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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince Edward Islands | 2/4 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Edward_Islands | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T13:18:39.411145+00:00 | kb-cron |
On 4 January 1948 Marion Island and neighbouring Prince Edward Island were officially annexed into South Africa. A group of 14 sailors stayed on the island until 16 days later a permanent occupying force was left there, soon building a meteorological station. The 1948 research station on Marion Island was soon enlarged and today studies regional meteorology and the biology of the islands, in particular the birds (penguins, petrels, albatrosses, gulls) and seals. A new research base was built from 2001 to 2011 to replace older buildings on the site. The access to the station is either by boat or helicopter. A helipad and storage hangar is located behind the main base structure. In April 2017, scientists from McGill University, in collaboration with the South African National Antarctic Programme, launched a new astrophysical experiment on Marion Island called Probing Radio Intensity at high-Z from Marion (PRIZM), searching for signatures of the hydrogen line in the early universe. In 2018, another cosmology experiment was launched by the McGill team called Array of Long Baseline Antennas for Taking Radio Observation from Sub-Antarctic (ALBATROS). The new experiment aims to create very high-resolution maps of the low-frequency radio emission from the universe, and take first steps towards detecting the cosmological Dark Ages. In April 2024, the South African National Antarctic Programme station on Marion Island was depicted in an ad for KFC South Africa directed by Kim Geldenhuys, called "Beyond the Sea", which depicted two South Africans trying to get back to the mainland for fried chicken.
== Geography and geology == The island group is about 955 nmi (1,769 km; 1,099 mi) south-east of Port Elizabeth in mainland South Africa. At 46 degrees latitude, it is just over halfway between the equator and the South Pole. Marion Island (46°54′45″S 37°44′37″E), the larger of the two, is 25.03 km (15.55 mi) long and 16.65 km (10.35 mi) wide with an area of 297 km2 (115 sq mi) and a coastline of some 72 km (45 mi), most of which is high cliffs. The highest point on Marion Island is Mascarin Peak (formerly State President Swart Peak), reaching 1,242 m (4,075 ft) above sea level. The topography of Marion Island includes many hillocks and small lakes, and boggy lowland terrain with little vegetation. Prince Edward Island (46°38′39″S 37°56′36″E) is much smaller—only 46 km2 (18 sq mi), 10.23 km (6.36 mi) long and 6.57 km (4.08 mi) wide—and lies some 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi) to the north-east of Marion Island. The terrain is generally rocky, with high cliffs (490 m (1,608 ft)) on its south western side. At the van Zinderen Bakker Peak north-west of the center, it reaches a height of 672 m (2,205 ft). There are a few offshore rocks along the northern coast of Prince Edward Island, like Ship Rock 100 m (328 ft) north of northernmost point, and Ross Rocks 500 m (1,640 ft) from the shore. Boot Rock is about 500 m (1,640 ft) off the northern coast of Marion Island. Both islands are of volcanic origin. Marion Island is one of the peaks of a large underwater shield volcano that rises some 5,000 m (16,404 ft) from the sea floor to the top of Mascarin Peak. The volcano is active, with eruptions having occurred between 1980 and 2004. While Prince Edward Island may have erupted within the last 10 thousand years.
=== Climate === Despite being located inside the south temperate zone at 46 degrees latitude, the islands have a tundra climate. They lie directly in the path of eastward-moving depressions all year round and this gives them an unusually cool and windy climate. Strong regional winds, known as the roaring forties, blow almost every day of the year, and the prevailing wind direction is north-westerly. Annual rainfall averages from 2,400 mm (94.5 in) up to over 3,000 mm (118.1 in) on Mascarin Peak. In spite of its very chilly climate it is located closer to the equator than mild northern hemisphere climates such as Paris and Seattle and only one degree farther south than fellow southern hemisphere climates such as Comodoro Rivadavia in Argentina and Alexandra in New Zealand. Many climates on lower latitudes in the Northern hemisphere have far colder winters than Prince Edward Islands due to the islands' maritime moderation, even though temperatures in summer are much cooler than those normally found in maritime climates. The islands are among the cloudiest places in the world; about 1300 hours a year of sunshine occur on the sheltered eastern side of Marion Island, but only around 800 hours occur away from the coast on the wet western sides of Marion and Prince Edward Islands. Summer and winter have fairly similar climates with cold winds and threat of snow or frost at any time of the year. However, the mean temperature in February (midsummer) is 7.7 °C (45.9 °F) and in August (midwinter) it is 3.9 °C (39.0 °F).
== Flora and fauna ==
The islands are part of the Southern Indian Ocean Islands tundra ecoregion that includes a small number of subantarctic islands. Because of the paucity of land masses in the Southern Ocean, the islands host a wide variety of species and are critical to conservation. In the cold subantarctic climate, plants are mainly limited to grasses, mosses, and kelp, while lichens are the most visible fungi. The main indigenous animals are insects (such as the seaweed-eating weevil Palirhoeus eatoni) along with large populations of seabirds, seals and penguins.
=== Birds ===