“Desperate Measures: The Shocking Diary Revelation of a Polar Explorer’s Fight for Survival”
An unnamed researcher removed the diary page in 1993 for purported analysis, according to lead study author Kaare Lund Rasmussen, a professor in the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy at the University of Southern Denmark.
The Royal Library of CopenhagenThe final farewell entry Brønlund recorded in his diary while dying in the sheltering cave in November 1907.
“The spot was immediately brought to the National Museum for examination,” said Rasmussen. “There was no commercial or otherwise gain for this person. Nowadays, we do not analyze samples without written authorization, but it was entirely different then.”
As Rasmussen’s study explained, the museum’s Natural Science Unit was hampered by technology of the time and couldn’t identify the chemical makeup of this smudge. Only now, with modern advances like X-ray fluorescence and plasma mass spectrometry have renewed efforts finally succeeded.
What they found were clear signs of calcium, titanium, and zinc — a trio that didn’t match any known rock formations on the expedition’s route. When calcite, rutile, and zincite were identified thereafter, it became clear that rubber was present — likely from a burner that the explorer had carried with him.
The research team also detected organic compounds such as lipids, petroleum, and human fecal matter.
“At this time, Brønlund had starved for weeks, was tired beyond his capacity, and he was freezing,” the study said. “It is likely that his hands were shaking when he used the matches from the depot to pre-heat and turn on the stove in the small cave.”
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