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History
Up one levelAlthough the Norwegian-American Scientific IPY Traverse travels through largely unexplored areas, we rely heavily on the experiences, data and efforts of earlier explorers. The following articles explain some of the historical background for modern science in Antarctica, and for this traverse in particular.
Historic Traverses
Map showing the American and Japanese traverses in Dronning Maud Land during the years 1964-1968, together with the Norwegian-American IPY traverse.
US Traverses 64-68
Over the period of 1964 to 1968, the U.S. conducted three separate traverses in Dronning Maud Land, QMLT I, II and III.
JARE 1967-68
The 9th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition, led by Masami Murayama, conducted a round-trip traverse to the South Pole in 1967-68 austral spring and summer.
Plateau Station
In March of 1964, the U.S. National Science Foundation and U.S. military engineering corps jointly proposed building a new base and airfield in the central Antarctic Plateau, both as a meteorological observation station, and as a logistical support base for the South Pole-Queen Maud Land Traverses.
Pole of Inaccessibility
One of our stops along the traverse will be at the Pole of Inaccessibility. A pole of inaccessibility is the location in a continent that is the farthest from any ocean. Though just a remote and imaginary point on an endless, white plain, this particular spot has an interesting history of its own.
Historic Names
Our vehicles and modules are named after famous American and Norwegian Antarctic explorers and their dogs who pulled the expeditions across Antarctica. The names also represent a cross section of Antarctic exploration history.
Explorers Club
The Explorers Club is an international multidisciplinary professional society dedicated to the advancement of field research and the ideal that it is vital to preserve the instinct to explore.
Traverse completed