Antarctic Sound
| Antarctic Sound | |
|---|---|
 Sea ice on Antarctic Sound | |
  Antarctic Sound | |
| Coordinates | 63°20′S 056°45′W / 63.333°S 56.750°W |
| Max. length | 30 miles (50 km) |
| Max. width | 12 miles (19 km) |
The Antarctic Sound is a body of water about 30 nautical miles (56 km; 35 mi) long and from 7 to 12 nautical miles (13 to 22 km; 8 to 14 mi) wide, separating the
Geography
The Antarctic Sound is the stretch of water that separates
History
The Antarctic Sound was first navigated by the vessel Antarctic belonging to the Swedish Antarctic Expedition of 1902, captained by Otto Nordenskjöld. Frequently clogged by pack ice, particularly tabular icebergs broken from the Larsen Ice Shelf, it is deceptive and difficult to traverse, and in the year after its first navigation, the same vessel was trapped and crushed by the ice, the ship's crew spending the winter at Hope Bay.[5][1] Another vessel trying to navigate the sound en route for Snow Hill Island in 1920, failed to get through and could not even reach Hope Bay, and "Operation Tabarin" in 1944 was beset by similar problems.[1] Hope Bay was at one time the site of a British base, and there is now a permanently staffed Argentinian research station there called Esperanza Base.[6]
Fauna
Hope Bay has been recognised as an Important Bird Area. Birds that breed here include the gentoo penguin, brown skua, Antarctic tern, Wilson's storm petrel, kelp gull and snowy sheathbill. It also houses one of the largest breeding colonies of Adélie penguin in Antarctica.[7] At Trepassey Bay, gentoo and Adélie penguins also breed, as well as Cape petrels, snow petrels, skuas and kelp gulls. Weddell seals often haul out on the beach and leopard seals hunt offshore.[8]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-57607-422-0.
- ^ "Antarctic Sound". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- ISBN 0-540-05831-9.
- ^ "Cube Rock (historical)". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
- ISBN 978-0-08-087089-2.
- ISBN 978-1-57607-422-0.
- ^ "Hope Bay". Birdlife International. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
- ^ "Brown Bluff: Antarctic Treaty Visitor Guidelines" (PDF). Retrieved 11 February 2016.
This article incorporates public domain material from "Antarctic Sound". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
