The Belgica expedition

A tale of extraordinary scientific achievements and human endurance

By Patrick De Deckker

“The scientists and crew were the first to endure the debilitating harshness of the dark, long Antarctic winter and uncertainty of survival. Yet, the entrapment also offered a unique opportunity for the scientists and the crew to collate ground-breaking scientific data on the ocean and land near the Antarctic Peninsula that is relevant even to this day”

An extraordinary tale of a sea journey through Antarctic waters at the end of the 1890s that took two and a half years and occurred over 125 years ago. The expedition was funded by Belgium and its people and was truly international. It is a story of great scientific exploration as well as human endurance as the ship became trapped in the sea ice for nearly 13 months. The scientists and crew were the first to endure the debilitating harshness of the dark, long Antarctic winter and uncertainty of survival. Yet, the entrapment also offered a unique opportunity for the scientists and the crew to collate ground-breaking scientific data on the ocean and land near the Antarctic Peninsula. They also visited the Beagle Channel in Patagonia.

This 308 pages book contains some 190 illustrations, with many original photographs that have been coloured in. It also presents a lot of information on modern-day conditions around the Antarctic Peninsula that demonstrate a significant change over 125 years. There are 10 pages of references, mostly all of scientific nature.

Buy this amazing book for $AUD75 (Plus shipping).

List of chapters

(1) Setting the scene for exploration of the ‘unknown Antarctica’; (2) The Challenger expedition 1873-1876; (3) A dream to conduct a Belgian Antarctic expedition; (4) Preparations for the voyage to Antarctica; (5) The Belgica crew, celebrations in Antwerp prior to departure and departure for Antarctic waters; (6) Drake Passage: discovery of a deep passage and temperature profiles; (7) The de Gerlache Strait: discovery, mapping, flora, an amazing insect, geology; (8) In the Bellingshausen Sea – physico-chemical parameters: drifting in the sea ice, icebergs, air temperatures and in the ocean, auroras, clouds, ice crystals, ice; (9) Biota in the Bellingshausen Sea: whales, seals, penguins and other birds, fish, other organisms; (10) Study of sea floor sediments by Arctowski and Renard; (11) Glaciers – modern and ancient – in southern South America and the de Gerlache Strait; (12) Polar ‘anaemia’ among the crew; (13) Investigations in the Beagle Channel; (14) Johan Koren, the naturalist sailor; (15) Illustrations of activities of the personnel during the expedition; (16) Frederick Cook and the first people of Patagonia; (17) The return to Antwerp and celebrations; (18) Conclusions and lessons for the future.

Privately published: ISBN: 978-1-7640255-1-5

Copy-write Patrick De Deckker