Program Information

For more than four centuries prior to 1900, curiosity, necessity, ambition, and economic aspiration had driven the age of discovery. Few places on the globe eluded the explorers. The last great prize was the frozen, barren, and arid continent of Antarctica.

A Moment in Time is a brief, exciting and compelling journey into the past. Created to excite and enlighten the public about the past, its relevance to the present and its impact on the future, A Moment In Time is a captivating historical narrative that is currently broadcast worldwide.

Transcript

Lead: For more than four centuries prior to 1900, curiosity, necessity, ambition, and economic aspiration had driven the age of discovery. Few places on the globe eluded the explorers. The last great prize was the frozen, barren, and arid continent of Antarctica.

Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts.

Content: Antarctica is the southernmost continent, the coldest, windiest place on earth with an average interior temperature of - 58F°. Ninety-eight percent of the continent, which is twice the size of Australia, is covered by ice sheets formed over millions of years with a thickness of over a mile to about three miles. The ice contains 70% of the world’s fresh water and 90% of the world’s ice.

Although waters surrounding Antarctica are teeming with life – penguins, whales, seals, fish – the heart of the continent is a barren desert – one of the driest places on earth. A day in Antarctica is six months long, from September 21st to March 22nd. Summer begins in September, winter in March. It is mostly dark in winter and mostly light in summer. Discovered in 1820, designated a continent in the 1840s, by the end of the 19th century the waters of Antarctica were regularly visited by commercial whalers and sealers.

In 1895, the Sixth Geographical Congress, meeting in London, challenged the scientific community to mount expeditions to Antarctica and many of the wealthier nations responded. Britain, France, Norway, Germany, Japan, Sweden, and Belgium all mounted expeditions ostensibly for scientific knowledge but also for land claims. The most coveted prize of all, of course, was to be the first to reach the South Pole, the most remote location on earth. This exploratory quest captured the imagination of people everywhere. Explorers, citizens, and governments invested hope and large sums to support these expeditions. Perhaps the most confident country, then at the height of its imperial ambitions, was Great Britain. Britons were certain that the prize would be theirs. Such was not to be. Next time: The Race to the Pole.

Research assistance by Ann Johnson, at the University of Richmond, this is Dan Roberts.

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