Peter I Island

Peter I Island

Native name: Peter I Øy
Geography
Location	Bellingshausen Sea, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica
Area	243 km2 (93.8 sq mi)
Highest elevation	1,755 m (5,758 ft)
Highest point	Lars Christensen Peak
Country
Norway
Demographics
Population	none
Density	0 /km2 (0 /sq mi)
Ethnic groups	none

Peter I Island (Norwegian: Peter I Øy) is an uninhabited volcanic island in the Bellingshausen Sea, 450 kilometers (280 mi) from Antarctica. It is a dependent territory of Norway, and along with Queen Maud Land constitutes the Norwegian Antarctic Territory. Peter I Island is 11 by 19 kilometers (6.8 by 12 mi) long and 156 square kilometers (60 sq mi). The tallest peak is the Ultra and 1,640-meter (5,380 ft) tall Lars Christensen Peak. Nearly all of the island is covered by a glacier and it is surrounded most of the year by pack ice, making it inaccessible almost all year round. There is little life on the island, although there are some marine birds, such as southern fulmars, and seals.

The island was first sighted by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen on 21 January 1821 and was named for Peter I of Russia. Not until 2 February 1929 did anyone set foot on the island, when Nils Larsen and Ola Olstad's Norvegia expedition, financed by Lars Christensen, was successful. They claimed it for Norway, who annexed it in 1931 and made it a dependency in 1933. The next landing occurred in 1948 and the island has been subject to some scientific research and a limited amount of tourism. The island became subject to the Antarctic Treaty in 1961. Since 1987, there has been an automated meteorological station on the island. Three DX-peditions have visited the island and there are sporadic landings by tourists.

History

The first sighting of Peter I Island was made on 21 January 1821 by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen's expedition,^[1] who commanded the ships Vostok and Mirnyy under Russian flag. He named the island for Czar Peter I "the Great" of Russia. Pack ice made it impossible for Bellinghausen to come nearer than 25 kilometers (16 mi) from the island. It was the first land to have been spotted south of the Antarctic Circle, and was thus also the southernmost spotted land at the time of its discovery.^[2] In January 1910, the French expedition led by Jean Charcot and his ship Pourquoi-Pas confirmed Bellingshausen's discovery, but they also did not land, being stopped 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) from the island by pack-ice.^[2]

In 1926 and 1927, Norwegian Eyvind Tofte circumnavigated and surveyed the island from Odd I. However, he was also hindered from landing.^[2] The Norwegian whale-ship-owner Lars Christensen financed several expeditions to the Antarctic, in part for research and in part to claim land for Norway. The latter was motivated by the British taxation of whale stations in the Antarctic, and Christensen hoped to be able to establish whaling stations on Norwegian territory to gain better privileges and so at least the taxes went to his home country.^[3] The first expedition to land on the island was the Christensen-financed second Norvegia expedition, led by Nils Larsen and Ola Olstad's. They landed on 2 February 1929 and claimed the island for Norway. Larsen attempted to land again in 1931, but was hindered by pack ice.^[2] On 6 March 1931, a Norwegian royal proclamation declared the island under Norwegian sovereignty^[3] and on 23 March 1933 the island was declared a dependency.^[2][4]

The next landing occurred on 10 February 1948 by Larsen's ship Brategg. Biological, geological and hydrographic surveys underwent for three days, before the pack ice forced the expedition to leave. The expedition built a hut and placed a copy of the document of occupation from 1929 in it. Since, there have been a few landing on the island by various nations for scientific investigations.^[2] On 23 June 1961, Peter I Island became subject to the Antarctic Treaty, after Norway's signing of the treaty in 1959.^[5][6] Since the 1980s, a limited number of tourist ships have successfully landed tourists on the island.^[1]

In 1987, the Norwegian Polar Institute sent five scientists to spend eleven days on the island. The main issues were aerial photography and topographical measurements to allow an accurate map to be produced of the island. The second important area was marine biological investigations, although also geological, biological and other surveys were conducted. The team also built an automatic weather station.^[7] Three DX-peditions have been sent to the island, in 1987, 1994 and 2006.^[8][9][10] As of 2005, it is estimated that less than 600 people have set foot on the Peter I Island.^[1]

Geography

Peter I Island

Peter I Island is a volcanic island located 450 kilometers (280 mi) off the coast of Ellsworth Land of Continental Antarctica. It is 9 by 11 kilometers (5.6 by 6.8 mi) and has an area of 156 square kilometers (60 sq mi). The island is almost entirely covered by glacier,^[11] with about 95% of the surface covered by ice.^[12]

Surrounding the island is a 40-meter (130 ft) tall ice front and vertical cliffs.^[13] The long stretches of ice caps are supplemented with rock outcrops.^[12] Landing is only possible at three points, and that is only possible the short period of the year the island is not covered by pack ice.^[13] These landings take place on the west side at Kapp Ingrid Christensen, a peninsula which divides the bays Norvegiabukta and Sandefjordbukta. On the cape are some narrow strips of beach, which are suitable for landing.^[12] The beach in Norvegiabukta is just 4 metres (13 ft) wide and is entered via the natural arch Tsarsporten.^[1] On the west side is a plateau, while the north and south coasts feature ice shelves. The eastern side is the steepest and feature two rock columns with flat tops in the sea.^[14]

The island is a shield volcano, although it is not known if it is still active, and it has been categorized as either Holocene or historic, based on date samples ranging from 0.1 to 0.35 million years ago. The summit, Lars Christensen Peak, is a 100-meter (330 ft) wide circular crater.^[15] An Ultra prominent peak at 1,640 meters (5,380 ft) elevation, it is named for Lars Christensen. It is not known whether this volcano is extinct or not, because the upper part is apparently unmodified by glaciation—indicating an eruption several centuries ago.^[16]

Nature and climate

The vegetation exclusively consists of moss and lichen, which have adapted to the extreme Antarctic climate.^[13] The island has a very harsh climate with strong winds and freezing temperatures. The steady snowfall helps keep vegetation to a minimum.^[14] The islands is breeding ground for a few aquatic birds, particularly southern fulmar,^[13] but also Wilson's storm-petrel and Arctic tern can be found nesting. Penguins, such as Adelie penguin and chinstrap penguin, visit the island infrequently.^[14] There are numerous seals, particularly Crabeater Seal, Leopard Seal^[13] and smaller numbers of southern elephant seal.^[14]

Politics

Peter I Island is one of Norway's two territorial claims of Antarctica, the other being Queen Maud Land.^[11] Peter I Island is the only claim within 90° west and 150° west and is also the only claim which is not a sector.^[17] Being south of 60° south, the island is subject to the Antarctic Treaty.^[12] The treaty insures free access to the island for any scientific investigations, and states that it can only be used for peaceful purposes. While the treaty states that the claims are not affected by the treaty, only the other countries with claims recognize Norwegian sovereignty of the island.^[18]

Norwegian administration of the island is handled by the Polar Affairs Department of the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police, located in Oslo.^[19] The annexation of the island is regulated by the Dependency Act of 24 March 1933. It establishes that Norwegian criminal law, private law and procedural law applies to the island, in addition to other laws that explicitly state they are valid on the island. It further establishes that all land belongs to the state and that nuclear explosions cannot take place and nuclear waste cannot be stored on the island.^[4]

Since 5 May 1995, Norwegian law has required all Norwegian activity in Antarctica, including Peter I Island, to follow international environmental law for Antarctica. All Norwegian citizens who plan activities on Peter I Island must therefore report to the Norwegian Polar Institute, who may deny any non-conforming activity. All people visiting the island must follow regarding protection of nature, treatment of waste, pollution and insurance for search and rescue operations.^[20]

See also

• List of volcanoes in Antarctica
• Sub-antarctic islands
• List of islands of Norway

References

Bibliography

• Barr, Susan (1987). Norway's Polar Territories. Oslo: Aschehoug. ISBN 82-03-15689-4. 
• Kyvik, Helga (ed.) (2008). Norge i Antarktis. Oslo: Schibsted Forlag. ISBN 82-516-2589-0. 
• LeMasurier, W. E.; Thomson, J. W. (eds.) (1990). Volcanoes of the Antarctic Plate and Southern Oceans. American Geophysical Union. ISBN 0-87590-172-7. 
• Rubin, Jeff (2005). Antarctica. Lonely Planet. ISBN 1-74059-094-5. 

Antarctic territorial claims Current Adélie Land  British Antarctic Territory  Argentine Antarctica Chilean Antarctica Australian Antarctic Territory Ross Dependency Queen Maud Land Peter I Island Proposed Brazilian Antarctica Former New Swabia

Integral overseas areas and dependencies of Norway Integral territories Svalbard · Jan Mayen Dependent territories Bouvet Island · Peter I Island · Queen Maud Land