Antarctic Maritime Islands

          These islands are subject to maritime influence of the Southern Ocean and are surrounded by pack ice in winter. Mean monthly temperatures rise above freezing point for only short periods in Summer. 

South Shetland Islands
South Orkney Islands
South Sandwich Islands
Bouvet Island

          The South Shetland group is the largest archipelago in the Antarctic with a area of 4'660 km². The rocky islands are mainly covered with glaciers and ice. No human live there, except some scientists from several countries. The British explorer William Smith first put a feet on the island in 1819, and took possession for the British Empire. Then mainly sealers and whalers visited the island. In 1962 declared the Queen the Island group as a part of the British Antarctic Territory.

          The climate is cold with much rainfall, snow and frost may also occur throughout the year. The average annual temperature is about -3°C, typical of maritime Antarctic. In winter, sea ice surrounds most of the islands, while pack ice and icebergs are frequent in summer.

          The vegetation is similar to Antarctica, dominated by mosses and lichens. 17 species of birds are found in the South Shetlands. Chinstrap Penguins occur in huge colonies, but also AdÈlie, gentoo, macaroni penguins and petrels. Now there is again a large number of fur and elephant seals, but during the nineteenth century they were hunted to near extinction.

          The islands group is not inhabited, except in science stations. The two main mountainous islands are called Laurie and Coronation, but there are some more small rocky islands. South Orkney Islands have an area of 620 km². The British explorer George Powell and the American voyager Nathaniel Palmer discovered the Islands in 1821. 1962 they were part of the British Antarctic Territory, but Argentinean takes also possession.

          The climate is similar to other maritime Antarctic Islands and also the vegetation. South Orkney Islands are protected sites, specially Lynch Island, which supports one of the most dense and extensive areas of Antarctic hairgrass (Deschampsia antarctica).

          This group consist of several small islands with a total area of 300km². The islands are of volcanic origin and there are still some active volcanoes. The weather is variable, with mostly westerly winds throughout the year, interspersed with periods of calm. Nearly all precipitation falls as snow. The land is largely covered by permanent ice and snow with some spare vegetation consisting of grass, moss and lichens. The only natural resources are in the sea, but the islands are uninhabited.

          This single island has a area of 58km² and a total coastline of 29km. The terrain is of volcanic origin and rises to a maximum elevation of about 800m. The island is uninhabited, because the coast is mostly inaccessible and there are no economic activities. No other buildings than a automatic meteorological station is on this island. Most of the land is covered with snow and glacial ice. Now it is declared as a nature reserve where mainly birds and some seals can live.

Introduction

SubAntarctic islands