Marie Byrd Land is a vast territory that, due to its immense size and location in the most inhospitable continent on the planet, has managed to remain in a curious political limbo: it has not been claimed by any sovereign nation.

With an area of 1,610,000 square kilometers (similar in size to Mongolia or Iran), this space in West Antarctica is the largest unclaimed territory in the world. It lies south of the Pacific Ocean and east of the Ross Ice Shelf and the Ross Sea, extending to the Transantarctic Mountains, which separate East and West Antarctica.

Its name refers to Marie Byrd, wife of Richard E. Byrd, the U.S. naval officer who extensively explored Antarctica in the early decades of the 20th century. In 1902, Robert Falcon Scott, aboard the Discovery, sighted the distant western coast of the territory, but it was in 1929 when Dean Smith, pilot of Byrd’s first Antarctic expedition, made the first aerial surveys of the region.

Map of Antarctica with territorial claims. Marie Byrd Land is the only unclaimed territory.
Map of Antarctica with territorial claims. Marie Byrd Land is the only unclaimed territory. Credit: CIA / Public domain / Library of Congress

This expedition marked a milestone in Antarctic exploration, discovering the Rockefeller Mountains and the Ford Ranges, located in the heart of the territory that Byrd named in honor of his wife.

Byrd returned with a new expedition between 1933 and 1935, venturing into the Fosdick Mountains with a sled team led by Paul Siple and Franklin Alton Wade. Aerial explorations also allowed the identification of new lands, expanding knowledge towards the Ruppert Coast and beyond.

In 1939, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt instructed members of the United States Antarctic Service Expedition to take steps to claim part of Antarctica, including Marie Byrd Land.

One of the aircraft of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition in 1929.
One of the aircraft of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition in 1929.Credit: Byrd Antarctic Expedition / Public domain / Wikimedia Commons

Although U.S. activities in the region laid the foundation for a possible claim, this was never formalized due to the 1959 Antarctic Treaty. This treaty, signed by more than 50 countries, froze all territorial claims on the continent and established Antarctica as a natural reserve dedicated to scientific research.

Interestingly, in the decades following the treaty, some U.S. maps showed Marie Byrd Land as a territory belonging to the United States, a distant echo of Byrd’s expeditions and earlier attempts at claiming it. However, its status as no man’s land persists, making it a geopolitical rarity in a world where every inch of land seems to be under some nation’s control.

In 1957, the United States established Byrd Station at coordinates 80°S, 120°W, which remained in use until 1972 (and was the inspiration for John Carpenter’s famous 1982 film “The Thing“). Since then, it has become a temporary summer camp for the United States Antarctic Program. Other temporary bases have been established over the years in the territory, including the Russian Ruskaya base on the Ruppert Coast, which is also used as a summer station.

A view of Byrd Base in 2010
A view of Byrd Base in 2010. Credit: Eli Duke / Wikimedia Commons

Marie Byrd Land is not just an endless white desert covered by the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS); underneath it lies a vast volcanic province that has been active for millions of years.

Recent research has discovered the presence of a mantle plume, a column of hot rock rising from deep within the Earth that could be fueling the 23 volcanoes documented so far in the area. This plume is not only responsible for volcanic activity but could also be contributing to ice melt in certain areas.

It also contains several glaciers, including the Thwaites Glacier, located on the eastern coast, which has been the subject of intense study in recent decades due to its rapid retreat. Known as the “Doomsday Glacier” by some scientists, Thwaites could destabilize a significant portion of the WAIS, leading to a catastrophic global sea level rise. A University of Washington study found that the glacier is contributing 4% of global sea level rise.

Mount Murphy in Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica
Mount Murphy in Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica.Credit: NASA / Kathryn Hansen / Public domain / Wikimedia Commons

Since the Antarctic Treaty prohibits territorial claims by countries, in 2001 Travis McHenry claimed Marie Byrd Land for himself, establishing the Grand Duchy of Westarctica. In 2008, the Grand Duchy of Flandrensis also laid claim to it, but both micronations saw their attempts frustrated.


This article was first published on our Spanish Edition on September 27, 2024: La Tierra de Marie Byrd, el mayor territorio no reclamado de la Tierra

SOURCES

Roland Huntford, Scott And Amundsen: The Last Place on Earth

South Pole, Richard E. Byrd / Byrd Antarctic Expedition

The International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration, Thwaites Glacier

LeMasurier, W. Shield volcanoes of Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctic rift: oceanic island similarities, continental signature, and tectonic controls. Bull Volcanol 75, 726 (2013). doi.org/10.1007/s00445-013-0726-1

Wikipedia, Tierra de Marie Byrd


  • Share on:

Discover more from LBV Magazine English Edition

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.