Henryk Arctowski is another great explorer and geologist. This geophysicist, geographer, polar explorer and scientist directed and co-organised a Belgian scientific expedition to the Antarctic aboard the Belgica. During the journey, led by Gerlache de Gomery, he conducted research in oceanography, meteorology, glaciology and geology, and prepared a bathymetric map of some areas of the Antarctic seas. He also conducted research in the Spitsbergen and Lofoten archipelagos. He was a professor at the University of Lwów and at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. A mountain in Spitsbergen is named after him, as is a peninsula and the Polish scientific station in the South Shetland Archipelago. Antoni Bolesław Dobrowolski, who established the polar station on Bear Island, was another member of the polar expedition aboard the Belgica. He was one of the first scientists to study the Antarctic, and divided his time between research and teaching. Stanisław Siedlecki was interested in the Arctic, and conducted research in Spitsbergen, where he founded the scientific station belonging to the Polish Academy of Sciences, which is still in operation today. Jan Dylik, a member of the Polish expedition to Spitsbergen, was another Arctic explorer. Professor Dylik was a leading expert on prehistoric geography and geomorphology, and was also the head of the Periglacial Geomorphology Committee of the International Geographical Union.
All these voyages, however, would have been impossible without maps. Eugeniusz Romer, whose importnat work was done in the 1920s, was one of the founders of modern cartography. For many years he was Vice-President of the International Geographical Union. Romer studied the alpine glaciers in Switzerland and in the Sichote Alin Mountains in Asia. He also founded the Atlas cartographic institute and was the author of many atlases of international renown. One of the glaciers in Alaska is named after him.
Polish scientists have contributed quite considerably to fields that are generally considered to have been founded and developed by non-Poles. The individuals presented here are just a few of the great Polish geographers and explorers who have played an important role in the development of the earth sciences.
