Scullin Murray Monoliths 2023-01-07 Sentinel 2 SR

Adelie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae), walking

Murray Monolith is a detached part of Torlyn Mountain in Mac.Robertson Land,

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

. It is a steep massif of

metasedimentary In geology, metasedimentary rock is a type of metamorphic rock. Such a rock was first formed through the deposition and solidification of sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and e ...

gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures a ...

and

granitic A granitoid is a generic term for a diverse category of coarse-grained igneous rocks that consist predominantly of quartz, plagioclase, and alkali feldspar. Granitoids range from plagioclase-rich tonalites to alkali-rich syenites and from quartz- ...

origin, with the adjacent coastline consisting of 40 m high ice cliffs. The monolith is dome-shaped with steep sides, rising to a seaward summit of 339 m and an inland summit of 363 m at Torlyn Mountain.

Discovery and naming

It was discovered during the British Australian New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE), led by

Douglas Mawson Sir Douglas Mawson OBE FRS FAA (5 May 1882 – 14 October 1958) was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Sir Ernest Shackleton, he was a key expedition leader duri ...

, 1929–1931, and named after Sir George Murray, Chief Justice of South Australia Chancellor of the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

and a

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

of the expedition.

Antarctic Specially Protected Area and Important Bird Area

As one of the very few pieces of exposed rock on the East Antarctic coast, together with the Scullin Monolith 6 km to the west, it holds the greatest concentration of

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...

breeding colonies in East Antarctica, including 160,000 pairs of Antarctic petrels, and 70,000 pairs of

Adelie penguin Adelie or Adélie may refer to: * Adélie Land, a claimed territory on the continent of Antarctica * Adelie Land meteorite, a meteorite discovered on December 5, 1912, in Antarctica by Francis Howard Bickerton * Adélie penguin The Adélie pen ...

s.http://www.ats.aq/documents/recatt/Att281_e.pdf Management Plan for Antarctic Specially Protected Area No. 164 Both monolitha are protected under the Antarctic Treaty System as Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) No.164. Coincident in coverage with ASPA 164, the two monoliths have also been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because of the significant seabird colonies present.

References

External links

Murray Monolith
on

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

website
Murray Monolith
on AADC website
Murray Monolith
on

SCAR A scar (or scar tissue) is an area of fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after an injury. Scars result from the biological process of wound repair in the skin, as well as in other organs, and tissues of the body. Thus, scarring is a n ...

website
A map of the Murray Monolith protected area

A picture of the Murray Monolith

Murray Monolith
at

Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History Early years Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 1972, they embarke ...

website Natural monoliths Rock formations of Mac. Robertson Land Antarctic Specially Protected Areas Important Bird Areas of Antarctica Seabird colonies Penguin colonies {{MacRobertsonLand-geo-stub

Discovery and naming

Antarctic Specially Protected Area and Important Bird Area

Further reading

See also

References

External links