White Island, Antarctica
To the South of Ross Island, at 78 degrees South, lies White Island, the site of our 1981 winter project. White Island is entirely surrounded by the Ross Ice Shelf. We visited White Island again this year, 20 years after spending nearly an entire year there in a small field camp. We land near the site of our old camp:
The Northern end of the island, seen from the air. Along this side of the island a perennial tidal crack allows weddell seals to live here year round. That was what brought us here in 1981.
The few seals that live here, about 30 or 40, are permanent residents: none of the other weddell seal areas in the sound appear to be within their under-ice swimming range.
Using a theodolite, in 1981 we measured the speed of the ice movement around the northern tip of the island, from survey markers place on top of the ridge near our camp. Ross Island with Mt Erebus on the right, and Hut Point peninsula with Observation Hill and McMurdo station on the left can be seen in the image below. The survey markers are still in place after 20 years!
Below are two images from 1981. On the left a similar perspective to the above photo (w. fisheye lens), with the camp in the foreground and Ross Island in the far distance. The image on the right shows a closeup of our 1981 camp as seen from the ridge.
At the very northern tip of White Island, the Ross Ice Shelf is grounded and splits open, forming huge rifts:
These rifts are quite dangerous. At their widest end they span up to 200 meters in width. Here, they are filled with snow, but in late summer large pools of open water form. At the narrow end, the hollow crevasses are snowbridged, and an easy trap for people traveling on foot or in vehicles. In 1981, we inspected one of these crevasses from the inside. Click on the image to climb into this crevasse:
Next: Bratina Island
