Antarctica is essentially the most inhospitable continent on earth. It’s dry, chilly, and fully darkish for months of the yr. Edwardian explorers had been among the first to courageous the Antarctic winter, creating new data nonetheless drawn upon by scientists right now.
The Discovery expedition (1901–4) performed a key position within the historical past of polar exploration. It was led by the Royal Navy commander Robert Falcon Scott, a pioneering polar explorer who died in 1912 after trying to succeed in the south pole. The expedition’s third lieutenant was Ernest Shackleton, who led three additional journeys to the continent.
Each males would develop into family names, and it was the Discovery expedition that launched their careers. Collectively, they set a report in December 1902, coming nearer to the south pole than anybody had earlier than.
The journey additionally formed how each males thought of well being, notably learn how to stop and deal with scurvy. My analysis examined how the expedition’s officers, medics and organisers sought to maintain the explorers wholesome in Antarctica, notably throughout the polar winter. Due to this work, no one on the expedition died from poor well being (although two males had been killed in accidents).
Weight-reduction plan
Meals was a matter of life or dying for polar explorers. Issues with tinned meals are broadly believed to have contributed to the demise of the Franklin expedition, which went lacking within the Arctic within the late 1840s.
Issues about meals had been additionally pushed by the concept that badly preserved meat brought on scurvy (although we now understand it’s attributable to a scarcity of dietary vitamin C).
Like well being consultants right now, Edwardian explorers had been involved about each the number of meals and its high quality. “Give the boys good wholesome meals and I assure you’ll have no illnesses,” Norwegian Arctic explorer Fridtjof Nansen suggested the Discovery expedition’s medic earlier than departure.
The expedition’s organisers examined meals samples to analyse their dietary content material. All tinned meals had been additionally inspected earlier than the expedition to examine for indicators of decay. Regardless of these precautions, the explorers discovered that a lot of their tinned meals was rotten by the point they reached Antarctica. This was because of the poor high quality of the canned meals they’d been equipped.
To stop the boys consuming contaminated meals, the expedition’s medics checked each tin earlier than consumption. However, as a result of their tinned meals didn’t comprise a lot vitamin C, the expedition nonetheless suffered an assault of scurvy. This assault solely ended as soon as they started consuming extra recent seal meat.
Scott and Shackleton now noticed recent meals as one of the best ways to forestall and deal with scurvy, although neither understood why. We now know that it’s as a result of flippantly cooked meats comprise vitamin C.
The explorers got here to view processed meals as extra harmful than recent meals. Such discussions appear remarkably like current debates concerning the well being dangers of ultra-processed meals. The explorers put emphasis on at all times gaining access to recent meat.
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Air
The explorers additionally frightened concerning the high quality of air on the ship.
Scientists now perceive air air pollution has damaging well being results. However within the Edwardian period, poor air high quality was understood in another way.
Dangerous air was seen a menace due to older medical theories that argued poor well being was attributable to “miasmas” – rotting gasses produced by decomposing matter. Chilly, draughts and damp had been additionally thought-about harmful.
Specifically-built air flow methods had been put in within the ship. The system employed two stoves to ventilate the explorers’ dwelling quarters with heat air. However as soon as in Antarctica, the system proved unreliable and used numerous gasoline. Their ship was additionally much less hermetic than anticipated, that means it was ventilated without having to make use of the specifically constructed methods.
However not everybody agreed on the significance of air flow. Scott commented that “the query of recent air and air flow was one which afforded us a continuing subject of argument.” Even the expeditions’ two medics had totally different views.
One thought it was extra necessary to maintain dwelling quarters ventilated by opening the home windows each morning. The opposite argued it was higher to maintain heat, even when the air wasn’t as recent.
They by no means resolved this disagreement, however did attain a compromise about how usually home windows ought to be opened.
Train
There was extra settlement between the explorers was on the significance of train. Even within the 1900s, train was seen as an necessary strategy to keep wholesome, capable of counter the perceived damaging results of contemporary, city dwelling.
Within the Antarctic summer season, the explorers spent most of their time sledging. This was backbreaking work, pushing the explorers to their bodily limits.
However in winter, the explorers can be on or close to their ship. To remain wholesome they went on day by day walks. Because the expedition’s second in command commented, “There is no such thing as a doubt that one felt higher after a pointy stroll over the ice.” Such strolls had been psychologically necessary, offering temporary alternatives for privateness and reflection. Scott famous: “All through a lot of the winter a lot of the officers have most well-liked to take their day by day stroll alone.”
The explorers additionally performed workforce sports activities, akin to soccer and hockey and went tobogganing. The expedition’s junior medic claimed that the “air and train” had been the important thing to sleeping effectively and sustaining an urge for food throughout the polar winter.
On an Antarctic expedition, staying bodily and mentally wholesome was a query of survival, so it’s no surprise explorers spent a lot time fascinated about such particulars.
Lots of the well being measures employed on Scott and Shackleton’s first expedition are just like these used right now. Meals, air high quality and train are nonetheless understood as necessary to good well being. However in comparison with these Edwardian polar explorers, we now have a a lot better understanding of why.
