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One of the most popular claims in the world today is that Antarctica is a forbidden place that no one can enter or even fly over.
In this case, the “flat earth” myth is in common with the “hollow earth” myth. Promoters of the former assume that Antarctica contains the wall of the flat earth, and promoters of the latter assume that it contains the hole or door through which you can travel to the interior of the earth, where there are other worlds. In this context, conspiracy theories appear that say that there is a special group of humans trying to control the entire planet.
Antarctica and airplanes
In this context, some people often ask: Why then do commercial aircraft not fly over Antarctica? The answer is simply that there are several reasons why most airlines avoid Antarctica, the most important of which is the weather conditions, as the continent enjoys an extreme climate, whether in terms of temperatures or snowstorms.
These conditions make it difficult and expensive to de-ice and heat aircraft, especially fuel, as well as maintain continuous visibility and communications, the latter being important as it is extremely dangerous for aircraft to fly during snowfall, not only because of poor visibility but because this cold weather can disrupt communications.
In general, air travel in polar regions (north or south) is particularly complicated due to concerns about magnetic fields that are disturbed above the poles, so that the magnetic poles can interfere with compasses and aircraft GPS systems, making it difficult to determine the exact location and direction of flight.
Add to that the fact that the continent itself is a vast place, being the fifth largest continent in the world in area, and larger than the entire continent of Europe, and for all that space it is inhospitable and it is not easy to build enough emergency airports.
The same thing happens in many places around the world, not just Antarctica. For example, commercial aircraft do not fly over Tibet, because the Tibetan Plateau is very high, reaching 4,500 meters above sea level, which makes it difficult for aircraft to descend to a safe altitude in emergency situations.
In addition, Tibet is a mountainous region that can cause turbulence in the movement of air currents, which may pose a danger to aircraft, especially since these turbulences can affect the aircraft’s communication and navigation systems, making it difficult for pilots to control the flight. But have you ever heard someone ask: Why don’t planes fly over the Tibetan Plateau? Perhaps when a new conspiracy theory appears that says that someone controls the world and doesn’t want us to reach the Great Wall.
but it flies
But all of the above does not mean that airlines are completely banned from flying over Antarctica. Some airlines do take routes that pass over the outer edges of the continent, but this is not common.
In addition, some companies offer tourist trips to the continent, and these trips depart primarily from Australia and New Zealand, and do not land on the continent, but provide passengers with an aerial view of the icy landscape.
Scientific research aircraft also fly over Antarctica, and sometimes military aircraft may fly over the continent for logistical support or to assist in research missions.
Not a closed place
On the other hand, the continent is not completely devoid of humans, but is inhabited by many scientists.
Antarctica had already been a human settlement since its discovery in 1820, and by 1959 there were 7 claims from several countries to Antarctica, but as the Cold War developed and the world became preoccupied with the conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States, the “Antarctic Treaty” was first signed by 12 countries, to end the disputes over the governance of the continent.
The treaty declared that the continent belonged to no one. Meanwhile, teams of scientists around the world took advantage of this neutral position to gain broad support for scientific programs on the continent. Indeed, the matter succeeded and official international institutions were established to coordinate scientific research in the South Pole, and the Antarctic continent became a global scientific center.
continent of science
One of the largest scientific experiments in the world is now located in Antarctica, the IceCube experiment. As the name suggests, the experiment is a giant ice cube, one kilometer long and wide, with a maximum depth of 2.5 kilometers below the surface of Antarctica. It is simply an attempt to exploit the nature of the icy continent for the benefit of science. The experiment aims to study one of the most elusive types of particles in the world of physics, the high-energy neutrino, which comes to Earth from very deep galactic sources such as supernova remnants, active galactic nuclei, and gamma-ray bursts.
The first high-energy neutrino signals were detected in 2017, and scientists discovered that the source was the glowing center of a massive galaxy called TXS 0506+056, located about 5.7 billion light-years away. Discoveries have continued since then.
IceCube is just one example. In fact, there are so many research experiments in Antarctica that there is no definitive answer to how many scientific experiments there are, because the number changes every month. But on average, the number of people doing scientific research on the continent and nearby islands ranges from about 4,800 people during the summer to 1,200 people during the winter.
That's why Antarctica is sometimes described as the “continent of science,” and there are a number of reasons why scientists from fields other than astronomy and cosmology go to Antarctica to study different aspects of science, such as its unique ecosystem and climate data record.
In this context, Antarctica is important for understanding how the Earth works as a system, how life adapts to extreme environments, how humans impact the environment, and how climate change is affecting the planet. According to the British Antarctic Survey, the vibrant Antarctic research community plays a leading role in international efforts to investigate and monitor environmental change in the polar regions.
