On Thursday, June 5th, a special lecture was heldin the general education course "Defense Literacy", with Mr. Takashi Hirakawa from the Defense Strategy Education and Research Department of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Officer College as the guest lecturer.
The lecture theme was "Antarctica and the Icebreaker Shirase." As part of Japan's Antarctic observation program, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force operates the icebreaker Shirase, transports people and goods, supports field and ocean observation, and supports base construction. With the experience of having participated in five Antarctic observation missions, Mr. Hirakawa gave a wide-ranging lecture, introducing not only the transportation support work in the special environment of Antarctica, but also the relationship between Antarctica and the global environment and the biological ecology of the Southern Ocean.
Mr. Hirakawa explained that in Antarctica, diamond dust is formed when water vapor in the air turns directly into ice crystals, and it is believed to accumulate and compress to form ice, which then flows into the ocean and becomes icebergs over time, taking approximately 20,000 years. On the day of the event, ice that was collected from an iceberg in the Antarctic by the icebreaker "Shirase" last year and brought back to Earth was exhibited in the classroom, and during the lecture, students were able to touch the ice, experience its coldness, and hear the crackling sound of the air from approximately 20,000 years ago.
Students who took the course commented, "It was interesting to get a concrete introduction to the type of work the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force does in Antarctic observation," and "I learned a lot, learning about the natural environment of Antarctica and the history of Japanese observation."
In addition, "Defense Literacy" involves learning about leadership through defense studies, including disaster relief activities and international contribution activities.
[Center for Fundamental Education]
