A GIS-based glacier inventory for the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands —A first case study on King George Island

Weaned pups and post-moult female elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) were fitted with satellite transmitters at King George Island (South Shetland Islands) between December 1996 and February 1997. Of the nine adult females tracked for more than two months, three stayed in a localized area between the South Shetland Islands and the South Orkney Islands. The other six females travelled south-west along the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula up to the Bellingshausen Sea. Two of them then moved north-east and hauled out on South Georgia in October. One female was last located north of the South Shetland Islands in March 1998. In total, eight females were again sighted on King George Island and six of the transmitters removed. The tracks of the weaners contrasted with those of the adults. In January, five juveniles left King George Island for the Pacific sector spending about four weeks in the open sea west of the De Gerlache Seamounts. Three of them returned to the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula in June, of which one was last located on the Patagonian Shelf in November 1997. The juveniles avoided sea ice while the adults did not. The latter displayed behavioural differences in using the pack ice habitat during winter. Some females adjusted their movement patterns to the pulsating sea ice fringe in distant foraging areas while others ranged in closed pack ice of up to 100%. The feeding grounds of adult female elephant seals are more closely associated with the pack ice zone than previously assumed. The significance of the midwater fish Pleuragramma antarcticum as a potential food resource is discussed.

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Variations in ice rafted detritus on beaches in the South Shetland Islands: a possible climate proxy

Antarctic Science ◽

10.1017/s0954102004002147 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 16 (3) ◽

pp. 339-344 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

BRENDA L. HALL ◽

ETHAN R. PERRY

Keyword(s):

Antarctic Peninsula ◽

Ocean Circulation ◽

Late Holocene ◽

Warming Trend ◽

South Shetland Islands ◽

The South ◽

Shetland Islands ◽

Livingston Island ◽

The Antarctic ◽

Glacial Advance

Raised beach ridges on Livingston Island of the South Shetland Islands display variations in both quantity and source of ice rafted detritus (IRD) received over time. Whereas the modern beach exhibits little IRD, all of which is of local origin, the next highest beach (∼250 14C yr BP) has large amounts, some of which comes from as far away as the Antarctic Peninsula. Significant quantities of IRD also were deposited ∼1750 14C yr BP. Both time periods coincide with generally cooler regional conditions and, at least in the case of the ∼250 yr old beach, local glacial advance. We suggest that the increases in ice rafting may reflect periods of greater glacial activity, altered ocean circulation, and/or greater iceberg preservation during the late Holocene. Limited IRD and lack of far-travelled erratics on the modern beach are both consistent with the ongoing warming trend in the Antarctic Peninsula region.

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The Bellingshausen-Palmer meeting

Polar Record ◽

10.1017/s0032247414000783 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 51 (6) ◽

pp. 644-654 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Rip Bulkeley

Keyword(s):

Antarctic Peninsula ◽

South Shetland Islands ◽

The South ◽

Shetland Islands ◽

Contentious Issue ◽

Balanced Assessment ◽

Absolute Certainty ◽

South Shetlands ◽

The Antarctic

ABSTRACTThe celebrated meeting between Captain Bellingshausen of the Imperial Russian Navy and the American sealing skipper Nathaniel Brown Palmer, off the South Shetland Islands in February 1821, has often been described by following just one or other of the two men's divergent and in some respects irreconcilable accounts. The most contentious issue is whether or not Palmer told Bellingshausen about the existence of a body of land to the south of the South Shetlands, known today as the Antarctic Peninsula. This note attempts to reach a balanced assessment of the matter by examining evidence from both sides, including several previously unconsidered items. It concludes that, although the truth will never be known with absolute certainty, the basic American account is more plausible, by the narrowest of narrow margins, than the Russian.

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Upper Oligocene to Lowermost Miocene Strata of King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica: Stratigraphy, Facies Analysis, and Implications for the Glacial History of the Antarctic Peninsula

Journal of Sedimentary Research ◽

10.1306/110601720510 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 72 (4) ◽

pp. 510-523 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

A. L. Troedson ◽

J. B. Riding

Keyword(s):

Antarctic Peninsula ◽

Facies Analysis ◽

South Shetland Islands ◽

King George Island ◽

Glacial History ◽

Shetland Islands ◽

Upper Oligocene ◽

History Of ◽

The Antarctic

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Identification and characterization of yeasts isolated from the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula

Polar Biology ◽

10.1007/s00300-016-1988-9 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 40 (3) ◽

pp. 649-658 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Evelin Troncoso ◽

Salvador Barahona ◽

Mario Carrasco ◽

Pablo Villarreal ◽

Jennifer Alcaíno ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Antarctic Peninsula ◽

South Shetland Islands ◽

The South ◽

Shetland Islands ◽

The Antarctic ◽

Identification And Characterization

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Two additions to the moss flora of the South Shetland Islands in the maritime Antarctic

Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae ◽

10.5586/asbp.3598 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 87 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Mariusz Wierzgoń ◽

Tomasz Suchan ◽

Michał Ronikier

Keyword(s):

South Shetland Islands ◽

King George Island ◽

Maritime Antarctic ◽

The South ◽

Shetland Islands ◽

Bay Area ◽

Leading Position ◽

Glacial Cover ◽

The Antarctic ◽

First Time

Tortella fragilis (Drumm.) Limpr. (Pottiaceae) and Bryum nivale Müll. Hal. (Bryaceae) are recorded for the first time from the South Shetland Islands in the northern maritime Antarctic. They were discovered in the Admiralty Bay area on King George Island, the largest island of this archipelago. The two species are briefly characterized morphologically, their habitats are described, and their distribution in the Antarctic is mapped. Discovery of these species has increased the documented moss flora of King George Island to 67 species, strengthening it in the leading position among individual areas with the richest diversity of moss flora in Antarctica. Likewise, T. fragilis and B. nivale represent remarkable additions to the moss flora of the South Shetland Islands, which currently consists of 92 species and one variety, making this archipelago by far the richest bryofloristically amongst large geographic regions of the Antarctic. Comparison of recent (2018) and old (1985) photographs revealed a significant retreat of glacial cover and suggests that the collection site was likely opened for colonization only within the last several decades. The record of T. fragilis is biogeographically relevant, and constitutes an intermediate site between the species’ occurrences in the Antarctic Peninsula and southern South America. The present record of B. nivale is the fourth discovery of the species worldwide, which may be helpful for the future designation of the distribution of this extremely rare species.

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First documented record of barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) in the Antarctic

Polish Polar Research ◽

10.2478/v10183-011-0021-9 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 32 (4) ◽

pp. 355-360 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Małgorzata Korczak-Abshire ◽

Alexander Lees ◽

Agata Jojczyk

Keyword(s):

Passerine Bird ◽

Hirundo Rustica ◽

South Shetland Islands ◽

King George Island ◽

The South ◽

Barn Swallow ◽

Shetland Islands ◽

Antarctic Convergence ◽

The World ◽

The Antarctic

First documented record of barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) in the Antarctic Here we report a photo-documented record of a barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) from the South Shetland Islands. We also review previous records of passerine vagrants in the Antarctic (south of the Antarctic Convergence Zone). This barn swallow is the first recorded member of the Hirundinidae family on King George Island and is only the second passerine recorded in the South Shetland Islands. This sighting, along with previous records of austral negrito and austral trush represent the southernmost sightings of any passerine bird anywhere in the world.

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Natural iron enrichment around the Antarctic Peninsula in the Southern Ocean

Biogeosciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/bgd-6-7481-2009 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 7481-7515 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

M. V. Ardelan ◽

O. Holm-Hansen ◽

C. D. Hewes ◽

C. S. Reiss ◽

N. S. Silva ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Antarctic Peninsula ◽

Weddell Sea ◽

South Shetland Islands ◽

The South ◽

Total Acid ◽

Shetland Islands ◽

Iron Enrichment ◽

Bransfield Strait ◽

Natural Iron ◽

The Antarctic

Abstract. As part of the US-AMLR program that occupied 99 hydrographic stations in the South Shetland Islands-Antarctic Peninsula region in January–February of 2006, concentrations of dissolved iron (DFe) and total acid-leachable iron (TaLFe) were measured in the upper 150 m at 16 stations (both coastal and pelagic waters). The concentrations in the upper mixed layer (UML) of DFe and TaLFe were relatively high in Weddell Sea Shelf Waters (~0.6 nM and 15 nM, respectively) and lowest in Drake Passage waters (~0.2 nM and 0.9 nM, respectively). In the Bransfield Strait, representing a mixture of waters from the Weddell Sea and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), concentrations of DFe were ~0.4 nM and of TaLFe ~1.7 nM. The highest concentrations of DFe and TaLFe in the UML were found at shallow coastal stations close to Livingston Island (~1.6 nM and 100 nM, respectively). The ratio of TaLFe:DFe varied with the distance to land: ~45 at the shallow coastal stations, ~15 in the high-salinity waters of Bransfield Strait, and ~4 in ACC waters. Concentrations of DFe increased slightly with depth in the water column, while that of TaLFe did not show any consistent trend with depth. Our data are consistent with the hypothesis that the relatively high rates of primary production known from the central regions of the Scotia Sea are partially sustained by natural iron enrichment resulting from a northeasterly flow of iron-rich coastal waters originating in the South Shetland Islands-Antarctic Peninsula region.

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Massalongia olechiana (Massalongiaceae, Peltigerales), a new lichen species from the Antarctic

Polish Polar Research ◽

10.2478/v10183-011-0011-y ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 32 (2) ◽

pp. 117-121 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Vagn Alstrup ◽

Ulrik Søchting

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Antarctic Peninsula ◽

Lichen Species ◽

The Other ◽

The Arctic ◽

South Shetland Islands ◽

The South ◽

Shetland Islands ◽

The Antarctic ◽

A New Species

Massalongia olechiana (Massalongiaceae, Peltigerales), a new lichen species from the Antarctic A new species of lichenized ascomycete, Massalongia olechiana Alstrup et Søchting, sp. nov. (Massalongiaceae) is described from the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. The species is distinguished by laminal isidia and 5-7-septate ascospores. The relationships with the other species of the genus are discussed. From Massalongia carnosa, recorded from both the Arctic and the Antarctic, the new species is distinguished by its lack of isidioid squamules and in having pluriseptate ascospores instead of 1-septate ascospores.

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