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Signy Island
Signy Island is a small subantarctic island in the South Orkney Islands of Antarctica. It was named by the Norwegian whaler Petter Sørlle (1884–1933) after his wife, Signy Therese.
The island is about 6.5 km (4.0 mi) long and 5 km (3.1 mi) wide and rises to 288 m (945 ft) above sea level. Much of it is permanently covered with ice. The average temperature range is 0 °C (32 °F) to about −10 °C (14 °F) in winter (i.e. in July). The extremes extend to 12 and −44 °C (53.6 and −47.2 °F). The island is separated from Coronation Island to the north by Normanna Strait, and from Moe Island to the southwest by Fyr Channel.
On Signy Island, the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) maintains the Signy Research Station, a scientific station for research in biology. The base was opened on 18 March 1947, on the site of an earlier whaling station that had existed there in the 1920s. The station was staffed year-round until 1996; since that year it has been occupied only from November to April. It houses 10 people.
A number of locations on the island have been charted and individually named by various Antarctic expeditions. The first survey was conducted in 1912 by Norwegian whaling captain Petter Sørlle. It was subsequently visited and charted by Discovery Investigations (DI) personnel in 1927 and 1933. Finally, in 1947, the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) charted the island. The charts produced by these surveys account for many of the names of the island's features. Others were provided later by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC).
The northernmost point of Signy Island is descriptively named North Point, first charted in 1933 by DI personnel. To the southwest, 0.75 nmi (1.4 km) off the coast, are the ice-free Spindrift Rocks, approximately 15 m (49 ft) high. They were surveyed and named in 1947 by FIDS. The name is descriptive of the spindrift, or sea spray, which forms over these rocks during westerly gales. South of North Point is Williams Haven, a cove with a large sea cave in the cliff on the north side of the cove. UK-APC named the cove after David D. Wynn-Williams, BAS microbiologist. The south entrance of Williams Haven is marked by Richard Point, named for Kenneth J. Richard, BAS technician.
Deschampsia Point is a point on the northwest side of Signy Island, 0.3 nautical miles (0.6 km) northeast of the Spindrift Rocks. It was descriptively named by UK-APC in 1991 after the Antarctic hair grass Deschampsia antarctica, which grows on the slopes near the point.
To the south, Lovegrove Point, named by UK-APC for Ian W. Lovegrove, marks the north entrance of Express Cove, a small cove approximately midway down the west coast of the island. Express Cove has a very indented shoreline with numerous offshore islands and rocks. It was roughly charted in 1933 by DI personnel and named for the American schooner Express, which visited the South Orkney Islands in 1880. Foca Point marks the south side of the entrance to Express Cove. It was named for the whale catcher Foca, belonging to the Compañía Argentina de Pesca. Both were surveyed in 1947 by FIDS and named by UK-APC. Foca Point also marks the north side of Foca Cove, named in association with the point.
The next significant feature is Thulla Point, an ice-free point lying 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) northeast of Jebsen Point. It was charted in 1933 by DI personnel, roughly surveyed in 1947 by FIDS, and named by UK-APC in 1954 for the Norwegian steamship Thulla. Thulla Cove, named in association with the point, is located to the south of it.
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Signy Island
Signy Island is a small subantarctic island in the South Orkney Islands of Antarctica. It was named by the Norwegian whaler Petter Sørlle (1884–1933) after his wife, Signy Therese.
The island is about 6.5 km (4.0 mi) long and 5 km (3.1 mi) wide and rises to 288 m (945 ft) above sea level. Much of it is permanently covered with ice. The average temperature range is 0 °C (32 °F) to about −10 °C (14 °F) in winter (i.e. in July). The extremes extend to 12 and −44 °C (53.6 and −47.2 °F). The island is separated from Coronation Island to the north by Normanna Strait, and from Moe Island to the southwest by Fyr Channel.
On Signy Island, the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) maintains the Signy Research Station, a scientific station for research in biology. The base was opened on 18 March 1947, on the site of an earlier whaling station that had existed there in the 1920s. The station was staffed year-round until 1996; since that year it has been occupied only from November to April. It houses 10 people.
A number of locations on the island have been charted and individually named by various Antarctic expeditions. The first survey was conducted in 1912 by Norwegian whaling captain Petter Sørlle. It was subsequently visited and charted by Discovery Investigations (DI) personnel in 1927 and 1933. Finally, in 1947, the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) charted the island. The charts produced by these surveys account for many of the names of the island's features. Others were provided later by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC).
The northernmost point of Signy Island is descriptively named North Point, first charted in 1933 by DI personnel. To the southwest, 0.75 nmi (1.4 km) off the coast, are the ice-free Spindrift Rocks, approximately 15 m (49 ft) high. They were surveyed and named in 1947 by FIDS. The name is descriptive of the spindrift, or sea spray, which forms over these rocks during westerly gales. South of North Point is Williams Haven, a cove with a large sea cave in the cliff on the north side of the cove. UK-APC named the cove after David D. Wynn-Williams, BAS microbiologist. The south entrance of Williams Haven is marked by Richard Point, named for Kenneth J. Richard, BAS technician.
Deschampsia Point is a point on the northwest side of Signy Island, 0.3 nautical miles (0.6 km) northeast of the Spindrift Rocks. It was descriptively named by UK-APC in 1991 after the Antarctic hair grass Deschampsia antarctica, which grows on the slopes near the point.
To the south, Lovegrove Point, named by UK-APC for Ian W. Lovegrove, marks the north entrance of Express Cove, a small cove approximately midway down the west coast of the island. Express Cove has a very indented shoreline with numerous offshore islands and rocks. It was roughly charted in 1933 by DI personnel and named for the American schooner Express, which visited the South Orkney Islands in 1880. Foca Point marks the south side of the entrance to Express Cove. It was named for the whale catcher Foca, belonging to the Compañía Argentina de Pesca. Both were surveyed in 1947 by FIDS and named by UK-APC. Foca Point also marks the north side of Foca Cove, named in association with the point.
The next significant feature is Thulla Point, an ice-free point lying 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) northeast of Jebsen Point. It was charted in 1933 by DI personnel, roughly surveyed in 1947 by FIDS, and named by UK-APC in 1954 for the Norwegian steamship Thulla. Thulla Cove, named in association with the point, is located to the south of it.