les travaux scientifiques á bord de l’ “Antarctic”, été de 1902–1903, et la course an traîneau de Snow Hill au 1903. YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 24: 314 (News). 15. Andersson, J.G. 1904. Den Svenka Sydpolarexpeditionen 1901–1903. II. De vetenslapliga arbetena ombord på “Antarctic” sommaren 1902–03 och slädfärden till Snow Hill 1903. YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 24: 68–81. 16. Andersson, J.G. 1906. On the geology of Graham Land. Bulletin of the Geological Institute of University of Uppsala. VII: 19–71. 17. Andersson, J.G. 1907. Geological fragments from Tierra del Fuego. Bulletin of the Geological Institute of University of Uppsala. VIII: 169–183. 18. Andersson, J.G. 1907. Contributions to the geology the Falklands Islands. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Südpolar-Expedition 1901–1903. Stockholm, 3 (2): 1–38. 19. Andersson, J.G. 1907. Den svenska Magallans-Expeditionen. YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 27: 301 (News). 20. Bæcrström, O. 1914. Petrographische Beschreibung einiger Basalte von Patagonien, westantartika und den Süd-Sandwich insel. Bulletin of the Geological Institute of University of Uppsala, XIII, 1: 115–182. 21. Bodman, G. 1904. Om Klimatet y Antarktis med särskild hänsyn till Graham land. YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 24: 297–313. 22. Comerci, S.M. 1967. El rescate a los expedicionarios del “Antarctic”. Todo es Historia. Tomo 1, N° 8: 8–28. Buenos Aires. 23. Duse, S.A. 1904. Om Kartan öfver Graham land. YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 24: 371–391. 24. Dusén, P.1897. Från Patagoniens västkust till pampas-området på Kordillerans östra sida. YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 17: 119–220. 25. Dusén, P. 1908. Uber die tertiare Flora der Seymour-Insel Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Südpolar-Expedition 1901–03. Geologie und Päleontologie, Stockholm, 3 (3). 26. Ekelöf, E. 1904. Hälso- och sjukvården under den Svenska sydpolarexpeditionen 1901–1904. Om preserv-sjukdomar. YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 24: 332–334. 27. Halle, T.G. 1908. Svenska Magallans-expeditionen. Geologiska arbeten. YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 28: 337–338; 445–446; 450–451 (News). 28. Halle, T.G. 1909. Svenska Magallans-expeditionen. Geologiska arbeten. YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 29: 380–382; 383–384 (News). 29. Halle, T.G. 1910. On Quaternary deposits and changes of sea level in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. Bulletin of the Geological Institute of University of Uppsala, IX: 93–117. 30. Halle, T.G. 1912. On the geological structure and history of the Falkland Islands. Bulletin of the Geological Institute of University of Uppsala, XI: 115–220. 31. Halle, T.G. 1913. Some Mesozoic plant bearing deposits in Patagonia and Tierra del fuego. Kungl. S.V. Vetenskapsakad. Handl., Stockholm, 51 (3): 3–58. 32. Halle, T.G. 1913. The Mesozoic flora of Graham Land. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Südpolar-Expedition (1901–1903), Vol. 3 (14). Stockholm.
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33. Henning, A. 1916. Le conglomérat Pleistocene à Pecten de l’Ille Cockburn. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Südpolar-Expedition (1901–1903), Vol. 3, 10. 34. Holland, R. 1916. The fossil Foraminiferae. Wiss. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Südpolar-Expedition 1901–03. Geologie und Päleontologie, Stockholm, 3 (9). 35. Irizar, J. 1904. Rescue of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition. The Geographical Journal, Vol. XXIII: 580–596 (14 figures). 36. Irizar, J. 1904. Partes oficiales del viaje de la “Uruguay”. Boletín del Instituto Geográfico Argentino, Vol. XXII (1–6): 57–82. Buenos Aires. 37. Julour, J. 1904. El viaje de la “Uruguay”. Boletín del Instituto Geográfico Argentino, Vol. XXII (1–6): 9–21. Buenos Aires. 38. Lönnberg, E. 1905. C.A. Larsen senaste sydpolarfárd YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 25: 345–346 (News). 39. Larsen, C.A. 1904. Den Swenka Sydpolarexpeditionen 1901–1903. III Antarctics sidste færd. YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 24: 81–86. 40. Nordenskjöld, O. 1897. Algunos datos sobre la parte austral del continente sur-americano, según estudios hechos por la comisión científica sueca. Comunicated by O.Nordenskjöld to the Society, in general session of July 5th., 1897. Actas de la Société Scientifique du Chili, Vol. VII: 157–168. Santiago de Chile. 41. Nordenskjöld, O. 1897. Algunos datos sobre la naturaleza de la región magallánica. Anales de la Sociedad Científica Argentina, Tomo XLIV: 190–197. Buenos Aires. 42. Nordenskjöld, O. 1899. Geological Map of the Magellan Territories with explanatory notes. Svenska expeditionen till magallanslanderna, Vol. 1, N° 3, Stockholm. 43. Nordenskjöld, O. 1900. Utrustningen af de för år 1901 planerade Sypolarexpeditionen (les expéditions décidées pour 1901). YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 20: 339 (News). 44. Nordenskjöld, O. 1900. Sypolarforskningens nuvarande (1900) ställnin och mål (L’état antuel et le but des exploration aux régions antarctiques). YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 20: 51–75. 45. Nordenskjöld, O. 1900. Om Pampasformationen. Geolog. Förening Förhandlingar Stockholm, vol. XXII: 191–206. 46. Nordenskjöld, O. 1902. La Terre de Feu. Résumé et traduit du suédois par M. Charles Rabor. La Tour du Monde, Paris. Nouvelle série, 8 année: 13–60. 47. Nordenskjöld, O. 1904. The Swedish Antarctic Expedition. The Geographical Journal, vol. XXIII: 207–210. 48. Nordenskjöld, O. 1904. The Swedish Antarctic Expedition. The Geographical Journal, vol. XXIV: 35–55. 49. Nordenskjöld, O. 1904. Expedición al Polo Sur. Boletín del Instituto Geográfico Argentino, vol. XXII (1–6): 22–48. Buenos Aires. 50. Nordenskjöld, O. 1904. Informe presentado a la Sociedad Geográfica de Suecia. Boletín del Instituto Geográfico Argentino, vol. XXII (1–6): 82–102. Buenos Aires. 51. Nordenskjöld, O. 1904. I. Allmäm öfversikt samt redogörelse för vinterstationen vid Snow Hill. (Den svenska sypolarexpeditionen 1901–03). YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 24: 43–67. 52. Nordenskjöld, O. 1905. Petrographischen Untersuchungs aus dem Westantartikschen gebit. Bulletin of the Geological Institute of University of Uppsala, VI: 234–246. 53. Nordenskjöld, O. 1905. Die krystallinischen Gesteine der Magallansländer. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen-Expedition Magallen., l (6): 175–240. 54. Nordenskjöld, O. 1911. Om resultaten av det senaste årtiondets Sydpolsforskning YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 31: 105–125. 55. Nordenskjöld, E. 1911. Minnesruna: Florentino Ameghino. YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 31: 387. 56. Nordenskjöld, O. 1913. Robert Scott och hans expedition. YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 33: 113–118. 57. Nordenskjöld, O. 1913. Le monde polaire. A. Colin. Paris, 324 pp. (Traduit du suédois, par Georges Parmentier et Maurice Zimmermann. Préface du Dr. Jean Charcot).
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58. Nordenskjöld, O. 1914. Plan för en swenk-engelsk sypolar expedition. II Expeditionens vetenskapliga program. YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 34: 23–33. 59. Nordenskjöld, O. 1920. Die Expedition und ihre geographische Tätigkeit. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Südpolar-Expedition (1901–1903) Vol. 1, 220 pp. 60. Nordenskjöld, O. 1920. Die ozeanographischen Ergebnisse. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Südpolar-Expedition (1901–1903), Vol.1. 61. Nordenskjöld, O. 1921. En resa i Sydamerikas Kordillerastater. YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 41: 227–253. 62. Nordenskjöld, O. 1924. The scientific results of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition of 1901–1903. Geografiska Annaler. Stockholm. Band VI: 122–130 63. Nordenskjöld, O. 1924. Minnesruna: Carl Anton Larsen. YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 44: 401–404. 64. Nordenskjöld, O. 1927. Südamerika; ein Zukunstsland der Menschhect, ntur, Mensch, Wirtschaft. Stuttgart, Strecker und Schöder, 245 pp. 65. op.cit. 66. Nordenskjöld, O., Andersson, J.G., Larsen, C.A. und Skottsberg, C. 1904. Antarctic, zwei Jahre in schnee und eis am südpol. dietrich reimen (ernstvohsen). Ed.Berling. 4 karten, 300 Abbildungen. 67. Nordenskjöld, O., Andersson, J.G., Larsen, C.A. und Skottsberg, C. 1905. Viaje al Polo Sur; Expedición sueca a borde del “Antarctic”. Translated directly from Swedish by R. Ragazzoni. Editorial Maucci, Barcelona. 68. Ohlin, A. 1898. Om antarstiska färder och Antarctics. YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 18: 275–320. 69. Palander, L. 1914. Plan för en svensk-engelsk sydpolarexpedition. I. Fór berendande organisationsabeten för expeditionen. YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 34: 17–22. 70. Quensel, P.D. 1908. Resa Sydpatagoniens Kordillera. YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 28: 111–112 (News). 71. Quensel, P.D. 1910. On the influence of the ice-age on the continental watershed of Patagonia. Bulletin of the Geological Institute of University of Uppsala, IX: 60–92. 72. Quensel, P.D. 1911. Geologisch-Petrolographische Studien in der patagonischen Cordillera. Bulletin of the Geological Institute of University of Uppsala, XI: 1–114. 73. Quensel, P.D. 1913. Die Quarzporphyr und Porphyroid formation in Südparagonien and Feuerland. Bulletin of the Geological Institute of University of Uppsala, XII: 9–40. 74. Sobral, J.M. 1920. Optische Untersuchung der neuen Piroxenart Sobralit. Bulletin of the Geological Institute of University of Uppsala, VIII: 47–56. 75. Sobral, J.M. 1921. Some physiographic Notes on the sierra de Famatina. Geografiska Annaler. Stockholm. Band III: 311–326. 76. Scott, R.F. 1905. The voyage of “Discovery”. Smith Elder and Co. London. 77. Skottsberg, C. 1903. La pérdida del “Antarctic” (12 de febrero de 1903). Boletín del Centro Naval, Buenos Aires, vol. XXI: 615–625. 78. Skottsberg, C. 1905. Some remarks upon the geographical distribution of vegetation in the colder Southern hemisphere. YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 25: 402–427. 79. Skottsberg, C. 1905. Feuerlandische Blüten. Einige Aufzeichnungen und Beobachtungen. Stockholm, lith., Instituts der Generalstabs. 80. Skottsberg, C. 1909. Por la Patagonia a caballo; del lago San Martín a Punta Arenas, término de la excursión. Las fuentes del Río Santa Cruz, originalidades de la naturaleza. La Prensa (6 de abril de 1909), p. 7. Buenos Aires. 81. Skottsberg, C. 1910. Botanische Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Expeditionen nach den Patagonien dem Feuerlande, 1907–1909. Kungl. Sevensk.Vet. Ak. Handl., vol. 46 (3). 82. Skottsberg, C. 1910. Einige Beobach tungen über die Eingeborenen West patagoniens. (Nach Studien, während der schwedisch Expedition 1907–09 gemacht von).YMER (Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi), 30: 240–274. 83. Skottsberg, C. 1911. The wilds of Patagonia, a narrative of the Swedish expedition to Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland islands in 1907–1909. London, E. Arnold. 336 pp.
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84. Skottsberg, C. 1916. Die Vegetationverhältiniss lägs der Cordillera de los Andes on 14 S. Kungl. Sevensk.Vet. Ak. Handl., vol. 56 (1). 85. Skottsberg, C. 1924. The Swedish Pacific Expedition 1916–17. Geografiska Annaler, 24, Band VI: 209–212. 86. Wiman, C. Uber die alttertiären Vertegraten der Seymour Insel. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Südpolar-Expedition 1901–03. Geologie und Päleontologie, Stockholm, vol. 3 (1). 87. Wilckens, O. 1916. Die anneliden, Bivalven und Gastropoden der Antarktischen kreidenformat. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Südpolar-Expedition 1901–03. Geologie und Päleontologie, Stockholm, vol. 3 (12). 88. Wilckens, O. 1916. Die Mollusken der antarktischen tertiar Formation. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Südpolar-Expedition 1901–03. Geologie und Päleontologie, Stockholm, vol. 3 (13).
Part 2
Human Sciences
Pioneers of scientific cooperation: About memory, oblivion and representations of the past NOEMÍ M. GIRBAL-BLACHA “The Argentine tradition in international fields has been inspired on the following rules: equal sovereignty of all nations, international politics based on moral principles, no acceptance of conquest by use of force, continental American solidarity. Love to freedom distinguishes true Argentines. Its invocation echoes emphatically as a sacred cry in our National Anthem.” (Bernardo Houssay: Conference given at the Círculo Odontológico Argentino and Centro de Estudiantes de Odontología, July 9th, 1941)
1 MEMORY, FORGETFULNESS AND REPRESENTATIONS OF THE PAST The experience of present times and the chronicle of the past facts keep are tightly related to each other. In times of bewilderment as those current today, the sight over the past becomes an urgent need. The question of “the social function of the past”1 and its relationship with the present take up a central place these days in historical work and they should do so in the agenda, and even more deeply, in the projects and government plans of the national leaders. Recent studies insist in the idea of encouraging “a politics of the fair memory”2, that is, noting the convenience of making a balance between those cogitations about memory and imagination, (both in the personal as in the collective level), the epistemology of history, by means of its representations3; and oblivion, as an expression of the dispelling and selective persistency of foot prints or traces from the past. It could be said that there exists too much memory on some facts and a frequent oblivion on others. Oblivion and memory in their distinct expressions are linked to the notion of time, forming together a tight network of underlying – but essential – conditions of historical knowledge and the past of a Nation. However, there are those who ask, not without reasons, if oblivion does not encompass a deeper concept of the “manipulated memory”.4 But, beyond these considerations, it is possible to note that the phenomenology of memory – on the Husserlian style-, the epistemology of history and the historical hermeneutics, that includes the meditation about oblivion (peculiar of human nature), are part of a common problem: the representation of the past. In the relationship between history and memory, as it concerns to the identity construction in a society, the 20th Century5 – impacted by the “progress crisis” that opened it- evolved between “the obsession of past, the history of present and the fascination of tomorrow”. In the first part of this secular period, the treatment of the past frequently takes forms of exasperating and even reactionary collision; later on, it developed between the atomic anxiety and the euphoria of scientific and technological progress; the past tends to be seen with nostalgia and the future with fear and hope. Historians make great efforts then, among “the contemporary upheavals of memory”, in order to set up new relationships between past and present6 because
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they understand – as Marc Bloch did – the miscomprehension of present as fatally born from the ignorance of the past; likewise, they consider not less important the reverse question, that is, the difficulty to understand the past ignoring the present.7 It is true that the historic discourse appears questioned today and it is the subject of a profound thought by the historians and other social scientists8; but, perhaps because of this, the rescue of some performances of the foundational past of the nation keeps a peculiar importance. Otto Nordenskjöld’s Expedition’s centennial, as a practical expression of scientific cooperation, of everlasting results, and in its own juncture of the times of “order and progress” of the so-called Modern Argentina provides an interesting opportunity to recreate the past and to build representations about it. The purpose is to recognize the facts and the concepts that are kept by collective memory9, that is, the way in which the social groups interpret the past in relation to the present needs, and to rescue those events that have been casted into oblivion for the Argentine society, whose national identity appears blurred today. The moment is propitious, since currently in the Humanities field it is stated that “diversity of histories, singularity of historians, plurality of processes, subjectivity of writing and doing styles”10 do exist. This expression belongs to Antoine Prost but it does not mean that historians have not the liberty of sustaining their own explanations. The complexity of the roads in which history moves does not allow to establish linear evolution schemes. Besides, it is impossible to believe that facts are imposed simply by their existence and that the truths of history are eternal, because history is always given by historians within a time and a place, which have strong influence in the explanation of the known objects that are being provided. The scientific hierarchy of history is related to its social function, since it is closely linked with the basis of the national identity, of critical spirits and citizenship, and it needs a “truth régime”, subject to opinion.11 It is just like it has been exposed by Paul Veyne “the narrative explanation and the literary construction of the tale are compatible with the reality of the facts and the truth of explanations”.12 If, as maintained by the linguist Trum Van Dijk, a study that analyzes the power in society must take into account a resource of social control as the public discourse, because “the struggle for power is also the fight for speech”13, the scientists’ reports as those from Otto Nordenskjöld and his team in “A trip to the South Pole. The Swedish Expedition aboard the ‘Antarctic’ ” 14, indicate that scientific knowledge takes part in the concrete political initiatives that the ruling classes put forward.
2 ARGENTINA BETWEEN THE END OF THE XIX AND THE BEGINNING OF THE XX CENTURIES Argentina built up the State and the national market towards 1880, when those men of the socalled “Generación del 80 ” supported the formation of Modern Argentina. The “federalization” of the city of Buenos Aires came true, the end of the war against the Amerindian natives, the encouragement of massive immigration and the consolidation of an agro-exporting country, that made of land property not only an economic resource but also a symbol of political power and social prestige, also making of foreign capitals one of the basic conditions for the modernization process and of foreign trade – with a marked preference for the British market- the essential requirements for the materialization of “peace and administration” proposed and upheld by the young President Julio A. Roca, who occupied the National Executive in two significant moments opportunities for the destiny of the Argentine Republic
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(1880–1886 and 1898–1904). It is precisely during his second period in power that Otto Nordenskjöld’s Expedition to the cold Antarctic lands –the central subject of this papertook place. In only two decades, our country left behind its creole profile and got ready to participate in the proposals of these leaders, “liberal in economics but conservative in politics”.15 The constitutional reform in 1898 was almost a photograph of the changes that took place in the country. The three new departments then created, Agriculture, Public Works and Navy (separated from that of War), give an account of the transformations and the complex conditions of those times. The eve of the 20th century started with diplomatic tension generated by the settlement of the territorial boundaries with the Republic of Chile, that almost led both countries into war and strongly pushed for the replacement of the old army and the creation of a new one. These were times of social unrest, expressed in lengthy strikes and violent demonstrations of the most radical workers’ sectors (from which Nordenskjöld himself received a few samples)16, of political dispute among “los notables” (i.e., the members of the ruling class) represented in the breakage of those links of deep friendship between Carlos Pellegrini and Julio A. Roca, as a starting point of the fracture of the “Partido Autonomista Nacional (PAN)”, which had led so far the modernization process in Argentina. Those were times of confrontation; that is, social repression and mistrust towards the immigrant (i.e., the Residence Law, 1902), but also of self-criticism in the ruling classes, which would allow the consolidation – not without difficulties- of the reforming liberals and with them, the passing of the electoral reform of 1912 and some social improvements for the working class. But, beyond these contrasts and backslashes, Argentina was a country that appeared among the first cereal exporters in the world, together with the U.S.A. and Russia; it was a vigorous nation that, as an expression of “a rational, nationalistic spirit ”, believed to play in South America a similar role to that of the United States in North and Central America. From the economic point of view, Argentina arrived, progressively but steadily, to the end of the agrarian horizontal expansion, but it has a territory of almost 3 million square kilometres, with the most varied climates and with extremely rich natural resources, poorly known even by its own inhabitants. Therefore, the importance of the successive voyages and national and foreign expeditions, promoted directly from the summit of power, to stress the knowledge of the richness of the country that it pretends to exploit and turn it valuable all over its extension, as a part of its sovereign decisions and due to their importance as a sustained feature of the national identity.17
3 PIONEERS OF SCIENTIFIC COOPERATION. OTTO NORDENSKJÖLD’S EXPEDITION The origins of Argentina as a nation provide unmistakable signs of the relevance of science as part of the political projects promoted by the ruling class. Some institutions created then were the “Protomedicato” (end of the 18th century), dedicated to take care of the population’s health; in the 1820’s, the creation of the University of Buenos Aires; the Public Museum of Natural History; the National Archives; in the 1870s, President Domingo F. Sarmiento created the Astronomical Observatory in Córdoba, the Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences, directed by the German scientist Karl Burmeister, whose complete works were published by the National Government. It should
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also be enough, to have a clearer idea of the relevance assigned by the political power to knowledge, reading the voyagers’ diaries who were very early visiting the Argentine territories, as the French naturalist Aimé Bonpland, established in the region of Misiones in Eastern Argentina, the Italiano Pedro de Angelis who published the “Colección de obras relativas a la historia antigua y moderna de las Provincias del Río de la Plata”, or the English naturalist Charles Darwin, who wrote his experiences in “The Voyage of the Beagle”, just to mention a few. Another expression of the significance of knowledge at the service of the national interests are the expeditions led to explore the natural resources and to plan public infrastructure works, as it happened with Bailey Willis, who looked onto Argentina in those times in: “A yankee in Patagonia” and in his major work, “Northern Patagonia”, the “Historia de la Comisión de Estudios Hidrológicos del Ministerio de Obras Públicas (1911–1914)”.18 In all these cases, it is easy to note the crucial meaning of science, culture and education in the model of nation that was intended to build. Science became a State matter and thus it was seen by the ruling class that had been leading the Nation since its beginnings. The “positivism in action”, related to the postulates by Auguste Comte and Herbert Spencer, which Alexander Korn, one of the most distinguished intellectuals of the end of the 19th century has referred to, is in favor of science as a base to “progress”. In this juncture, the expedition of the young Otto Nordenskjöld (only 33 years old) aboard the “Antarctic”, a former master in Philosophy in 1889, and five years later, a Doctor in Mineralogy and Geology and professor of the prestigious University of Upsala. They departed from Goteborg? in October 1901 in order to spend one year in Antarctica, and arrived at Buenos Aires in December that year. Few days later, Nordenskjöld continued his route firstly towards the Islas Malvinas (Falkland Islands), and the Antarctic lands later.19 The Swedish scientist, who had already been in Argentina in 1895, after a long standstill, carried on with the “the amazing voyages of discovery that took place in 1840” in the Antarctic territories, whose protagonist was the expert French hydrographer Jules Dumont D’Urville.20 He echoed the resolutions of the International Congress of London, 1895, that insisted upon – with the determined participation of Germans and British – the need of promoting the expeditions to the South Polar regions.21 Thus, a challenge which tried to fill in some remarkable blanks in the Natural Sciences of those times started, when “the scientists dedicated to the study of terrestrial magnetism faced the difficulties that their science was meeting, since they could not calculate the distribution of the magnetic forces around the South Magnetic Pole. The meteorologists had no information at all about the winter climate in those remote territories, though the theoretical calculations made them estimate its existence, now confirmed with facts, of a relatively benign winter. The geologists were wishing to have observations that could make clear the nature and distribution of animals and plants in the Southern Hemisphere to decipher the climatic circumstances of earlier periods, and the biologists, finally, were missing the possibility of solving, by means of the scientific knowledge of those organisms established in the interior of many polar territories, very important questions related with Science”.22 With the reluctant financial support of some European sponsors (bankers, salesmen, businessmen, a judge, a consul and a couple of other people “who did not want to give their names”23, the floating of an important loan of which Otto Nordenskjöld was a personal guarantor, several donations in kind24 and the support of Argentine President Julio A. Roca, the scientists -a geologist, a cartographer, a meteorologist and even a landscape artist- were heading the expedition. A young man, born in Entre Ríos, Argentina, the Navy Sub Lieutenant
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José María Sobral (21 years old), joined them in Buenos Aires. The instructions that Sobral received form the Argentine Navy Minister were precise: he was expected to take part “in all the magnetic, meteorological and oceanographic observations that the expedition was going to undertake”. The Swedish mission became obliged – at the same time – to provide the Argentine government with “all the obtained scientific data and all the zoological collections gathered during the expedition”.25 In the vision of the Argentine President, the expedition – whose success seemed to be certain- was seen as an effective means to establish the Argentine sovereignty in the region. Even though the ice pack impeded the advance of the “Antarctic” into the Weddell Sea towards “unknown regions” and thus, the rescue of the scientists who had been left at Snow Hill Island (eastwards of the Antarctic Peninsula), the statistical data surveyed were quite a few, the reconnaissance tasks (on flora, fauna, climatology and oceanography) performed by these scientists with a political commitment (in the most genuine sense of the word) and enrolled in that positivist juncture which privileged the scientific knowledge as a benchmark of the public management. Nordenskjöld, Sobral, Gösta Bodman (25 years old, graduated in Philosophy and in charge of meteorological and astronomical observations), Eric Ekelöf (25 years old, student of Medicine who acted as the expedition physician, in charge of the bacteriological and psychological observations), Olle Jonassen (Norwegian, 26 years old, the carpenter, blacksmith, shoemaker and dog and sleds caretaker), and Gustav Akerlund (Norwegian, 17 years old, in charge of the cook and supplies)26 spent two winters in those isolated lands. An interesting description of the group which reproduces at a low scale the professional relationship between researchers, technicians and craft men that, since 1958, has characterized the structure of CONICET, the National Research Council of Argentina. Due to the impossibility of advancing through the ice pack, the “Antarctic” disembarked three of her men at Bahía Esperanza with the purpose – finally frustrated- of rescuing Nordenskjöld and his group. The vessel sank in the ocean and the remaining crew sought for refuge at Paulet Island. Thus, the original group, with no physical connection among them, was disarticulated in three subgroups that had to overcome all kinds of misadventures. Their scientific courage showed up then in full magnitude.27 Two missions departed for the rescue of the isolated voyagers; one from Sweden and another from Buenos Aires. When nobody actually expected to find them alive, on November 8th., 1903, the Argentine Corvette “Uruguay”, under the command of Captain Julio Irizar rescued them.28 The return to Buenos Aires was undoubtedly a “return with glory”.29 The crowd that received the expeditionaries made Nordenskjöld write that “such a unanimous homage showed that the polar expeditions had become here as popular as they were in Europe”.30 The venture resulted politically beneficial to the Argentine Government – perhaps more than ever expected- but also Sweden was taking out profits. The words by Otto Nordenskjöld expressed it with deep emotion: “We achieved another aim for which I would have offered my life. Among those hundreds of thousands of people, the name of Sweden was known here (at the most) as a cold polar country, as far away as the regions we were coming from. Undoubtedly very few people had seen the Swedish flag before. Wherever we went to, we heard hurrays for Sweden, repeated by thousands of voices. Houses and streets were full of the colors from Sweden”.31 The final success of the expedition became fruitful quite soon. At the beginning of 1904, President Julio A. Roca, by means of a decree, strengthened the Argentine presence in Antarctica – which had started earlier in the previous century with the activity of Argentine
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sealers- taken possession of the Meteorological and Magnetic Observatory (set up there by a Scottish expedition) in the Laurie Island of the Southern Orkneys, locating there the still active, oldest settlement in Antarctica. Since then, the Argentine sovereignty rights in the region have been consolidated by means of various political decisions: a 1951 decree creating the Instituto Antártico Argentino; in 1957, the creation of the National Territory of “Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur”, of which the Antarctic sector is part of; in 1969, the opening of the Dirección Nacional del Antártico and the Marambio Base at Seymour Island, etc., as well as an uninterrupted presence in Antarctic lands since 1904.32
4 THE LEGACY The Swedish expedition led by Otto Nordenskjöld depicts an important benchmark concerning scientific cooperation as part of the State politics. Nevertheless, as in other moments of history, the recognition of the scientific enterprise did not translate into an equivalent attitude for those who were leading it and those who made it possible. Otto Nordenskjöld spent the rest of his life indebted, since the Swedish administration charged him for the total costs of the rescue expedition that was sent from Sweden, event though such expedition arrived at the Patagonian coasts when the expeditionaries had been already found by the Argentine corvette. Although José María Sobral, a full member of the expedition, became a national heroe, he was not allowed later to continue his studies at Upsala over what he had learnt in the Polar lands. The “oficial prize”, that has been cited in each of the speeches that deal with the Argentine sovereignty in Antarctica, did not materialize in an actual recognition of his valuable efforts. Neither promotions, nor scholarships, or even approval for his scientific proposals, were admitted by Sobral’s Navy comrades. There seemed to be only one way for the young explorer, and he took it. He quit the Argentine Navy and moved to Sweden to study geology, where he got his doctorate not too long after the “return with glory” of the expeditionaries, who had survived for two years in the Antarctic territories. His death, occurred in 1961, was almost unnoticed for the local press, that had filled so many pages then in 1903, when the Swedish expedition returned to Buenos Aires. These are certainly History paradoxes, which prevent the recreation of the past with a critical overview from the present, at the dawn of a new century that brings a deep feeling of uncertainty, when the “crisis of the future” and the “crisis of the utopies” are frequently mentioned.33 However, the historic legacy has not been touched upon. It is only necessary to counteract oblivion and feed collective memory, which becomes a substantial component of the national identity, understood as a historical construction. This task is not simple. The words by Ricardo Capdevila, curator of the Argentine Antarctic Museum and responsible of the restauration and conservation of the Swedish expedition’s refuge, are more than eloquent: “When we reached there in 1980, the first work to do was to start pricking the ice by hand, in order to get a space to let us get into the hut. The fact was that the windows had been blown long ago and that the snow and ice had accumulated indoors for over eighty years. There was more than two meters of ice inside”.34 It is the remembrances, the museums, the monuments, the archives – so much neglected in Argentina-, those irreplaceable means to feed “the cells of Memory” (not the physical ones, but those needed for meditation) referred by Pierre Norá which may be associated to the notion of trauma (a concept coming from Medicine) using psychoanalysis categories. These are clearly examples of collective memory, that is not just remembering but an
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occurrence of the past into the present, by means of the transmission of ideas and facts, and that for such motive it is not strange to the bearers. Whatsoever the interpretation, memory (individual or collective) is inscribed in a coherent past, and it is memory which gives sense to past facts. The fact of being part of the same History provides a sense of belonging, a sense of identity35 and the collective memory – as well as oblivion – allows to make a specific use of the past.36 Memories are multiple and conflicting. They are a starting point to make up a collective memory and to achieve a national identity. They may be recognized as an “official memory”, that is, a sort of interpretation of the past; an interpretation of memory, which is at the same time, a social and historical construction. Its expression is the Mother country History, conceived as a narration, an image of the past that it is intended to forge. This official version of History usually has a mythical aspect, which becomes evident when trying to build the identity of a country after a traumatic past, when the factual reality is usually forgotten and the social and political pact of a Nation is destroyed. There is a politics of memory, as a symbolic fact. There is, consequently, a political dimension of memory which does not only belong to governments, but also to the institutions, to the Church, to the political parties, to society as a whole. The “layers of memory” obey to its enrollment in a given space and to its use in order to coin a construction of the past, because the continuity is a major aspect in all politics. The National Memory, as politics, proposes an interpretation of the past37, but – at the same time – it is itself an open debate. The past must be constantly elaborated and re-elaborated because it prevents oblivion and in this sense remembrances play an essential role. Memory and oblivion are inseparable. They do battle with each other. There is not a total victory of memory, but forgetfulness cannot be imposed either. Thus, the importance of exemplary memory, which brings up from the past the fundamental basis of a nation and plunges into oblivion fragmented facts which do not deal with the national identity; without leaving aside that there is also a deliberate politics of oblivion that tries to rebuild the social pact and eludes to remember publicly, but that does not erase the actual facts of a particular memory. A Nation utilizes memory and oblivion, because it is based upon a common past in which, either bridges or walls may be built with both of them. The living social memory requires the presence of both a social group and a receptor to whom it could be transmitted, since memory is not an automatic fact in itself. Memory and oblivion – expressed by means of History- are not neutral territories; they serve to legitimate collective identity. What is the role of History today? What is the sense of remembrances as those celebrated today? Amidst uncertainty, its role becomes evident: to contribute to the construction of certainties. The Official History demands a periodical renewal that appears associated to the social actors. Memory and Identity are related with the collective knowledge. There is a new way to understand politics through it, and this knowledge must be nourished with the factual experience of the past. The public memory is a common heritage and thus it should be understood. History weaves the narration with real data, a weft, a chain, moving from an arguing structure to another, resorting to all possible methods, in order to distinguish myths from reality, symbols and facts from some profiles of the past. Knowing, but essentially recognizing such scientific heroic deeds of those ancient times, as it was the expedition led by Otto Nordenskjöld, contributes to support to national identity and allows to strengthen the contents of public policy, which should include the production of knowledge, science and technology within its priorities.38 As it was exposed by Dr. Bernardo Houssay – more than half a century ago – with words which are accurately
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updated: “The development of science is essential in a modern, first class nation, in order to reach a solid culture and improved techniques. A country not be able to fight in the technical terrain will be sooner or later displaced by its more advanced rivals. The military and political power of a nation depends a great deal on its technical and industrial power and its capacity to provide good raw materials. It must be taken into account that industry without technique becomes stagnant and fossilized, and that, likewise, science without technique looses a powerful encouragement. We need to develop our sciences and our techniques.”39 Scientific cooperation has been a possible way to achieve these goals; as it was clearly proved by our ancestors’ experience. REFERENCES 1. Hobsbawm, E.J.: The social function of the past: some questions, Past and Present 55 (1972), pp.3–17. 2. Ricoeur, P.: La mémoire, l’histoire, l’oubli, p. I, París, Seuil, 2000. 3. Wagner, W. and Elejabarrieta, F.: Representaciones sociales. In: J. Francisco Morales et al. (eds.): Psicología social, Graw-Hill, Madrid, 1996, pp.817–822. Vovelle, M. Histoire et representations. In: L’histoire aujourd’hui. Nouveaux objets de recherche. Courants et débats. Le métier d’historien, Editions Sciences Humaines, Paris, 1999, pp.45–49. 4. Ricoeur, P.: op.cit., pp.579–584. Pierre N.: Les lieux de mémoire. In: L’histoire aujourd’hui. Nouveaux objets de recherche. Courants et débats. Le métier d’historien, Editions Sciences Humaines, Paris, 1999, pp.343–348. 5. Fournier, M.: Les fractures du XXe Siècle. Debats Historiens. In: L’histoire aujourd’hui. Nouveaux objets de recherche. Courants et débats. Le métier d’historien, Editions Sciences Humaines, Paris, 1999, pp.83–90. 6. Chartier, R.: Les représentations du passé. Entretien. In: L’histoire aujourd’hui. Nouveaux objets de recherche. Courants et débats. Le métier d’historien, Editions Sciences Humaines, Paris, 1999, pp. 15–19. 7. Le Goff, J.: Histoire et mémoire, Paris, Gallimard, 1988, pp.52–58 and pp.62–173. This author states: “The evolution of the societies of the second half of the 20th century clears up the importance of the position that the collective memory represents”. 8. Bourguignon, F.: L’écriture de l’histoire: les discours en question. In: L’histoire aujourd’hui. Nouveaux objets de recherche. Courants et débats. Le métier d’historien, Editions Sciences Humaines, Paris, 1999, pp.365–370. Prost, A.: La mise en intrigue est essentielle pour l’historien. Entretien. In: L’histoire aujourd’hui. Nouveaux objets de recherche. Courants et débats. Le métier d’historien, Editions Sciences Humaines, Paris, 1999, pp.371–376. 9. The concept “collective memory” belongs to Maurice Halbwachs, 1925. Gerard Namer, “Les cadres sociaux de la mémoire”, in: L’histoire aujourd’hui, … op.cit., pp.349–351. See also Elías Palti, “El legado como problema”, in: Carlos Altamirano (Ed.), La Argentina en el siglo XX, Buenos Aires, Ariel, 1999, pp.24–34. 10. Prost, Antoine, “Histoire, vérités, méthodes. Des structures argumentatives de l´histoire”, in: Le débat, histoire, politique, société 92, nov.-déc. 1996, Paris, Gallimard, p.126; Douze leçons sur l’histoire, Paris, Seuil, 1996. 11. Duby, George, “L’art, l’écriture et l’histoire”, in: Le débat…, op.cit., pp.174–191. Antoine Prost, “Histoire … op.cit., pp.127–128. 12. Weyne, Paul, Comment on écrit l’histoire, Paris, Seuil, 1971. 13. Clarín, Buenos Aires, Sunday August 3rd, 1997, Sección Opinión, pp.20–21. 14. Nordenskjöld, Otto and others: Viaje al Polo Sur. Expedición sueca a bordo del “Antártico”, Barcelona, Casa Editorial Maucci, 1904, 2 volumes (Translated by Roberto Ragazzoni). 15. McGann, Thomas, Argentina, Estados Unidos y el sistema interamericano (1880–1914), Buenos Aires, Eudeba. 16. On December 16th., 1901, when the “Antartic” reached the Buenos Aires Harbour, a strike of port workers forced the expedition leader to negociate with the workers to get the badly needed coal
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18.
19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39.
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supply. See further details in http://www.geocities.com/lunesotravez/cache/ancladosenelfindelmundo.htm Girbal-Blacha, Noemí, M. and Ospital, María Silvia, “Elite, cuestión social y apertura política en la Argentina (1910–1930). La propuesta del Museo Social Argentino”, in Historiografía y Bibliografía Americanista, 46, núm. 178, Madrid, July-December 1986, pp.609–625. Cortés Conde, Roberto, El progreso argentino, 1880–1914, Buenos Aires, Editorial Sudamericana, 1979. Willis, Bailey, A yankee in Patagonia, Stanford, Stanford University Press, 1947. Ministerio de Agricultura, Dirección de Parques Nacionales y Turismo de la República Argentina, El Norte de la Patagonia. Historia de la Comisión de Estudios Hidrológicos del Ministerio de Obras Públicas (1911–1914), Buenos Aires, 1943. Destéfani, Laurio H., “Otto Nordenskjöld, sabio y explorador”, in La Prensa, Buenos Aires, December 7th 1969. Data taken from Cuaderno de bitácora, 29/12/1999, in: http://www.csic.es/Hesperides/actual/ 1999/bitacora-29-12-99.htm Nordenskjöld, Otto and others: Viaje al Polo Sur … op. cit., t. 1, cap. V (to learn about the background of these expeditions) and t. 2, pp.624–625. Nordenskjöld, Otto and others: Viaje al Polo Sur … op. cit., t. 2, p 623. Nordenskjöld, Otto and others: Viaje al Polo Sur … op. cit., t.2, pp.632–634. Ibídem, pp.634–643. Data taken from Pablo Wainschenker: http://www.geocities.com/lunesotravez/cache/ancladosenel findelmundo.htm Data taken from Pablo Wainschenker: http://www.geocities.com/lunesotravez/cache/ancladose nelfindelmundo.htm Duse, S.A.: Verso il Polo Sud. Memorie della spedizione antártica diretta dal Prof. O. Nordenskjöld (1901– 1903), Milano, Fratelli Treves Editori, 1907. More information in: http://www.cpel.uba.ar/filargenta/correo/anta0044.htm Data taken from: http://www.csic.es/Hesperides/actual/1999/bitacora-29-12-99.htm This expression belongs to Pablo Wainschenker: http://www.geocities.com/lunesotravez/cache/ ancladosenelfindelmundo.htm Nordenskjöld, Otto and others, Viaje al Polo Sur … op.cit., t.2, p.611. Ibídem, p.612. Information obtained at
[email protected] Groppo, Bruno, “Traumatismos de la memoria e imposibilidad de olvido en los países del Cono Sur”, in: Groppo, Bruno & Patricia Flier (comp.), La imposibilidad del olvido, La Plata, Ediciones Al Margen, 2001, pp.19–42. Data taken from Pablo Wainschenker: http://www.geocities.com/lunesotravez/cache/ ancladosenelfindelmundo.htm To expand considerations between memory and historical knowledge: Cuesta Bustillo, Josefina (editor), Memoria e Historia, Madrid, Marcial Pons, 1998. Sciences Humaines 100: Le renouveau des sciences humaines, París, Décembre 1999, pp.58–60. Groppo, Bruno, “Traumatismos de la memoria e imposibilidad de olvido …” op. cit. AAVV, Entre el pasado y el presente. Historia y memoria, Madrid, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, 1999. Barrios Medina, Ariel & Alejandro C. Paladini, Escritos y discursos del Dr. Bernardo A. Houssay, Buenos Aires, Eudeba, 1989, pp.606–607.
Translated into English by the Editors. Original quotes in Spanish have been translated trying to follow as close as possible the spirit of the writer.
South Polar imaginations and geopolitical realities – Contextualising Otto Nordensjöld’s scientific internationalism and its limits AANT ELZINGA
1 INTRODUCTION This contribution is inspired by the values Otto Nordenskjöld has come to represent. He was a Christian and believed in the ecumenical co-operation of different beliefs. This ideal furthermore also kindled his professional work where he emphasised scientific internationalism, both as an ethos and in practical terms. When he sailed from Göteborg on the Swedish Antarctic Expedition, 16 October 1901 he had already been in South America doing geographical, geological and ethnographic work. He came back to Sweden in December 1903 and a year and a half later he was installed as geography professor at the University College of Gothenburg, with lectures on ethnography as part of his teaching duties. It is known that he was sad about what was happening to indigenous peoples, not least the Onas on Tierra del Fuego. At the same time he saw the development of the times as part of modernisation, a process in which European legal doctrines played an important role. Terra Nullius was the term used for land declared to be empty of people. This is a legal concept used by Europeans when they first arrived in North America. They wanted to justify their claim to use the land, pretending that no one else had been there first. Later, those “no-one-else”, by virtue of political and cultural resistance have come to be recognised as the aboriginal or even First Nation peoples.1 Still, the notion of Terra Nullius remains an important device in a history that sought to render aboriginal peoples invisible or designate them as parts of Nature, outside human culture and civilisation. Science has turned out to be an important source of authority for repressive policies legitimated by a vulgarisation of evolutionary theory. Social Darwinism as an ideological trope may be traced in the travel tales of many European explorers, especially in the XIXth and early XXth centuries. Charles Darwin himself helped set the tone. In an entry February 1834 in his Diary during the famous expedition of the Beagle, for example, he recorded his impressions from a meeting with indigenous Indian tribes on Tierra del Fuego, placing them far below himself on the evolutionary ladder. “Their country is a broken mass of wild rocks, lofty hills & useless forests, & these are viewed through mists & endless storms… Although the same creature, how little must the mind of one of these beings resemble that of an educated man. What a scale of improvement is comprehended between the faculties of a Fuegian savage & Sir Isaac Newton.”2
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Nordenskjöld was ambiguous about such pronunciations. On the one hand he endorsed modernisation, on the other he deplored its effects. Antarctica represented a place there this dilemma was not at hand, a place where, ideally, Darwinian struggle could be translated into a struggle with Nature on behalf of a science that was meant to be international and benefit all humankind regardless of class or nation. For Nordenskjöld it was a matter of both values, or ethos, and organisation. In the former he successfully followed his own line. With regard to the organisation of internationalism in polar science he tried but failed. The present essay is concerned with Terra Nullius in the real sense, i.e., land that lies far beyond the Tierra del Fuego visited by Darwin. It has also been called a place beyond the ends of the world.3 Antarctica is a continent without a permanent population, a land where science functions as a surrogate for colonisation. In this respect science may be seen as a continuation of politics by other means. Scientific representations of Nature therefore take on a dual character. They provide us with knowledge about the physical properties and life forms of a continent and its surrounding seas, and by their very presence communities of researchers there lend legitimacy to their home countries’ voice in a geopolitical arena. Today this process is institutionalised in an international regime, the Antarctic Treaty System, outside the United Nations. One hundred years ago certain intentions and dreams in this direction were already there, but it took more than half a century to materialise them. The Swedish Antarctic Expedition and Otto Nordenskjöld were well ahead of their times, and therefore in some respects the carriers of frustrated dreams. The present chapter probes some of the aspects and issues pertinent to this story line.
2 AUTHORIAL VOICES AND MULTIPLE MEANINGS IN ACCOUNTS OF POLAR EXPEDITIONS The period of Antarctic polar exploration and research I am concerned with here covers the years between 1895 and 1914. The inception is marked by the International Geographical Congress which promulgated a declaration that the Antarctic regions should be given first priority for exploration and geographic research since so many of the “white spots” on the African and South American maps had already been filled in, whereas the great white icescape that lay beyond the Southern Ocean was almost totally unknown.4 Two main waves of expeditions followed. The first one, prior to 1905 was prompted by a blend of nationalist and imperialist agendas on the one hand and international scientific motives on the other. During a second wave of expeditions, after 1905, the surge of nationalism and imperialism dominated, at the cost of systematic collective internationally oriented research. The end of the period, 1914, of course marks the outbreak of the First World War, whence the international relations of science were totally ruptured for many years to come.5 In this context Otto Nordenskjöld’s Antarctic expedition represented an internationalist approach. The participation of José Sobral in the expedition and therewith an Argentine presence contributed to this ethos, at least in words if not always in deeds.6 Nordenskjöld belonged to a small circle of men for whom the race to the geographical South Pole was a ridiculous venture. For them science and not mere exploration and the planting of national flags was the important thing. This will be highlighted in the present chapter, first of all by citing some of Nordenskjöld’s comments, linking them to a series of quotations from more popular accounts of some of the first visits to the Antarctic. The focus will be on early explorers’ and researchers’ perceptions in as far as these have a bearing on an idea of the acquisition
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of knowledge, i.e., epistemology. At the end of the chapter there is a discussion of the geopolitical context in which particular perceptions and values expressed may be further understood. In this latter connection Nordenskjöld’s participation in the creation of an International Polar Commission and efforts to make it work are also significant. A close reading of texts emanating from early explorers should alert one to traces of nationalism and imperialism, as well as more genuine internationalism; nationalist sentiments are strong in letters and diaries, while they may be less overt in scientific texts. In Nordenskjöld’s case his international sentiments however also appear in some of his scientific writings. I shall come back to this, but first a few conceptions and distinctions must be introduced, and then some extracts from a number of other texts of that time when science was part and parcel of the life of societies embarking on modernity. It will be argued that homegrown experiences in one’s own country get projected into the unknown to produce a sense of order, culturally, psychologically and also at political levels. Examples will be given of how the “local” gets translated into unlocalised generalisations about new sites of exploration. The sense of “place” is filled with expectations and symbolics deriving from both experiential and geopolitical connotations. This process is found to play out differently in scientific and non-scientific accounts of expeditions. David Turnbull in his recent book on indigenous knowledge traditions has noted how within the master narrative of modernism local knowledge is an oxymoron and that this is now increasingly being recognised. “In physics, ecology, history, feminist theory, literary theory, anthropology, economics, politics and sociology of science the focus of attention has become the specific, the contingent, the particular, be it a text, reading, culture, population, site, region, an electron or a laboratory. Within this diversity of uses there seem to be two broad and rather different senses of the local. On the one hand, there is the notion of a voice or reading. The voice may be purely individual and subjective or a collection of voices belonging to a group, class, gender, or culture. But in all cases the notion captures one of the basic characteristics of postmodernism, by way of deconstruction, that all texts or cultures are multivocal and polysemous. They have a multiplicity of meanings, readings and voices and are hence subject to interpretative flexibility. On the other hand, local is used both in the more explicitly geopolitical sense of place and in the experiential sense of contextual, embodied, partial or individual. A range of disciplines from meteorology to medicine now recognise the necessity of focussing on the particular conditions at specific sites and times rather than losing that specificity in unlocalised generalisations.”7 In line with this recognition science studies scholars’ fascination with “laboratory life” has recently been extended to case studies of “field sciences” like botany, geology, oceanography and the like, where inventories and classificatory methods play an important role. Here conscription has also been understood from a social epistemological point of view to include at least four interrelated moments of scientific practice. In brief these are: allies, former texts, inscription devices and rhetorical devices.8 Allies, or other investigators are enrolled by referring to them as authorities that think likewise; previous texts are invoked as sources of further authority; inscription devices include pointer readings and graphs or tables to compile numbers coming out of observation and measurement (phenomena “write” themselves in); and rhetorical devices of language and graphics are used to persuade others that what is argued is actually the case. All these contribute to a production of certainty, all the way up from the initial act of sticking bamboo sticks in the snow at specified distances from each other on a straight line in a grid in order to periodically measure and compare seasonal variations (e.g. summer, winter) in levels of precipitation of snow on a glacier to determine patterns of
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increase or decrease and ultimate advance or retreat (positive or negative mass balance), quantities and graphs that may in turn be significant for statements about climate change.9 Bruno Latour speaks of this as part of a process of “circulating reference”, referring to a chain of transformations all the way from activities in the field to the drafting of a scientific paper done in a university department, with a trade-off between something lost (reduction) and something gained (amplification) at each information-producing step.10
3 IMAGINING AND REPRESENTING THE POLAR In the case of Antarctica the life of the imagination historically often preceded that of reality. The Antarctic existed in the human imagination long before its existence was verified by a series of discoveries and eyewitness reports that eventually linked up into maps of a solid entity. According to the Greeks there had to be a great southern land to counterbalance the landmass on the northern end of the globe. Later there was the myth of the Great Unknown Southern Continent (Terra Australis Incognita) portrayed on 16th and 17th century European maps as extending all around the South Pole right up to South America in one direction and flush with India in another direction.11 Navigators like Captain Cook successively disproved the reality of this idea as they sailed further and further south, finally leaving a latitudinal circle beyond which it was difficult to penetrate. With the advent of steam-aided sailing ships it became possible to go further through the pack-ice, thereby adding to the chaotic and uncertain sightings, and gradually stabilising the contours of a continent. What we have today is essentially a continent constructed by and for science. Even if it may have been moreso in the past, the Antarctic still remains a “place” where both imagination and emotions tend to get amplified due to extremes. Early explorers when they came brought with them their own cultural baggage, which they drew upon to give meaning to what they saw. Two types of text emerged. One the one hand there are books, letters and diaries wherein one can trace the emotions, aspirations and aesthetic experiences of the travellers in their meeting with icescapes. Intermittently we find reports both of enthralling beauty and treacherous dangers, isolation and privation. The barren, craving, exhausting natural environment evoked stories of heroism. This in combination with an absence of encounters with cultural “Others” led to “inner travel” (of the self ) unfolding in tandem with the escapades of “outer travel” through the icescapes. The other type of texts that emerged is the scientific one. There the individual subject gets replaced by the authorial voice of the objective inquirer who classifies, systematises, and translates observations into measurements, numbers and tables, and resorts to mathematical reference points. Apart from full-fledged scientific papers there are also more popular monographs and scientific travelogues, like Otto Nordensjöld’s Antarctic. Två år bland sydpolens isar,12 and José M. Sobral’s Dos ãnos entre los hielos 1901–1903.13 The function of these two types of text and their authorial voices were different. The individual impressions, which might include aesthetic representations like paintings and drawings, served to forge a cultural bond between familiar things at home and the unknown at the ends of the Earth. Haystacks and gothic cathedrals were cherished images projected into icebergs. Analogies and metaphors in this case contributing to domestication and taming of the wilds at least in the explorer’s mind. The scientific texts with their numbers and models do something similar, but in this case the authority of the explorer and mapmaker translates into documents that can be used to
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claim title to first discovery or even territorial rights on behalf of one’s king and country. Whereas the aforementioned impressionistic accounts and reflections were individual and perhaps personal identity-enhancing, scientific reporting seeks to mobilise intersubjective consensus and closure around public statements and claims, which may or may not have political implications. Here science as culture reinforces higher stakes of identity and potential power.
4 CREATING ORDER – HAYSTACKS AND SOCIAL CLASS IN THE ICESCAPE In the 1870s a British steam-aided sailing vessel, the Challenger, undertook a lengthy oceanographic expedition. On its southernmost position it touched the sea ice along the Antarctic periphery, a place called Termination Point. On the way there a stopoff was made at the Kerguelen islands just above the 52nd latitude S. In the diary of one of the seamen, Joseph Matkin, one reads: “In the year 1776 Captain Cook visited it, and called it ‘Land of Desolation’, from its dead and inhospitable appearance.”14 But there was also surprise. “Just abreast of where we were anchored, on a permanent hummock of land were 7 or 8 gravestones, we were greatly surprised to see them when we first entered the harbour, they stand upright, and being painted white, are very conspicuous long before a ship is near enough to see what they are. They have been erected by whalers who rendezvous this harbour, to the memory of their shipmates who have died or been drowned off the island…. solitary and desolate they look on this spot, some of them dating back to 1840…”15And, “…the south side is as barren as the rest, I think the mountains are higher, some quite 4000 feet, and shaped like church spires.”16 Here is some history in a nutshell. Beyond the ends of habitation on Earth, beyond Hobart on Tasmania and Ushuaia on Tierra del Fuego with their collection and correction centres for prisoners and colonists who took pot-shots at aboriginals, sealing and whaling companies had dispatched contract workers even further south, apparently unknown to the later scientific voyagers. In their reports these voyagers express mixed feelings at meeting something familiar in the unfamiliar. One of the naval officers aboard the Challenger wrote how at the largest island, “we had our first glimpse of really Antarctic scenery, for picturesque glaciers descended to the sea on all its sides.”17 The ship also met up with people living there, on contract, four years at a time, watching for, and killing and skinning seals; once a year a ship would come to pick up the bounty and bring new supplies. One such place the whalers called “Whisky Bay”, “so named because of the great quantities of that spirit said to be consumed by them on the arrival of their store-ship with supplies for the year.”18 Here, as distinct from the more empathetic remarks of the sailor cited earlier, upper class disgust and moralism sets in: “What a miserable affair a sealer’s life evidently must be, hard and monotonous, living in these desolate regions, completely isolated from the world…./living on/...penguins, young albatrosses, and sea-birds’ eggs…” and “living in a couple of dirty huts sunk into the ground for warmth and protection from the winds, which frequently blow with violence through a deep ravine. There are some forty or fifty men distributed about the island in small detachments…”19 On the way to the end of the very bottom of the world the voyager thus met signs of the most brutal forms of exploitation, both of nature and human beings. The lonely gravestones were the outpost markers of an exploiting civilisation that had pushed its activities as far as was profitable. Some of the more descriptive lines cited above come from the letters of the
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ordinary seaman to his mother. Otherwise, for the most part available records of early travels to Antarctica are in the form of books written by officers and gentlemen. They were apt to be more succinct and impersonal in their description, as in the following observation regarding one of the Kerguelen islands: “The land is made up of some sterile rocks, the shore indented with bays and rivulets. The vegetation that exists is composed of mossy grass, mixed with a dirty brown plant, while on the higher land were patches of perpetual snow.”20 This is also the style that dominates in later scientific reports, where the writer himself as subject is consciously lifted out of the bread-text. In more popular reports what is observed, associations and comments made, and the allusions nevertheless continue in different idioms, depending on the writer’s vantage point, his function in an expedition, as well as earlier class, values, education and station at home. Reports meant for newspapers and illustrated weeklies of course put more emphasis on the drama of hazards and personal experiences. A few writers were able to achieve a poetic idiom, fittingly illustrated with colourful sketches or paintings. The comparison to gothic arches and church spires appears in many early reports, although the seaman quoted earlier, writing to his mother, also speaks of icebergs looking like haystacks. Telling is how memory is transferred from the homeland to domesticate the wild terrain of the unknown. This also appears in conventions of giving names to promontories, islands, rocky peaks and whole mountain ranges. Names like Deception Island, Whisky Bay and later, elsewhere, Paradise Bay, used by sealers and whalers are replaced by stricter names after kings, queens, emperors, financiers and other sponsors, as well as scientific colleagues and the names of captains and their ships. Here the naming had another function, to help win friends and possibly further funding. Occasionally an emotion creeps in: Hope Bay, Danger Islands, and Cape Disappointment. Names can also bear witness to a lack of imagination, or rather mundane reference used in orienting oneself in the sea – or landscape: Snow Hill, Low Island, Seal Nunataks, Cape Flying Fish, Bay of Whales, Cape North, etc. These were navigator labels.21 In a popular lecture at Göteborg University College 1906, Otto Nordenkjöld, a couple of years after his return from the Antarctic Peninsula, commented on the history of Antarctic exploration. Characteristic for this history he says is the history of Bouvet Island.22 It was discovered already in 1739 when (with dreams of riches) one still looked for and expected to find around the south pole a continent that would be habitable and useful to humankind. The discoverer, a Frenchman, Lt. Lozier Bouvet, believed it be an outshoot of the great unknown continent. Landing there proved impossible and the island was also impossible to find again. Subsequent sailors said they sometimes got a glimpse of it, but it was not until 1898 during the course of the German Valdivia expedition that it was really re-discovered. Then it turned out to be a cap of snow and ice on a most inaccessible cliff with no vegetation. The contours of a volcano crater could be deduced. Even though it is the same latitude south as Helgoland is north just above Bremerhaven, or the bottom of Hudson Bay in Canada, Bouvet Island’s nature and climate is more comparable to that of Franz Joseph Land, 25° closer to the pole. This says something about the icebox character of the southern polar region. 4.1
Science – in tension with aesthetic, emotive and political dimensions
At about the same time as Nordenskjöld, a Scotsman William Bruce, another internationalist, spent some time on a marine science expedition just off the Antarctic Peninsula.
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Long after this expedition on which he discovered and mapped Coates Land, a new landmark confirming the hunch of a large continent, he reminisced on his first meeting with the Antarctic. He argued that the analytic mind unfortunately has to violate the dimensions of experience that are most significant from the point of view of the artist or human interest. Art and science, he mused, represent the same object and experience in different ways, the one aesthetically, the other rationally, in two different media. The scientist has to peel away subjective impression. In his book, Polar Exploration (1911) Bruce provides some poetic portrayals of a meeting with Antarctica, and then goes on to say that he as analyst has to look for natural laws. “I have given this picture as an artistic presentation, and now I am going through the rather ruthless process of analysing the subjects of the picture.”23 What follows then in his book are various chapters on different types of ice and how to classify them, plants and animal life, theories of ocean circulation, atmospheric conditions, weather, etc. Perceptions are translated into fragmentary data that in turn are brought to bear on a number of different hypotheses. Examples are the bi-polarity of living things (i.e., similarity of species in north and south polar regions); the nature and origins of ice-shelves; the existence of one single continent or two halves separated by a channel;24 and submarine ridges and under-the-sea connections to other continents. The scientist seeks to replace impressions and aesthetic representations by facts and figures that add up to stable knowledge claims. The volumes coming out of the Nordensjöld’s expedition, adding up to around 4000 pages of text are a good example of this, providing taxonomies, tables of measurements, classifications of ice, glaciers, shorelines, rocks, marine life and so on.25 Lious Bernacchi, the young physicist on Borchgrevink’s Southern Cross expedition and the landing at Cape Adare 1899 noted how infinitely more desolate the Antarctic was compared
Figure 1. José María Sobral.
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to the Arctic, how much more mysterious. His granddaughter, Janet Crawford in Australia, who has edited and published his diary, in her comments projects a commonly shared perception into the scene, a perception that gains meaning in its contrast to the bustle of everyday life in populated parts of the world: “Enveloped in an atmosphere of universal death, wrapped in its closely-clinging cerements of ice and snow, the one expression of the Antarctic today is that of lifeless silence.”26 The nearest association in our own time of the space age, she says, is “these aweful solitudes which science has unveiled to us amid the untrodden vastness of the lunar mountains”. And picking up on some lines in her grandfather’s diary, she goes on: “The explorer has to become accustomed to a sense of utter aloneness, a condition which gave him a deeper personal relationship with the areas he set out to conquer. Exploration became not only an outward journey, but an inward one too.”27 Crawford’s close reading of her grandfather’s diary helps extract emotional elements. Bernacchi appears as a much more feeling soul than the taciturn Amundsen who in his diary from Gerlache’s Belgica expedition earlier was very restrained and terse. In his recently published diary one finds a man who appears mainly interested in travelling and survival techniques, moreso than in geographical discoveries or in the fascinating aesthetical aspects of his first sojourn in the Antarctic.28 In his famous second journey 1911–1912 , with the Fram, Amundsen’s chief ambition was to be the first to stand on the geographical South Pole and plant his country’s flag. In this he succeeded. The question of the epistemic status of the point where he stood however remains an interesting issue. Just before the outcome of the Norwegian and British flag-race to the South Pole was known Otto Nordenskjöld gave a popular lecture in Göteborg: “On the results of the last ten years of south pole research.”29 He opposed the surge of nationalism and limitation to pure geographic exploration, emphasising instead internationalism and comprehensive scientific programmes. Clarifying the difference between the fetish of a fictitious point and the vastness of a real physical world down there, a year later he later spoke of Amundsen and Scott as the discoverers of the “mathematical” South Pole.30 But he had his doubts about the scientific value of the venture, because “what is of real interest to the geographer and for humanity has already been achieved by Shackelton, who when he turned back only had about 18 Swedish miles /180 km/ left to the Pole under obviously monotonous conditions. From the 3000 m high plateau where he was one can say that he fully determined what it looks like at the Pole”.31 On the basis of his own priorities Nordenskjöld says he found it strange that, when only the aspect of “the record” [Sw.: ‘rekordsynpunkten’] remained at the south pole, then suddenly there was a rush from different quarters to reach the mathematical [we might say “imaginary”] polar point.32 4.2
Psychological anchoring points and the domination of political markers
Reference points are not only geographically significant. They may also be overlain with symbolic meaning, not only political meaning as in the case of a national flag planted at a given set of co-ordinates, but also cultural and psychological meanings. It is interesting to note how the early explorers’ reports are full of both physical and fictional or conventional mathematical points of reference. Contemporaneously with Nordenskjöld and his party at Snow Hill the German explorer, Drygalski, hoping to reach the South Pole by following a warm current from Kerguelen Islands right down to 0° S latitude ended up stuck in the ice at Termination Land. Fortunately he found a small bit of mountain, a nunatak sticking up through the ice. For him it was psychologically significant, securing real ground underneath his feet.
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“The mountain”, he wrote, “is but a tiny spot in this desert, and yet how important for us, how fundamental to all the expedition’s experience! Here we really had rock beneath our feet, and could see the land that we could otherwise only guess at through the shape of the ice above it. The Gaussberg [as they called it, to honour the famous German mathematician] might never be so bare and inhospitable, its life and vegetation strictly limited: it was at least a point of association between the South Polar Continent and the other regions of the earth, our life and its familiar images.”33 It was psychologically important for the explorer, providing a reference point for taming the desert, for a mode of domestication and assimilation of the wild into the realm of the known. But it was also epistemologically important. “Only when there is land really free of ice is it possible to verify positions by taking bearings – for instance Victoria Land to the east, or now, in the vast western area, the Gaussberg, its location fixed for all time. And herein lies one practical result of south polar exploration, and in particular one consequence of our expedition: it has established one certain point of reference, where for all its predecessors there was nothing but uncertainty, throughout the region.”34 It was a struggle to find benchmarks, fixed points from where contours could be measured and transformed into lines on maps. Similarly pieces of rock or fossilised trees (as Robert Scott found on his fateful journey to the pole) translate into “findings” through the discourse of one or another scientific speciality.35 The “South Pole” is more elusive. In this case there are several, both a man-made mathematical convention and a couple of physical points, one wandering and one fixed. One has to specify which one has in mind. The magnetic south pole is a point of convergence in the Earth’s magnetic field and it wanders.36 In later polar history another more stable physical point became an attractor that gave those who reached it definite social honour and recognition. It is the Pole of Inaccessibility, which is the point in the interior of the continent furthest from all coastlines. It was first reached by a Soviet expedition during the International Geophysical Year 1957–1958. This was as part of a superpower statement of prowess, not to be outdone by the Americans who simultaneously placed a research station at the geographic South Pole where all sectorial territorial claims of several countries meet as the centre of slices of a pie; the American occupation of this point by science was a signal that they set themselves above all territorial claims. Neither the US nor Russia recognise any claims in Antarctica; the policy is that if something of interest or possible strategic or economic promise turns up in the future they will simply go in there if it is opportune to do so. The geographic South Pole had greatest symbolic value just prior to World War I. It was the big attraction for several expeditions, before it was reached in 1911, symbolising the ultimate record in “the race to the pole”, a touchstone for nationalist and imperialist rivalry. Nordenskjöld’s remarks about the geographic pole being a manmade convention projected onto a place of desolation reflect values and an ethos that went in a completely opposite direction, cherishing internationalism and science above national prestige and geographic exploits. As a matter of fact he tried to maintain a clear distinction between scientific research and geographic discovery, seeing the latter as narrow and limited. 4.3
The Ice as a stage amplifying contradictory sensibilities and images
Antarctic ice and snow constituted a stage where dramatic struggles took place. The AmundsenScott race to the pole has been dramatised in many books. The account of the expedition
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with the ship Antarctic is not as well known. In this case there was not the political dimension to charge the drama of human survival. As told elsewhere in the present volume, the expedition ended up with three different groups pinned down for the winter in three different places. The expedition ship was crushed by pressure ridges in the pack ice, but Captain Larsen managed to bring his crew onto Paulet Island. From there he later found his way to Snow Hill where he met up with Nordensjöld, who in turn had found three members of a separate party that spent their winter in a stone hut eating penguins and burning the oil for heat and light. One of this group, S.A. Duse, the cartographer, in a book on their adventures, depicts a scene of one day when they were still looking for a route out of their predicament. “That day we had crept out of the tent early. The sun was already blinding against the glittering snow, which on all sides surrounded us in a single white blanket, broken only by a few dark jagged cliffs here and there. When we reached the top of the mountain – Anankes mountain became its name – the sun was already at its midday peak and swept us in a strange sea of light with a myriad of sharp reflections in every direction – from the thin cirrous clouds which reflected the ray of the solar disc, from the snow-blanket under our feet, from the slope of the glacier slopes all around us, which with their blue mirror-clean surface gave a sheen of steel and gold and finally from the thin, cold air itself, which seemed to be almost entirely filled by nearly microscopic ice crystals, shining with the colour play of diamonds.”37 Duse was overwhelmed by the beauty of the light and ice crystals in the air. In a different setting, with other conditions, winds, drifting snow and poor visibility, the same crystals can contribute to a whiteout, whence struggling individuals best muster psychological resources and ingenuity to remain calm and in one place. “The refraction of light in the Polar Regions, especially Antarctica, plays tricks on the senses. Unless counteracted the extreme environment drains one not only of body heat and energy, but also of visual perception and information. Everything gets reduced to the icescape, which is self-contained, and without any natural points of orientation. During a whiteout all outer references dissolve and the explorer just has to lay still and wait, otherwise he/she is lost. Catastrophe lurks around the corner. Not only does the icescape create illusions, but far into the interior of Antarctica there are no seals or penguins either to eat as food, burn for heat and use as oil for light in a simple lamp.”38 The white desert offers no food or natural shelter. Everything has to be brought in from the outside, from far away, as an extended artificial life support system. It is a drain, both on senses of perception and energies. Stephen Pyne in his book, The Ice, therefore calls it a “sink”, which is the scientific term for a drain. At the time Bruce, Nordenskjöld, Charcot, Drygalski, Scott and Amundsen, etc. were there, the isolation of Antarctica was almost total. “The ice was sui generis; it was solipsistic, selfreflexive, a hall of mirrors. The other continents had information sources; the quintessential experience of the explorer had been one of novelty, of abundance of specimens, artefacts, data, scenery and experiences. Western civilisation had evolved systems of knowledge and procedures for learning, which assumed such expectations. The Ice, by contrast was an information sink. The explorer was compelled to look, not outward, but inward. The power of discovery depended on what was brought to the scene more than on what could be generated from it.”39 And Pyne goes on to argue that the Ice challenged both philosophical precepts and aesthetic genres. The Promethean desire to embrace everything lost its meaning in a landscape of nothingness. Mirror-like it casts back a cold image into the viewer’s face. Scientific practices were brought in to overcome the icy nihilism. Abstract concepts such as the poles of
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the Earth’s rotation, magnetism or relative inaccessibility, all invisible to the senses, were substituted for tangible landmarks such as mountains and lakes. Traditional means of institutional accounting or attempts at assimilation broke down. The very social epistemology of exploration was impacted. Antarctic still remains a terminus, and end point, but now there are permanent research stations.40 Barry Lopez, who has closely studied texts written by polar explorers in the Arctic writes how, “In all these journals, in biographies of the explorers, and in modern narrative histories, common themes of quest and defeat, of aspiration and accomplishment emerge.” 41 Due to the emptiness, impersonality and indifference to human dramas, the real Terra Nullius is a landscape that “functions as little more than a stage for the exploitation of personality or for scientific or economic theories, or for national or personal competitions.” Darwinian theory tends to be tacitly projected onto the scene, even when there are no indigenous people. The explorer liked to identify himself as part of a struggle with Nature. This was a common denominator for both nationalists and internationalists. The polar extreme was also seen as an equaliser, as in the words of Jean Charcot, “Beyond the Polar Circle there are no Frenchmen, no Germans, no English, no Danes: there are only the people of the Pole, real men”.42 In the late 19th and early 20th century, perceptions tended to get shaped by Victorian sentiments. Ingrained ideals of masculinity intertwined with the desire to exert oneself against formidable odds. Another virtue was to cast one’s character in the light of ennobling ideals. An then there was simply the urge to sojourn among exotic things; to make collections and erect monuments, or simply to inscribe one’s name or that of one’s sponsors on the maps that were put together as one of the more lasting textual outcomes of the struggles. A compensation for nothingness. 4.4
Economics and geopolitical realities as barriers to scientific internationalism
Imagination was embedded in history and culture, in turn influenced by geopolitical events and contexts. The second wave of expeditions to Antarctica starting during the latter half of the new century’s first decade confirmed the road to nationalist rivalry and fragmentation of scientific efforts, a development wholly in tune with the general mainstream trend that culminated in the first global war. This is generally known but insufficiently discussed. However even more important was the advent of whaling in the southern oceans. Here Nordenskjöld’s expedition marked a turning point. The ship Antarctic captained by C.A. Larsen via Tierra del Fuego to Snow Hill Island encountered difficulties and went down in the Weddell Sea when it was supposed to pick up Nordenskjöld and his party. The dramatic story of the second overwintering and the rescue by the Argentine relief vessel Uruguay is told elsewhere in this book, so it will not be taken up here. Suffice it to note that, despite everything, a lot of valuable scientific materials were brought home to Sweden, ultimately leading to a laudable scientific result. He and his colleagues, however, had a hard struggle – in the face of severe financial setbacks – to bring it to an international community of scientists in the form of many volumes, the Wissenschaftliche Ergebenesse der Schwedischen Südpolar-Expedition. This hard luck story of “south polar science” is all the more heroic, but at the same time pathetic, when compared to the brilliant economic success story (and concomitant ecological catastrophe in the long term) of the new chapter on world whaling that was opened up after the rescue. This second story line includes Captain Larsen’s sojourn in Buenos Aires, prompting what was to become a lucrative and longstanding whaling industry that continued in the Antarctic and Southern Oceans region into the 1960s.
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In this context it is important to point out how Otto Nordenskjöld too tried to promote better organization and co-ordination of polar research. After the return of the first wave of Antarctic expeditions he was, already in 1905, keenly involved in efforts to try and establish an international organization for the planning and co-ordination of polar research and exploration. This was the International Polar Commission (IPC), a forum that grew out of some futurist ideas promulgated by scientists, explorers, gold diggers, newspaper magnates, journalists, balloon fliers, automobilists and adventurers in attendance at the Conference on the Expanding World Economy (a globalization conference) held in Mons, Belgium 1905, the same year Larsen’s whaling operation at Grytviken, South Georgia, gained momentum. It was the Swedish Antarctic expedition that became the signal for modern whaling. With Argentine capital C.A. Larsen started the first coastal station on South Georgia in 1904/05, after which Norwegian and British companies soon followed. The Norwegians expanded the range of operations to include the S. Shetlands, and Deception Island became an important harbour where many whaling companies each year anchored their floating oil-cookers. By 1911 a flotilla of forty Norwegian whalers plied the waters around the S. Shetlands. Deception Island provided a safe harbour with bunkers of coal, and along the upper end of the Antarctic peninsula were spots where a skipper could check for or leave messages for explorers, who in turn helped to straighten out the maps. In the austral summer season of 1912 there were six shore stations, 21 factory ships, and 62 catchers in Antarctica. Grytviken was a little village of 300 workers, with a doctor, a post office and a regular link by steamer to Buenos Aires every other week. Science did not follow the same brave expansive trajectory as whaling. Its development was very uneven, with an externally driven gap lasting almost half a century. From the late 1920s onward, with a few important exceptions, it was largely harnessed to the whaling industry and mostly private exploits to support cartographic work with new technologies by land, sea and air to lay grounds for possible and pending claims to territory and personal fame. After World War II a re-division of geopolitical forces cemented an East-West superpower divide. Antarctic regions became a temporary testing ground for new cold climate engineering, including the military technological prowess of the U.S. Thus outpaced, science did not catch up again until the International Geophysical Year of 1957/58. Today it is the glue for an entirely different regime, one in which international cooperation has the upper hand. So it will probably continue as long as science can serve in its present day Antarctic function as a continuation of politics by other means; currently this includes environmental politics. Nordenskjöld, elected member of the Bureau of the IPC, in 1908 thanked the Belgians for their organizing efforts, noting that of all the foreigners present he was “the only one who was present at the birth of this International understanding at the Congress of Mons”.43 He explicitly emphasized the importance of restricting membership, “in order to prevent countries which were constantly preoccupied in scientific research in Polar Regions from being swamped among nations who only interested themselves very superficially in these questions”.44 By 1913 one can see Nordenskjöld’s disappointment in his report that year on activities of the IPC after its “constitutive meeting” during the International Geographical Congress in Rome. He noted that “this time only some routine items were dealt with”.45 To a Swedish public Otto Nordenskjöld later explained how the idea of international collaboration in polar research stemmed from Karl Weyprecht. He traced developments during the decade following the meeting in Mons: in 1915 Belgium, Chile, Denmark, the US, Holland, Italy, Rumania, Russia, Sweden, Hungary and Austria were all official members of the IPC.46 After the 1908
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preparatory conference in Brussels, and a first constitutional meeting in Rome in 1913, the next meeting was to be in Petersburg in 1916 (to coincide, as in Rome, with the International Geographical Congress). Members of the IPC were appointed for a period of six years,47 and the Executive Bureau elected for a period of three years,48 i.e. until the Petersburg conference. Th. Tjernysjev of the Russian Academy of Science was elected President, but when he died in 1914, Otto Nordenskjöld, who was Vice President, took over the presidential function. By this time the IPC had totally ceased to function. World War I also brought a halt to several new Antarctic expeditions that had been in the offing: Austria had bought the Deutschland, and F. König was to sail to the Weddel Sea to follow up on Filchner’s expedition, in which he had participated. William Bruce was planning to return to the same region. Arçtowski, with Lecointe’s help, had ever since 1907 been agitating to get another expedition going out of Belgium.49 He envisaged a long expedition in the Ross Sea area inward from Edward VII Land for three austral summers and two winters. Departure from Antwerp was initially planned for the year 1909. The organizations should be sciencedriven, comparable to the earlier Gauss, Antarctic and Scotia expeditions. “Ce n’est pas un exploit sportif, un cours aux latitudes que je demande, mais une expédition devant laiser trace dans l’histoire.” 50 Nordenskjöld for his part had been successful in lobbying colleagues in England to undertake a joint Swedish-British expedition. In late 1915 he still expressed the hope that it would depart for Graham Land the following year to set up a five-year station on Antarctic Sound. This was to serve as a base from which researchers could continue further south to undertake a comprehensive survey of West Antarctica. The 135,000 Swedish crowns allocated by the Swedish parliament in 1914 for Nordenskjöld’s second expedition was matched by some funding in Britain. He hoped that when the war ended he could take off. In the meantime he appreciated Shackleton’s daring plan, to reach Prinz-Regent Luitpold Land in order to travel across to the region of Victoria Land “in hopes of thus being able to solve the still remaining puzzle of the inner polar area”.51 By 1919 the preconditions for continuing the pre-war plans had evaporated. With the British no longer willing, the Swedish funds that had been reserved were finally also withdrawn, and the Swedish Antarctic committee that had been created in Stockholm for the purpose was dissolved. As Nordenskjöld expressed it, the planned expedition fell victim to the war years.52 Instead it was whaling that entered into a long period of boom.
5 CONCLUSION The expedition to Snow Hill Island was embedded in a context of broader world events that went against the grain of Otto Nordenskjöld’s personal values and professional ethos. If we only concentrate internalistically on science we tend to miss this. Therefore I think it is important to include the missed opportunity of the IPC in this history. Secondly it is important to place science in perspective. This can be done by looking at what happened to whaling after it was born in Antarctic and Southern Ocean waters in 1905 as a spinoff from science. The number of ships devoted to whaling from 1905 to 1957 when the IGY started was a hundredfold larger than those devoted to science over the same period. Science trailed far behind whaling. It was the latter that made the money for a small number of industrial entrepreneurs. Proportionately very little of the profits were put back into the Antarctic. If say only 3% of all the profits from all these years of whaling had been plowed back into maintaining and
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extending science on the kinds of premises leading scientists like Nordenskjöld and others were advocating, systematically choosing sites on the basis of scientific criteria and international co-operation then the knowledge base would have been much greater at a much earlier stage. With this contrafactual scenario in mind the real and symbolic significance of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition stands out sharply.
REFERENCES 1. Richardson, B.: The People of Terra Nullius. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre 1993. För a history of the legal aspects see Marie Jacobsson, “Acquisition of Territory in Otto Nordenskjöld’s Time”, in Aant Elzinga, Torgny Nordin, David Turner and Urban Wråkberg (eds), Antarctic Challenges. Historical and Current Perspectives on Antarctica. Otto Nordenskjöld’s Antartic Expedition 1901–1903. Symposium held in Göteborg 10–13 May 2001 on the Occasion of the Centenary of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition 1901–1903. Göteborg: Royal Society of Arts and Sciences, Interdisciplinaria, vol. 5 (2004), pp.301–326. 2. Keynes, R.D. (ed.): Charles Darwin’s Beagle Diary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1988, p.223 (Feb. 1834). Science played an important role in Argentine history. On this and the dichotomization between civilisation (the Colonisers) and barbarism (the Others, especially aboriginal peoples) see Amanda Peralta, “Indianerna på museet. Vetenskapens härjningar i 1880talets Argentina”, Ord & Bild, 1997, nr. 7; also Amanda Peralta, “Vad är nationell vetenskap? Strider om nationell tillhörighet och vetenskapssyn i Argentina 1860–1915”, in Dariush Moaven Doust och Amanda Peralta (red.), Underlandet. En antologi om konflikt och identitet. Stockholm/Stehag: Symposion 2001, pp.109–147. 3. Cf. for example Courthauld, A.: From the Ends of the Earth. An Anthology of Polar Writings. London: Oxford University Press 1958. 4. Mill, H.R.: The Siege of the South Pole. London: Alston Rivers Ltd. 1905. 5. Elzinga, A.: “Otto Nordenskjöld’s quest to internationalize south-polar research”, in Elzinga, et al. (2004), pp.262–290.” 6. Cf. Lisbeth Lewander, “Gender Aspects in the Narratives of Otto Nordenskjöld’s Antarctic Expeditions”, in Elzinga et al. (2004), pp.98–120. 7. Turnbull, D.: Masons, Tricksters and Cartographers. Amsterdam: Harwood Academic Publishers 2000, pp.39–40. 8. Gergen, K.J.: An Invitation to Social Construction. London. Sage 1999, p.56. 9. See further Elzinga, A.: “Making Ice Talk: Notes from a Participant Observer on Climate research in Antarctica”, in Sabina Maasen, Matthias Winterhagen (eds), Science Studies. Probing the Dynamics of Scientific Knowledge. Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag 2001, pp.181–212; Aant Elzinga and Carsten Krueck, “EPICA: The shaping of a European effort in paleoclimatology”, in Climate Change Research and its Integration into Environmental Policy: Conditions for the Establishment of a European Climate Region (CIRCITER). EU Project, DG XII, Contract No. ENV4-CT-96-0207. Bielefeld: Centrum für Wissenschaftsforschung, Universität Bielefeld. Final Report 1999, Chapter 4, pp.73–90. 10. Latour, B.: “Circulating Reference. Sampling the Soil in the Amazon Forest”, in his book Pandora’s Hope. Essays on the Reality of Science Studies. Cambridge Ma.: Harvard University Press 1999, pp.24–79. 11. See for example Abraham Ortelius’ map in his Teatre de l’univers. Antwerpen 1587. For the early history of Antarctic exploration and science see G.E. Fogg, A History of Antarctic Science. Cambridge: University Press 1992; Stephen Martin, A History of Antarctica. Sydney: State Library Press New South Wales 1996; T.H. Braughman, Before the Heroes Came. Antarctica in the 1890s. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press 1994. For a traditional Swedish perspective, Gösta H. Liljeqvist, High Latitudes. A History of Swedish Polar Travel and Research. Stockholm: Swedish Polar Research Secretariat 1993. As photographic techniques developed they also provided images. See for example the work of two pioneering photographers, Herbert Ponting and Frank Hurley, Antarctic Photographs 1910–1916. Melbourne: Macmillan
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12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21.
22.
23. 24. 25. 26.
27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32.
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Press 1979.Stockholm: Albert Bonniers Förlag 1904 (2 vol.); this may be compared with the strictly scientific reports: Otto Nordenskjöld, Wissenschafliches Ergebenisse der Schwedischen Südpolar-Expedition 1901–1903. Stockholm: Lithographische Instituts der Generalstabs, 6 volumes 1904–1920. Stockholm: Bonniers, 1904. Buenos Aires: J. Tragany & Cia., 1904. Redhbock, P.F. (ed.): At Sea with the Scientifics. The Challenger Letters of Joseph Matkin. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press 1992, p.132. ibid., pp.133–134. ibid., p.137. W.J.J. Spry, RN, The Cruise of Her Majesty’s Ship “Challenger”. New York: Harper and Brothers Publishers 1877, pp.131–132. ibid., p.131. ibid., p.132. ibid., pp.125–126. On Naming, see Urban Wråkberg, “The Politics of Naming. Contested Observations and the Shaping of Geographical Knowledge.” Narrating the Arctic. A Cultural History of Nordic Scientific Practices. Ed. by Michael Bravo and Sverker Sörlin. Canton, Mass. 2002: Science History Publ., pp.155–197; also Urban Wråkberg, Delineating a Continent of Ice and Snow. Cartographic Claims of Knowledge and Territory in Antarctica in the 19th and Early 20th Century, in Elzinga, et al. (2004), pp.123–143. Nordenskjöld, O.: Polarvärlden och dess grannländer. Stockholm: Albert Bonniers Förlag 1907, pp.83–84. A later more specialist treatment is Otto Nordenkjöld and Ludwig Mecking, The Geography of the Polar Regions. New York: Commonwealth Press 1928, American Geographical Society Special Publication No. 8. It is based on a prior German publication. Bruce, W.C.: Polar Exploration. London: Thornton Butterworth, 1911. Nordenskjöld was one of those who advanced a “global” hypothesis regarding an East and a West Antarctica. See for example Die Schwedische Südpolar-Expedition und ihre geographische Tätigkeit. Stockholm: Lithograph. Inst. des Generalstabs. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der schwedischen Südpolar-Expedition 1901–1903 (1911) 1:1. Crawford, J. (ed.): That First Antarctic Winter. Diaries of Louis Bernacchi. Christchurch: South Latitude Research Ltd. 1998, Preface, pp.ix-x; see also Louis Bernacchi, To the South Polar regions. Expedition of 1899–1900. Denton, Norfolk, UK: Bluntisham Books and the Erskine Press 1991 (reprint of 1901 edn.), Preface, pp.ix–x. ibid., p.ix. Declerc, H. (ed.): Roald Amundsen’s Belgica Diary. The First Scientific Expedition to the Antarctic. Banham, Norwich UK: Buntisham Books and the Erskine Press 1999, p.84. Nordensjöld, O.: “Om resultaten af det senaste årtiondets sydpolsforskning”, Ymer 1911, H. 2, pp.105–125. Nordenskjöld, O.: “Amundsens och Scotts färder till sydpolen”, Ymer 1912, H.2, pp.125–138, esp. p.138. ibid. Nordenskjöld indicates further that he understood that the Japanese might want to get into the race but that the Scandinavians had entered this crazy competition was hard to fathom. “I leave aside the question of the Japanese South Pole expedition which has already returned with its mission incomplete [they make a sledge tour over on the shelf ice…]; however one could hardly anticipate that a Scandinavian expedition, such as Amundsen’s, has chosen merely for the sake of setting a record, to follow a pursuit for which another expedition has ploughed the path and is just on its way. It certainly seems that the entire honour of the ‘discovery’ [sic] of the south pole should be that of the English, even if Amundsen should under the present conditions arrive a few days earlier. Without Scott’s and Shackelton’s previous efforts this would in any case have been unthinkable. However until now one knows very little of Amundsen’s plans, and it may be pointed out that he is starting from a point on the ice barrier that was already discovered before Scott’s first trip by Borchgrevink [a Norwegian, one might add]. Therefore it is not impossible that his route for this very reason may be of some significance to science”. What then was of significance for
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37. 38. 39. 40.
41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52.
Antarctic Peninsula & Tierra del Fuego science? It seems he had in mind his two-lobe theory and how light might be shed on the possibility of a sound running between what he called East and West Antarctica. von Drygalski, E.: The Southern Ice-Continent. The South-Polar Expedition aboard the Gauss 1901–1903. Harleston, Norfolk UK: Bluntisham Books and The Erskine Press 1989 (translated from the 1904 German edition), p.178. ibid., p.225. Fossils found by Otto Nordenkjöld on Seymour Island came to have a bearing on Alfred Wegener’s hypothesis of continental drift; Kent Larsson, “Nordenskjöld´s Prophecy”, in Elzinga et al. (2004), pp. 175–187. Currently in the sea off the Antarctic coastline far, far south of New Zealand. At the time when the expeditions led by Gerlache, Borschgrevink, Scott, Nordenskjöld, Bruce and Drygalski were in the Antarctic, the Magnetic South Pole was still on land, where some members of Ernst Shackleton’s expedition were the first ones to actually reach and chart it. See E.H. Shackelton, The Heart of the Antarctic; Being the Story of the British Antarctic Expedition 1907–1909 London: Heineman 1909. S.A. Duse, Bland pingviner och sälar (Stockholm: Beijers Bokförlagsaktiebolag 1905), p.128. This is what three persons in the Swedish Antarctic expedition 1901–1903 ended up doing during the course of one winter; for a popular version of the story see S.A. Duse, Bland pingviner och sälar. Stockholm: Beijers 1905. Pyne, S.J.: The Ice. A Journey to Antarctica ( London: Arlington Books 1988) p.67. Today we also know there is a vast lake, Vostok, more than 4 km. under the icecap. Ice core drillers have stopped their drills just above it. For my own reflections as a participant observer during the three months of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition (SWEDARP) 1997/98 see Aant Elzinga, “Antarktis januari 1998”, Tidskrift för vetenskapsstudier (VEST), 1998, vol. 11, no. 1, pp.67–78. Lopez, B.: Arctic Dreams. Imagination and Desire in a Northern Latitude (Toronto:Bantam Books 1987), p.320. Oulié, M.: Charcot of the Antarctic. New York: E.P. Dutton 1939, p.141. Commission polaire internationale. Session de 1908. Procès-verbaux des séances. Présentés par G. Lecointe. Bruxelles: Hayez (1908), p.58. Ibid., p.61 f. Id., Procès-verbal de la session tenue à Rome en 1913. Présenté par G. Lecointe Bruxelles: Hayez. (1913). Nordenskjöld, O.: “Polarexpeditioner. 2. Sydpolsexpeditioner.” Nordisk familjebok. Ny, rev. uppl. 1915. Stockholm: Nord. Familjeboks Förlags AB. 21, col. 1170–1176. Commission polaire internationale (1908). Annex, p.vii: Article 5 of Statutes (in English). Ibid., Article 8. Arctowski, H.: “Plan de voyage de la seconde expédition antarctique belge.” Bulletin de la Société royale belge de géographie 31 (1907a), pp.97–10. Ibid., p.106. Nordenskjöld (1915), col. 1176. For the plans, see L. Palander, “Plan för en svensk-engelsk sydpolarexpedition. Förberedande organisationsarbete för expeditionen.” Ymer 34 (1914), pp.17–22 [with map on p.16], and Otto Nordenskjöld, “Plan för en svensk-engelsk sydpolarexpedition. 2. Expeditionens vetenskapliga program.” Ymer 34 (1914), pp.23–33, and for the notice on the termination of the project, “Svenska-engelska antarktiska expeditionen uppgiven”, Ymer 39 (1919), p.218 f.
Open horizons: A trek through Otto Nordenskjöld’s many landscapes TORGNY NORDIN
Pablo Neruda, the Chilean poet and acclaimed Nobel Prize laureate, once wrote: “Mi vida es una larga peregrinación que siempre da vueltas, que siempre retorna al bosque austral, a la selva perdida”.1 Neruda’s words could very well have been written by the Swedish geographer and explorer Otto Nordenskjöld who represents a counterpoint in the epic history of polar exploration and travel. He travelled widely, became the first professor of geography in Göteborg and was one of the first geographers with a scholarly background to work and explore the secrets of Antarctica. Otto Nordenskjöld fell deeply in love with southern South America during his first visit, and he always wanted to return to the woods in the south. I understand him. Otto Nordenskjöld (December 6th, 1869 – June 2nd, 1928) was a rare person in being at the same time an internationally leading polar researcher and an active humanitarian. He had a strong belief in evolutionism, but was at the same time a faithful christian. He was very proud of his Swedish-Finnish ancestry, but kept his internationalistic and ecumenic ambitions going even when the terror of war haunted Europe. He was outspoken in his defence for the South American natives, but cherished explicit ideas about South America as the promised land for Europe’s unemployed and landless peoples. In his heart he was a colonialist with a good will. Both his parents belonged to the Nordenskiöld family. His father served as a colonel in the Swedish army and his mother was sister of Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld, the famous explorer of Spitsbergen and the first ever to navigate the North-East Passage. Otto Nordenskjöld studied at the university of Uppsala, Greifswald and Paris. His subject was geology and petrography and the doctorial thesis, defended in Uppsala, was in this field. It was called Ueber archäische Ergussgesteine aus Småland and Nordenskjöld’s point was that he succesfully proved that the oldest rock of his native district Småland was of vulcanic origin. The methodology used in his thesis was to a large extent based upon chemical analysis of tiny samples collected in the field. That was, however, an approach that he was not going to follow later on in his career. Instead, he expanded his perspective and became more interested in geography and in the landscape as a whole. Travelling – rather than hard core science – was his mission. Yes, Otto Nordenskjöld was a colonialist with a good will and he believed in a colonialism with a human face. He did not understand colonialism as something a priori bad, but
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something that ought to be analysed from within the body of colonial thinking and colonial politics. Nordenskjöld had a Hobbsean perception of humanity. An eternal struggle goes on, not only between nature and culture, individual and society, but also between the human races. He interpreted the development of colonialism as an organic result of an assymetric distribution of people and fertile land. Implicit in this idea is a strong belief which eventually led Nordenskjöld to the opinion that colonialism is not primarily a moral question about right or wrong. Instead, he preferred to talk in utilitarian terms about colonialization as more or less good, more or less bad; it always depends on the consequences seen from the perspective of humanity as a whole: “The value of the earth… is to big to be left to primitive people. One can be sorry for all cruelties committed against the natives, and that it has been impossible to save but a rest of these peoples. But nobody can doubt that the development that has taken place has led to a magnificent progress for human culture as a whole”2 Nordenskjöld discusses several examples of colonialism that has gone wrong, but according to him, there is also many examples hinting in the opposite direction. Good examples of colonisation were found in Greenland were the Danish treatment of the Greenlanders had been, according to Nordenskjöld, quite honourable. Here Otto Nordenskjöld’s ethnocentric approach is explicit. His opinion was that the Greenlanders had benefitted from Danish colonisation because they, the Greenlanders, had been made to leave their pagan beliefs and regularly attended divine service. They had also settled in small pittoresque cottages, and last but not least, started to produce skins and furs for the European market. Nordenskjöld concluded that the colonisation had been succesful beacause the Greenlanders had adopted a higher cultural level of living. From an ethical point of view Nordenskjöld’s ideas about colonisation must be considered erroneous since they disclose a strong and unreflected ethnocentrism that omit other peoples’ own ideas, values and wishes. Nordenskjöld gives recognition to the Greenlanders when they behave and think like we do. But that is of course just another way of praising ourselves for being who we are. It was generally expected that it was Otto’s cousin, Gustav Nordenskiöld, who would continue the tradition of exploration in high latitudes that had so succefully been initiated by Gustav’s father Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld. But Gustav Nordenskiöld went ill and died eventually from tuberculosis in 1895. From corrrespondance between the two young men, Otto and Gustav, it is apparent that Otto is planning an expedition to Siberia in the mid 1890s.3 The expedition seems to have been properly financed, but of reasons that I have been unable to unveil, Otto changed his mind and started to plan an expedition to Tierra del Fuego and adjacent areas in South America. Tierra del Fuego – a region of extremes and superlatives – was to a large extent still unexplored at the time when Otto Nordenskjöld started to plan his expedition. Navigators and seamen from different countries had mapped the major water ways, but from a scientific point of view the area was still poorly known. That was particularly true of the geology, but it was also suspected that the extremely dense and impenetrable southern beech forest might be a home for yet undiscovered species of animals and plants. In 1894 Nordenskjöld was granted a scholarship from Uppsala university. Soon after that, contacts were taken with the Swedish, Argentinean and Chilean government concerning logistic help. In Buenos Aires, where Nordenskjöld stayed for quite some time preparing
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and making plans for the expedition, he was offered extensive help from the SwedishNorwegian Ambassador as well as from the Argentine minister of foreign affairs, señor Alcorta. On December 6th, 1895 Otto Nordenskjöld and the Swedish expedition to Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego landed on the shores of bahia San Sebastián, south of El Páramo. The adventure had begun, and soon Nordenskjöld found himself sitting on the back of a horse called Azulejo. The Swedish expedition to Tierra del Fuego, which lasted from August 1895 to April 1897, is important not only since it was the first expedition led by Otto Nordenskjöld, but also because all the major scholarly questions considered by Nordenskjöld were raised during that expedition.4 Both New Zealand’s South Island and Tasmania reaches high southernly latitudes, but only Tierra del Fuego can match Sweden’s geographical position in the northern hemisphere. That was one of the two the reasons why southern South America was chosen. The other reason was the relatively close distance to Antarctica. Work and questions regarding glaciation and ice ages, ideas first expressed by the Swedish polar researcher Otto Torell (1828–1900), were of the highest importance, and Otto Nordenskjöld held the idea that the keys to the unlocking of the secrets of northern glaciation were to be found in southern South America. Other important issues concerned the true nature of the phenomenon of parallelism in the fauna and flora. Daniel Solander and Joseph Banks had, during their short visit to Tierra del Fuego, already noticed plant species similar to or even identical with species in northern Europe, but how this bipolarity should be understood was indeed an enigmatic question. During the expedition Otto Nordenskjöld was also engaged in ethnographical studies of the Fuegian indians, particularly a group of selknam (called Ona in Nordenskjöld’s time) that lived in a Catholic mission outside the town of Rio Grande. Nordenskjöld’s collection of selknam expressions and words from that mission is still of some value. Also very much alive during the expedition was the issue of Tierra del Fuego as a place for future colonisation. Finding good areas suitable for a European colonisation was on Nordenskjöld’s agenda all the time. He even managed to extend the length of his stay in southern Patagonia by doing paid research work for colonial agents from Belgium. It was during this undertaking that Nordenskjöld discovered the scenic area that is today the national park of Torres del Paine. A few days’ ride from Torres del Paine, in the deep fiord of Ultima Esperanza, lays a large cave that is today called Cueva de Milodon – the Cave of the Mylodon. Otto Nordenskjöld was the first scientist to visit this cave, which was later to become very famous, and was the first to see what was left of the animal’s skin. The skin had belonged to a gigantic sloth, but was the animal still alive? Otto Nordenskjöld thought it unlikely and wrote: “For my part, I do not think it is likely that the animal exists any longer, but one must admit that those particular parts of the mountainside, at which e.g. my above-mentioned penetration was directed, are unknown enough to allow for surprise.”5 When the news of the Mylodon reached the media in Europe and the USA, a hysterical quest began to look for the strange animal, but in vain. The sloth had been extinct forthousands of years, but the issue was not settled until a few years later, when Otto Nordenskiöld’s cousin Erland Nordenskjöld spent a few months doing a thorough excavation of the cave.
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Antarctic Peninsula & Tierra del Fuego
No doubt Tierra del Fuego was a very interesting area in itself, but it was evident even from the very beginning that the trip to Tierra del Fuego was nothing but a first step towards Antarctica. The most valuable result of the expedition was a confirmation that Tierra del Fuego had been subjected to glaciation and climate changes similar to what was known from the northern hemisphere. This made it possible to interpret and understand the fossil findings of plants of subtropical origin that had been made in the area.6 Nordenskjöld did not only, as mentioned above, study glaciers and draw maps. He was also interested in the indians and was very outspoken in his criticism against the colonists, particularly the sheep farmers, who oppressed the indians severly and constantly met them with violence. Nordenskjöld expressed his criticism about the situation in letters to the Argentine government and in articles published in the local newspapers. Back in Sweden his reports also had, together with those of his cousin Erland Nordenskiöld, a constitutive impact on ideas concerning cross cultural understanding and respect for alien cultures. But contrary to many of his fellow Swedish scientists, Nordenskjöld was a keen advocate of the missions. And he urged the local authorities to give resources to the missions in order for them to safeguard the indians’ physical lives. During his stay in Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia Nordenskjöld developed a concept of culture that he kept advocating for the rest of his life. His concept of culture, or rather of a so called “primitive culture’’ is constituted by two ideas. First (I) he held a deterministic view of the relation between a given primitive culture and its surrounding environment. The culture, or people, should be seen as a result, an adaption, of the major features of the environment. Second (II) he thought that a primitive culture was locked in time. Little or no development and change within a primitive culture was conceivable, only an endless repetition of experiences made by earlier generations. Otto Nordenskjöld did not dwell much on how to conceptually understand culture. He always took (I) and (II) for granted and never saw any reason to back up those opinions with any deeper arguments. (I) and (II) were important constituents in his view of mankind, or at least the so-called primitive or non-modern part of it. From (I) and (II) Nordenskjöld came to the conclusion that they (the Fuegian Indians as well as all “primitive cultures”) were doomed. They were standing on the verge of extinction not only because of the hostile Europeans, but also owing to internal, cultural, conditions. According to Nordenskjöld the political authorities and sheep farmers were morally wrong in their war against the Indians, but the Indian culture was slowly disappearing anyway. But even if the Indians were doomed, as Nordenskjöld thought they were, he still took an active part in defending them. Many of his contemporary colleagues perceived the Indians in almost the same way as spectacular waterfalls, rare plants or endangered birds, i.e. as valuable tokens of a threatened culture. This led them to advocate protected areas for the Indians, away from the Catholic missions under whose influence their culture was bound to eventually vanish. Otto Nordenskjöld on the other hand followed his Christian belief and focused on the “universal” in the Indians. He wanted to save them not because they were Indians per se, but because they were humans belonging to humanity like the rest of us. This is why he was so positive about the mission stations. Nordenskjöld’s positive attitude toward the mission stations did, however, never stop him from criticising what he percieved as the general aspects of Western culture: “From my own point of view I do not have the greatest respect for this so called culture that detaches the aboriginal people from their natural context, turns their conceptions of
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right and wrong upside down, often without having anything at all to offer in return, and who forces the aboriginal peoples to live with the enigma of how the same people who preaches brotherhood and purity, at the same time are the worst examples concerning moral, ruthlessness and cruelty”.7 During the expedition to southern Argentina and Chile plans for a visit to northern Antarctica were already being discussed. Otto Nordenskjöld and the zoologist Axel Ohlin were promised logistical support from the Chilean navy, but owing to forthcoming elections and serious tension with Argentina, this support was unfortunately withdrawn. Back in Sweden Otto Nordenskjöld soon found himself engaged in new travel plans. In March 1898, less than a year after his return from South America, he set out on a trip to Alaska, where he intended to study the gold rush and possible colonization and to look for the three Swedish aeronauts, led by S. A. Andrée, who had left Spitsbergen in a balloon in the summer before.8 In the summer of 1900 he was offered the chance to serve as a geologist on a Danish expedition to northeastern Greenland. This was a very good opportunity for Nordenskjöld to become acquainted with real polar conditions, and in particular to learn how to handle dog sledges. The ship used by the Danish expedition was the “Antarctic”, a well-known vessel that had served several Swedish expeditions to Greenland and Spitsbergen before. By this time Otto Nordenskjöld’s plan to set up a large expedition to Antarctica was publicly known. Nordenskjöld searched for a good ship to take him to Antarctica, but since he had to finance the expedition all by himself he could not get what he really wanted. Instead, he bought the only ship he could afford, and that turned out to be the “Antarctic”. It was not only the harsh Antarctic climate and ice walls that became problematic for Nordenskjöld. The Swedish polar establishment at the Academy of Sciences in Stockholm was not very keen about Nordenskjöld’s plans and refused to give him any support whatsoever. That was of course a disappointment and Nordenskjöld consequently had to begin the expedition to Antarctica by renting out his own ship. And henceforth the “Antarctic” was rented to the Swedish arc-meridian expedition to Spitsbergen during the summer of 1901. When the “Antarctic” returned from Spisbergen she was damaged and extra repair was needed. But finally the Swedish South polar expedition left Göteborg’s harbour on October 16th, 1901. The first months of journey went over windy and tropical seas, which caused much pain for the Greenlandic sledge dogs. On New Year’s Eve the “Antarctic” arrived at the Malvinas/Falkland islands and a few weeks later to Tierra del Fuego. Soon the archipelgo of South Shetlands was passed and the men on the “Antarctic” could see how desolated and icy the Antarctic landscape was. They were surprised. And more surprises were waiting for them. Otto Nordenskjöld’s plan was to proceed as far south as possible along the eastern coast of Graham Land. Once there a small group of men led by Nordenskjöld should erect a prefabricated hut and stay over the southern winter. The “Antarctic”, with the rest of crew and scientific staff, should turn north in order to do research in the Malvinas/Falklands and Tierra del Fuego. With the arrival of spring the “Antarctic” had the order to go back and fetch Nordenskjöld and his companions at the winter station. But the “Antarctic” never turned up. A wintering station was built on Snow Hill island, and the “Antarctic” proceeded north as planned. But due to severe ice conditions she could not get back. The open sea had disappeared and heavy ice blocked the way. Ernest Shackleton once declared that the line between death and success in exploration is a fine one. This was indeed true in Nordenskjöld’s Antarctic expedition. By Christmas
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Antarctic Peninsula & Tierra del Fuego
1902 the men on Snow Hill were prepared to leave, but the “Antarctic” was not to be seen. Nordenskjöld and the others of course did not know that the ice had blocked the “Antarctic’s” way, neither did they know that three men had left the ship in order to walk to Snow Hill to bring Nordenskjöld the message. With insufficient equipment and with food supplies for a mere fortnight the three men set out on the ice. Quite soon they met open channels in the ice that made further progress to Snow Hill impossible. Since the “Antarctic” must certainly have moved to another position, a return was no option either. Instead, they went on to the nearest land, built a stone hut on the shore and survived the cold and dark winter by telling stories and eating Adélie penguins that they had collected before the winter set in. The place was called Hoppets vik, Hope Bay (in Spanish Esperanza). The three men not only survived, but they also collected valuable fossils and minerals, material that was of precious value when the geologist J.G. Andersson (one of the three men in the stone hut) wrote his seminal work “On the Geology of Graham Land’’.9 The “Antarctic” had definitely moved to another position; she had sunk on February 12th, 1903 with all collections from the expedition’s first two years. The captain, crew and the remaining scientists had to flee to the tiny island of Paulet where they too had to build a stone hut, collect Adélie penguins and survive the darkness. One of them did not make it through the winter. A young Norwegian crew member, Ole Wennersgaard, was still there. The Swedish South Polar expedition had by now lost its ship and been split in three parts with no knowledge of each other. It was indeed a delicate situation. Success seemed, indeed, far away. When spring finally arrived, in October, the three men from Hoppets vik made a second attempt to reach Snow Hill. This time they were more successful and did reach Snow Hill – surprisingly at the same time as the people from Paulet Island and a search team from an Argentine rescue ship, the “Uruguay”, also arrived there. Nordenskjöld’s expedition made the first double wintering in Antarctica in two consecutive years. More important than that were of course the scientific results. Mapping was done that proved West Antarctica to be a peninsula rather than an island, and the first accurate geological study of the area was performed, with results that were used well into the 1960s. Otto Nordenskjöld and J.G. Andersson collected lots of fossils, among them a fossilized skeleton of an extinct penguin as big as a fully grown man. The findings hinted at something that Nordenskjöld had already understood in Tierra del Fuego: the area had not always been so cold. More hospitable conditions had ruled Antarctica and southern South America, something which made Nordenskjöld and his colleagues consider what the earth had really looked like many millions of years earlier. Implicit in this was the idea of a giant continent split apart by continental shift.10 Nordenskjöld’s Antarctic expedition marks the end of the classical era in Swedish polar research. Lots of interesting results were gained, but there would be no more Swedish expeditions to Antarctica for many years to come. Nordenskjöld did indeed begin to plan a new five-year expedition to Antarctica together with England as soon as he had returned to Sweden.11 But when that expedition had finally been financed and was ready to depart, the First World War broke out. Nordenskjöld never gave up his hope of returning to Antarctica. Later in his life he went to Iceland, Greenland and Spitsbergen, but he never saw the white continent again. After his return to Sweden Otto Nordenskjöld started to raise a family and to work at Göteborg University College. By now he had the reputation of being one of the leading
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polar researchers in the world. Göteborg became for some decades a centre for polar research and geography, and almost all ethnographers, geographers and travellers with a good reputation went to Göteborg to meet Otto Nordenskjöld and give lectures at the local Geographical Society. But Nordenskjöld was not only a geographer. He was also engaged in many other different projects. Together with the Professor of Philosophy in Göteborg, the socialist Malte Jacobsson, he travelled to Berlin and Vienna in order to negotiate for peace during the First World War. He was also an active Christian, a fact that is usually not mentioned by his contemporary colleagues, who had little understanding for his ambition to blend empirical research with a Christian world view. Ecumenical work particularly interested Nordenskjöld, and in these matters he cooperated to a large extent with the Swedish archbishop Nathan Söderblom. He also travelled to all the big cities in Europe. He spoke about polar research, world peace, and understanding between different cultures. Nordenskjöld perceived his commitment both as a moral obligation and as a necessary task. The expedition with the “Antarctic” was not financially solvent, and the accumulated debts were to follow him to the grave. He spent a lot of time with the ecumenical meeting between all the churches in the world that was held in Stockholm in 1925. Representatives from all of Christianity came except the Catholic church, which decided not to participate. In this context Nordenskjöld worked together with other Christians with the aim of creating an international academy whose task was to be to scientifically study political and social problems from a Christian perspective (“upprättandet av en internationell akademi, som från kristlig ståndpunkt skulle vetenskapligt studera tidens politiska och sociala problem”).12 Otto Nordenskjöld was very explicit in his critique of school books. He argued strongly against the glorification of war, and he was particularly upset about the nationalism that he found in history texts. He argued against the double standard of describing one’s own culture as civilized and that of others as barbarian, and he wanted to give proper recognition to other people’s achievements on all levels (“såväl den politiska som den ideella och materiella”)13 by increasing the time spent on the study of the culture and history of other countries. Nordenskjöld’s ethos was a strong and Protestant one. He was more interested in moral issues than in theological questions concerning faith and ecclesiastical regulations. His interest was practical issues like peace negotiations, international cooperation and so forth. He perceived unity in faith as an ideal, not a goal in itself, and he was a keen advocate of a new world language. But rather than choosing Esperanto he recommended English, because he believed it to be easier.14 After 1918 a major Swedish expedition to Antarctica, or even a joint British-Swedish one, was out of the question. In Sweden the old polar veterans were gone together with their beneficiaries, and gone also was the old tradition of Swedish-Norwegian cooperation. Norwegian polar nationalism was on the other hand growing rapidly, and when Sweden together with Russia lost their case regarding the management of Spitsbergen, even the larger popular interest in polar travel lost some of its former attraction. Even Swedish society had changed. The old Oscarian virtues of personal sacrifice for a noble cause were now perceived as anachronistic and undemocratic. This change of mentality affected Otto Nordenskjöld’s plans, although he himself had never advocated the grand ideas that were then at stake. Instead, Nordenskjöld started to plan, as he had always done, a small-scale expedition that was to focus on the area he loved the most: southern South America.
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He wanted to study landscapes and conditions for culture and cultivation – the ideal aims for a scientific geographer according to Nordenskjöld.15 His idea this time, as it had already been in 1909 when he visited West Greenland, was to study patterns of glaciation as well as different aspects of colonization.16 First he wanted to study the high Andean Altiplano of Peru and then visit some remote parts of the Amazon basin. Second he wanted to return to the high coastal mountains of southern Chile. In 1921 Nordenskjöld left Göteborg for Peru, beginning with a visit to the Campa Indians. After that he and his two Swedish companions crossed the Andean mountains and continued south to Puerto Montt, a small Atlantic seaport town opposite the island of Chiloé. With a small vessel they continued further south in order to approach the southern Cordillera from the west. 25 years earlier Otto Nordenskjöld had reached the area from the opposite direction, but that time he was alone riding a stubborn donkey. The small expedition anchored at Golfo de Penas, and from there they went on to the Kelly Fiord and the nearby glacier of San Tadeo. The huge San Tadeo belongs to a great glacier, some 700 km long, which before 1921 had had few if any visitors. The area that Nordenskjöld and his colleagues investigated was either extremely dense or dangerously boggy, making any long hikes very hard. To this must be added the fact that everything was wet due to constant raining. In his report Nordenskjöld complains about their “amphibious” existence: “And still it rained, and gradually one learns to understand this land with its paucity of flora and fauna, where only frogs seem to feel at home, and wet from top to toe and often right through, wandering over wet swamplands or through eternally rain-soaked forests, in the end one too feels like an amphibian.”17 Like Pablo Neruda, Otto Nordenskjöld always wanted to return to the woods in the south. But his expedition in 1921 was his last visit to South America. Providence, in which he had a strong belief, had other plans for him, and he passed away after being hit by a bus on a quiet street outside his house in Göteborg.
REFERENCES 1. Neruda, P. [1974]. “My life is a long pilgrimage that is always turning on itself, always returning to the woods in the south, to the forests lost to me”. Neruda, Pablo (1974). Confieso que he vivido. Barcelona: Seix Barral. 2. Nordenskjöld, O. (1914a) p.23: Jordens värde är…för stort för att för att det i längden skulle gå att lämna den att utnyttjas av ett primitivt folk. Man kan beklaga att så många grymheter begåtts mot de infödda och att det inte varit möjligt att bevara större rester av dessa, men ingen kan betvivla att den utveckling som ägt rum betytt ett storartat framsteg för hela den mänskliga kulturen’. Nordenskjöld, Otto: Kolonisationen och naturfolken. Drag ur nutidens kolonialpolitik och kolonialstyrelse. Stockholm: Bonnier. 1914. (Populärt vetenskapliga föreläsningar vid Göteborgs högskola. N.F. 12.). 3. Letters from Gustav Nordenskiöld to Otto Nordenskjöld, written in 1895. Märtha Löwehielm’s private collection. 4. Nordenskjöld, Otto: Från Eldslandet. Skildringar från den svenska expeditionen till Magellansländerna 1895–97. Stockholm: Norstedt. 1898. 5. Nordenskjöld (1900a), p.157: ‘För min del tror jag ej det är sannolikt att djuret lefver, men nog måste man medge att just de delar af bergssluttningen, dit t.ex. mitt ofvannämnda framträngningsförsök var riktadt, äro okända nog för att tillåta öfverraskningar’. Nordenskjöld, Otto: “I Eldslandet och Sydpatagonien. Några bilder från den bebodda verldens sydspets.” Geografiska föreningens tidskrift 12, pp.137–157. 1900.
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6. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der schwedischen Expedition nach den Magellansländern … (1899–1907). Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Südpolar-Expedition 1901–1903 (1905–21). Unter Mitwirkung zahlreicher Fachgenossenen hrsg. durch Otto Nordenskjöld. 1–6. Stockholm: Lithogr. Inst. des Generalstabs. 7. Nordenskjöld (1914a), p.31: ‘Personligen har jag ej den största respekt för denna s.k. kultur, som rycker naturfolken ur deras naturliga sammanhang, som vänder upp och ner på deras begrepp om rätt och orätt, ofta utan att dem någon fast grund istället, och som ställer dem inför den olösbara gåtan, att samma folk som predikar broderskap och renhet ger dem de sämsta föredömen i fråga om moral, hänsynslöshet och grymhet’ 8. Nordenskjöld, Otto: Sammanfattande slutrapport från den Ek-Nordenskjöldska Klondikeexpeditionen sommaren 1898. Stockholm 1898. 9. Andersson, J. Gunnar (1906). “On the Geology of Graham Land.” Bulletin of the Geological Institution of the University of Upsala 7 (1904–05), pp. 19–71. Antarctic. Två år bland Sydpolens isar (1904). Af Otto Nordenskjöld, J. Gunnar Andersson, C.A. Larsen och C. Skottsberg. 1–2. Stockholm: Bonnier. 10. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Südpolar-Expedition … (1905–21). 11. Nordenskjöld (1914b). Nordenskjöld, Otto: “Plan för en svensk-engelsk sydpolarexpedition. 2. Expeditionens vetenskapliga program.” Ymer 34, pp.23–33. 1914. 12. Nordenskjöld (1924). Nordenskjöld, Otto: “Världsförbundets exekutivkommitté (‘Management committee’).” Kristen gemenskap 1924:1, p.14. 13. Carlgren, Wilh. (1926). “Läroboksfrågan.” Kristen gemenskap 1926:3, p.5 f. 14. Nordenskjöld (1927a, b). Nordenskjöld, Otto: Süd-Amerika: ein Zukunftsland der Menschheit. Natur, Mensch, Wirtschaft. Stuttgart: Strecker & Schröder. 1927. [Transl. and rev. of Nordenskjöld (1923).] – (1927b). “Världsförbundets möte i Konstanz.” Kristen gemenskap 1927: 3, p.10. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der schwedischen Expedition nach den Magellansländern 1895–1897 (1899–1907). Unter Leitung von Otto Nordenskjöld. 1–3. Stockholm: Norstedt. 15. Nordenskjöld (1921a), p. 228. Nordenskjöld, Otto: “En resa i Sydamerikas Kordillerastater.” Ymer 41 (1921), pp.227–253. 16. Nordenskjöld, Otto: “Från danska Sydvästgrönland.” Ymer 30, (1910) pp.17–46. 17. Nordenskjöld (1921a), p.232: “Alltjämt regnade det, och småningom lär man sig förstå denna natur med dess artfattiga flora och fauna, där blott grodorna synas trivas, och våt uppifrån och oftast helt igenom, vandrande över våta kärrmarker eller genom evigt regnvåta skogar känner man sig slutligen själv som en amfibie ...”
OTHER SOURCES Nordenskjöld, Otto (1894). Ueber archaeische Ergussgesteine aus Småland. Upsala. (Diss. Upsala Univ.) (Repr. from Bulletin of the Geological Institution of the University of Upsala 1(1893):2.) – (1896). “Den eldsländska ögruppen.” Ymer 16, pp.247–258. – (1900b). “Sydpolarforskningens nuvarande ställning och mål.” Ymer 20, pp.51–75. – (1904). “Den svenska sydpolarexpeditionen 1901–03. 1. Allmän öfversikt samt redogörelse för vinterstationen vid Snow Hill.” Ymer 24, pp.43–67. – (1921b). Geografisk forskning och geografiska upptäckter under nittonde århundradet Stockholm: Norstedt. (Det nittonde århundradet. 7:[2].) – (1923). Människor och natur i Sydamerika. Stockholm: Bonnier. (Populärt vetenskapliga föreläsningar vid Göteborgs högskola. N.F. 21.)
Pemmican and penguin-breast, but no pie: Daily problems of Polar explorers during the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration MONIKA SCHILLAT
ABSTRACT: This paper attempts to trace the every day problems of polar exploration in the early 20th century: ice and dangers, hunger, scurvy and facing sick minds and despair. Since the beginning of polar exploration food has been both a problem and a pleasure for the expeditionaries. Occasionally they had to suffer hunger and scurvy or their rations were not very tempting at all. On the other hand, especially in cold climates, meals became very important and had to make up for the lack of social life in the icy world of Antarctica. Many parties, especially those that became marooned, depended on the food they could catch to survive. This of course was also the case for part of the party from the Swedish Antarctic Expedition, under command of Otto Nordenskjöld in their second winter on Snow Hill Island. Not only did they try to survive with dignity but also did they carry on with their daily scientific studies. We’ll try to shed some light on their daily routine, how they celebrated on few occasions, how they took care of their bath-room and washing problems, as well as on their strategies to overcome mischief and despair.
1 INTRODUCTION The sixth International Geographical Congress in London proposed in 1895 major new explorations in Antarctica after little activity for the previous 50 years. This launched an era of government-sponsored scientific expeditions and signaled the start of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, a period marked by much personal endurance and bravery. The most famous voyages were the Belgian expedition under the command of Adrien de Gerlache on board the Belgica (1898–1899), the Norwegian expedition under Carsten Borgrevink on board the Southern Cross (1899–1900), the German expedition on board the Gauss, commanded by Erich von Drygalski (1902–1903) as well as the voyage of French explorer Jean Charcot, who conducted two expeditions to the Antarctic on the Français and Pourquois Pas? Surveying over 2000 km of coastline and newly discovered territory in the Peninsula area. At the same time the Swedish Antarctic Expedition under command of Otto von Nordenskjöld made the first major sledge journeys in Antarctica over two winters. His ship, the “Antarctic” was crashed by ice and sunk, but the whole party was saved after surviving the winter. During two years of danger, hardship and suffering, the men of the expedition accumulated a mass of invaluable scientific data and only survived at all through a series of extraordinary coincidences that make the story of the expedition read like an incredible novel.1
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In the meantime they had to face the same day to day problems other expeditionaries had to live up to all over the White unknown continent. Scurvy, hunger and sick minds were only some of the problems they had to deal with.
2 FOOD IN ANTARCTICA Since the beginning of polar exploration food has been both a problem and a pleasure for the expeditionaries. Occasionally they had to suffer hunger and scurvy or their rations were not very tempting at all. On the other hand, especially in cold climates, meals became very important and had to make up for the lack of social life in the icy world of Antarctica. The vast difficulties that confronted the early explorers were met with a mixture of bold determination and bland ignorance. The horrors of ocean voyaging – bad food, discomfort, disease – were for the most part known and expected. Scurvy, a frightful affliction, was regarded as a natural hazard of the sailor’s life. It was a common killer of sailors and explorers until comparatively recently. It is caused by a deficiency in the diet of vitamin C, the lack of fresh fruit and vegetables making those at sea or in the polar regions particularly vulnerable. The symptoms include swollen muscles, spongy gums, impaired vision, exhaustion and hemorrhaging. In 1902, medical evidence suggested that scurvy was contracted from tainted food. It was not until 1912 that research began to provide evidence that a lack of vitamin C was the cause. Interestingly, most animals can synthesize the vitamin for themselves, the exception being guinea pigs, monkeys and humans.2 Square meals though, did not always provide the necessary amount of proteins, vitamins and other nutrients. Since Tudor times meals on board ship were dished up on square platters – hence the name – which seamen balanced on their laps. They had frames around the edge to prevent the food from falling off and were so shaped to enable them to be easily stored when not in use. Each sailor thus received his full ration, or square meal, for the day. But the platter was not always well filled. Francis Drakes men on their way South in 1578 suffered not only bad storms but also a severe lack of food. The situation was serious and the men had even taken to saving their rations of biscuits until nightfall so that they could not see the worms. The cheese was finished and for weeks the only hot meal – apart from lucky catches of fish – had been lentil soup.3 Captain James Cook’s men had more luck. Only two hundred years later he was the first to circumnavigate with his men the Antarctic Continent and made the first crossing of the Antarctic Circle, did not only achieve geographical discoveries but the splendid conquest of that ancient menace of scurvy. Although the juice of citrus fruits had been used for medical purposes since about 1600 nobody knew about its importance in the daily diet of sailors. Cook insisted though in a decent diet of fresh meat and vegetables whenever possible, and when not he made do with such ingenious inventions as his “portable soup” (meat extract dried in slabs like a glue) and big portions of Sauerkraut, pickled cabbage.4 About a hundred years later, the seamen of the “Discovery” followed still Cook’s advice. The wardroom’s overhead beams were used to grow mustard and cress in flats placed under the skylights. Fresh fish and seals caught during the trip completed a healthy diet on the ship. Scott’s crew did not complain much about the food on board. But dinner menus tended, perforce, to repetition. After a brush with scurvy, canned meats were used only one night a week, a scheme that also allowed the cook a night off. For five of the remaining nights, all hands ate fresh meat, either seal steak or penguin breast. Most eagerly anticipated
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was Sunday’s mutton dinner, when one of the precious frozen carcasses was retrieved from the rigging, thawed, and roasted. One of the best examples of how to stock a polar-bound ship is surely the “Erebus” and “Terror” Expedition under the command of James Clark Ross (1839–1843). By any standards the enterprise was phenomenally well equipped, from its ice saws and portable forges to its stocks of provisions – sufficient for three years and including 2,618 pints of vegetable soup, 2,398 pounds of pickled cabbage and 10,782 pounds of carrots to keep scurvy at ban, not to mention a small flock of sheep – to its stores of winter clothing and to Ross’s insistence that “every arrangement [be] made in the interior fitting of the vessels that could in any way contribute to the health and comfort of our people.”5 The idea of taking life stock on board to have fresh provisions of meat had been shared by many other expeditions. Some commanders even tried to keep penguins on board for that purpose. Lieutnant Simonov and Demidov of the Bellingshausen expedition (1819–1820) were sent to one of the nearby floes to catch penguins. Thadeus Van Bellinghausen would later say: “Our booty consisted of thirty penguins. I ordered a few to be sent to the mess and the remainder were kept on board and fed on pork .. this appeared to be injurious to them, as they sickened and died after three weeks. The crew skinned them and made caps of the skins, and used the fat for greasing their boots. The penguins … are good for food, especially, if kept for several days in vinegar.”6 The ship’s surgeon on the Belgian Antarctic Expedition in 1898 would not agree with Bellingshausen. Dr. Frederick Cook remarked instead: “If it is possible to imagine a piece of beef, odiferous cod fish and a canvas-backed duck roasted together in a pot, with blood and cod-liver oil for sauce, the illustration would be complete.”7 But after a brush of scurvy on board the Belgica he cleverly presented the problem to the baron De Gerlache, requesting the captain to regard the meat as medicinal and to eat it as an example to the others. “Ignore the taste; swallow it down as a duty.” De Gerlache unwillingly agreed and after a while his men no longer cursed the fishy, greasy seal meat or penguin, but ate it and called it Antarctic beefsteak. The problem remaining was still, how to feed the men during field work, far away from the ship or a base station, and also how to maintain the dogs. Being concentrated and light with a slow deterioration rate, pemmican became the basic polar ration. The North American Indians are credited with developing this simple but very efficient meat product called pemmican. This early means of preserving meats was literally to embed them in fat.8 This sometimes required melting the fat and mixing it thoroughly with lean meat. As much as fifty to sixty percent of the product could be fat. The value of embedding the meat in fat was probably in the exclusion of oxygen. The type of fat used was important in order to cut down the oxidative effects. Although not the same as the Indian product, high-fat meat preparations were also found in other parts of the world. The meat was first dried in the sun and then pounded and cut up before being mixed with melted fat. Pemmican saves the lives of many explorers. It was an important food product because it was compact and high in energy. For long storage and easy carrying on a person’s back or on a sledge, pemmican was tightly packed in sacks. Dried fruits were often added to improve the taste. Later on, when pemmican was made in England and packaged for use aboard ship by European explorers, other condiments, such as peas, were added.9 Pemmican proved to be attractive to polar explorers because it provided concentrations of both fat and protein, and could be chewed like a tough biscuit or turned into a stew, called “hoosh”. Provided it kept dry, it would also keep for months on end. Explorers
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attempted to make pemmican more palatable by adding oatmeal and raisins. Pemmican was nauseating to many, while other found its gritty consistency hard to take. The dogs had to accept it as well along with dried cod fish. There was even a canine version of pemmican containing fish meal and more fat. The dogs of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition must have loved their pemmican though. During their first spring in Antarctica the group attempted to reach the eastern part of Oscar II Coast by foot. Nordenskjöld, Sobral and a seaman called Ole Jonassen set off, the men towing one sledge and the dogs the other. When the going was good they covered 30 miles a day, but it rarely was. And the terrain became difficult and filled with crevasses too. Bad weather and bad luck continued to plague them. Jonassen injured his arm, their tent was ripped by a storm, and the dogs found the sack containing their pemmican. They ate it all, along with the sack, some harness, and the whip.10 Physical activity may increase daily energy requirements. Hard work such as manhauling or dog sledging in Antarctica, with its extreme climate and difficult terrain requires a considerable increase in nutritional energy. Cold-weather clothing and footwear, which may weigh over 10 kg without the addition of frozen sweat, further increases the amount of energy used. Some estimates have suggested that approximately half the food eaten – when the temperature is around ⫺40°C – is needed to keep the body at its normal temperature and to avoid hypothermia. An average sledging ration would include for one man, and one day, chocolate, pemmican, sugar, biscuits, butter and tea and cover 4,500 calories. The Swedish Expedition leader controlled the weight of his men regularly. After their sledge journey south, most of them had lost over 20 pounds of bodyweight.11 Many parties, especially those that became marooned, depended on the food they could catch to survive. Dried, smoked and boiled penguin became a main course for several expeditioners. They also did appreciate penguin eggs, whenever they could get them and seal blubber, not only for human consumption, but also for the dogs, for heating and lighting. The end of the 19th century brought one of the first major probes into Antarctica and the first wintering-over there. A naval officer, Lt. Adrien de Gerlache, mounted his own expedition, obtained money from many sources, bought a ship named the “Belgica”, and got hold of the two veteran Arctic explorers, Roald Amundsen and Frederick Cook.12 Leaving Antwerp the end of August 1897, the “Belgica” with a complement of nineteen, sailed initially for the east coast of South America and then into the area surrounding the Antarctic Peninsula. Lt. de Gerlache’s intent was then to circle around to Cape Adare, and to be the first explorer to winter over in Antarctica. The ambition was there, but his planning was not equal to the ambition. The ship was provisioned with inadequate clothing and a mixture of many types of food which de Gerlache’s crew, from different countries and cultures, had trouble eating. The ship became frozen in the ice and drifted for many months; it was not until March 1899 that the “Belgica” was seen again, sailing into Punta Arenas, Chile. Cook probably saved the expedition from a serious problem with scurvy. His preventative remedy for scurvy resulted from his Arctic experience and his believing that fresh meat was the answer. This led to his recommendation to supply the men with penguin and seal meat. By the end of May, near the height of the Antarctic winter, the need for fresh meat became alarming to Cook, who wrote: “We ate little, however, and were thoroughly disgusted with canned foods. We had tried the meat of the penguins, but to the majority its flavour was still too fishy. We entered the long night somewhat underfed, not because there was a scarcity of food, but because of our unconquerable dislike for such as we had. It is possible to support life for seven or eight month upon a diet of canned food; but after this period there is something
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in the human system which makes it refuse to utilize the elements of nutrition contained in tins. Against such food, even for a short period, the stomach protests; confined to it for a long period, it simply refuses to exercise its functions ... We had laboratory mixtures in neat cans, combined in such a manner as to make them look tempting – hashes under various catchy names, sausages stuffs in deceptive forms, meat and fishballs said to contain cream, mysterious soups, and all the latest inventions in condensed foods. But they one and all proved failures, as a steady diet. The stomach demands things with a natural fiber, or some tough, gritty substance. At this time, as a relief, we would have taken kindly to something containing pebbles or sand. How we longed to use our teeth.”13 And a little later Cook remarked: “We eat a little penguin with a show of pleasure, but most of us are quite tired of its marine flavour and fish-oil smoothness. If we had sufficient ham it would afford immense gastric delight. There is much indigestion now – fermentation, gastric inertia, intestinal and gastric pain, imperfect hepatic action, and a general suppression of all the digestive secretions.”14 The Swedish Antarctic Expedition can also be considered as a marooned one. Nordenskjöld’s party consisted of seven other scientists, and their ship, a stoutly built sealer was crewed by 16 officers and crew under the command of an experienced Antarctic explorer, captain Carl Anton Larsen. An eighth member, a young geographer-geologistanthropologist named Dr. Johann Gunnar Andersson, was to join the ship at the Malvinas (Falklands) Islands as the expedition leader after Nordenskjöld and his wintering party had been dropped in the Weddell Sea. The plan then was for the Antarctic to spend the rest of the summer of 1902 employed in scientific work before returning the following summer to pick up Nordenskjöld. It was a promising plan, but one, which went disastrously wrong. In the beginning everything was fine though. The ship left from Buenos Aires for the South Shetland Islands on December, arriving there on January 11th. Nordenskjöld landed briefly on one of the islands before going on to explore Orleans Strait. Contrary to what had been supposed, they soon saw that Louis Phillipe Land was connected to Danco Land and that the Orleans Strait ran into the Gerlache Strait, discoveries that Nordenskjöld later described as being the most important geographical finds of the whole expedition. He wanted to go further, but time was short, so the ship retracted its course until the sound between Louis Phillipe land and Joinville Island was entered. Although it had been discovered by the French explorer Dumont d´Urville, no ship had ever sailed through, so it was named after the “Antarctic”. Once through the sound, the party landed at Paulet Island, then crossed the Erebus and Terror Gulf and made a depot on Seymour Island. The ship then continued southwest towards the unknown eastern part of Oscar II Coast, but on reaching latitude 66° 10⬘S a great barrier of ice was seen ahead through which there was no path. Nordenskjöld followed the line of the pack-ice eastwards in the hope of finding an opening to the Weddell Sea and finally decided to put up his winter camp on Snow Hill Island to the southwest of Seymour Island. With five others he was put ashore with all their stores and equipment, including several sledge dogs. The wintering party’s first task was to erect a magnetic observatory which would provide shelter until the prefabricated hut they were to live in could be built. A series of severe storms gave them a taste of what was to come. Young Lieutenant Sobral wrote in his diary: “One of the storms even blew from 15th to 24th of July without remission, the thermometer registering ⫺30°C throughout.”15 But the spirits in the hut were high and everybody kept up with the daily duties. During the first winter, there was also plenty of food available. The day would begin at 9:30 AM with fruckost, which would consist in a hearty breakfast with fish and potatoes, as well as porridge
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and a strong coffee. At 10:00 AM the smokers were allowed to light their pipes and only two and a half hours later, at 2:30 PM middag was served. This lunch would consist in a two course meal during this first winter, and these could include sheep tongue in vin-egar, smoked sheep, tinned peas or corn and soup. At 5:00 PM it was time to get together around the little table in the hall to drink yet another cup of coffee, and whenever cook Akerlundh fell like baking, there would be cake and cookies to go with it. The last meal was kväll at 9:00 pm. This one-course dinner would end the day, followed by a cup of tea or hot cocoa. During this first long Antarctic night, the group would heat their hut with coal and there was plenty to keep the iron stove going at day and night. During their first winter then men would take regularly a bath. “Each fortnight we would take a bath. There was only one bathtub, so that we would take turns. First of course we had to heat water. Therefore we gathered snow in huge tins, which was melted and heated on the stove in the kitchen. Humidity grew of course inside our little hut and condensed under the roof. But it was that cold outside, that the condensed water froze immediately under the ceiling, forming a thick layer of ice on walls, floor and ceiling. A little later, when it was time to go to bed, our body heat would thaw the ice again and the water would drip on those of us, sleeping in the upper bunks.”16 But things would change dramatically later. November passed without a sign of a break in the ice. Early December Nordenskjöld undertook a sledge journey to Seymour Island and made some spectacular fossil finds, but the excitement could not dull the growing uneasiness all felt about the condition of the ice and the whereabouts of their ship. Every day in January and early February the ship was expected, and the weeks passed in increasing tenseness. The men started to fight about how to handle the dogs. And there was much to talk about, as the different dog teams would kill each others pups and had to be led with a strong hand. But under this stressful situation it seemed unbearable to the men to hit the dogs or to hear one of their colleagues yelling at them fiercely. On 18th of February a storm came in from the south–south-west, bringing with it a mass of snow. The temperature dropped to ⫺10°C and by the next evening the sea was completely frozen over. Any hope of being rescued was crushed and with heavy hearts the men prepared themselves for another long, grueling winter imprisoned in cramped, damp, bitterly cold surroundings. Heavyhearted the group had to sacrifice some of the dogs, as they were running out of pemmican and everything. They even had a shortage of candles and sugar became as rare as gold. The hut would be heated now with seal blubber. They cut the seal blubber including the fur and than gathered the oil after the burning process for yet another time. There were no more fish for breakfast or coffee. Instead the group had to go hunting for seals and penguins. The only bird they did not eat was the snow petrel. A strange superstition kept them from shooting this lovely bird. All the others they would shoot down with a Mauser. Even Giant Petrels were consumed. “Life is sad if the soul is worrying and thinking too much”, wrote young Jose María Sobral in his diary.17 This second winter nobody would even get out of their bunks for meal-times. The mess room was too cold at times to sit down and eat. They lay in their beds and the alarm clock would wake them up for their shifts or for yet another desperate dinner. Blood mixed with flour and then fried in seal blubber, was one of their favourite dishes at Snow Hill. Sobral called them “bocadillos de sangre de foca”. Food occupied their thoughts at all times. Thoughts about food would even haunt them in their dreams. Sigmund Freud would write about these and other dreams the group at Snow Hill Island had: “…, it seems that dreams of an infantile type reappear with especial frequency in
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adults who are transferred into the midst of unfamiliar conditions”. Thus Otto Nordenskjöld, in his book, Antarctica 19 (vol. i, p.336), writes as follows about the crew who spent the winter with him: ‘Very characteristic of the trend of our inmost thoughts were our dreams, which were never more vivid and more numerous. Even those of our comrades with whom dreaming was formerly exceptional had long stories to tell in the morning, when we exchanged our experiences in the world of fantasy. They all had reference to that outside world which was now so far removed from us, but they often fitted into our immediate circumstances. An especially characteristic dream was that in which one of our comrades believed himself back at school, where the task was assigned to him of skinning miniature seals, which were manufactured especially for purposes of instruction. Eating and drinking constituted the pivot around which most of our dreams revolved. One of us, who was especially fond of going to big dinner-parties, was delighted if he could report in the morning “that he had had a three-course dinner”.’ Another dreamed of tobacco, whole mountains of tobacco; yet another dreamed of a ship approaching on the open sea under full sail. Still another dream deserves to be mentioned: “The postman brought the post and gave a long explanation of why it was so long delayed; he had delivered it at the wrong address, and only with great trouble was he able to get it back. To be sure, we were often occupied in our sleep with still more impossible things, but the lack of fantasy in almost all the dreams which I myself dreamed, or heard others relate, was quite striking. It would certainly have been of great psychological interest if all these dreams could have been recorded. But one can readily understand how we longed for sleep. That alone could afford us everything that we all most ardently desired.”18 But the men at Snow Hill Island were not the only ones to dream about food and simple joys of life. Two more groups were struggling to survive the winter of 1903. It turned out that a trio had been landed by the “Antarctic” the previous year at Hope Bay at the tip of the Palmer Peninsula. Ice conditions had prevented the ship from rounding the peninsula to reach the winter quarters on Snow Hill Island. Consequently, Andersson, Duse and Grunden were set ashore to sledge to the island, an air distance of seventy-five miles. The “Antarctic” was to try and reach the winter quarters by another route and then return for the three. They set forth with a small stock of trail stations, soon finding that there was no safe route across the sea ice. They trudged back to Hope Bay but the “Antarctic” never returned for them. As the days became shorter the terrible truth became apparent. They would have to winter on that barren shore despite their lack of provisions or shelter. But these men were not easily disheartened. They built walls of stone and roofed them with their tent cloth. Shoes, clothes, and fishing lines were fashioned from seals and penguins which they killed by the hundreds before the summer was over. Hooks were made from belt buckles and fish caught for food. Despite their hardships they collected fossils nearby from Mount Flora – so called because of its abundant remains of Antarctica’s former verdancy. When spring came, they started out again, coated with greasy soot from the blubber fire that had kept them alive. This time they found a solid route across the ice. The group headed for the winter quarters on Snow Hill Island, certain that some disaster had befallen the “Antarctic” and wondering what would be their own fate. Their fears proved justified. After leaving the three men at Hope Bay on December 29th the ship had tried to sail outside the islands off the tip of the peninsula and outflank the ice fields that had blocked the earlier attempt to reach the winter station. Within a few days the ship was enmeshed in drifting ice which carried her south until she became thoroughly beset. Worse still, a south wind began to drive the ice fields against nearby islands, creating
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terrible pressure in the pack. The next evening, just as the crew of Swedes and Norwegians sat down for a game of cards, the “Antarctic” suddenly began to shake “like an aspen leaf and a powerful crash sent us rushing on deck”, said botanist Skottsberg. They could feel the ship rise and ice pressed against the rounded hull. The ship keeled sharply over to starboard, and water began pouring into the engine room. All available pumps were put to work and for two weeks they held their own. In fact, on January 21st they were able to celebrate the birthday of Oscar, King of Sweden and Norway by firing a twenty-one gun salute across the ice floes as all hands assembled on deck to drink a toast to their king. Soon, however, the ice was squeezing them again and they set to work binding the ship together with chains under the keel and around bow and stern until she was tied up like a parcel. Nevertheless, when the ice loosened enough so that the ship was waterborne it became evident that even with men on the hand pumps the water in the hold was gaining on them. The best they could do was get as near as possible to Paulet Island. Five weeks after they had become beset, they moved onto the ice floes. The rising water had extinguished the fire in the boilers, but there was still enough steam pressure to keep the pumps going. The men sat in silence, listening to the pump of the ship get slower and slower as the pressure fell, until at last all was silent. The “Antarctic” slowly slipped below the pack. The vanished hull keeled over so that the tips of the mast, still in view, swung against the floes and splintered with a terrible sound, then were drawn with the ship. The twenty men left on the ice had salvaged eleven boatloads of provisions, plus the ship boats. They were twenty-five miles from Paulet Island, and, riding the drifting pack, were driven close enough so that they could launch their boats and after sixteen days on the ice flows they were able to reach land. The story of Captain Larsen and the stranded men from the “Antarctic” is another story of incredible courage. They had existed in a makeshift hut on Paulet Island throughout the long winter months of 1903. The marooned men spent their first full day ashore on Paulet Island on March 1st, hunting penguins and seals to supplement their food supplies for the coming winter. By the end, 1100 penguins had been killed. Work was also started on a stone hut which was not a job for the weak at heart. Stones had to be gathered and carried long distances to the site where the double-walled structure was built. When it was finished, it measured 34 feet by 22 feet with most of it taken up by the living quarters; twelve feet was used for the kitchen. Two stone beds were built along the walls of the living area, each measuring seven feet wide and accommodating 10 men each. By mid March, storms were quite violent and soon one of them blew the kitchen roof off. The winter days dragged on as the cycle continued: sleeping, cooking penguin (and occasional seal or fish), hunting and evenings spent talking or reading out loud from one of the few books that survived the sinking of the “Antarctic”. From time to time they would have a sing-along but the men acutely feared what their final outcome would be. Skottsberg wrote, “Many hundred dreams have been dreamed on our island but I do not know if they helped to brighten our existence. They grouped themselves around two objects–food and rescue. Why, we could dream through a whole dinner, from the soup to the dessert, and waken to be cruelly disappointed. How many times did one not see the relief vessel in our visions–sometimes as a large ship, sometimes as nothing but a little sloop? And we knew the persons on board; they spoke about our journey; took us in their arms; patted us on the back…”. But the reality of the situation was far different as food supplies dwindled away. On June 7th, Ole Wennersgaard died. They buried him in a snowdrift until they could properly bury him in the spring.
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As soon as conditions permitted, captain Larsen set forth with several men in an open boat to locate the other members of the expedition. They reached Hope Bay, thirty-seven miles to the northwest, and found that the three men whom they had left behind had set out for Snow Hill Island, leaving a note and a crate of fossils. Larsen continued on to Snow Hill, covering the last part of the distance on foot. And by a lucky chance, Larsen arrived the same day at Snow Hill as the Argentinean rescue party on board the “Uruguay”. “No pen”, wrote Nordenskjöld, “can describe the boundless joy of this first moment…. I learned at once that our dear old ship was no more in existence, but for the instant I could feel nothing but joy when I saw amongst us these men, on whom I had only a few minutes before been thinking with feelings of the greatest despondency.”19
REFERENCES 1. Sobral, J.M.: Dos Años entre los Hielos, 1901–1903. Tragant, Buenos Aires, 1904. 2. Feeny, R.E.: Polar Journeys. The Role of Food and Nutrition in Early Exploration, University of Alaska Press, Fairbanks (1997), pp.9–10. 3. Schillat, M.: Francis Drake and his dreaded Passage” In: First Antarctic Reader. Fuegia, Ushuaia, 2001, p.50. 4. Beaglehole, J.C.: The Life of Captain James Cook. Stanford University Press, 1974, p.135. 5. Ross, J.C.: A Voyage of Discovery and Research in the Southern Antarctic Regions during the years 1839–43 (I). Sampson, London, 1884, p.21. 6. Reader’s Digest: Antarctica, Australia, Surrey Hills, 1990, p.83. 7. Poolnacht, J.V., de Gerlache, A.: de Belgica-expeditie. Iannoo, Belgium, 1993, pp.107–110. 8. V. Fisher, Pemmican, Garden City, New York, Doubleday and Co., 1956; E.F. Binker, O.E. Kolari, “Pemmican” in: Maricopa Trails 1, Vol. 1, 1977, p.1–10. 9. Feeny, R.E., op.cit., p.20. 10. Sobral, J.M., op.cit., p.202–203. 11. Ibid., p.209. 12. Cook, F.A.: Through the First Antarctic Night. p.302. 13. Ibid., 306. 14. Ibid., 308. 15. Sobral, J.M., op.cit., p.116. 16. Ibid, p.129.130 17. Ibid. p.140. 18. Freud, S.: The Interpretation of Dreams (3rd Edition), translated by A. Brill, New York, 1911. 19. Nordenskjöld, O.: Antarctica. Two Years amongst the ice of the South Pole, Archon Books, 1905.
To remember and restore the Argentine rescuers of the Nordenskjöld Expedition 1901–1903 LISBETH LEWANDER
1 INTRODUCTION A private correspondence from the 1940s, between the Argentine explorer and Sub Lieutenant José Maria Sobral (1880–1961) and his Swedish friend professor Erik Ljungner (1892–1954) inspires this article. Two parallel lines of reasoning are presented. In comparing findings from the Sobral-Ljungner correspondence with the autobiographical texts by the scientists aboard the first Swedish expedition to Antarctica led by Otto Nordenskjöld, it is suggested that hitherto unexposed accounts of the Nordenskjöld expedition 1901–1903 to Antarctica, and of the following Argentine relief expedition may raise the issue of the need for an actual change in the traditional historiography. In this context it is also worth noting that the sparse independent research undertaken before the year 2000 to a large extent was drawn upon the official expedition account or popular texts produced by expedition members themselves rather than using primary sources.1 Furthermore, this article constructs fragments of contemporary early 1900 national selfimages on the Swedish side, as expressed in the writings of geologist Johan Gunnar Andersson, second in command of the Nordenskjöld expedition. These are found in Andersson’s view of Sobral as well as in statements about Argentine rescuers aboard the Uruguay.
2 GENERAL BACKGROUND The 1895 Sixth international geographical congress in London, as well as other scientific gatherings in 1898 and 1900, preceded the launching of the first Swedish expedition to Antarctica in 1901–1903. Otto Nordenskjöld partly planned his expedition in co-operation with other countries in their efforts to explore some of the least known parts of the world.2 However, the Nordenskjöld ambitions to co-ordinate his efforts with British and German researchers were not fully implemented due to a lack of scientific endorsement on behalf of the Royal Swedish Academy of Science and subsequently the Swedish Parliament thus causing insufficient financial support from the latter body. Nevertheless, Nordenskjöld obtained valuable support from the Swedish Foreign Ministry in the process of communicating with the governments of Argentina, Chile and Great Britain. Nordenskjöld claimed that these governments had shown both scientific and practical interests (whaling and sealing) in regarding the Swedish Antarctic expedition.3 It is well known how the Nordenskjöld
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expedition resulted in dramatic events, as the Antarctic was shipwrecked and the crew as well as some of the scientists had to spend an additional, unplanned, winter season in Antarctica under extreme conditions. Much of the scientific collections were lost although some of them, from the ship party, had been stored at the Malvinas/Falkland Islands. After an almost miraculous overwintering, everyone apart from young Ole Wennersgaard, as well as much data from Snow Hill, was rescued by the Argentine relief expedition led by Captain Irizar aboard the vessel Uruguay in November 1903.4 The Argentine engagement was not coincidental. Besides political interests related to geographical vicinity and Argentine-Chilean relations, one of the participants aboard the Nordenskjöld expedition was the young Sub-lieutenant Sobral, aged 21. Initially Nordenskjöld had planned a visit to the Argentine observatory at Staaten Island in order to co-ordinate measurements to be made by Argentina and the scientists at Snow Hill, on the Antarctic Peninsula.5 However, the Swedish-Argentine co-operation was to become more profound. During the summer of 1901 the officer at Staaten Island had made a formal request to send an Argentine marine officer with the scientific expedition and pending the authorisation of the Argentine government, Sobral was to be the first man of Argentine origin to visit Antarctica. The issue was settled during late autumn 1901. As a member of the wintering party, Sobral worked side by side with the Swedish scientists at Snow Hill. The Swedes were in minority within the crew employed by Nordenskjöld. Apart from the Norwegian and the relatively few Swedish seamen as well as some British, a North American artist, William Stokes joined the expedition as a paying guest, but he spent only two months aboard. When the Antarctic had left the winter party at Snow Hill, Stokes somewhat hastily decided not to winter on Snow Hill and therefore returned to the Antarctic and later headed for Valparaiso and the United States.6 Thus, the sole non-European participant in the group of scientists was young Sobral. Over the years, Sobral has generally been portrayed as a young, enthusiastic man of good temper and also endowed with a good portion of self-esteem. After the Argentine rescue of the Nordenskjöld expedition, Sobral along with the rescuers were assigned the status of official hero in his home country, although the amount of attention to his status has undergone changes over time until this very day. His achievements at Snow Hill are thoroughly described elsewhere7 and shortly after his return to Argentina he voluntarily made his exit from the Navy since he preferred to complete his studies instead of being stationed in Tierra del Fuego.8 Then he moved to Sweden, where he did a doctorate in geology in Uppsala, and for a short period he also worked as an ambassador for Argentina in Norway. In the 1920s, Sobral, in his capacity as head of the Argentine Geological Survey, initiated an extensive Swedish-Argentine co-operation. It resulted in a series of fieldworks in which several Swedish scientists took part, either as leaders of expeditions, or as employees of Argentine institutions. Among those involved were the above-mentioned professor Ljungner.9
3 THE SONS OF THE SOUTH Nordenskjöld had been in favour of Argentine representation aboard the ship but initially not at the winter station. A period of negotiations followed resulting in an agreement meaning that Nordenskjöld would receive coal and some food supplies as well as being exempted from certain taxes.10 In return, Sobral was to participate in scientific work at the winter
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station and also in sledge tours in the vicinity of Snow Hill. The full details of Nordenskjöld’s commitment regarding the Argentine government were never established, nor the actual tasks of Sobral. However it was decided that Sobral would participate in the sledge tours planned to depart from Snow Hill southwards. Quite late, not until December 17, 1901 in Buenos Aires, the issue was almost fully solved and Sobral came on board the ship.11 Argentine sources stated that Sobral was after careful screening of several candidates to join the expedition. He was chosen for his enthusiasm and capabilities.12 With hindsight, the Argentine government had chosen a very capable man, not only with meteorology and cartography, but also able to learn foreign languages – Sobral learnt Swedish already at Snow Hill and continued to command the Swedish language very well, decades after the expedition and his stay in Sweden. However, at the time, from the Swedish point of view, a second paying guest had joined the expedition, but Sobral was of much greater strategic significance for the expedition than the artist Frank Wilbert Stokes was. The diaries of the expedition members and the official expedition account presented somewhat ambiguous portrayals of the young Sobral. Nordenskjöld wrote “even Lieutenant Sobral, who was the most foreign in our circle, seemed to get on fairly well at this time”.13 Sobral’s efforts to learn Swedish while at Snow Hill were appreciated by both Nordenskjöld and Gösta Bodman, who managed to learn some Spanish. Samuel Duse in his travel account stated that Sobral was an “unusually jovial and sympathetic fellow”.14 Nevertheless, in another passage he labels Sobral as the “Stepchild of the expedition”.15 Andersson describes Sobral in a rather formal letter to the Swedish Foreign Ministry as “one of the most enduring and intelligent young officers from the Argentine navy”.16 However, Nordenskjöld also made several remarks in which reference is made to emotional instability on the part of Sobral during the long winters 1902 and 1903. Some controversies also arose between the Norwegian seaman Ole Jonassen and Sobral; these were attributed to the two men’s different natures and temperaments. Although the assessments of Sobral were positive in several respects, there were constant reminders of the ways in which he differed from the others. His temper, his looks, his clothes, his equipment and his capabilities signalled being foreign. Furthermore, physical and psychological weaknesses were ascribed to him and my overall interpretation of the diaries17 written by Nordenskjöld, Andersson and Bodman is that Sobral is regarded as falling short in meeting the standards of the culture of northern white men.18 Nevertheless it is important to note that these characterisations did not impede a sincere and long lasting mutual friendship between Sobral one the hand and Nordenskjöld, Bodman and Carl Skottsberg on the other (given the limits of the availability of sources with regard to their respective correspondence). On several passages in his diary, Sobral himself highlights the mechanism of exclusions that were in force already at an early stage of the expedition. On New Year’s Eve 1901, the diary of Sobral reveals that the doctor of medicine Dr Erik Ekelöf was openly hostile towards him because of his being an Argentinean.19 According to Sobral, Ekelöf preferred Chileans, since Ekelöf claimed that the Argentineans were a nation consisting of several races. Duse asked Ekelöf to show a bit more diplomacy, but he refused. Sobral wrote that this event had given him a bad impression and he started to think that everyone might share Ekelöf’s opinion. At least, Sobral wrote, he knows that he is unwelcome aboard in the eyes of both Duse and Ekelöf. Sobral spent the New Year’s Eve in a depressive mood wondering what the New Year would bring him, being without one single friend aboard and nobody speaking his language.
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Ekelöf had a bad temper, which erupted several times, possibly due to an alleged drug addiction, and subsequent abstinence sufferings20 and his temper affected several other expedition members as well. Although the contemporary chauvinism towards foreigners was not a dominating feature among the other persons at Snow Hill, later Argentine sources confirm, based on primary sources, that language and ethnic background played a major role in the occasional exclusions of Sobral. Sobral was reminded of his alienation during his entire stay in the Antarctic, primarily through the use of different languages.21 Sobral was also on some instances described as being easily fooled.22 Furthermore, immediately after the Argentine rescue the Swedish general public was served exotic stories assigning different positions and status respectively for Swedes and Argentineans.23 The media articles were produced by some of the expedition members. However, Sobral had an unusually good opportunity to voice his opposition against this imposed position of being different several years after finalising the expedition, although all protests were not aimed for the public. Decades later, second in command of the Nordenskjöld expedition, Andersson issued books partly dealing with the Nordenskjöld expedition (1933, 1944, 1945 and 1954). Once again Sobral found himself and his fellow country men depicted as foreigners endowed with all sorts of less flattering features. Sobral reacted strongly, and according to Sobral, Andersson furthermore had distorted historical facts about the rescue. In mid 1946 Sobral made efforts to publish corrections and vehemently strived to save his own reputation and that of the personnel aboard the rescue expedition of the Uruguay. In order to reject the propositions of Andersson, Sobral demanded a clarification to be made of the events of the rescue mission in the Swedish journal of Ymer. In addition, in his correspondence with his friend, professor Ljungner, Sobral clearly expressed what he interpreted as degradation due to national origin as well as protested against the expedition accounts produced by Andersson decades after the Swedish Antarctic expedition. In the following section I will examine the writings of second in command Andersson as well as the correspondence between Sobral and Ljungner. This correspondence mainly relates to the popular writings of Andersson, authored in the 1930s to 1950s. A few letters highlighting the communication between Sobral and Skottsberg are also included.
4 REMINISCENCES FROM THE RESCUE EXPRESSED BY JOHAN GUNNAR ANDERSSON DISPUTED BY JOSÉ MARIA SOBRAL In late 1903, straight from Buenos Aires second in command Andersson, supplied the Swedish press with long articles on the rescue mission. Evidently the articles expressed some gratitude for the successful outcome of the rescue.24 At the same time these articles clearly presented the message that the relief mission of the Uruguay commanded by captain Julian Irizar was a product of southern amateurishness and luck. In hindsight these articles contained several references to deficiencies in the “southern” way of life in comparison with Swedish habits and once again the readers are given opinions about differences in looks, clothing, eating habits and temperament. Even the degree of celebration and festivities is classified according to Swedish standards. There is no doubt which party is in the top position. Most expedition members wrote articles to the Swedish papers but the articles produced by Andersson, as regards style, had a particular genre inducing a higher degree of irony than most other authors, see for example the feature article by Andersson in Svenska Dagbladet January 19th 1904. However, Andersson’s somewhat ill-concealed disdain for non-European
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habits was partly countered by the considerable more diplomatically minded Otto Nordenskjöld who publicly gave his esteem of the Argentine relief mission, although some remarks of differences between Sweden and Argentina were made. As it will appear Andersson retained his way of portraying the Argentine marine officers several decades later. In his book from 1933, Kineser och Pingviner (Chinese and Penguins) Andersson depicted Sobral as “hot tempered”, but also as a good friend, very competent in having learnt Swedish. In this volume he also presented his version of two crises during the rescue operation.25 However, it is not until eleven years later, in the book Antarctic from 1944 where Andersson once again released his version of the rescue that Sobral reacted (as far as available sources indicate). Andersson, in 1944, continued to describe Sobral as “Decent, a bit hot tempered when he thought some of his principles are encroached upon, but a true and loyal friend, a dutiful worker”.26 However, it was the point of departure of Andersson with regard to geographical discoveries made by the expedition, the rescue operation and the general opinion of Nordenskjöld and Captain Larsen held by Andersson, which indeed upset Sobral. The following sub-headings embrace Andersson’s views in his book of 1944, The Antarctic, disputed by Sobral on several occasions in his correspondence with professor Ljungner. Sobral also refers to the chapter written by Andersson in the official travel account from 1904 as well as other documentation.27
5 RECOLLECTIONS OF MERITS – THE TEXT AND IN THE FIELD In a letter dated January 25th, 1948, Sobral expressed his concern with regard to the publications of Nordenskjöld. Sobral confided to Ljungner that Ljungner probably did not know that Andersson’s work “On the geology of Graham Land” from 190628 was issued without the permission of Nordenskjöld. This Nordenskjöld allegedly should have told Sobral while they met in Sweden as well as on Nordenskjöld’s last trip to South America (around 1920). According to Sobral, Nordenskjöld should have published the content of that article and not Andersson. Sobral did not imply that Andersson actually had committed a theft. But Sobral thought that Andersson and Nordenskjöld had discussed the geological characteristics of Graham Land in such details that the two of them had the same opinions. Sobral argued that a long time before Nordenskjöld had taken an interest of the connection between South America and Antarctica and that Andersson did not understand much about granodiorites and such things. According to Sobral, Andersson could very well have interchanged a reddish variety of granodiorite with a brick (!). In the same letter of January 25th 1948, Sobral next turned to a higher level of being upset and called Andersson “this weird mahatma, Andersson and his hardly less significant idol Carl Anton Larsen were close to causing a catastrophic end to the Nordenskjöld expedition. Of course, he does not write anything about this”.29 Sobral now referred to the official travel account by Nordenskjöld, Andersson and others, pages 190–204.30 Sobral asked Ljungner to recall the passage where Andersson described the events when Andersson, Duse and Toralf Grunden were put ashore at Hope Bay December 29th, 1902. This was done in order to reach Snow Hill over land and on sea ice; and for the Antarctic to make a dash around Joinville island to penetrate the Erebus and Terror Bay and get in touch with the wintering party at Snow Hill. Sobral continued to quote Andersson: “Before departure from the vessel I made a written agreement with captain Larsen” (page 203).
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1. Solely the Antarctic reached the winter station: Has the land party not reached the winter station before January 25th, one has to assume that the land party did not manage to cross and because of that they should be sought after on the site of the depot (Hope of Bay). 2. Solely the land party reached the winter station. If the Antarctic until February 10th has not reached the winter station, all persons present at Snow Hill would walk the land way heading for the site of the depot, Hope Bay. Then, Antarctic would have to visit the depot place during the period between February 25th and March 10th, and the Antarctic would not cease its search before this date without forcing reasons. “These were the prerequisites for us when we went over the ice to reach Snow Hill”.31 Sobral now proceeded to question the relevance of this plan. Sobral wrote that these two “genial gentlemen” had not foreseen that the Antarctic could face a shipwreck – which in fact happened. Sobral pointed out that “if Andersson had managed to reach Snow Hill the wintering party, after February 10th, would have left for Hope Bay, after having stopped all observation forever and packed down all instruments with the following consequences: You would have lost one year of observations at Snow Hill. In Hope of Bay we would have faced a terrible winter, without food, without fuel, in some stone hut made by very simple means. Maybe several people had died from suffering. You should consider that in Hope Bay there were only a few penguins in the summer. We should have arrived there after February 15th, as these birds already were on retreat, thus we should have had meagre possibilities for food supplies. Instead of the stimulating and fun observation work at Snow Hill, we would have over-wintered in total inactivity. Our only occupation would have been to polemize.”32 In hindsight it is not difficult to agree with Sobral in his judgement of possible outcomes of the destiny of the expedition. In my interpretation the scenario presented by Sobral must be considered as valid and therefore adds an important dimension to the historiography presented by Andersson. Further commenting upon the allegation towards Andersson with regard to the article on Graham Land - the archives held by Swedish National Archives show that there actually existed contracts as well as to the publishing procedures and regulations. Nordenskjöld had entered contracts with each participating scientist. Although contracts were signed, my sources apart from the letters written by Sobral do not tell whether Andersson actually later on had made some kind of new agreement with Nordenskjöld in the matter of publishing.33
6 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE URUGUAY IN DANGER In his books from 1933 and 1944 Andersson describes how the Uruguay ran aground shortly after departing from Snow Hill. Andersson underlined that Larsen took the lead in being an optimist, with foresight concerning the renewed floating of the Uruguay. According to Andersson, Larsen alone predicted that the Uruguay within short would sail away. A few days later; during a hurricane the upper masts were broken causing danger for everyone on deck. Andersson described the situation implying that the Argentineans were not familiar with how to handle the rig and therefore turned to Captain Larsen praying for a piece of good advice. Larsen is then reported to have said that the Argentineans should have passed the command to him for one-hour, the Norwegian captain, and sent all the crew below deck,
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something the Argentineans allegedly did accept. Andersson continued to describe how the Norwegian took down the rig, ended his account of the dramatic episode by saying that “no shadow should fall upon Irizar and his brave, wise and competent seamen.”34 However, the event gave Larsen a particular position at the expense of the Irizar party. Andersson finally stated that the Argentine officers were the first ones to warmly recognise the good seamanship of Larsen. Larsen was also said to arrive in Buenos Aires with victory, hailed for his deeds.35 Sobral was engaged in corresponding with several people about these matters. The editor of Ymer, the best-known journal in Sweden for Polar affairs, CM Mannerfeldt, as well as professor emeritus HGM Backlund became involved. On September 14th, 1946 the editor received a letter from Sobral and the admirals RS Hermelo and F Fliess in which the three men attempted to clarify the course of action during the dramatic events aboard the Uruguay. Unfortunately, this particular letter has not been found and the demand for correction was never published. Instead, we found Andersson’s answer to this letter, an answer produced on December 7th, 1946 but published in 1947.36 Andersson did admit that he was mistaken in writing that Larsen, on his own, commanded the operation of cutting the upper rig and the main mast. Andersson went halfway and wrote that Larsen and Irizar exercised a shared leadership but the crew of the Antarctic worked on the main mast. However, Andersson maintained, from my point of view, his old jargon by ending his correction by stating that he least of anything did want to hurt “our gallant rescuers”. In a letter from Sobral to Ljungner dated December 29th 1946, there is a first glimpse of the reactions of Sobral towards the writings presented by Andersson. Sobral had demanded a correction to be published in the Swedish journal of Ymer. At this date Sobral still did not know if the journal published the rectification asked for by him. Sobral asked Ljungner if he was familiar with the writings of Andersson in his book Antarctic (1944) about the Argentine officers “Do you know if Ymer has printed our correction? I assure you that the version presented by Andersson is pure morbid fantasies. If a scientist lies in such a way, will he then, in his scientific production be seen as reliable?”37 The correction from December 7th, 1946 by Andersson caused further bitterness in Sobral who wrote to both his friend Ljungner and professor Backlund. Backlund offered to assist Sobral and Backlund sent his “correction of a correction” (published in 1948)38 to the editor of Ymer. Backlund at once directed his attention to the paragraph of Andersson about the mutual leadership of Larsen, Irizar and Backlund in a rather sharp wording criticised Andersson. In a rough translation Backlund referred to the common tradition of all countries concerning naval vessels, “the commander may not regardless of circumstances hand over the leadership to any other person, the least of all, to a commander of any other nationality or to any civilian captain. The same goes for a co-leadership. Acting against these instructions may lead to charges in military courts, and not only the commander but also the crew would be punished and their careers would be ended.” For Captain Larsen, and with all due deference to his capabilities and seamanship, it must have been perfectly clear that in no way “he had the possibility to intervene in the mandate of the commander, not even when his crew entered the main mast upon request by Irizar. The participation of Larsen could only have been the interpreter or the intermediary”39 Backlund proceeded in defending Captain Irizar and wrote that above all, the capabilities of Irizar may not, by means of a unclear presentation (read Andersson), be placed in a less favourable light. Backlund here referred to the extensive training of Irizar before the
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rescue expedition. Backlund, ended his statement by saying that in critical situations a commander aboard a naval vessel may command any person to assist. Therefore, there could have been no question of a joint leadership of Captain Irizar and Captain Larsen, even by the cutting of the main mast. Sobral in his letter from January 25th, 1948 wrote to his friend Ljungner that “everything what is said by Andersson about the brave, and gallant Argentine marine officers are absolute and pure lies.”40 Sobral thus believed Andersson to be insincere when Andersson praised the Argentine officers. Sobral proceeded by explaining to Ljungner that the Uruguay certainly got stuck outside Snow Hill for a short while, but the help of Larsen was not needed. The sea bottom on this location is made of sand and clay and the only thing to watch out for were the erratic boulders, the exact positions of which Larsen knew as little as anyone else. Larsen had no privileged knowledge of the period and amplitude of the tide and as it was, the Uruguay got steamed up and managed to back off the ground and get afloat in a short while. Sobral claimed that this was a rather common and simple manoeuvre, which was not even mentioned by Andersson in his travelogues and articles on the expedition of 1901–1903. Running aground in un-chartered waters was very common during navigation close to the coast. To get afloat was not any major effort. Sobral continued to write that these phrases sounded like a mockery with many beautiful adjectives: “The brave, intelligent, skilful, valiant and courteous Argentine marine officers …when you come across such expressions you know beforehand what will follow; the big advantages of Larsen and the Argentines who did not manage. It is not true that Larsen came to Buenos Aires like a victor, praised for his achievements and that the brave etc. marine officers told the public about the calm and thoughtful advice Larsen gave (page 261). All this nonsense is total lies.”41 Sobral stated firmly that the central figure for the Argentine government and the Argentine people was Otto Nordenskjöld. Sobral also wished Ljungner had taken notice that “…in Andersson’s book, Larsen and Andersson himself are the principal persons. Nordenskjöld almost comes number three.”42 Sobral continued to explain that when the crew of the Antarctic got aboard the Uruguay, they were naturally received in a very heartily way. Since they missed clothing they received all clothes from the Argentine seamen. The scientific personnel got the cabins of the officers and in addition all they asked for. Sobral quoted the proper words of Nordenskjöld, from the official expedition account of 1904 (page 531). Nordenskjöld stated that it would have been strange, if Irizar and his men had not had been joyful with respect to the success that accompanied their mission, but even given such circumstances you should underline the tremendous benevolence with which we were received. Full sets with garments were ready for all. For the expedition members the Argentineans gave up their entire being comfortable and Nordenskjöld continued saying that greater personal amiability and complaisance had never met him before. 43 Sobral reminded Ljungner that in Buenos Aires everyone received everything, from patent leather shoes to top silk hat and full evening dress. Tailors were sent aboard and when the men came ashore the clothes were done. The government paid everything for and La Prensa, a noted Buenos Aires newspaper offered the expedition members to stay in a special flat for famous foreigners. Sobral pleaded to his friend Ljungner to understand the width and importance of the behaviour of Andersson. “A decent person always tries to be fair, but when you have been treated in this manner you have a double obligation…” Sobral did not complete
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this sentence and then advertised that he in his next letter would treat the issue of the ice barrier in the south which, misleadingly according to Sobral, was named the Larsen barrier.44 It is noteworthy that in the sparse Swedish sources on this particular incident of the rescue Andersson’s versions dated 1933 and 1944 still reign. The debate in Ymer evidently reached the scientific community but presumably not the general public. As mentioned initially in this article independent research work has rarely been done on the Nordenskjöld expedition before the year of 2000 (see note 1). The first semi-detailed account of the rescue and the relief expeditions by a non-expedition member was done by the commander of the Swedish relief expedition led by Olof Gylden45 and a later account was produced by baronet Axel Klinckowström in 1933.46 Liljequist, in 199347 builds on these sources to a large extent. Although in later years there have been several articles written on the Nordenskjöld expedition they do not explicitly or in detail deal with this particular event of the rescue.48 Sobral interpreted the usage of overwhelming adjectives as mockery. From my point of view it is not difficult to support Sobral in his interpretations of the texts written by Andersson. The latter has throughout the years in various articles continued to express a mild version of contempt of his rescuers, although at the same time coupled with gratitude.49 As for the degree of generosity by the Argentine government this is well documented in the archives of the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Further, the press cuttings from a selection of the Argentine papers support the view of Sobral with regard to Larsen not being hailed on a par with Irizar and Nordenskjöld.50
7 RECOLLECTIONS OF DISCOVERY Sobral and Ljungner continued their correspondence during springtime 1948. In his letter dated April 6th, 1948 Sobral stated that “The ugly story with regard to Andersson is still not debated to its end.”51 The issue at fore is the discovery of the ice barrier at King Oscar Land, by the Antarctic pole circle. As an explanatory background, Sobral now raised the question of the early trip of 1892 to Antarctica by Captain Larsen in a rather lengthy manner. The main arguments are conveyed below. At first Sobral recapitulated how Larsen departed aboard the vessel Jason hired by a German company, to the northern part of Graham Land. Sobral reported how Larsen landed on Seymour Island and from there took the first Antarctic fossils. The following year (1893) Larsen reappeared in the vicinity accompanied by two other Norwegian sealers, Evenson on the Hertha and Pederson on the Castor. He got ashore on Seymour Island on November 18th and then went off on seal hunting. On December 6th Larsen reached 68° 10⬘ S latitude and 59° W longitude. Sobral proceeded to judge Larsen’s attempts to measure the longitudes as very much mistaken. Sobral argued that Larsen’s knowledge in this question was very deficient. In this context one should note that the determination of longitudes as well as delineating the Antarctic coast line was difficult to in those days.52 According to Sobral, Larsen had estimated that it was Larsens’s most southern point and since the ice threatened to enclose the ship and get her stuck in the ice, Larsen headed north and discovered “8 volcanic islands, the Seal Islands”, Northeast from King Oscar’s Land. Two of these “volcanoes” were said by Larsen to be active. Sobral wrote that Larsen did not observe the high land to the west,
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which delineates the great bay in which Larsen was located and which Nordenskjöld, later on, named Larsen’s Bay. Therefore, after Larsen’s arrival home, the cartographers sketched a large strait separating Louis Philippe Land from King Oscar Land. Sobral said that the most remarkable was that Larsen did not realise that these so called islands, were not islands but nunataks, and that no volcano was active. In his letter dated April 6th, 1948 Sobral returned to the voyage of the Antarctic in 1902. From my point of view, Sobral questioned, quite astonishingly, a hitherto undisputed place name as well as a geographic discovery by the Norwegian Captain Larsen: Sobral stated that on January 19th, 1902, the vessel Antarctic entered a vertical ice barrier about some 40 meters in height. This measurement was according to Nordenskjöld although it appeared to Sobral slightly too high. The barrier stretched northwards-southwards as long as you could see, just in front of the Jason country. This was the first time someone observed such a barrier in the west Antarctic (Sobral now referred to page 106–11 in Nordenskjöld’s official travel account of 1904). In 1892 and 1893 Larsen had not observed such a barrier. In order to further support his argument with regard to the nunataks Sobral also in his letter from April 6th, 1948 referred to the sledge tour with Nordenskjöld: “We crossed the shelf ice53 entirely until we reached the Christensen Island on October 7, in the afternoon. Ahead of us we saw a high glacier which stretched from NNW towards Lindenbergsö. The so called Seal Islands, visible in the west, towards the glacier, thus they were not ‘islands’ but nunataks within a giant glacier. The edge of the glacier was steep and we, on October 9, had to walk several kilometres towards Lindenbergsö, in order to be safe, without danger, to be able to climb it along a snowdrift (…). I can not understand otherwise than Larsen had believed that the ices, which connected the seal nunataks, were the shelf ice. Why would he label these peaks islands as he was ashore? And why the Seal Islands? There were no seals, and there could be no seals because the ice was constituted by land ice. Presumably he had seen seals by the Robertson nunatak, on the shelf ice. Thus, what has Larsen got to do with that ice? Nothing! The person who discovered the ice barrier, the person that described and tried to interpret it was Nordenskjöld. Thus, the ice barrier ought to be called the Nordenskjöld ice barrier. I hope to hear from you/it would be very interesting to hear your impressions in this matter”. (Author’s highlighting). In my interpretation, on the one hand it seems that Sobral had reacted towards the writings of Andersson by means of revising the discoveries usually reserved for Captain Larsen, friend of Andersson. Sobral thus expressed a line of reasoning whereas Larsen received some kind of guilt by association. When Larsen “lost” the merits of having discovered the Larsen Ice Shelf, Sobral also achieved additional benefits besides dislocating the actual discovery from Larsen to Nordenskjöld. This, since Sobral took the opportunity to restore the reputation and deeds of Nordenskjöld, a person who constantly had received high esteem by Sobral. However, on the other hand, recalling the socio-political process of geographical naming in Polar Region at the time54 discovering per se does necessarily result in the establishment of one’s own name as a place name. Further, although Nordenskjöld very well may have seen himself as the prime discoverer of this particular ice shelf, but for some reason or another Nordenskjöld may have chosen to name it after Larsen. In this instance, Sobral simply expressed the opinion that he was unsatisfied with the esteem bestowed on Larsen enabled through Andersson’s historiography.
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8 1950’S FURTHER RECOLLECTIONS OF RESCUE The rescue operation and subsequent events still evolve as a living memory in the 1950s. Sobral conferred the following to fellow expedition member Skottsberg in a short Christmas card from November 18th, 1953: “I still have some things to say with regard to the behaviour of Irizar during the memorable days in November 1903. But for what purpose?” The day after, Sobral wrote a letter to Skottsberg (dated November 19th, 1953). In this letter Sobral reacted to a recent piece of information provided to him by Carl Skottsberg. “You tell me that a telegram also was sent to the President of the Irizar Committee in Exaltación de la Cruz (province of Buenos Aires) where the SSAG (Swedish Society of Anthropology and Geography) had installed a commemorative plaque. But how did this come about?”55 Sobral stated that SSAG certainly had no idea of the existence of Exaltación de la Cruz and continued writing that Irizar’s performance as commander after all was not entirely impeccable at Snow Hill. According to Sobral, Captain Irizar was hesitant when Irizar was asked to search for the Antarctic (November 8th, 1903). Instead, Sobral claimed, “Irizar wanted to bring us to Santa Cruz in order to communicate with a navy minister despite the instructions given to him”. The instructions stated that he should have looked for the Antarctic as soon as the men at Snow Hill station had embarked. Therefore, Sobral affirmed that the SSAG should have commemorated the entire crew of the Uruguay and not only Irizar. Among the crew there were good men who wished to search for the Antarctic from the very first moment.56 The letter does not reveal how SSAG at the time should have been familiar with the alleged attitude of Captain Irizar towards the proceedings of the rescue. However, Sobral, 50 years after the actual rescue, clearly gave vent to a sense of injustice. It is also of interest to note that the issue of honour still prevails. A few years later, some writings of Andersson in mid 1950s evoke further reactions to Sobral. This time Sobral anew conferred his disdain to Carl Skottsberg. In his letter dated April 1st, 1957, as a direct response to a new statement made by Andersson with regard to the Uruguay Sobral wrote that “…November 10, 1903, at PM, theUruguay left its location for anchorage by the north coast of Snow Hill. The voyage went to Bay of Penguin at Seymour Island. On this spot a provision depot was laid out for the use of those persons reaching this point in need. At 7 PM the work at Seymour Island was finished and the ship went for Paulet Island. We arrived there at 5 AM November 11, and at this place a depot was also made, as you know. All provisions aboard theUruguay were left in Bay of Penguin and at Paulet Island. Thus, no provisions were thrown overboard.”57 My sources do not show where Andersson should have made the above mentioned possible contradictory statement but nevertheless, in the late 1950s, Sobral still found it worthwhile to repeatedly react and oppose to the account for the Swedish South Pole expedition provided by Andersson.
9 CONCLUSION The writing of Antarctic geographical history may, or may not, be changed as a result of the disclosure of the correspondence between Sobral and Ljungner with regard to the naming
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process or discovery of Larsen ice shelf. It is not within the scope of this paper to judge whether it was Nordenskjöld or Larsen who actually discovered this particular ice barrier. From my point of view, this correspondence might indicate the necessity of further studies, firstly with regard to actual discovery, secondly as to the features of the naming process. About the emergency planning on behalf of Andersson and Larsen in relation to the Nordenskjöld expedition, the argumentation of Sobral seems valid in its own right. However, the proposed alternatives have not been an issue either in traditional or in modern research on the Nordenskjöld expedition. About the issue of the rescue and the rescuers there are two aspect to be raised. A first aspect is about the factual events and Sobral’s lines of reasoning – there is no reason to fully enter the debate of who actually took the command of the Uruguay during the moments of crisis. The same goes for the appropriateness of the rescue-plans. However, looking at both issues there are the words of Andersson standing against the words of Sobral and Backlund. In order to make a relevant intervention on the issue of cutting masts and rigs one would have to scrutinise the diaries available for that particular date. Nevertheless, the sole publishing of the debate in Ymer did discredit the accounts of Andersson in my opinion. The unequivocal support of Backlund in combination with the indirect publicity granted to Hermelo, Fliess and Sobral may be interpreted as a rather high profile handling of the matter. At the time few other statements published elsewhere could have questioned the ruling historiography of Andersson within the scientific community in Sweden. The second aspect to be raised is about representations. Geologist and second in command Andersson did have a rather particular style of writing. His habit of using vivid epithets with regard to the Argentineans finds no correspondence in his descriptions of Swedes. I refer to terms such as “gallant, brave, valiant, intelligent….” From my angle, Andersson, by letting Sobral and Irizar becoming estranged reinforces the “normality” of the Swedes and their habits. Thereby, the public learned that contemporary Swedes were of a different kind – not as hot-tempered and flamboyant. And there is no doubt what characteristics got the best ranking. Making fun on behalf of foreigners was a common procedure. The prevalent norm about what features and characteristics are to be seen as normal was contrasted towards deviations of various kinds. Nationalities, ethnic, social and gender differences were highlighted. At that time in Sweden the act of labelling someone as “other” or “different” not only presupposed a difference but also degradation. For decades the writings of Andersson have been dominating the Swedish scene as to popular accounts of the Nordenskjöld expedition, thereby his view of persons and events have prevailed about the dramatic events from the Nordenskjöld expedition 1901–1903. He wrote a considerable amount of shorter articles for the popular press and thereby he continued to be the main spokesman for the expedition as it comes out from written recollections for more than 50 years after the expedition. However, the correspondence between Sobral and Ljungner in my opinion represents the opportunity to observe acts of actual and prolonged resistance towards the attitudes of early 1900s xenophobia in Sweden.
REFERENCES 1. Among the few independent works before 2000 we find Liljequist, G.: High Latitudes, Swedish Polar Research Secretariat and Streiffert förlag, Stockholm 1993, T.: Wallström Svenska upptäckare pp.212–237, Bokförlaget Bra Böcker, Höganäs 1982. G.: Nordenskjöld, Framåt 1990,
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2.
3. 4. 5. 6.
7.
8. 9.
10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17.
18. 19. 20. 21.
Dahlbergs förslag Stockholm. As a result of the centennial commemoration several other articles have been produced. Letter from Otto Nordenskjöld to His Excellency Ministry of Foreign Affairs December 2, 1901 and Letter from the Swedish Embassy in Great Britain and Ireland to the Swedish Foreign Ministry October 4, 1901. Archive of Swedish Foreign Ministry, 1902 års dossiersystem, volym 2783a. National Archive, Stockholm. Lewander, L.: The Swedish relief expedition to Antarctica 1903–04. Polar Record 39 (209) (2003), pp.97–110. Letter from Otto Nordenskjöld to His Excellency Ministry of Foreign Affairs December 2, 1901 Archive of Swedish Foreign Ministry, 1902 års dossiersystem, volym 2783a National Archive, Stockholm. ibid. Lewander , L.: Gender Aspects in the Narratives of Otto Nordenskjöld’s Antarctic Expedition. In: A. Elzinga, T. Nordin, D. Turner and U. Wråkberg (eds) Antarctic Challenges: Historical and Current Perspectives on Antarctica on the Occasion of the Centenary of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition 1901–1903 Göteborg:Kungl. Vetenskaps- och Vitterhetssamhället, forthcoming and FW Stokes.: An Artist in the Antarctic in Century Magazine 66 (1904), pp.521–528. Destefani, L.H., Cioccale, M. And Rabassa, J.: The 1901–1903 Nordenskjöld Expedition and José María Sobral: the first Argentinean in Antarctica. In: Antarktanderna Svensk forskning i Otto Nordenskjölds fotspår. Ymer 2001. Svenska sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi, Motala 2001, pp.231–269. Letter from Sobral to Nordenskjöld January 2, 1905, Nordenskjöld personal manuscripts Vol. 16, National Archive, Stockholm. Hoppe, G.: I Otto Nordenskjölds efterföljd: Erik Ljungner (1892–1954) i Patagonien och annorstädes In: Antarktanderna Svensk forskning i Otto Nordenskjölds fotspår. Ymer 2001. pp. 117–133. and Lundqvist, J.: Carl Caldenius och Patagoniens glacialgeologi In: Antarktanderna Svensk forskning i Otto Nordenskjölds fotspår. Ymer 2001, pp.143–153. Letter from the Swedish and Norwegian Consulate General to the Swedish Foreign Ministry December 23, 1901, Archive of Swedish Foreign Ministry, 1902 års dossierssystem, volym 2783a , National Archive, Stockholm. Copy of excerpts from Diary of Captain C.A. Larsen, December 17, 1901. Fred Goldberg Collection, Stockholm. Destéfani, L.H., Cioccale, M. and Rabassa, J.: The 1901–1903 Nordenskjöld expedition and José Maria Sobral:the first Argentinian in Antarctica. In: Antarktanderna Svensk forskning i Otto Nordenskjölds fotspår. Ymer 2001, pp.231–269. Nordenskjöld, O. Andersson, J.G., Larsen, C.A. and Skottsberg, C. Antarctic Två år bland sydpolens isar. Vol. 1, 1904, Albert Bonniers förlag, Stockholm, p.284. Duse, S.: Bland pingviner och sälar. Minnen från svenska sydpolsexpeditionen 1901–1903. Beijers bokförlagsaktiebolag, Stockholm 1905, p.20. ibid., p.177. Letter from Andersson, J.G. to Swedish Foreign Ministry October 23, 1902 Archive of Swedish Foreign Ministry, 1902 års dossiersystem, volym 2783a, National Archive, Stockholm. Lewander, L.: Gender Aspects in the Narratives of Otto Nordenskjöld’s Antarctic Expedition. In: A. Elzinga, T. Nordin, D. Turner and U. Wråkberg (eds), 2004: Antarctic Challenges: Historical and Current Perspectives on Antarctica on the Occasion of the Centenary of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition 1901–1903. Kungl. Vetenskaps- och Vitterhetsamhället. Göteborg, P, p.98–120. Lewander, L.: The Representations of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition, 1901–03. Polar Record 38 (205), (2002) pp.97–114. Copy of excerpts of Sobral Diary, December 31, 1901. Fred Goldberg Collection, Stockholm. Bodman, G.: Diary May 27, 1903 Vol. 1. Fred Goldberg Collection, Stockholm. Nordenskjöld Diary October 7, 1903, Manuscripts of Otto Nordenskjöld, Royal Swedish Academy of Science, Stockholm and Lewander, L.: Gender Aspects in the Narratives of Otto Nordenskjöld´s Antarctic Expedition. In: A. Elzinga, T. Nordin, D. Turner and U. Wråkberg (eds): Antarctic Challenges: Historical and Current Perspectives on Antarctica on the Occasion of the Centenary of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition 1901–1903. Kungl. Vetenskaps- och Vitterhetsamhället. Göteborg, 2004.
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22. Nordenskjöld, O.: Diary August 20 and 22, 1902 , Manuscript of Otto Nordenskjöld, Royal Swedish Academy of Science, Stockholm. 23. Lewander, L.: The Representations of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition, 1901–03. Polar Record 38 (205), 97–114 and Lewander, L.: The Swedish relief expedition to Antarctica 1903–04. Polar Record 39 (209) (2002), pp.97–110. 24. Ibid. 25. Andersson, J.G.: Kineser och pingviner.Saxon & Lindström Förlag, Stockholm, 1933. 26. Andersson, J.G.: Antarctic. Saxon och Lindströms förlag, Stockholm, 1944, p.148. 27. Letter from Ljungner to Sobral April 5, 1948, Manuscripts of Erik Ljungner. Royal Swedish Academy of Science. Stockholm. 28. Andersson, J.G.: On the Geology of Graham Land. Bulletin of the Geological Institute of University of Upsala, vol vii (1906), pp.17–71. 29. Letter from Sobral to Ljungner January 25, 1948, Manuscripts of Erik Ljungner, Archives of Royal Swedish Academy of Science, Stockholm. 30. Nordenskjöld, O., Andersson, J.G. Larsen, C.A. and Skottsberg, C.: Två år bland sydpolens isar 1904, Albert Bonniers förlag, Stockholm. pp.190–204. 31. ibid. 32. Letter from Sobral to Ljungner January 25, 1948, Manuscripts of Erik Ljungner, Archives of Royal Swedish Academy of Science, Stockholm. 33. Nordenskjöld, O.: 1901 Contracts, sketches for expedition plans. Personal manuscripts of Otto Nordenskjöld Vol. 32, The National Archive, Stockholm. 34. Andersson, J.G.: Kineser och pingviner (Chinese and Penguins)1933, pp.361–62 and Andersson, J.G.: Antarctic., 1944, pp.239–243, 261. 35. Andersson, J.G.: Antarctic. , 1944, pp.239–243, 261. 36. Andersson, J.G.:Ett beriktigande i Ymer 1947, Tidskrift utgiven av Sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi, p.70. 37. Letter from Sobral to Ljungner December 29, 1946, Manuscripts of Erik Ljungner, Archives of Royal Swedish Academy of Science, Stockholm. 38. Backlund, H.G.M.,: Korvetten Uruguays haveri november 1903 – ett beriktigande av ett beriktigande, in Ymer 1948, Tidskrift utgiven av Sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi, p.76. 39. ibid. 40. Letter from Sobral to Ljungner January 25, 1948, Manuscripts of Erik Ljungner, Archives of Royal Swedish Academy of Science, Stockholm. 41. ibid. 42. ibid. 43. Nordenskjöld, O., Andersson, J.G. Larsen, C.A. and Skottsberg, C.: Två år bland sydpolens isar Vol 2, Albert Bonniers förlag, Stockholm 1904, p.531. 44. Letter from Sobral to Ljungner January 25, 1948, Erik Ljungners Manuscripts, Archives of Royal Swedish Academy of Science, Stockholm. 45. Letter from Gyldén, O. Post och inrikes tidningar 24 February 1904. 46. Von Klinckowström, A.: Klinckans minnen. Vol. 1, Albert Bonniers förlag, Stockholm, 1933 and Klinckans minnen. Vol. 2, Albert Bonniers förlag, Stockholm, 1934. 47. Liljequist, L.: High Latitudes, 1993. 48. Antarktanderna Svensk forskning i Otto Nordenskjölds fotspår. Ymer2001. and A. Elzinga, T. Nordin, D. Turner and U. Wråkberg (eds): Antarctic Challenges: Historical and Current Perspectives on Antarctica on the Occasion of the Centenary of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition 1901–1903. Kungl. Vetenskaps- och Vitterhetsamhället. Göteborg, 2004. 49. Lewander, L.: The Swedish relief expedition to Antarctica 1903–04. Polar Record 39 (209) (2002), pp.97–110. 50. Press cuttings 1903 on the Nordenskjöld expedition and Irizar Expedition, Manuscripts of Gabriel Nathorst, Archives of Royal Swedish Academy of Science, Stockholm. 51. Letter from Sobral to Ljungner, April 6, 1948, Manuscript of Erik Ljungner, Archives of Royal Swedish Academy of Science, Stockholm. 52. Wråkberg, U.: Delineating a Continent of Ice and Snow: Cartographic Claims of Knowledge and Territory in Antarctica in the19th and Early 20th Century. In: A. Elzinga, T. Nordin, D. Turner and U. Wråkberg (eds): Antarctic Challenges:Historical and Current Perspectives on Antarctica
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53. 54.
55. 56. 57.
on the Occasion of the Centenary of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition 1901–1903. Kungl. Vetenskaps- och Vitterhetsamhället. Göteborg, 2004. This concept was not used in early 1900. Wråkberg, U.: Delineating a Continent of Ice and Snow: Cartographic Claims of Knowledge and territory in Antarctica in the19th and Early 20th Century. In Elzinga, A., Nordin, T., Turner, D., and Wråkberg, U. (eds): Antarctic Challenges: Historical and Current Perspectives on Antarctica on the Occasion of the Centenary of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition 1901–1903. Kungl. Vetenskaps- och Vitterhetsamhället. Göteborg, 2004. Letter from Sobral to Skottsberg, C., November 19, 1953, Manuscripts of Carl Skottsberg, Archives of Royal Swedish Academy of Science, Stockholm. ibid. Letter from Sobral to Skottsberg, C., April 1, 1957, Manuscripts of Carl Skottsberg, Archives of Royal Swedish Academy of Science, Stockholm.
Sea nomads of the Beagle Channel and surrounding areas ERNESTO L. PIANA, MYRIAN R. ALVAREZ AND NADIA S. RÚA
ABSTRACT: The Magellan-Fuegian channels and islands area were populated by natives adapted to this environment known as sea nomads or canoe people. Their descendents were first encountered by European explorers at the beginning of the 17th century. They called themselves Yamana and Halakwoolip, and were later known as Yahgan and Alakaluf. The Yamana country included the northern coast of the Beagle Channel from Punta Divide to Slogget Bay and the southern islands down to Cape Horn. The Alakaluf ’s one covered the western islands up to the Magellan Strait. These natives soon called the European scholars’ attention for they lived naked in this extreme latitude, displayed a non-complex social structure and their material equipment was simple. Most of the attention on them occurred after Charles Darwin’s visit to the region and the largest amount of written sources describing them is from the 19th century. These natives were pointed as examples of “the first stages of humankind” and were thus described in many opportunities. Nevertheless, up to recent years all the scholars’ understanding was restricted to the historical information and repeated by a few recurrent concepts. They were perceived as “culturally primitive”, as “cornered in the southernmost tip” by other somehow stronger cultures and as “recent” inhabitants of the area. After systematic archeological research, these assumptions proved to be wrong and it was understood that the Yamana were the end point of a successful adaptative tradition that rooted for more than six millennia. This tradition has been followed through different archaeological records since around 6.4 uncalibrated 14C ka BP to the 19th century. They had a hunting-fishing-gathering economy based on sea mammals fat consumption. Sea lions were most important and a year round staple, and the diet was complemented with marine birds, fishes, guanaco and constant shellfish gathering. Cetaceans were a somehow hazardous resource. Though Tierra del Fuego is one of the most recently populated landmass in prehistory, human presence has at least ten millennia, that is previously to the Magellan Strait opening some 8 ka BP, but the archaeological remains of such antiquities show an inland hunters economy with no adaptation to the littoral environment. Concerning the presence of a sea nomad life style in the region, a hypothesis for its Maximum Possible Age was put forward. It remarks the need of extended woods in the region as an unavoidable requirement for this sea littoral adaptation and focus the possible origin in the Southern Patagonian Pacific Archipelago. From this relationship sites older than roughly 6.5–6.7 uncal. 14C ka BP radiocarbon years are not expected to be found. Even though more than near a thousand sites were found since then in the Beagle Channel and surroundings there are not older dates than expected. The oldest known sites and layers (all dates expressed in uncal. 14C ka BP) are Túnel I Second component from 6.4 to 5.8 (on charcoal), Grandi 1 Inferior Layer 6, Aridos Guerrico, 6.5 (dated on shell), Imiwaia I, 6.5 (on shell) and 5.8 (on charcoal) and Lomada Alta Olivia (on charcoal), 5.6. Dates on shell should be reduced in nearly 600 years due to the known rate of regional reservoir effect. The archaeological record of all those sites leads to consider them as already fully adapted, with a navigation device included, and no clues of a transition from an inland life style to a sea littoral one was
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detected. Even though sites of sea littoral adapted people north of the Magellan Strait are roughly from the same antiquity, the most economic hypothesis is to consider that the cultural adaptation to the Magellan-Fuegian channels and islands started some place within the Southern Patagonian Pacific Archipelago. From the mitochondrial DNA stand point, this natives are related with and only with the Amerindians. Once the adaptation to the sea littoral environment was reached it lasted for more than six millennia with no major changes, within an “unstable stability”. The general scheme maintained up to the Yamana. This could have happened because both biotic and abiotic sea environment did not change meanfully, there was a constant food incoming from outside, the sea lion reproductive areas were away from the natives’ catchment areas, and no other human groups competed for the environment until the arrival of Europeans. Even so, the total adaptation had a dangerous bottle neck: there was a high dependence on just one resource, sea lions. In the environment, there was not scarcity of food, drinkable water or wood, but due to climatic conditions the metabolic requirements are high and the hydrocarbon availability in the woods is almost lacking. So, the adaptation depended on fat consumption. Mollusks are almost all protein, fishes have little fat offer, guanacos are restricted to the northern coast of the Beagle Channel and Navarino, concerning sea birds only penguins offer some fat, cetaceans offer high amounts of fat but their availability was hazardous for they could be only be consumed when stranded; therefore, sea lions were the only trustable staple year round. Within such general stability scheme some changes were detected both by the refitting process and outside influences. From the latter the more meaningful are related with: (1) the disappearance of polished tools and some decorative patterns and the beginning of use of large lanceolated lithic spear points and around 4 uncal. 14C ka BP, in agreement with the use of such sort of weapons in the islands from the island of Chiloé southwards; (2) the use from at least 2.6 uncal. 14C ka BP of triangle and stemmed points that are too large to be thrown with arrows and are similar to the ones found within inland hunters from Tierra del Fuego and Eastern Patagonia and (3) the incoming of the bow and arrow complex up to now dated at 1.4 uncal. 14C ka BP. Of course, not all of their life style was led by the adaptation process. For instance, the encampment locations depended more on the previous social activities in the spot than from its geographical features. Once a settlement started for any reason, the activity carried on the spot and the high amount of debris produced by a constant consumption of mussels created particular microstructures that both called for the resettlement of the place and conditioned the further use of it. The end of the sea nomads tradition reached with the Yamana extinction, which started even before the constant contact with the Europeans. The documented exotic illnesses that reduced the population from a figure of some 3,000 souls in middle 19th century to less than a hundred at the beginning of the 20th century was just the final stage of a longer process that started with the North American and European over-hunting of sea lions in their reproductive areas. This commercial activity unbalanced the environment-native relationship to a non-return point. And there were not many alternatives to rebalance it. It was a competition between industrial requirements vs. survival needs.
1 THE YAMANA: THE SOUTHERNMOST NATIVES When the Europeans arrived at the uttermost part of South America, the Magellan-Fuegian archipelago, they found it populated by natives that called themselves Yamana and Halakwoolip. The life style of these sea nomads, later known as Yahgan and Alakaluf, was totally dependant on sea resources. The Yamana country included the northern coast of the Beagle Channel from Punta Divide to Slogget Bay and the southern islands down to Cape Horn (Map 1). The Alakaluf country stretched from the Yamana western border up to the Magellan Strait. According to
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Map 1.
Ethnic groups distribution in the 19th century.
the ethnohistorical data the differences between both groups were mainly linguistic1 and related to self-recognition. These natives soon attracted the attention of European scholars for several reasons: they lived naked in such high latitudes, displayed (to European eyes) a non-complex social structure and their material equipment was quite simple. The image reflected in the records of the voyagers, missionaries and ethnographers reveals the nature of contacts between natives and Europeans as well as the philosophical ideas and the socio-economic interests of these last observers (Figures 1 and 2). First contact with the Yamana occurred as early as A.D. 1624, but then there was no notice of them for circa two centuries until a new encounter occurred in Christmas Sound during Captain Cook’s second voyage in 1774.2 The primary image of these natives as being violent, aberrant and cannibals lasted until mid 19th century, when Europeans and Yamana lived together for longer periods. As a result they were considered as miserable and primitive peoples living in a very hostile environment.1 Most of the large amounts of written sources describing them date from the 19th century. Charles Darwin reached the region as part of a British expedition commanded by Captain R. Fitz Roy. At that time he was a young student that assumed the prevalent ideas of his time: namely, that the commercial and political dominance of England was a direct indicator of cultural, biological and moral superiority. His descriptions include prejudices and pejorative judgments. Darwin described the Yamana as examples of the first stages of humankind and this idea was sustained until many years later.1 In 1869 an Anglican Mission settled in the area. The writings of Rev. Thomas Bridges, including a Yámana-English dictionary with more than 30,000 terms, are of a great value to approach different aspects of the Yamana’s way of life. The French “Mission Scientifique du Cap Horn” made the other most important ethnographic report of that century. They established an observation station throughout one year (1882/1883) at Orange Bay and registered (in a positivist scientific fashion) detailed and all encompassing information about these natives.
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Figure 1. Indians from Tierra del Fuego in their hut. Engraving by Bartolozzi based on a 1769 Buchan’s original.58
Figure 2. Engraving of a Yamana published by Fitz-Roy.59
Up to that moment, the Yamana life style does not seem to have suffered substantial transformations (Figure 3). But around 1920 their population had fallen significantly and the social organization was deeply modified (Figure 4). When Otto Nordenskjöld encountered these natives, their traditional patterns had already been considerably altered by European contact. In his times, the Yamana were depicted, even by non-evolutionist scholars,
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Figure 3. Yamana family. Photograph taken in 1881–1882 by the Mission Scientifique du Cap Horn.
Figure 4. Group of Yamana at Remolino. Photograph taken in 1921 by M. Gusinde.
as a residual, poorly adapted group, whose ancestors were confined to the most distant part of the Earth by “culturally more advanced people” in undetermined but recent times.1,3 Today this scenario has dramatically changed: the systematic archaeological research carried out in the Beagle Channel since 1975 has proved that the Yamana were the last descendants of an adaptive tradition that was rooted in the area for more than six millennia. Furthermore, these studies reveal that they successfully developed subsistence and technological strategies to cope with environmental constraints. The apparent balance between the sea nomads and their natural resources drastically altered with the European’s arrival to the region.4,5 2 THE MAXIMUM POSSIBLE AGE HYPOTHESIS Tierra del Fuego is one of the most recent landmasses to be populated in prehistory. The oldest evidence for human presence dates before the Magellan Strait opened to sea waters
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Figure 5. Sea lions.
around 9000 BP.6,7,8 The earliest archaeological remains, dated circa 10,500 BP, correspond to terrestrial hunter-gatherers.9,10 Even though maritime conditions in the Beagle Channel were reached some 8,000 years ago,11 there are several reasons to believe that dates older than 6,500 14C uncalibrated years BP are unlikely to be found in this region due to the high dependence on sea littoral resources and the lifestyle developed by this adaptive tradition.12 Different paleoenvironmental arguments support this hypothesis. The Beagle Channel region is cold, windy and rainy. Such ecological conditions call for high-calorie diets to counteract this climatic severity. The availability of hydrocarbons from the natural land environment is scarce; the total amount of edible vegetables that may be gathered in the area do not meet the metabolic requirements of human populations.13 Guanacos were the only important terrestrial resource in the region. But their meat is lean and they are restricted to the northern coast of the Beagle Channel and Navarino Island. On the contrary, the littoral biomass is abundant, rich and evenly spread in time and in space: within a half day in canoe or by walking, access to practically all resources was possible almost everywhere. Some of those resources offer high quantities of calories in form of fat. The pinnipeds (Figure 5) are the most reliable and predictable source of fat and protein: an Arctochephalus australis can offer, according with sex and age, between 32,000 and 108,000 kcal the average being 64,000 ⫾ 25,200.5 Each of these animals, in an average size, could satisfy the nourishments requirements of a seven person group during three days.14 Among the rest of edible resources, molluscs are high in protein and from sea birds, only penguins offer some fat. Contrarily, cetaceans offer high amounts of fat but their availability was unpredictable for they could only be consumed when stranded.15 Therefore, it is not surprising that sea lions had been the natives’ reliable annual staple throughout the adaptive sequence. During the summer these species’ colonies of reproduction are located in outlying islands (Map 2) that comprise females and reproductive males (while the younger ones move within the archipelago). At the end of the reproductive season, all of them disperse and only small resting rockeries remain. Reproductive rockeries of other larger pinnipeds are commonly
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Map 2. Location of pinnipeds’ colonies of reproduction.
found within the inner channels, but their remains are scarce in the archaeological record. It is likely that their behaviour patterns were similar in the prehistoric period. Sex, age and season of death of the pinnipeds found within the archaeological record of the earliest archaeological layers of the Beagle Channel (dated to around the sixth millennia BP) reveal that they were hunted all year round mainly when they were out in the open sea.16,17 Accordingly, the regular and secure capture of these taxa required some sort of navigation device. Although no direct evidence of canoes appears at the sites in the region, the zooarchaeological evidence reveals their existence from the earliest moments of this sea littoral tradition.18,19 The recent discovery of the Grandi 1 site in Navarino Island dated around 6160 ⫾ 110 BP and 6120 ⫾ 80 BP (all dates expressed in C14 uncalibrated years) supports this hypothesis since such locations could only be reached by boat.20 The capture of pinnipeds in open sea also required an efficient weapon system with necessary force to penetrate the sea lion skin and ensure capture of the prey. Such a force could only be achieved in terms of speed by mass. Having no spear throwers, the velocity only comes from the thrower’s body, principally from forearm and wrist rotation.21 Mass may be increased by a large haft and this was also the solution for a second problem. After the death the pinnipeds body sinks (because their limbs fill with water) and it is only after several days that they may occasionally reappear on the surface;22 therefore the use of any sort of weapon based mainly on speed, as an arrow or a light spear, requires a buoyant device (such as the Eskimos’ one) or the hunt would result in the lost of both prey and weapon. The heavy haft not only exhausted the prey but also floats pointing out the body’s location (Figures 6 and 7). The “Maximum Possible Age” hypothesis invokes the presence of extended forest as the unavoidable requirement for a fully sea-nomadic adaptation: the wood was an indispensable
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Figure 6. Ethnographic harpoon.
Figure 7. Archaeological harpoons (Second Component of Túnel I site).
resource for making canoes (Figure 8) and harpoon hafts; it also provided a large amount of fuel.12 The Fuegian forest was not available in the sea nomads’ country until 7000 BP.12 Up until now, no archaeological site dated in the Beagle Channel and surrounding areas has surpassed the date limit foreseen by the paleoecological model.4,23,24,25 In fact, the first unambiguous evidence for a sea-nomadic adaptation comes from the following sites (Map 3): Aridos Guerrico (6,495 ⫾ 60 BP on shells24), Imiwaia I (6,490 ⫾ 120 BP on shells, 5,870 ⫾ 145 BP on charcoal26), Túnel I Second Component (6,400–5,800 BP, many dates on charcoal4), Grandi 1 (6,160 ⫾ 100 BP and 6,120 ⫾ 80 BP on charcoal20,23), Lomada
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Figure 8. Canoe used by the Yamana in the 19th century. Photograph taken in 1881–1882 by the Mission Scientifique du Cap Horn.
Map 3. Location of the earliest archaeological sites from Beagle Channel Region.
Alta Olivia (5,600 ⫾ 125 BP, on charcoal4). Because of the so-called Reservoir Effect,27,28 dates on the shells from Aridos Guerrico and Imiwaia I should be reduced by nearly 600 years. The archaeological evidence from these sites is that of fully adapted sea nomads, with a navigation device included, and no indication of a transition from an inland to a sea littoral lifestyle was detected in the region. Even though sea nomads sites located north of the Magellan Strait date from roughly the same antiquity, the most economic hypothesis is to consider that the cultural adaptation to the Magellan-Fuegian channels and islands started somewhere within the Southern Patagonian Pacific Archipelago.4,23 There the readvance of the Nothofagus forest from refuge areas of the Pleistocene occurred earlier than in the Beagle Channel.29
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From a genetic standpoint, their origins should be looked for from further north. Studies on mitochondrial DNA relate these natives with the Amerindian populations.30
3 DYNAMICS AND STABILITY OF SEA NOMADS IN THE BEAGLE CHANNEL From those early settlers the people of the Magellan-Fuegian channels carried out a huntingfishing-gathering economy based on the intensive consumption of sea lions. The diet was complemented with marine birds, fish, guanacos and constant shellfish gathering. Cetacean input was valuable but unpredictable. The extensively excavated sites and the archaeological survey made along 185 km of the Beagle Channel northern coast shows that the same sea resources were accessible over the last six millennia (Figure 9). Moreover, the isotopic analysis of ␦13C obtained through human bones produced values that confirmed a marine diet in all the studied skeletons.31 There is no evidence of food storage and zooarchaeological analysis suggests that the species were acquired for immediate consumption.4 The human bones recovered in the region show low or moderate indicators of deficient nourishment, even inferior to those recorded in other hunter-gatherer peoples.4 They had a high mobility pattern covering short-distances, and the recurrent use of settlement locations. Nearly all of the archaeological sites left by them are shell middens composed of superimposed faunal residues, soil layers, coarse sand and charcoal remains.32 Most of these sites were base camps where daily activities were performed. There, the seanomads conducted many of their domestic activities such as butchering, bone, hide and wood working.33,34 The analysis of the archaeological remains allowed us to state that different stages of tool manufacturing sequence were also carried out at the camps.34,35,36 They practically took advantage of all the available tracts of coast; neither shelter from the prevailing winds nor the absence of drinkable water seems to have played a decisive role in the location of the settlements. The encampment locations depended more on previous
Figure 9. Faunal associations recovered in the archaeological sites of the Beagle Channel Region.60
Sea nomads of the Beagle Channel and surrounding areas 205
social activities at the spot rather than from its geographical or topographical features. Once a settlement started for any reason, the activity carried on the place and the high amount of debris produced by a constant consumption of mussels created particular microstructures that both call for its resettlement and conditioned the character of further use.22,25 Tools were made in both bone and lithic materials (Figure 10). Among the lithic assemblages the most formal and specialized are the weapon points where morphology exhibits variation through time (Figure 11). Less formal stone tools categories comprise retouched pieces such as side-scrapers, end-scrapers and unmodified flakes; they show a low diversity, a scarce standardization and a generalized design: their manufacture did not involve a great deal of labour. This toolkit was used during the entire occupation of the region with minor changes. It was made of metamorphic rocks of acidic composition belonging to the Lemaire Formation (Jurassic age) that emerge along the Fuegian Andes.37,38 However, stone must have been obtained in secondary deposits along the Beagle Channel where it had been transported by glacial activity and river flows.35,36 In fact, some of the cortex on the pieces show traces of glacial dragging. Two reasons may explain this behavior:35,39 1. the distance to the source and the topography of the region: the primary sources are between 10 and 15 km from the coast and it was necessary to move through an uneven relief covered with dense forests to reach them; 2. the availability of rocks occurred along the coasts where the major daily activities of the sea nomads were developed. One can infer that the procurement of raw materials for lithic tool production occurred simultaneously with other activities (“embedded procurement”40).
Figure 10. Archaeological artifacts: 1: Drinking tube; 2: Bone beads; 3: Pendants; 4: Shell beads; 5: Shell knife; 6: Awl; 7–8: Chisels; 9–10: Wedges; 11: Harpoons; 12: Knapped pebble; 13: Rounded pebble; 14: Borer; 15–17: Side-scrapers; 18: Mace; 19: End-scrapers.
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Figure 11. Lithic weapon points: A: Sub-foliacean spear points (Lancha Packewaia site, 4000 BP); B: Triangular and stemmed points (Shamakush I site, 2060 BP); C: Arrowheads and lithic weapon points (Tunel VII site, 19th century).
Sea nomads of the Beagle Channel and surrounding areas 207
Figure 12. Rounded pebbles.
These metamorphic rocks of the Lemaire Formation account for almost the total volume of raw materials present at the sites (more than 85% in almost all of them). The only raw material from a distant source was obsidian, but it is very scarce and was only found at the earliest sites. According to C. Stern the source is located in the vicinity of the Otway sea.41 The use-wear analysis suggests that the tool kit was used to perform different tasks and to process several resources, such as bone, wood and hide. They were economic and versatile: the morphological variability of these instruments does not correlate with differences in activities, functions or worked material.42 It is important to remark that pecked and polished lithic artifacts were also used by sea nomads (Figure 12). They were already present in the ancient occupations of the region but they are rarely found after circa 4000 BP with a very few exceptions. Contrary to what happens in other contexts these kinds of tools are not linked with plant-processing activities; the maces, for example, were used for striking on fresh or lubricated materials, like fresh wood or bone.43,44 Sea nomads also employed flat cobbles to polish bone artifacts45,46 and rounded pebbles for fishing activities.47 Bone tools comprise harpoons, wedges, awls and chisels. The sea nomads carefully selected bone raw materials in relation to their structural properties and the function and design of the tool.48 During the ancient period some of these artifacts had engraved motives such as sinuous lines, dashes, dots straight lines and figures (Figure 13). The analysis of the decoration techniques and designs has shown that the most intricate designs were usually made on the harpoons, which in turn were the artifacts that had a high risk of breakage and loss during their use. This suggests that the labour investment on decoration was oriented towards these artifacts despite such risks, possibly because of the importance they had in providing key subsistence resources (i.e. hunting sea lions). Conversely, personal ornaments, such as beads of different sizes, were decorated with much simpler designs.49 They showed a well-established style but with wide individual freedom in details.50 Little is known about mortuary practices, the research about burial patterns has only recently commenced. Up to this moment we know that sea nomads buried their death in shell middens as well as in rockshelters and sometimes they lit fires on the burial. The study of ethnographic photographs showed that the Yamana wore body paintings in everyday situations and special occasions such as weddings and initiation ceremonies (Figure 14). Consistent with their social structure, many of these paintings were worn both by men and women, although in some occasions (i.e. initiation ceremonies) there were differences in the designs in relation to the age and/or gender of the wearer.51
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Figure 13. Harpoons decorated by engraving.
Figure 14. Group of Yamana in an initiation ceremony at Remolino. Photograph taken in 1921 by M. Gusinde.
Sea nomads of the Beagle Channel and surrounding areas 209
Figure 15. Surface sea water temperature of the Beagle Channel calculated from oxygen isotopic composition in archaeological Mytilus edulis shells.52
Once the adaptation to the sea littoral environment was reached it lasted for more than six millennia with no major changes in the system; this general pattern was maintained until the Yamana. However, the continuity of the social strategies does not imply social crystallization or homeostasis; on the contrary the prevalence of cultural patterns is an extremely dynamic phenomenon that should be understood and explained as well as radical changes. The usual explanations of social change may involve social interaction or resource imbalance caused by human or natural factors. Regarding the first aspect, the pedestrian hunter-gatherers of the north of the island did not compete for the ecological niche with the sea-nomads. Furthermore, the first ones faced the problem of having a demographic ceiling: they could not overcome the carrying capacity of the island. In contrast, sea nomads did not need to maintain the demographic equilibrium and the places of reproduction of the natural resources were not within reach of these groups. Consequently, we have to focus on environmental approaches. Using the isotopic composition (␦18O) of Mytilus edulis shells from archaeological shell middens, associated with charcoal remains and without the influence of brackish waters, the paleotemperature of the Beagle Channel in the last 6000 years was determined. During this period the oscillations recorded do not surpass 3°C: the variation range is smaller than the intra annual variation.52,53 So these changes are inside the limits of adaptation of the resources used by the sea nomads (Figure 15). Nevertheless, within such general stability some changes were detected both by readjusting to the environment and outside influences. Polished and bone tool diminished in relative importance during the later period together with the disappearance of some decorative patterns on bone tools. Up to 4000 BP chisels were made using sea lion ulna, after
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Figure 16. Sea lion vertebrae with a small lithic point struck through its ventral face. (Ajej I site.)
that they were made on the radius. However the most remarkable change relates to weapon design. In early times harpoon heads had a cross-shaped base and some of them had a double tenon-one; later on they were simple tenon-base harpoon heads. Around 4000 BP at the Lancha Packewaia site large sub-foliacean54 (sensu Orquera and Piana 1986) spear points appear. This is later than their occurrence in the islands from southern Chiloé.55 At the same time, the faunal evidence at this site shows a higher consumption of guanacos.56 It remains unclear whether these two features are the product of results changes in resources availability, the influence of a technological innovation, an indication of micropopulation replacements, or a reflex of purely local circumstances. The recovery of these types of points is very rare except for at Lancha Packewaia. Later, circa 2,600 BP, triangle and stemmed points similar to the ones found within inland hunters from Tierra del Fuego and Eastern Patagonia appear. These points are too large and heavy as to be considered arrowhead points. For later times, the discovery at Ajej 1 of a sea lion vertebrae with a small lithic point struck through its ventral face proves the use of bow and arrows in the region because of the velocity required (Figure 16). This monocomponent site has only one 14C date (on charcoal) of 1,400 BP.57 It should be clear from these data that all these innovations are intimately connected with changes in hunting strategies for non-essential species. But these transformations do not seem to have altered the economic system or the social relations in an irreversible way.
4 THE END OF THE TRADITION Undoubtedly the ancient populations of the Beagle Channel region achieved a profitable use of the marine resources, favored by the development of canoes and harpoons with
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detachable points that allowed the persistence of the social system over six millennia. During this time the tool assemblages reflect variations and some features seem to have disappeared, but the system was sufficiently flexible so that those variants were integrated without causing disruption or surpassing irretrievable thresholds. Nevertheless, total adaptation had a dangerous bottle neck: the need of fat year round resulted in a high dependence on one resource, the sea lions. As we have seen, in the environment there was no scarcity of food, drinkable water or wood, but due to climatic conditions metabolic requirements are high and the hydrocarbons available in the woodlands are almost lacking. So the adaptation had to depend on the sea. The end of the sea nomads tradition with the Yamana extinction started before constant contact with Europeans. The documented exotic illnesses that reduced the population from a figure of some 3,000 souls in middle 19th century to less than a hundred at the beginning of the 20th century was just the final stage of a larger process that started with the North American and European overhunting of sea lions in their reproductive areas. The industrial use of their fat and fur called for the exploitation of their breeding rockeries to which the natives had never had access. These capture methods rapidly altered the balance that had existed between the sea nomads and their environment to the point of no return and there were not any alternatives to re-balance it. It was an unfair competition between industrial requirements versus survival needs.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to Nyree Finlay for her helpful assistance with the English version.
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