Falkland Islands Dependencies Research Articles

Summer Heat and Ice Balances on Hodges Glacier, South Georgia, Falkland Islands Dependencies

AbstractThe heat and ice balances of a temperate sub-Antarctic cirque glacier were measured through the 1973–74 melt season at an altitude midway between the climatic firn limit and the snout. The melt calculated from mean daily measurements at a single level of net radiation, wind-speed, temperature, and humidity agreed with that observed at nearby budget stakes. In the central ablation zone, radiation provided (54 ± 6)% and sensible fluxes (46 ± 6)% of the heat income through the summer, which was exceptionally warm and sunny. Latent-heat fluxes made no significant contribution to the heat balance. The calculation by Smith (1960) that the radiative, sensible, and latent heat fluxes contribute about equally to ablation in this zone has not been substantiated by measurement. The measured partition of the glacier’s heat balance suggested that maritime influences on its regime are mitigated by its position in the lee of a major mountain range.

British biological research in the Antarctic

A tradition of biological research in the Antarctic was established by Cook 200 years ago. This tradition has been built on by other British expeditions, notably the ‘Discovery’ Investigations. The British Antarctic Survey, which arose from Operation Tabarin and the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, now carries out a programme of coordinated and continuous biological research. The Atlantic sector of the Antarctic, in which the Survey operates, is of key importance biologically. The Antarctic provides a striking biological contrast between a species-poor and very barren terrestrial ecosystem and the species-rich and productive ocean which surrounds it. Severe climatic conditions and great isolation (a contrast to the Arctic) characterize the Antarctic environment. Work at the Survey's biological research stations is designed to study the distribution and interactions of organisms and communities, how they have adapted to Antarctic conditions, and which by their abundance may be deemed successful. Research is done into terrestrial, fresh-water and marine systems. Additionally, there is a major research programme into the biologv, environment and principal predators of krill, Euphausia superba. The Antarctic is a laboratory where opportunities exist for natural experiments to test theories and elucidate basic biological problems.

The management of sledge dogs in the Antarctic

The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has relied on sledge dogs as the main form of transport for field parties since its predecessor, the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS), imported them in 1945, when it created a permanent presence on the continent. Over the years dogs have been used for extensive work over a very wide area. In 1975 BAS changed its policy with respect to work in the southern Antarctic Peninsula. In future seasons scientists will not winter in this area but will be flown to Adelaide Island and then into the field. They will carry out more detailed scientific work in particular areas of interest. This means that it is no longer practical to maintain huskies on base as they could not be kept fit and well disciplined during the winter for a short summer season. The scientists, similarly, could not be expected to learn to work the dogs efficiently in the time available, and the change in the nature of their work means that they will not move camp so frequently. The dogs, since they must be fed even if they are resting, would be uneconomic in such a situation. Finally, most of the work will be in areas that are thought to be safe so the dogs will not be needed to probe for crevasses. In future seasons BAS will rely on skidoos for field work (Figs 1 and 2).

Rhopalosiphum padi . [Distribution map

Abstract A new distribution map is provided for Rhopalosiphum padi (L.) ( R. prunifoliae (Fitch), R. fitchii auct.) (Hemipt., Aphididae) (Oat-Bird Cherry Aphis, Apple-Grain Aphis). Host Plants: Wheat, rice, other cereals, Manila hemp, apple, cherry. Information is given on the geographical distribution in EUROPE (excl. USSR), Albania, Austria, Azores, Belgium, Britain, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Faeroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Yugoslavia, ASIA (excl. USSR), China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Peninsular Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Ryukyu Islands, Syria, Taiwan, Turkey, Vietnam, USSR, AFRICA, Cameroon, Crozet Islands, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madeira, Morocco, Rhodesia, St. Helena, South Africa, AUSTRALASIA AND PACIFIC ISLANDS, Australia, Hawaii, Macquarie Island, New Zealand, NORTH AMERICA, Canada, U.S.A., SOUTH AMERICA, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Falkland Islands Dependencies, Peru.

Fungi from South Georgia

The following fungi have been received at Kew among collections by members of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey. The macrofungi were consciously collected and were accompanied by a few field notes, though without spore prints; the microfungi were secured incidentally, on leaves or culms of phanerogamic collections. For assistance in naming these I am indebted to Dr. E. Miuller and K. A. Pirozynski.

Antarctic Ecosystems The freshwater lakes of Signy Island and their fauna

Prior to 1962 work on freshwater within the British Sector of the Antarctic had been confined to the collection of specimens and their subsequent taxonomic evaluation. Collections were made by such expeditions as the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition 1902- 04, the various Discover y Investigations in this region 1925-37, the British Graham Land Expedition 1934-37 and the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey 1945-62. During the 1961/1962 summer season an ecological investigation of the freshwater lakes of Signy Island, South Orkney Islands, was started. This paper is an interim report on that work.

Medical research by the British Antarctic Survey

There is a long record of medical research and observation in the Antarctic, almost as long as the record of exploration. The early expeditions usually had a medical officer who described the medical hazards of the Antarctic. In this article, an account will be given of the research undertaken by medical officers of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) and, subsequently, of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). A more detailed report will be found in the chapter entitled “Man and the environment” in Antarctic research (Priestley et al. eds, 1964).

STAPHYLOCOCCI IN NOSES AND STREPTOCOCCI IN THROATS OF ISOLATED AND SEMI-ISOLATED ANTARCTIC COMMUNITIES.

The Antarctic provides unusually simplified conditions for the study of the persistence and exchange of micro-organisms of the upper respiratory tract. The work reported here was done while the author was in the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey and the United States Antarctic Research Program.Staph, aureus and Staph, albus persisted in the noses, and a-haemolytic streptococci in the throats of men throughout long periods of isolation and semi-isolation in Antarctica.On the whole, men kept their own strains (phage types) of Staph, aureus despite living in very close contact with each other.Persistent carriers of Staph, aureus (90% or more positive swabs per individual) continued to carry this organism for as long as 2 years in Antarctica. Data from men at Wilkes and Hallett IGY Stations indicated that there was a decrease in the intermittent and occasional carrier rates, resulting in a much lower total carrier rate after 12 months Antarctic isolation.Evidence is presented to suggest that β-haemolytic streptococci had disappeared from throats after 12 months of isolation. It is thought that the absence of upper respiratory infections in these communities is due to absence of the bacterial or viral agents.There is an urgent need for further work on the carriage of micro-organisms in the present unique epidemiological conditions of the Antarctic, and for better laboratory facilities there.

Mapping the Falkland Islands Dependencies and British Antarctic Territory, 1956–64

IntroductionIn May 1956, an article in this Journal described the mapping of the Falkland Islands Dependencies up to that date (Leay, 1956). In March 1962, that part of the Dependencies lying south of 60° S was re-named British Antarctic Territory. This is an account of the maps of both the Dependencies and the Territory that have been published by the Directorate of Overseas Surveys* since 1956 and of the methods that have been used in their production.

The Halley Bay Expedition of the Royal Society

The Royal Society International Geophysical Year Antarctic Expedition Halley Bay, Coats Land, Falkland Islands Dependencies, 1955–1959. General Editor: Sir David Brunt. Vol. 1: Introductions, Aurora and Airglow, Geomagnetism. Pp. xv + 405 + 12 plates. 140s.; 23 dollars.

Stations and refuge huts in the Falkland Islands Dependencies (excluding South Georgia)

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Auroral Observations at Halley Bay, Antarctica, during 1959

IN accordance with the recommendations of the Special Committee on Antarctic Research the programme of auroral observation conducted during the International Geophysical Year at Halley Bay, Antarctica, was continued into 1959. The Halley Bay Base, established by the Royal Society International Geophysical Year Expedition and now administered by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, is situated in geomagnetic latitude 66° S., and both visual and all-sky camera records are now available for the four years 1956–59. A detailed analysis of the results of the first three years observations has appeared elsewhere1, and it is interesting to compare these results with those obtained during 1959.

Geophysical survey in the Falkland Islands Dependencies, 1959–60

Geophysical survey in the Falkland Islands Dependencies, 1959–60

An Uncinia from South Georgia

The purpose of this note is to record the addition of a species of Uncinia to the South Georgia flora, which comprises only fifteen known phanerogams. The sedge was collected by Mr. Jeremy Smith, who was a member of the 1957-1958 Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey and is described below and named in his honour, he having been killed in a climbing accident in 1959This very surprising new species is entirely confined to the Cumberland Bay area, occurring quite frequently in the Festuca moorland, which is dominated by Festuca erecta Urville, growing in normal well-drained sites between the elevations of 3 m. at Hamberg Glacier and 330 m. on Osmic Hill.

Glaciological Observations in Trinity Peninsula, Graham Land, Antarctica

AbstractThis paper is a summary of the more important results of glaciological investigations carried out in Trinity Peninsula, Graham Land during 1958–60, and which will be published at length in Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey Scientific Report No. 42. The budgets for Depot Glacier and the ice piedmont between Hope Bay and Trepassey Bay are given and it is concluded that in a normal year they are in a state of near equilibrium. The state of the glaciers of southern Trinity Peninsula is discussed in a consideration of the importance of rime ice formation on the west coast of the peninsula. Movement and accumulation studies in Trinity Peninsula and the islands of the James Ross Island group demonstrate a decrease in glacierization south-eastwards from the central plateau area. The recent glacial history of the area is also briefly reviewed.

Glaciological Observations in Trinity Peninsula, Graham Land, Antarctica

Abstract This paper is a summary of the more important results of glaciological investigations carried out in Trinity Peninsula, Graham Land during 1958–60, and which will be published at length in Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey Scientific Report No. 42. The budgets for Depot Glacier and the ice piedmont between Hope Bay and Trepassey Bay are given and it is concluded that in a normal year they are in a state of near equilibrium. The state of the glaciers of southern Trinity Peninsula is discussed in a consideration of the importance of rime ice formation on the west coast of the peninsula. Movement and accumulation studies in Trinity Peninsula and the islands of the James Ross Island group demonstrate a decrease in glacierization south-eastwards from the central plateau area. The recent glacial history of the area is also briefly reviewed.

A Hydrographic Survey Unit in British Antarctica

One of THE more outstanding features of Antarctic exploration and Antarctic science since the war, a feature which by nature of its outin prog ess has often been overlooked, has been the expansion and consolidation of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey. There is little need, however, for me to dwell on the achievements of this organization tonight; others have already outlined to you in detail the many and various contributions of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey towards man's knowledge of Antarctica. With the steady expansion of the Dependencies Survey, from its initial three stations in 1945 to eleven in 1958, new problems have arisen. First and foremost, perhaps, has been the logistic necessity to establish, and keep supplied on a regular routine, each station in the Dependencies. With rapid expansion in little-known territory, this has not always been easy; the ships attached to the Dependencies Survey as part of their regular relief programme have had to move for much of their time in little surveyed, and often completely uncharted, waters. As in all unfrequented areas, the history of hydrographic survey in Graham Land extends over many years; although large stretches of coastline were known to the early whalers in the latter part of the nineteenth century, it was not until Dr. Charcot's two expeditions of 1903 and 1908 * that maps and charts of the west coast began to take a definite form. The voyages of R.R.S. Discovery in 19292 greatly added to these early surveys, and the British Graham Land Expedition 3 of 1934-7 contributed more precise detail to much of the coast.

Glacier Problems in South Georgia

Abstract This paper is a synopsis of Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey Scientific Report No. 29. Glaciological and climatic investigations carried out in South Georgia during the International Geophysical Year are described. The budgets of the Hodges and Hamberg Glaciers for 1957–58 are given and discussed in relation to climatic factors. Temperature measurements indicate that the Hodges Glacier, and probably all ice in South Georgia below an altitude of 1,000 m., is geophysically temperate. The fluctuations of South Georgian glaciers during relatively recent times are briefly discussed.

Glacier Problems in South Georgia

AbstractThis paper is a synopsis of Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey Scientific Report No. 29. Glaciological and climatic investigations carried out in South Georgia during the International Geophysical Year are described. The budgets of the Hodges and Hamberg Glaciers for 1957–58 are given and discussed in relation to climatic factors. Temperature measurements indicate that the Hodges Glacier, and probably all ice in South Georgia below an altitude of 1,000 m., is geophysically temperate. The fluctuations of South Georgian glaciers during relatively recent times are briefly discussed.

The Operation of a survey motor boat in Antarctic waters, 1956–58

During the Antarctic summer seasons of 1956–57 and 1957–58, a British Royal Naval Hydrographic Survey Unit operated off the coast of west Graham Land. Working sometimes from stations of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, and sometimes from camp sites, an area of coastline from Port Lockroy southwards to Ferin Head was systematically examined, triangulated and charted.The mobility of this small unit depended on one all-important factor, the constant availability of a specially converted 29 ft. motor boat, which acted as both transport and home.