TheSouth Shetland Islands are a group ofAntarctic islands located in theDrake Passage with a total area of 3,687 km2 (1,424 sq mi). They lie about 120 kilometres (65 nautical miles) north of theAntarctic Peninsula,[1] and between 430 and 900 km (230 and 485 nmi) southwest of the nearest point of theSouth Orkney Islands. By theAntarctic Treaty of 1959, the islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories. According to British government language on the topic, "the whole of Antarctica is protected in the interests of peace and science."[2]
Several countries maintain research stations on the islands. Most of them are situated onKing George Island, benefitting from the airfield of the Chilean baseEduardo Frei.
Sixteen research stations are in different parts of the islands, with Chilean stations being the greatest in number.
The islands were discovered by British marinerWilliam Smith, inWilliam, in 1819, although Dutch marinerDirck Gerritsz in 1599 or Spanish AdmiralGabriel de Castilla in 1603 might have sighted the South Shetlands, or North or South American sealers might have visited thearchipelago before Smith. Smith's discovery was well documented and had wider historical implications beyond its geographic significance.[3]
Chilean scientists have claimed thatAmerinds have visited the islands, due to stone artifacts recovered from bottom-sampling operations inAdmiralty Bay,King George Island, and Discovery Bay,Greenwich Island;[4] however, the artifacts – two arrowheads – were later found to have been planted.[5][6] In 1818,Juan Pedro de Aguirre obtained permission from theBuenos Aires authorities to establish a base for sealing on "some of the uninhabited islands near the South Pole".[7]
Captain William Smith in the British merchant brigWilliams, while sailing toValparaíso, Chile, in 1819, deviated from his route south ofCape Horn, and on 19 February 1819 sightedWilliams Point, the northeast extremity ofLivingston Island. Thus, Livingston Island became the first land ever discovered farther than 60° south. Smith revisited the South Shetlands, landed onKing George Island on 16 October 1819, and claimed possession for Britain.
Meanwhile, the Spanish Navy shipSan Telmo sank in September 1819 whilst trying to go through theDrake Passage. Parts of her presumed wreckage were found months later by sealers on the north coast of Livingston Island. The crew ofSan Telmo and the troops onboard, led byBrigadierRosendo Porlier (a total of 644 men), are believed to be the first known humans to land in Antarctica.[8]
From December 1819 to January 1820, the islands were surveyed and mapped by LieutenantEdward Bransfield on board theWilliams, which had been chartered by theRoyal Navy.
On 15 November 1819, the United States agent in Valparaíso, Jeremy Robinson, informed theUnited States Secretary of StateJohn Quincy Adams of Smith's discovery and Bransfield's forthcoming mission, and suggested dispatching aUnited States Navy ship to explore the islands, where "new sources of wealth, power, and happiness would be disclosed and science itself be benefited thereby".
The discovery of the islands attracted British and American sealers. The firstsealing ship to operate in the area was the brigEspirito Santo, chartered by British merchants inBuenos Aires. The ship arrived atRugged Island off Livingston Island, where its British crew landed on Christmas Day 1819, and claimed the islands for King George III. A narrative of the events was published by the brig's master, Joseph Herring, in the July 1820 edition of theImperial Magazine. TheEspirito Santo was followed from theFalkland Islands by the American brigHersilia, commanded by Captain James Sheffield (with second mateNathaniel Palmer), the first US sealer in the South Shetlands.
The first wintering over in Antarctica took place on the South Shetlands, when at the end of the 1820–1821 summer season, 11 British men from the shipLord Melville failed to leave King George Island, and survived the winter to be rescued at the beginning of the next season.
The name "New South Britain" was used briefly, but was soon changed to South Shetland Islands (in reference to theShetland Islands in the north ofScotland). The name South Shetland Islands is now established in international usage. The two island groups lie at similar distances from theEquator; the Scottish Shetland Islands are 60°N, and warmed by theGulf Stream, but the South Shetlands at 62°S are much colder.
Seal hunting andwhaling were conducted on the islands during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The sealing era lasted from 1820 to 1908 during which time 197 vessels are recorded as having visiting the islands.[9] Twelve of those vessels were wrecked. Relics of the sealing era include iron try pots, hut ruins, and inscriptions.
Beginning in 1908, the islands were governed as part of theFalkland Islands Dependency, but they have only been permanently occupied by humans since the establishment of a scientific research station in 1944. The archipelago, together with the nearbyAntarctic Peninsula andSouth Georgia Island, is an increasingly populartourist destination during the southern summer.
The South Shetlands consist of 11 major islands and several minor ones, totalling 3,687 km2 (1,424 sq mi) of land area. Between 80 and 90% of the land area is permanentlyglaciated. The highest point on the island chain isMount Foster on Smith Island at 2,025 m (6,644 ft) above sea level at 2-meter spatial resolution.[10][11]
The South Shetland Islands extend about 500 km (270 nmi) fromSmith Island andLow Island in the west-southwest toElephant Island and Clarence Island in the east-northeast.[12]
Topographic map of Livingston, Greenwich, Robert, Snow and Smith Islands
Quaternary volcanic products of the islands tend to have less potassium and sodium at a given silica range, and lowerNb/Y ratios, than those associated with theLarsen Rift on the Antarctic Peninisula.[13]
The islands are the same distance from the Equator as theFaroe Islands in theNorth Atlantic, but their proximity to Antarctica means that they have a much colder climate. The sea around the islands is closed byice from early April to early December, and the monthly average temperature is below 0 °C (32 °F) for eight months of the year (April to November).
The islands have experienced measurableglacier retreat during recent years, but despite this, they remain more than 80% snow- and ice-covered throughout the summer.
The climate is cloudy and humid all year round, and very strong westerly winds blow at all seasons. Some of the sunniest weather is associated with outbreaks of very cold weather from the south in late winter and spring. Mean summer temperatures are only about 1.5 °C (34.7 °F) and those in winter are about −5 °C (23 °F). The effect of the ocean tends to keep summer temperatures low and prevent winter temperatures from falling as low as they do inland to the south.[14]
The Russian names above are historical, and no longer the official Russian names. (See the "South Shetland Islands" navbar atthe end of the article for a complete list of islands.)
Away with the Penguins byHazel Prior (2020) is set in a penguin research base on thefictional island of "Locket Island", but which the author states is based on the South Shetland Islands.[citation needed]
^Martinez-Bahamonde, Rafael (2019). "El navio San Telmo: Los Primeros en pisar la Antartida. Una reparación histórica".University of the Basque Country – Escuela de Ingeniería de Bilbao (in Spanish).
^R.K. Headland (ed.),Historical Antarctic sealing industry, Scott Polar Research Institute (Cambridge University), 2018, p. 168,ISBN978-0-901021-26-7
^I.M. Howat, C. Porter, B.E. Smith, M.-J. Noh and P. Morin. Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA). Polar Geospatial Center. University of Minnesota, 2022 (Antarctic REMA Exlorer)
Campbell, R. J., ed.,The Discovery of the South Shetland Islands: The Voyage of the Brig Williams 1819–1820 and the Journal of Midshipman C. W. Poynter, the Hakluyt Society, London, 2000.
General Survey of Climatology Vol. 12, Landsberg ed., 1984, Elsevier.
Antarctic Digital Database (ADD) Scale 1:250000 topographic map of Antarctica. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). Since 1993, regularly upgraded and updated.
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