A warm affair with planet’s coldest place
Every summer thousands of people pass through Christchurch on their way to the Antarctic. This special relationship is worth protecting
As Captain Robert Falcon Scott lay dying in a tent on the Ross Ice Shelf, he wrote letters to those he knew he would never see again.
Caught in a blizzard in one of the coldest places on the planet, he had been beaten to the pole and his life would soon end. He was 43 years old.
When a search party found his body almost eight months later, they discovered he and his party had been carrying more than 16kg of rocks. His mission therefore was not simply a race to the pole in an age of heroism, it was a journey of scientific discovery.
When his body was found, the search party uplifted letters – to his wife, mother, and an open letter to the public – and they also took the rock samples which proved for the first time that plant life had once been abundant on the continent.
More than 100 years later, it is still scientific endeavour that fuels our relationship with the Antarctic.
Antarctica New Zealand facilitated almost 20 scientific programmes on the Ice this year – allowing scientists to tell us more about the way in which our planet is changing. This is important stuff.
As Antarctica New Zealand Science Research advisor Rebecca McLeod puts it ‘‘we want to know how change in Antarctica will affect the rest of the globe’’. How much will our oceans rise by as the planet warms, how fast will this occur, what impact will this have on our weather?
Greater certainty around these points would have obvious benefits for humans everywhere. Yet many of Cantabrians are probably only vaguely aware of the depth and importance of our city’s association with the ice.
Christchurch is the leaping off point for the thousands of men and women who have embarked on journeys of scientific exploration on the ice. This makes our city part of a small and exclusive global club. There are just five cities in the world that are gateways to the Antarctic.
For most Kiwi kids, the names of Scott and Shackleton will have meaning. But will they know that the adventurers and scientists that followed them form an important part of the history of our city? Both men prepared for their incredible, heroic and ill-fated journeys from Christchurch – resting, dining and planning in relative luxury (both Scott and Shackleton spent time relaxing at the Canterbury Club) before departure.
Thousands of kilometres south at Discovery Hut on a small and miserable outcrop jutting into McMurdo Sound, the frozen remains of two desiccated Canterbury lambs hang on the wall – evidence of the fresh food Scott and his team had carried south from Christchurch.
Now, thousands of people scientists and support and logistics staff – depart Christchurch for the ice each year, generating more than $235 million per year in economic benefit for Christchurch. This is a valuable contribution to our economy – but the value of our status as a gateway to the ice extends far beyond this.
Christchurch is home the Antarctic programmes of the United States, South Korea and Italy, as well as the Antarctic Heritage Trust, which has restored and maintains the historic huts on the ice. Antarctic NZ collaborates intensively with these national programmes – this means the nations work actively together to support science on this ice.
A visit to the Antarctic with these programmes demonstrates the extent to which this relationship is valued internationally. At Scott Base late this season over a period of just a few days, Antarctica NZ staff met with the US-based National Science Foundation, Chinese politicians, New Zealand ministers and international scientists – all spoke of the value of New Zealand’s role in preservation of the Antarctic environments, and support for the international science programmes.
On the flights between Christchurch and Antarctic scientists from around the world sit shoulder to shoulder. At Lyttelton Port, Korean and Chinese icebreakers, as well as polar research vessels, dock each year.
This role we play, both on the ice through the work of Antarctica NZ, and in Christchurch, makes us a strong and credible voice in an important international forum as new members join the Antarctic Treaty System and it is redefined and tested. Our expertise and commitment to environmental stewardship is respected. When others follow our example this benefits our planet.
Christchurch should therefore be rightly proud of the global contribution it makes supporting endeavour on the ice – from the age of exploration when Scott and Shackleton undertook their journeys to now, as modern-day scientists venture south.
It is a role we cannot take for granted and must and will highlight more.
Our city has always been a place where exploration of ideas starts – our connection to the ice and the protection of this special part of the planet is part of this story.
We should all take pride in telling it.
Joanna Norris is chief executive of ChristchurchNZ, the city’s economic development and city profile agency.