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On February 22, 1904, it was not just another symbolic gesture: it was the beginning of a State policy. That day, when the national flag was raised on Laurie Island, in the South Orkney Islands, a unique history began in Antarctica, an event that is remembered every year as Argentine Antarctica Day. National Law No. 20827/74 – which established this celebration – also establishes the raising of the national flag in public buildings and educational establishments.
For four decades, Argentina was the sole permanent occupant of this southern region. Since then, science, international cooperation, and environmental commitment have become the pillars of a sustained presence in one of the most strategic and challenging scenarios in the world.
What began as a meteorological observatory became much more than a scientific station: it was the decision to stay, to investigate, to collaborate and to project a future on the white continent. 122 years after that milestone, Argentine continuity is not just a historical fact; it is an affirmation of identity, knowledge and global responsibility.
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From Exploitation to Conservation: A Paradigm Shift
In the late 19th century, Antarctica was a territory almost unexplored from a scientific point of view, but intensely exploited by seal hunters, sea lions, and penguins, among others. The activity, often kept secret to preserve commercial monopolies, produced a strong ecological impact and brought several species to the brink of extinction. Over time, the extractive approach gave way to a scientific and conservationist approach. Today, under the framework of the Antarctic Treaty System (legal instrument in force since 1961) and the Madrid Protocol on Environmental Protection (in force since 1998), Antarctica is recognized as a natural reserve dedicated to peace and science. Argentina, as a founding consultative member, actively participates in international forums that regulate environmental protection and research on the continent.International Cooperation: A Century-Old Tradition
Scientific cooperation was a constant in Argentine Antarctic history, which began when William Bruce's Scottish expedition in 1902 offered the national government the refuge built on Laurie Island – the historic Casa Omond – along with its scientific instruments. This donation laid the foundations for the current Argentine Meteorological Observatory in Orcadas, which has been operating uninterruptedly since 1904 and is one of the oldest in the world in continuous activity. A year later, the rescue by the ARA Uruguay corvette of the ship carrying the Swedish expedition led by Dr. Otto Nordenskjöld, in which ensign José María Sobral participated, inaugurated another aspect of international collaboration: solidarity. That operation not only saved lives, but also initiated a tradition that remains in force, as demonstrated by the aid to the German ship Magdalena Oldendorff by the icebreaker Almirante Irízar in 2002 or the rescue of three members of a Chilean patrol who fell into a crevice by the Argentine team led by Colonel Víctor Figueroa in 2005, to mention just a couple of examples.You can also read:Ángela Aguilar unfollows Bad Bunny after Cazzu's appearance at a concert in Argentina
The Orcadas Base: A Permanent Scientific Beacon
The current Orcadas base houses the Omond House (1903) and the Moneta House (1905), now a historical museum. Both buildings, along with the nearby cemetery, were declared a Historic Site and Monument (HSM No. 42) of the Antarctic Treaty. Among other curiosities, in 1927 the first Antarctic radiotelegraph station was installed there and in 1946 the first Catholic mass was celebrated on the continent.Today, scientists from the Argentine Antarctic Institute conduct research in meteorology, glaciology, geology, geophysics, magnetism, atmospheric sciences, and biology. The Multidisciplinary Antarctic Laboratory allows monitoring key variables of global climate change, such as the evolution of sea ice, atmospheric composition, and oceanic processes.
Over more than a century, Argentina consolidated a scientific infrastructure of international relevance. Currently, our country has seven permanent bases, which operate year-round: Orcadas, Marambio, Carlini, Esperanza, Petrel, San Martín, and Belgrano II; and six temporary ones, active in summer campaigns: Almirante Brown, Matienzo, Primavera, Cámara, Melchior, and Decepción, in addition to dozens of logistical support shelters distributed in the Antarctic peninsula and adjacent areas. These scientific establishments, whose mission is research, are located in the so-called Argentine Antarctic Sector. Among the historical milestones that reaffirm our southern vocation, the conquest of the South Pole on three occasions stands out – the first by air and then through the land expeditions of the years 1965 and 2000, commanded by General Jorge E. Leal and Colonel Víctor Figueroa, respectively –, in addition to the development of oceanographic campaigns with the icebreaker ARA Almirante Irízar and the participation in numerous rescues and international scientific cooperation missions.
