Rostand Island is a rocky
island
An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...
400 m long and 200 m south-east of
Petrel Island in the
Géologie Archipelago
The Géologie Archipelago, also known as the Pointe Géologie Archipelago, Geology Archipelago or Cape Geology Archipelago, is a small archipelago of rocky islands and rocks close to the north of Cape Géodésie and Astrolabe Glacier Tongue, ext ...
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. ...
. It was charted in 1951 by the
French Antarctic Expedition and named by them for
Jean Rostand, noted French biologist.
It is the site of the rock dome
Tour de Pise.
Antarctic Specially Protected Area
A site cluster in the heart of the Géologie Archipelago, south and east, and in the immediate vicinity, of
Petrel Island and
Dumont d'Urville Station
The Dumont d'Urville Station () is a French scientific station in Antarctica on Île des Pétrels, Géologie Archipelago, archipelago of Pointe-Géologie in Adélie Land. It is named after exploration, explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville, whose expe ...
, comprises Rostand,
Le Mauguen,
Claude Bernard and
Lamarck Islands,
Bon Docteur Nunatak
Bon Docteur Nunatak, also known as Good Doctor Nunatak, is a small coastal nunatak, high, standing at the west side of the Astrolabe Glacier Tongue, south of Rostand Island in the Géologie Archipelago of Antarctica. It was photographed from t ...
, and a breeding site of
emperor penguin
The emperor penguin (''Aptenodytes forsteri'') is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is Endemism in birds, endemic to Antarctica. The male and female are similar in plumage and size, reaching in length and weighing fr ...
s on the intervening
sea ice
Sea ice arises as seawater freezes. Because ice is less density, dense than water, it floats on the ocean's surface (as does fresh water ice). Sea ice covers about 7% of the Earth's surface and about 12% of the world's oceans. Much of the world' ...
. The site 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 (ASPA) No.120. It was designated as such because it contains representative examples of terrestrial Antarctic ecosystems. Apart from the emperor penguin colony, the only one of about 30 in Antarctica that lies close to a permanent research station, birds nesting in the area include
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,
Antarctic skuas,
Wilson's storm petrel
Wilson's storm petrel (''Oceanites oceanicus''), also known as Wilson's petrel, is a small seabird of the austral storm petrel family Oceanitidae. It is one of the most abundant bird species in the world and has a circumpolar distribution mainly ...
s,
southern giant petrels,
snow petrel
The snow petrel (''Pagodroma nivea'') is the only member of the genus ''Pagodroma.'' It is one of only three birds that have been seen at the Geographic South Pole, along with the Antarctic petrel and the south polar skua, which has the most s ...
s and
Cape petrels.
Weddell seals also occur there.
See also
*
La Molaire, a rocky hill on the west side of Rostand Island
*
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
External links
*
Islands of Adélie Land
Antarctic Specially Protected Areas
Seabird colonies
Penguin colonies
{{AdélieLand-geo-stub