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Department of Geography

 

 

Instruments of scientific governance? Historical geographies of Halley Bay, 1956 – present

This project examines the emergence of scientific governance in Antarctica by focusing on the Halley Bay research station.  Halley Bay was established by the Royal Society in 1956 in preparation for the International Geophysical Year, 1957-58. The scientific station operated continually until 2017, when overwintering became too dangerous due to a growing crack in the Brunt Ice Shelf. The station has become a critical centre for global science, including the discovery of the ozone hole in the 1980s. 

The project involves use of archive collections at the Royal Geographical Society, Royal Society, and Scott Polar Research Institute, supplemented by material from other collections, to investigate the history of Halley Bay and its place in the international story of Antarctic science and governance. It aims to inspire innovative collaborations across these collections and others.

This project is funded through a grant awarded by the AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership (CDP), Science Museums and Archives Consortium.


Photo: Low sun behind Halley VI modules, 4 October 2017
Photo licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License Source




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