Antarctica

Is Antarctica in the North, or the South? And if it’s in the South, then why is it so cold there? Who owns the Antarctic? Why is so much research done there? Do polar bears and penguins live in Antarctica? Ice field, iceberg, ice shelf … fresh water or salt water?  How can an iceberg as big as Belgium float? And where does it come from? How does ice preserve the history of our climate?

The answers to all these questions will just be the tip of the iceberg of things you’ll find out in this new exhibition at the Pass. The Antarctica exhibition will make you want to find out more about this extraordinary continent and will show you the challenges facing the researchers working there.

The exhibition'll show during the International Polar Year until maart 2009.

A scientific and human adventure

To mark the International Polar Year (in March 2007), the Pass is presenting an exhibition on the Antarctic from 22nd December 2006, in partnership with the International Polar Foundation, whose most eminent Belgian member is Alain Hubert,. This exhibition will show you the scientific and human, technical, technological and economic challenges involved in this continent.

The Antarctic is a unique field for investigation, and is very highly protected. Climate processes are studied there as well as telltale signs of changes to our environment. Global warming affects everyone. So in Antarctica, in order to understand the climate, we examine the ice and look at how the knowledge gained and the observations made are communicated, because the research carried out in the Antarctic relies first and foremost on international cooperation.

Mention of the Antarctic means mentioning the people who have made this adventure possible. The exhibition highlights the work of scientists facing an extreme environment.

The International Polar Year

The 4th International Polar Year starts in March 2007 and will last two years, until March 2009. This is how long the 10 months needed for the scientific programmes will take, because the southern summer only lasts between 5 and 6 months, and the climate conditions in winter prevent scientists from spending the full year there. 

While the Polar Year studies both Poles, the Arctic and the Antarctic, the Pass has decided to focus on the Antarctic, because a new Belgian research base, the “Princess Elisabeth” station, is to be installed there in 2007 .