Antarctica marked its 200th anniversary this week amidst the disturbing realisation that the continent is fast approaching its climatic precipice
This week marked the 200th anniversary of the discovery of Antarctica by Russian naval officer and explorer Fabian Gottlieb van Bellingshausen and his crew on January 27, 1820. The Russian sighted land at what is now known as the Fimbul Ice Shelf on the continent's east side. With no native human population of its own, Antarctica is the only continent to have quite literally been discovered.