Eklund Islands (Eklund Islands)
The Eklund Islands (-73.26667°N, -71.83333°W) are a group of islands which rise through the ice near the southwest end of George VI Sound towards the south of the Antarctic Peninsula.
The largest island, 5 nmi in extent and rising to 410 m, was discovered in December 1940 by Finn Ronne and Carl R. Eklund of the United States Antarctic Service during their 1,097 mi sledge journey south from Stonington Island to the southwest part of George VI Sound and return. At that time this large island, named by Ronne for Eklund, the ornithologist and assistant biologist of the expedition, was the only land protruding above an area of hummocky ice. V. E. Fuchs and R. J. Adie of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey sledged to the southwest part of George VI Sound in 1949, at which time, because of a recession of the ice in the sound, they were able to determine that the island discovered by Ronne and Eklund is the largest of a group of mainly ice-covered islands. On the basis of the original discovery, the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names recommends that the name Eklund be applied to the island group rather than the single island discovered by Ronne and Eklund.
The largest island, 5 nmi in extent and rising to 410 m, was discovered in December 1940 by Finn Ronne and Carl R. Eklund of the United States Antarctic Service during their 1,097 mi sledge journey south from Stonington Island to the southwest part of George VI Sound and return. At that time this large island, named by Ronne for Eklund, the ornithologist and assistant biologist of the expedition, was the only land protruding above an area of hummocky ice. V. E. Fuchs and R. J. Adie of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey sledged to the southwest part of George VI Sound in 1949, at which time, because of a recession of the ice in the sound, they were able to determine that the island discovered by Ronne and Eklund is the largest of a group of mainly ice-covered islands. On the basis of the original discovery, the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names recommends that the name Eklund be applied to the island group rather than the single island discovered by Ronne and Eklund.
Map - Eklund Islands (Eklund Islands)
Map
Country - Antarctica
Antarctica is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest continent, being about 40% larger than Europe, and has an area of 14200000 km2. Most of Antarctica is covered by the Antarctic ice sheet, with an average thickness of 1.9 km.
Antarctica is, on average, the coldest, driest, and windiest of the continents, and it has the highest average elevation. It is mainly a polar desert, with annual precipitation of over 200 mm along the coast and far less inland. About 70% of the world's freshwater reserves are frozen in Antarctica, which, if melted, would raise global sea levels by almost 60 m. Antarctica holds the record for the lowest measured temperature on Earth, −89.2 C. The coastal regions can reach temperatures over 10 C in summer. Native species of animals include mites, nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades. Where vegetation occurs, it is mostly in the form of lichen or moss.
Antarctica is, on average, the coldest, driest, and windiest of the continents, and it has the highest average elevation. It is mainly a polar desert, with annual precipitation of over 200 mm along the coast and far less inland. About 70% of the world's freshwater reserves are frozen in Antarctica, which, if melted, would raise global sea levels by almost 60 m. Antarctica holds the record for the lowest measured temperature on Earth, −89.2 C. The coastal regions can reach temperatures over 10 C in summer. Native species of animals include mites, nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades. Where vegetation occurs, it is mostly in the form of lichen or moss.