Inexpressible Island is a small, rocky island in Terra Nova Bay, Victoria Land, Antarctica. Previously uninhabited, the Chinese Qinling research station on the southern edge of the island became operational in 2024.

Description

The island is bounded in the east by

Evans Cove Evans Cove () is a cove in Terra Nova Bay, Victoria Land, entered between Inexpressible Island and Cape Russell. It was first charted by the British Antarctic Expedition, 1907–09, and was probably named by Ernest Shackleton for Captain Frederi ...

and the

Hells Gate Moraine Hells Gate Moraine is a glacial moraine at the head of Evans Cove on the coast of Victoria Land, Antarctica. It extends southward to Hells Gate from nearby Vegetation Island and Cape Confusion. History The moraine was mapped and named by the Nor ...

, and in the west by the Nansen Ice Sheet. The eastern side is relatively flat with a few low hills, while a 110 m high ridge marks the western side. Several lakes are present.

History

Robert Falcon Scott's Terra Nova Expedition (1910–1913) comprised several groups. One of these, the Northern Party, led by Victor Campbell, did not accompany Scott into the interior but wintered at Cape Adare. In 1912, that group (composed of six men in total), began the long journey homewards and began making their way to Cape Evans (via

Hut Point A hut is a small dwelling, which may be constructed of various local materials. Huts are a type of vernacular architecture because they are built of readily available materials such as wood, snow, ice, stone, grass, palm leaves, branches, hid ...

). However, they were dropped at Evans Coves with sledging provisions for six weeks with the intention of completing geological work. After the work was done they were left with rations for about four weeks, as it was not anticipated the ship would have trouble picking them up later in February. But the ''Terra Nova'' could not reach them due to heavy pack ice.Apsley Cherry-Garrard, ''

The Worst Journey in the World ''The Worst Journey in the World'' is a 1922 memoir by Apsley Cherry-Garrard of Robert Falcon Scott's ''Terra Nova'' expedition to the South Pole in 1910–1913. It has earned wide praise for its frank treatment of the difficulties of the exped ...

'', Carrol & Graf, 1922. Unable to connect with their ship, the Northern Party was forced to winter in Antarctica again. In March 1912 the party excavated a small ice cave in a snow drift they nicknamed "Inexpressible Island" where they spent the winter in miserable conditions, supplementing their rations by killing scarce seal and penguins for meat. The Northern Party had previously built a supply depot at Hells Gate Moraine (74° 52'S, 163° 50'E) on Inexpressible Island as a form of security should the ''Terra Nova'' be unable to collect them. The depot primarily consisted of a sledge loaded with supplies and equipment. Despite the fact that this depot had been built, the winter spent in the ice cave and a partially constructed rock shelter on Inexpressible Island was miserable. The men suffered frostbite, hunger, dysentery, and the abominable winds on the island. As ship doctor George Murray Levick said: The men started home for

on September 30, 1912, some two hundred miles down the coast, which would include the crossing of the

Drygalski Ice Tongue The Drygalski Ice Tongue, Drygalski Barrier, or Drygalski Glacier Tongue is a glacier in Antarctica, on the Scott Coast, in the northern McMurdo Sound of Ross Dependency, north of Ross Island. The Drygalski Ice Tongue is stable by the standards ...

. Browning was very ill and Dickason almost crippled by dysentery. They reached

on November 5.

Historic site

The site of the ice cave where Victor Campbell's Northern Party wintered has been designated a Historic Site or Monument (HSM 14), following a proposal by New Zealand to the

Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting russian: link=no, Договор об Антарктике es, link=no, Tratado Antártico , name = Antarctic Treaty System , image = Flag of the Antarctic Treaty.svgborder , image_width = 180px , caption ...

. A wooden sign, a plaque and seal bones remain at the site.

Qinling Station

In February 2024, the Qinling research station on the southern edge of the island was opened by the People's Republic of China. The Center for Strategic and International Studies, an American think tank, reported that the station was expected to include an observatory with a satellite ground station, and that the equipment could be used to collect

signals intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ( ...

and for tracking rockets launched from the Arnhem Space Centre in Australia. China rejected claims that the station would be used for espionage.

Important Bird Area

A site comprising ice-free ground on the eastern shore of the island has been designated 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 ...

(IBA) 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 ...

, because it supports about 24,000 breeding pairs of Adélie penguins and some 60 pairs of south polar skuas which breed in the vicinity of the penguin colony. Weddell seals have been seen on sea ice near the island.

References

External links

Antarctic Historic SitesHistoric Huts in the Antarctic from the Heroic era (International Polar Heritage Committee)
{{Portal bar, Birds, Islands, Geography, Earth sciences, Weather Important Bird Areas of Antarctica Penguin colonies Seabird colonies Islands of Victoria Land Historic Sites and Monuments of Antarctica 1912 in Antarctica History of the Ross Dependency