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A Ice-free island at Antarctica (Read inside why...)

13.1.2020, Paulet Island

 

Paulet is a small 2.5 x 3.5 km island located east of the tip of Antarctica's Graham Land Peninsula. The pear-shaped 353-m-high island, is composed of lava flows capped by a well-preserved cinder cone. The cone, located at the southern end of the island, contains a small circular summit crater. The youthful morphology of the volcano and residual volcanic heat that keeps the island largely ice free throughout the year suggest activity during the last 1000 years.

 

TOPOGRAPHY

This circular island is 1.6 km in diameter. It has a distinct volcanic cone that rises to a height of 350 metres. A flat terrace forms an apron around the north and northeast side of the island. At high tide, sections of the terrace are largely submerged, severely restricting visitor space.

FAUNA

Confirmed breeders: Adélie penguin, Blue-eyed shag, Kelp gull, Snowy sheathbill.

Hauled out: Antarctic fur seal, Weddell seal.

Offshore: Leopard seal.

Suspected Breeders: Skua, Snow petrel, Wilson's storm petrel.

FLORA

Moss and Lichen

 

OTHER

Stone hut on Paulet Island built in February 1903 by survivors of the wrecked vessel Antarctic under Captain Carl A. Larsen, members of the Swedish South Polar Expedition led by Otto Nordenskjöld. A grave of a member of the expedition and the rock cairn built by the survivors of the wreck at the highest point of the island to draw the attention of rescue expeditions

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Uploaded on June 14, 2020
Taken on January 13, 2020