John Behrendt, APS President, writes:

I attended the Antarctic Treaty Summit in Washington, D.C. from Nov. 30–Dec. 3, 2009. This celebration of the development and resilience of the Antarctic Treaty on the 50th anniversary of its signature, in the city where it was signed, was attended by about a hundred men and women active in Antarctic Treaty affairs over the years. The meeting was held in the National Museum of Natural History and was chaired by Professor Paul Berkman. For three days, plenary presentations and panel discussions by speakers from 16 countries brought together diplomats, international lawyers, scientists, historians, environmental activists and Antarctic tour operators—most with years of experience at Antarctic Treaty consultative meetings. Among these were R. Tucker Scully, who chaired the 50th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in 2009, and Susan Solomon, Co-Chair of the IPCC Scientific Working Group for the 2007 Report on Global Warming.

Two veterans of the International Geophysical Year (IGY), Yoshio Yoshida, (Japan) and John Behrendt, (US), were in attendance together with a veteran of the 1949-52 Norwegian-British-Swedish Antarctic Expedition, Fred Roots (Canada), all of whom provided perspectives on the changes in Antarctic science and other activities since these early years at the end of the heroic age and the start of the scientific age. These men and others noted that the Cold War and associated tensions dominated the IGY expeditions, particularly the placement of research stations by USSR and US, both of whom made no territorial claims; US and Russia still maintain their basis for future claims. Deaths due to accidents in the air and over the snow, from 1955-1964, were more than an order of magnitude higher rate from 1955-1964 than at present, partly because of this international competition.

The only major field programs in the IGY period were extensive oversnow traverses to define the Antarctic Ice Sheet and its thickness, primarily carried out by US and USSR teams. I gave a presentation on this major effort, which included geographic exploration, as much of Antarctica had not even been seen from the air in 1956. The results of this field effort were a first approximation of the ice sheet elevation, bed topography, snow accumulation and mean annual temperature. Geologic and topographic mapping were not included in the IGY because of the territorial claims issue prior to the Antarctic Treaty. However, geologic reconnaissance was done when mountains and nunataks were encountered by the oversnow traverses, as most geophysicists and glaciologists had geologic training.

One of the high points of the Antarctic Treaty Summit was the signing of the “Forever” Declaration on December 1, the 50th anniversary date of the signing of the Antarctic Treaty. This two page document noted that “Antarctica shall be
used for peaceful purposes only ... that the environmental principles and mechanisms developed for the protection of Antarctica and associated ... ecosystems have inspired the development of international law, ... and that continued scientific research in Antarctica and the effective dissemination of its results are vital to understanding of the Earth’s systems especially in relation to climate change.” The Antarctic Treaty Summit“believes that the pristine nature of Antarctica ... will provide inspiration to present and future generations ... supports ... scientific research ... and encourages all States to draw on the lessons learned from the Antarctic experience in creating effective governance systems for spaces beyond national jurisdictions.” The “Forever” Declaration“shall be “distributed widely and shall be communicated ... to the General Assembly of the United Nations, ... and the governments of all States Parties to the Antarctic Treaty.”