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33-663: They were discovered by the Third German Antarctic Expedition (1938–1939), led by Capt. Alfred Ritscher , and named for Karl Weyprecht , Austrian polar explorer who in company with Julius Payer discovered Franz Josef Land in 1873, and who initiated the first International Polar Year expedition in 1882–83. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from "Weyprecht Mountains" . Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey .   [REDACTED] This Princess Astrid Coast location article

66-733: A steam catapult on the MS Schwabenland expedition ship. After urgent repairs on the ship and the two seaplanes, the 33 expedition members plus a crew of 24 on the Schwabenland left Hamburg on December 17, 1938. The Expedition reached the Princess Martha Coast on January 19, 1939, and was active along the Queen Maud Land coast from 19 January to 15 February 1939. In seven survey flights between January 20 and February 5, 1939, an area of approx. 350.000 km (135.136 sq mi)

99-631: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Third German Antarctic Expedition The German Antarctic Expedition (1938–1939) , led by German Navy captain Alfred Ritscher (1879–1963), was the third official Antarctic expedition of the German Reich, by order of the "Commissioner for the Four Year Plan " Hermann Göring . Prussian State Councilor Helmuth Wohlthat was mandated with planning and preparation. The expedition's main objective

132-407: Is relatively mild for Antarctic conditions . The annual average temperature is −10.4 °C (13.3 °F) (ranging from 0.9 °C (33.6 °F) in summer to −22.0 °C (−7.6 °F) in winter), the annual average wind speed is 9.7 m/s (22 mph; 18.9 kn), the annual average precipitation is 264.5 mm (10.41 in), and there are 350 hours of sunshine per month. Because of

165-869: Is situated in the Schirmacher Hills on the Princess Astrid Coast in Queen Maud Land in East Antarctica and is, on average, 100 m (330 ft) above sea level . With an area of 34 km (13 sq mi), the Schirmacher Oasis ranks among the smallest Antarctic oases and is a typical polar desert . The oasis is located between the edge of the Antarctic Ice Sheet and the Novolazarevskaya Nivl Ice Shelf . The approximately 100 m (330 ft) high plateau of

198-400: Is the deepest inland lake of the oasis. Spatially, the largest lake within the oasis is Lake Sub, with an area of 0.5 km (0.19 sq mi). A number of theories exist about the formation of the oasis that include geothermal heating , intense insolation , or the hypothesis that the ice flow is blocked by a geological feature such as a mountain. The climate of the Schirmacher Oasis

231-746: The Daily Telegraph and in the USA the New York Times reported on the expedition in reference to the Norwegian occupation of the area, only the Hamburg local press took notice of the expedition's return to Germany. On May 25, 1939, the Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung magazine published a small-scale map of the mountains discovered and the flight polygons without authorization by the expedition leader. The map

264-542: The Norwegian Antarctic Expedition of 1958–1959. Until 1942 pioneer geodesist Otto von Gruber produced detailed topographical maps of eastern New Swabia at a scale of 1: 50,000 and an overview map of all explored territories. Among the newly discovered areas were, for example, the Kraul Mountains, named after whaling expert and pilot Otto Kraul. The evaluation of the results in western New Swabia

297-628: The Polar Affairs Department of the Ministry of Justice and the Police . Ice Reich by William Dietrich (Warner Books, October 1998) ISBN   0-446-52339-9 72°S 5°E  /  72°S 5°E  / -72; 5 Schirmacher Oasis The Schirmacher Oasis (or Schirmacher Lake Plateau ) is a 25 km (16 mi) long and up to 3 km (1.9 mi) wide ice-free plateau with more than 100 freshwater lakes. It

330-515: The German Antarctic activities after the wife of the deputy expedition leader Ernst Herrmann had informed Norwegian geologist Adolf Hoel . On January 14, 1939, the Norwegian government declared the entire sector between 20 ° W and 45 ° E Norwegian territory (Queen Maud Land) without defining its southern extent. On February 6, 1939, the expedition embarked on its return voyage, left the coast of Antarctica and carried out oceanographic research in

363-793: The Russian station Novolazarevskaya and about 120 m ASL , the first German research station, the Georg Forster Station , was launched in Antarctica. In 1987, the station, which was run by the GDR , was named after the German naturalist Georg Forster . During its 17 years of existence, more than 100 scientists had worked at the station. In particular, their ozone measurements gained international recognition. The station withdrew service in February 1993, and by 1996

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396-437: The Schirmacher Oasis is a barrier to the northwards-running ice stream . On the northern edge of the oasis are so-called epishelf lakes , bays separated from the ocean which are connected with the ocean underneath the surface of the ice. Thus, tidal effects can be observed in the lakes. The epishelf lakes can contain either mere freshwater or saltwater which is overlaid by freshwater. The Antarctic Ice Sheet , southwards of

429-571: The Schirmacher Oasis, reaches heights of 1,500 m (4,900 ft). The nunataks Skaly Instituta Geologii Arktiki (Skaly IGA) and Basisny-Kit protrude from the ice sheet. Between the offshore ice sheet and the Wegener Ice Sheet Plateau are the Wohlthat Mountains . The highest part of the Schirmacher Oasis is Mount Rebristaya , with a height of 228 m (748 ft). At a depth of 34.5 m (113 ft), Lake Glubokoye

462-464: The antiquated MS Schwabenland ship and aircraft of Deutsche Lufthansa's Atlantic Service , with which a scientific program along the coast was to be carried out and retrieve biologic, meteorologic, oceanographic and geomagnetic studies. By applying modern aerophotogrammetric methods, Aerial surveys of the unknown Antarctic hinterlands were to be carried out with two Dornier Do J II seaplanes , named Boreas and Passat , that had to be launched via

495-508: The country was the second largest purchaser of Norwegian whale oil, importing some 200,000 tons annually. Dependence on imports and the forthcoming war was considered to put too much strain on Germany's foreign currency reserves . Supported by whaling expert Otto Kraul marine explorations were to be undertaken in order to set up a base for a whaling fleet and aerial photo surveys were to be carried out to map territory. With only six months available for preparatory work, Ritscher had to rely on

528-704: The entire station had been dismantled and disposed of. After the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc , parts of the Schirmacher Oasis counted among the heaviest polluted regions in Antarctica. Polar explorers from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven and from the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in Saint Petersburg disposed of 1016 tons of scrap metal and refuse from

561-651: The event in his final printed report. On April 11, 1939, the Schwabenland arrived in Hamburg. As the area was first explored by a German expedition, the name New Swabia and German names given to its geographic features are still used on many maps. Some geographic features mapped by the expedition were not named until the Norwegian-British-Swedish Antarctic Expedition (NBSAE) of 1949–1952, led by John Schjelderup Giæver . Others were only named after they were remapped from aerial photos taken by

594-720: The former GDR polar station and the Russian Novolazarevskaya Station. The site of the former station is marked by a bronze plaque . It has been designated a Historic Site or Monument (HSM 87), following a proposal by Germany to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting . In 1981, India launched the Indian Antarctic Programme . In 1983, the Dakshin Gangotri Station was set up on the shelf ice, about 90 km from

627-407: The insufficient equipment did not allow sled expeditions to the ice shelf or landings of the flying boats in the mountains. All explorations were carried out without a single member of the expedition having entered the inner territory. The region between 10 ° W and 15 ° E was named New Swabia (Neuschwabenland) by the expedition leader. In the meantime, the Norwegian government had found out about

660-469: The oasis. At the beginning of 1939 Germany launched an expedition under the command of captain Alfred Ritscher to explore an uncharted area of the Antarctic . They surveyed an area between latitudes 69°10’ S and 76°30’ S and longitudes 11°30 W and 20°00’ E, totaling 600 000 km² and called it Neuschwabenland, or New Swabia . The area was surveyed by two Dornier hydroplanes, Boreas and Passat . One

693-493: The only popular science book for a wider audience for more than 60 years in 1941. Due to the lack of information during the following decades, myths and conspiracy theories eventually developed around the expedition and Neuschwabenland. Although Germany issued a decree about the establishment of a German Antarctic Sector called New Swabia after the expedition's return in August 1939 no official territorial claims were ever advanced for

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726-523: The positive radiation balance , the Schirmacher Oasis is regionally classified as a "coastal climate zone". The rocky soil at the Oasis allows growth only for a limited amount of undemanding plants like mosses and lichens . Animals are also rare at the Oasis. Exceptions are the Antarctic skua , the Antarctic petrel , the snow petrel , and the Wilson's storm petrel . Occasionally, Adélie penguins can be seen at

759-469: The region between 20 ° West and 20 ° East. In July 1938, Captain Alfred Ritscher received a mandate to launch preparations for an Antarctic expedition and within a few months he managed to bring about logistics, equipment and organizational measures for a topographical and marine survey expedition. Whale oil was then the most important raw material for the production of margarine and soap in Germany and

792-543: The region, abandoned in 1945 and never revoked since. No whaling station or other lasting structure was built by Germany until the Georg von Neumayer Station , a research facility, established in 1981. The current Neumayer Station III is also located in the region. New Swabia is now a cartographic area of Queen Maud Land which is administered by Norway as a dependent territory under the Antarctic Treaty System by

825-571: The station. In winter, on average 30 scientists and technicians work at the Novolazarevskaya Station . Research in natural sciences includes geodesy , glaciology , limnology , geomagnetism , geology , biology , meteorology , seismology , and other areas of expertise. On 20 December 2007 the Russian Bath was built near the station. It is the only glued timber building in Antarctica. On April 21, 1976, approximately two kilometres from

858-533: The vicinity of Bouvet Island and Fernando de Noronha . At the request of the Navy High Command , crew members landed on the Brazilian island of Trindade on March 18 to check whether submarines could be supplied with fresh water and food without being noticed. The landing crew was shipwrecked in a small bay and had to be rescued. Since the landing had taken place in the strictest secrecy, Ritscher did not include

891-643: Was photogrammetrically mapped. Previously unknown ice-free mountain ranges, several small ice-free lakes were discovered in the hinterland. The ice-free Schirmacher Oasis , which now hosts the Maitri and Novolazarevskaya research stations, was spotted from the air by Richard Schirmacher (who named it after himself). At the turning points of the flight polygons, 1.2 m (3.9 ft) long aluminum arrows, with 30 cm (12 in) steel cones and three upper stabilizer wings embossed with swastikas were dropped in order to establish German claims to ownership (which, however,

924-791: Was drawn by the aircraft mechanic Franz Preuschoff and is as such referred to as the "Preuschoff map" . This map was incorporated in the 1939 1: 10,000,000 scale map of Antarctica by Australian cartographer E. P. Bayliss. A reference to the expedition was posted in the Berlin Zoological Garden in front of the Emperor penguin enclosure. The penguins had been caught by Lufthansa flight captain Rudolf Mayr, flight mechanic Franz Preuschoff and zoologist Erich Barkley and arrived in Cuxhaven on April 12, 1939. The expedition geologist Ernst Herrmann, published

957-574: Was interrupted by World War II and a large part of the 11,600 oblique aerial photographs were lost during the war. In addition to the images and maps published by Ritscher, only about 1100 aerial photos survived the war, but these were only rediscovered and evaluated in 1982. The results of the biological, geophysical and meteorological investigations were only published after the war between 1954 and 1958. Captain Ritscher did in fact prepare another expedition with improved, lighter aircraft on skids, which however

990-554: Was never carried out due to the outbreak of the Second World War. As a result of great secrecy and relatively little time for preparation, the enterprise completely escaped any advanced public attention as the MS Schwabenland embarked unnoticed. The first report of the expedition was telegraphed only during the return journey from Cape Town to Helmut Wohlthat, who published a press release on March 6, 1939. As in Great Britain

1023-406: Was never raised). During an additional eight special flights, in which Ritscher also took part, particularly interesting regions were filmed and taken with color photos. The team flew over an area of about 600.000 km (231.661 sq mi). Around 11,600 aerial photographs were taken. Biological investigations were carried out on board the Schwabenland and on the sea ice on the coast. However,

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1056-453: Was of economic nature, in particular the establishment of a whaling station and the acquisition of fishing grounds for a German whaling fleet in order to reduce the Reich's dependence on the import of industrial oils, fats and dietary fats. Preparations took place under strict secrecy as the enterprise was also tasked to make a feasibility assessment for a future occupation of Antarctic territory in

1089-475: Was piloted by Richard Heinrich Schirmacher, who, on 3 February 1939, spotted both the oasis and the lake at its centre. Schirmacher named both after himself. On March 10, 1959, the Soviet Union set up the research station Lazarev on the shelf ice in the region of the Schirmacher Oasis. The station was reinstalled in 1961 into the Oasis and was named Novolazarevskaya . In summer, up to 70 crew members reside at

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