Odbert Island is a rocky island, long, between
Ardery Island and
Robinson Ridge in the
Windmill Islands
The Windmill Islands are an Antarctic group of rocky islands and rocks about wide, paralleling the coast of Wilkes Land for immediately north of Vanderford Glacier along the east side of Vincennes Bay. Kirkby Shoal is a small shoal area w ...
of
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
.
History
The island was first mapped from air photos taken in the course of the
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
's
Operations Highjump and
Windmill
A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery.
Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...
in 1947 and 1948. It was named by the United States
Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names
The Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (ACAN or US-ACAN) is an advisory committee of the United States Board on Geographic Names responsible for recommending commemorative names for features in Antarctica.
History
The committee was established ...
(US-ACAN) for Lieutenant Jack A. Odbert, assistant aerological officer with Operation Windmill which established astronomical control stations in the area in January 1948.
Haunn Bluff is a steep rock bluff which surmounts the eastern part of the south shore of the island. It was named by the US-ACAN for Marvin G. Haunn, meteorologist and member of the
Wilkes Station
Wilkes Station was an Antarctic research station established 29 January 1957 by the United States as one of seven U.S. stations established for the International Geophysical Year (IGY) program in Antarctica. It was taken over by Australia on ...
party of 1962.
Swan Point is the westernmost point of the island. It was named by the US-ACAN for Aerographer's Mate John R. Swan, a member of the Wilkes Station party of 1958.
Antarctic Specially Protected Area
Odbert Island, along with nearby
Ardery Island, is protected under the
Antarctic Treaty System
The Antarctic Treaty and related agreements, collectively known as the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS), regulate international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earth's only continent without a native human population. It was the first arms ...
as
Antarctic Specially Protected Area
An Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) is an area on the continent of Antarctica, or on nearby islands, which is protected by scientists and several different international bodies. The protected areas were established in 1961 under the Antarc ...
(ASPA) No.103 because they support several breeding species of
petrel
Petrels are tube-nosed seabirds in the phylogenetic order Procellariiformes.
Description
Petrels are a monophyletic group of marine seabirds, sharing a characteristic of a nostril arrangement that results in the name "tubenoses". Petrels enco ...
and provide examples of their habitat, notably that of
Antarctic petrel
The Antarctic petrel (''Thalassoica antarctica'') is a boldly marked dark brown and white petrel, found in Antarctica, most commonly in the Ross and Weddell Seas. They eat Antarctic krill, fish, and small squid. They feed while swimming but can ...
s and
southern fulmar
The southern fulmar (''Fulmarus glacialoides'') is a seabird of the Southern Hemisphere. Along with the northern fulmar, ''F. glacialis'', it belongs to the fulmar genus ''Fulmarus'' in the family Procellariidae, the true petrels. It is also kn ...
s. Odbert also has
breeding colonies of
Adélie penguin
The Adélie penguin (''Pygoscelis adeliae'') is a species of penguin common along the entire coast of the Antarctic continent, which is the only place where it is found. It is the most widespread penguin species, and, along with the emperor peng ...
s.
The site has also been identified as an
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
by
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...
on the basis of the numbers of seabirds present.
[ ]
See also
*
List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands
This is a list of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands.
* Antarctic islands are, in the strict sense, the islands around mainland Antarctica, situated on the Antarctic Plate, and south of the Antarctic Convergence. According to the terms of the A ...
References
Important Bird Areas of Antarctica
Seabird colonies
Penguin colonies
Windmill Islands
Antarctic Specially Protected Areas
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