Global Maritime Geopolitics

Antarctica is called the frozen continent and has been reserved for peace and science since the Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1959 in Washington, D.C. Antarctic research has fundamental societal importance and requirements to have a consultative status cannot be achieved without a substantial scientific and operational presence in Antarctica. The future of this fragile continent depends on international cooperation through the Antarctic Treaty, which Turkey signed in 1995, although it had not performed any scientific study on this continent for more than 20 years.3 In fact, an expedition appeal and agenda have been established in 1991 in Turkey. Historically, the world map drawn in 1513 by Piri Reis, a great Turkish admiral and the founder of Ottoman Cartography, did not include Antarctica but mapped its adjacent areas, including the Falkland / Malvines Islands.4 Some Turkish scientists participated in Antarctica expeditions of foreign countries since the 1960’s, such as the U.S.A. and Germany, but their main scope was not biodiveristy. Turkey started its own expeditions in 2016 and has been continuing ever since.