Wednesday, October 11, 1961: Don Juan Pond

During an aerial survey of southern Antarctica, an improbable natural feature is sighted: a small lake. It is named Don Juan Pond after the U.S. Navy helicopter pilots who carried the researchers. With a salinity level of 40% (18 times saltier than seawater), the shallow lake is thought to hold the saltiest water on the planet, and as such does not freeze. The pond is fed by melting glaciers; evaporation increases the salinity.

* Entry from The Encyclopedia of Earth: @

* Entry from www.geographic.org: @

* "Why Astrobiologists Love Don Juan Pond" (from Astrobiology Magazine, 2010): @

* Map: @

* Satellite photos: @ and @

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Friday, June 23, 1961: Antarctic Treaty

"Antarctica shall be used for peaceful purposes only" -- so begins Article 1 of the Antarctic Treaty, which goes into effect after ratification by the 12 countries that were active in Antarctic science during the International Geophysical Year in 1957-58. (The treaty was originally signed on December 1, 1959). It goes on to say, "Freedom of scientific investigation ... shall continue" and "Any nuclear explosions in Antarctica and the disposal there of radioactive waste material shall be prohibited."

* Complete text: @

* Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty: @

* Special Antarctica issue, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, December 1970: @

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Sunday, April 30, 1961: Self-surgery in the Antarctic

Stationed at a Soviet base in Antarctica, Dr. Leonid Rogozov, 27, has to remove his own appendix before it bursts; he was the only doctor at the base. 

* Summary from theatlantic.com: @ 

* "Self Operation" (by Rogozov, published in Soviet Antarctic Expedition Information): @ 

* "Auto-appendectomy in the Antarctic: case report" (from the British Medical Journal): @

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