Ross Island

Larsson, P., C. Jarnmark, and A. Sodergren. 1992. PCBs and chlorinated pesticides in the atmosphere and aquatic organisms of Ross Island, Antarctica. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 25 9-12. 

Sun S.-S. and Hanson G. N. (1975) Origin of Ross Island basanitoids and limitations upon the heterogeneity of mantle sources for alkali basalts and nephelinites. Contrib. Mineral Petrol 52, 77-106. 

To investigate the distribution of PCBs, p,p -DDT, p,p -DDE and lindane in the aquatic food web, zooplankton and fish were sampled at Home Beach and South Bay at Ross Island (76). Capillary GC with EC detection was employed. An inverse correlation of these pollutants with fat content was ascertained. 

Air samples were taken at Ross Island, Cape Evans, and processed by filtering through polyurethane foam plugs connected in series (76). After extraction with an acetone-hexane mixture, determinations of 24 PCB congeners, p,p -DDT, p,p -DDE and lindane were accomplished by capillary GC with EC detection. Geochemical means (in pg m ) were 15.2, 2.0, 1.0 and 25.8 for the above compounds in the given order. Lindane concentrations were found to correlate well with seasonal variations (higher levels in summer and autumn), whereas the other chlorinated hydrocarbons showed no dependence on seasons. 

PiRRiE, D. (1987) Oriented calcareous concretions from James Ross Island, Antarctica. Bull. Br. Antarctic Surv., 75, 41-50. 

Antarctic Studies. Possibly some of the most constant temperatures of ice-ocean waters exist in the Ross Sea of Antarctica, particularly on the western end of Ross Island along the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf in McMurdo Sound. The U.S. National Science Foundation has operated a biological research laboratory at McMurdo Base (a U.S. Navy installation) for nearly two decades, and nearby is the smaller New Zealand installation, Scott Base (12). The Antarctic program of the authors laboratories began in 1964 under the auspices of the U.S. National Science Foundation at McMurdo Base on Ross Island (12). Research programs varying from two to five months in duration were conducted in each of seven different years in that vicinity. 

De Mora SJ, Patterson JE, Bibby DM (1993) Baseline atmospheric mercury studies at Ross Island, Antarctica. Antar Sci 5 323-326. 

Shaw, G. E. (1986) On physical properties of aerosols at Ross Island, Antarctica, J. Aerosol Sci. 17, 937-945. 

Fig. 1.5 Captain James C. Ross of the Royal Navy of Great Britain together with Captain F.M. R. Crazier was one of the most successful early Antarctic explorers between 1839 and 1843. The two British Navy Captains discovered the Ross Ice Shelf and sailed along it to the coast of Victoria Land. They also discovered Ross Island and named its two principal volcanoes after their two ships Erebus and Terror (Photo by the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, used here with permission)...

On January 24, 1841, these explorers also discovered an island at 78°S and 168°E located off the coast of Victoria Land. The latitude of this island exceeded the most southern position reached by James Weddell, which Ross and Crozier celebrated by issuing double rations of rum to their crews. Ross named the two volcanoes on the island after his ships Erebus and Terror and the island itself is known to us as Ross Island. Captain Crozier s name identifies a prominent peninsula on Ross Island where the famous rookery of Emperor Penguins is located. 

The ship was equipped with two steam engines and carried 335 t of coal. The expedition left England in August of 1901 and reached Lyttelton Harbor on the South Island of New Zealand at the end of November of the same year. After restocking the ship with provisions, the expedition headed south to Cape Adare and followed the coast of Victoria Land to Ross Island. From there, Scott sailed east along the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf to the coast of West Antarctica which he named King Edward VII Land. 

Fig. 1.9(a) Robert Falcon Scott (1868-1912) led two expeditions to Antarctica in 1901-1904 and 1910-1913. Although he reached the geographic South Pole in 1912, he and his men perished on the return trip to his base on Ross Island (Photo by the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, used here with permission) (b) Ernest Henry Shackleton (1874-1922) also led two expeditions to Antarctica in 1907-1909... 

Fig. 1.13 Shaddeton s hut at Cape Royds on Ross Island accommodated the 15-man team of the British (Nimrod) Expedition diming the winter of 1908 (May to September). The group departed on March 25,1909, withaU hands onboard. The interiorof Shackleton s hut remains as its occupants left it with canned goods stacked neatly...

A third party consisting of Raymond Priestley, Bertram Army tage, and Sir Philip Brocklehurst explored the Ferrar Glacier and the ice-free valleys of southern Victoria Land west of Ross Island. Both parties were picked up by the Nimrod and, after Shackleton and his men had returned from their trek, the Nimrod headed north and landed safely in Lyttelton Harbor on the South Island of New Zealand. Ernest Shackleton was knighted by the King of England for his achievements in Antarctica, but his career of geographic exploration did not end there. 

The Terra Nova reached Ross Island without incident and unloaded a disassembled wooden hut and the supplies of the expedition at Cape Evans where Scott had decided to set up his base camp. By mid-January ofl911,thehutinEig.l.l4had been erected and aU of the supplies had been stowed. 

Fig. 1.14 Scott s hut at Cape Evans on Ross Island from which he started his trek to the South Pole during the British (Terra Nova) Expedition of 1910-1913. Cape Evans in Figure 1.11 is located only 24 km from McMurdo Station compared to 35 km for Cape Royds. Scott s hut at Cape Evans was later occupied by...

Meanwhile, another drama was unfolding on Ross Island during the summer of 1915 because a solid sheet of ice prevented the Aurora from landing at Cape Royds and forced Captain Mackintosh to land at Cape Evans instead. Before all of the supplies had been unloaded, the Aurora drifted away and was trapped in the pack ice for a period of 10 months. EventnaUy, Lieutenant J.R. Stenhouse managed to free the ship and returned it to New Zealand. 

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