Discovering the unknown continent - Antarctica: Global Science from a Frozen Continent - page 22

Figure 1.19 The first South Pole Station as it appeared upon completion of construction in

January 1957. Snow drift and accumulation eventually buried the buildings, rendering it
unusable by the 1970s. (Credit: US Navy, NSF)

now become a matter of international prestige so failure was not an option.
Against all the odds, the stations were built, the scientists were installed and the
measurements were made.
The financial investments were huge and when the scientists began to agitate

for and then for a more permanent agreement to

stay in the Antarctic they were pushing at a half open door. The United States
had become concerned, even before IGY, that the USSR might wish to build
military bases in Antarctica. For President Eisenhower, the IGY offered a short-
term solution to the problem but a more permanent resolution was needed. During
the IGY, the US government had already begun secretly to plan for an international
agreement on Antarctica and the enthusiasm of the scientists to stay provided
the ideal basis on which to

first an extension of the ' year '

float their ideas amongst the other countries. At a
series of 60 secret meetings in the United States, beginning in the National
Science Foundation Boardroom on 13 June 1958, the 12 countries hammered out
the Antarctic Treaty. To emphasise joint participation, the chairmanship of the