
The Ablation Point – Ganymede Heights Antarctic Specially Protected Area is a 180 km
2 mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...
ous tract of land on the eastern side of
Alexander Island
Alexander Island, which is also known as Alexander I Island, Alexander I Land, Alexander Land, Alexander I Archipelago, and Zemlja Alexandra I, is the largest island of Antarctica. It lies in the Bellingshausen Sea west of Palmer Land, Antarcti ...
in the
Bellinghausen Sea
The Bellingshausen Sea is an area along the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula between 57°18'W and 102°20'W, west of Alexander Island, east of Cape Flying Fish on Thurston Island, and south of Peter I Island (there the southern ''Vostokkyste ...
, west of
Palmer Land
Palmer Land () is the portion of the Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica that lies south of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This application of Palmer Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the Advisory Committee on Antarctic N ...
on the
Antarctic Peninsula
The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martin in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctica.
...
. It has been designated
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.147 for its
geological
Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth s ...
,
geomorphological
Geomorphology () is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topography, topographic and bathymetry, bathymetric features generated by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or near Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. Ge ...
,
glaciological,
limnological
Limnology ( ; ) is the study of inland aquatic ecosystems.
It includes aspects of the biological, chemical, physical, and geological characteristics of fresh and saline, natural and man-made bodies of water. This includes the study of lakes, r ...
, and
ecological
Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecology overlaps with the closely re ...
values, and to protect its terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems from uncontrolled human visitation and activity.
[
]
Description
The ASPA is some 18 km long from north to south, and 10 km wide east to west. It is flanked in the west by the upper Jupiter Glacier
Jupiter Glacier () is a glacier on the east coast of Alexander Island, Antarctica, long and wide at its mouth, which flows east into George VI Sound to the south of Ablation Valley. It was first photographed from the air on November 23, 1935, ...
, in the east by the George VI Sound
George VI Sound or Canal Jorge VI or Canal Presidente Sarmiento or Canal Seaver or King George VI Sound or King George the Sixth Sound is a major bay/ fault depression, 300 miles (483 km) long and mainly covered by a permanent ice shelf. I ...
permanent ice shelf, in the north by Grotto Glacier and in the south by the lower Jupiter Glacier. It contains the largest contiguous ice-free ablation
Ablation ( – removal) is the removal or destruction of something from an object by vaporization, chipping, erosion, erosive processes, or by other means. Examples of ablative materials are described below, including spacecraft material for as ...
area in the Antarctic Peninsula, with the smaller ice fields and valley glaciers within the massif comprising only about 17% of the site.
The site is geologically and geomorphologically complex, with outcrop
An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth and other terrestrial planets.
Features
Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most p ...
s of a varied range of rocks, mainly conglomerates, with lava
Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...
blocks and agglomerate
Agglomerate (from the Latin ''agglomerare'' meaning "to form into a ball") is a coarse accumulation of large blocks of volcanic material that contains at least 75% bombs. Volcanic bombs differ from volcanic blocks in that their shape records flui ...
on valley floors and at the bases of cliffs. Steep-sided valleys are separated by undulating flat-topped ridges mainly between 650–750 m in height, rising to a maximum elevation of 1070 m. It contains raised beach
A raised beach, coastal terrace,Pinter, N (2010): 'Coastal Terraces, Sealevel, and Active Tectonics' (educational exercise), from 2/04/2011/ref> or perched coastline is a relatively flat, horizontal or gently inclined surface of marine origin, ...
es, moraine
A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...
systems and patterned ground
Patterned ground is the distinct and often symmetrical natural pattern of geometric shapes formed by the deformation of ground material in periglacial regions. It is typically found in remote regions of the Arctic, Antarctica, and the Outback ...
.[
Many permanently frozen freshwater lakes and ice-free ponds support a diverse flora and fauna. The terrestrial vegetation is sparse, with ]moss
Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...
and liverwort
Liverworts are a group of non-vascular land plants forming the division Marchantiophyta (). They may also be referred to as hepatics. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry ...
-dominated communities
A community is a Level of analysis, social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place (geography), place, set of Norm (social), norms, culture, religion, values, Convention (norm), customs, or Ide ...
restricted to oases
In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment[bryophyte
Bryophytes () are a group of embryophyte, land plants (embryophytes), sometimes treated as a taxonomic Division (taxonomy), division referred to as Bryophyta ''Sensu#Common qualifiers, sensu lato'', that contains three groups of non-vascular pla ...]
s.[
]
See also
Features within ASPA 147 include:
* Ablation Lake
* Ablation Point
* Ablation Valley
* Erratic Valley
* Flatiron Valley
* Ganymede Heights
The Ganymede Heights consist of rounded ridges with extensive rock outcrops rising to about , between Jupiter Glacier and Ablation Valley on the eastern side of Alexander Island, Antarctica. They were mapped by the Directorate of Overseas Surv ...
* Himalia Ridge
* Moutonnee Lake
* Moutonnee Valley
* Striation Valley
Striation Valley is a valley trending south-east towards George VI Sound, lying immediately north of Jupiter Glacier, near the east coast of Alexander Island, Antarctica. The valley was first surveyed by a field party from the Department of Geogra ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ablation Point - Ganymede Heights Antarctic Specially Protected Area
Antarctic Specially Protected Areas
Alexander Island