South Orkney Islands
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The South Orkney Islands are a group of islands in the Southern Ocean. Prior to 1961, the Islands were claimed by Argentina and the United Kingdom as part of the Falkland Islands Dependency. After the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959, the Islands' sovereignty was frozen, and they are free to use by any signatory of the Treaty for non-military use.
The United Kingdom maintains a claim to the Islands as part of the British Antarctic Territory, while Argentina claims the Islands as part of Argentine Antarctica. Each nation maintains a research station on the Islands.
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[edit] History
The South Orkney Islands were discovered in 1821 by two sealers, Nathaniel Brown Palmer and George Powell. The Islands were originally named Powell's Group, with the main island named Coronation island as it was the year of the coronation of King George IV. In 1823, James Weddell visited the Islands, gave the archipelago its present name (after the Orkney Islands, Scotland) and also renamed some of the islands. Interestingly, the South Orkney Islands are located at roughly the same latitude south as the Orkney Islands are north (60°S vs 59°N), although it is not known if this was a factor behind the naming of the islands.
Subsequently, the Islands were frequently visited by sealers and whalers, but no thorough survey was ever done until the expedition of William Speirs Bruce on the Scotia in 1903, which overwintered at Laurie Island. Bruce surveyed the islands, reverted some of Weddell's name changes, and established a meteorological station, which was turned over to Argentinian meteorologists upon his departure in 1904. This station, renamed Orcadas in 1951, is still in operation today and is thus the oldest research station continuously staffed in the Antarctic.
In 1908, the United Kingdom unilaterally declared sovereignty over all Antarctic territory south of their colony in the Falkland Islands, including the South Orkney Islands. The Islands were then governed as part of the Falkland Islands Dependency. A biological research station on Signy Island in 1947 by the British Antarctic Survey.
In 1959, the Antarctic Treaty was signed, suspending all sovereignty claims on Antarctic territory "south of 60 degrees 00 minutes south", including the South Orkney Islands.
[edit] Geography and climate
The Islands are situated at latitudes about 60°30' to 60°83' S, and longitudes 44°25' to 46°25' W in the Southern Ocean. As a group of islands, the South Orkney Islands are located at approximately .
The archipelago comprises four main islands. Coronation Island is the largest island; its highest point is Mount Nivea and rises to 1266 m above sea level. Laurie Island is the easternmost of the islands. The other islands are the smaller Powell Island and Signy Island as well as a few tiny ones named Saddle Islands. In total, these island have a surface of about 620 km², most of which is covered with ice.
The Inaccessible Islands about 15 nm to the west are also considered part of the South Orkneys.
The climate of the South Orkneys is generally cold, wet, and windy. The average temperatures top at 0°C and fall to about -10°C in winter (i.e., in July). The extrema reach about 12°C and -44°C, respectively.
[edit] Research Stations
The two claimant nations maintain research stations on the Islands.
Argentina Orcadas (since 1904)
United Kingdom Signy Island (since 1947)
