The Balleny Islands are a series of uninhabited islands in the Southern Ocean extending from 66°15' to 67°35'S and 162°30' to 165°00'E. The group extends for about 160 km (99 mi) in a northwest-southeast direction. The islands are heavily glaciated and of volcanic origin. Glaciers project from their slopes into the sea. The islands were formed by the so-called Balleny hotspot.
Brown Peak is a stratovolcano and the highest point of the Balleny Islands. It is situated on the northern part of Sturge Island.
Vindication Island is a small uninhabited island of the Candlemas Islands in the South Sandwich Islands. It is one of about a dozen islands that make up the South Sandwich island arc, a chain of volcanoes in the Southern Ocean that was discovered in 1775 by James Cook. The volcanism is caused by the subduction of the South American Plate beneath the Sandwich Plate.
Cape Hallett is a snow-free area on the northern tip of the Hallett Peninsula on the Ross Sea coast of Victoria Land, East Antarctica. Cape Adare lies 100 km (62 mi) to the north.
Springtails form the largest of the three lineages of modern hexapods that are no longer considered insects. Although the three orders are sometimes grouped together in a class called Entognatha because they have internal mouthparts, they do not appear to be any more closely related to one another than they are to all insects, which have external mouthparts.
Cryptopygus antarcticus, the Antarctic springtail, is a species of springtail native to Antarctica and Australia. Cryptopygus antarcticus average 1–2 millimetres (0.04–0.08 in) long and weigh only a few micrograms. Like other springtails, the Antarctic springtail has been found to be useful as a bioindicator of pollution and has been used to study microplastic pollution in Antarctica. They also tend aggregate, by signaling to other individuals via pheromones, especially when temperatures are low, to avoid a high water loss rate.
Antarctica is one of the most physically and chemically extreme terrestrial environments to be inhabited by lifeforms. The largest plants are mosses, and the largest animals that do not leave the continent are a few species of insects.
The wildlife of Antarctica are extremophiles, having adapted to the dryness, low temperatures, and high exposure common in Antarctica. The extreme weather of the interior contrasts to the relatively mild conditions on the Antarctic Peninsula and the subantarctic islands, which have warmer temperatures and more liquid water. Much of the ocean around the mainland is covered by sea ice. The oceans themselves are a more stable environment for life, both in the water column and on the seabed.
Cryptopygus is a genus of springtails. Cryptopygus belongs to the Isotomidae family.
The McMurdo Volcanic Group is a large group of Cenozoic volcanic rocks in the western Ross Sea and central Transantarctic Mountains areas of Antarctica. It is one of the largest provinces of alkaline volcanism in the world, having formed as a result of continental rifting along the West Antarctic Rift System. The McMurdo Volcanic Group is part of the Western Ross Supergroup, a stratigraphic unit that also includes the Meander Intrusive Group.
In the afternoon of Wednesday 25 March 1998, a very large magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck a remote area of the Southern Ocean. Its epicentre was located roughly 450 km (280 mi) north of George V Land and roughly 700 km (435 mi) northwest of the Balleny Islands in Antarctica. Due to the remote location of the earthquake, there were no reports of anyone feeling any shaking or any damage being caused. The event was a complex intraplate earthquake within the Antarctic Plate. To date it is the largest recorded earthquake in Antarctica, and is the largest recorded earthquake to have been caused by post-glacial rebound. The earthquake occurred in an area which previously had very little seismic activity, and so such a large event was unprecedented in the seismic record.
Desoria klovstadi is a species of springtails, native to Antarctica. It was one of the first Antarctic species, from the class of collemba, to be described.
Keith Arthur John Wise, often referred to as K. A. J. Wise, was a New Zealand entomologist. Originally employed at the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Wise began working with the Bishop Museum in the early 1960s, coordinating field programmes for United States visits to Antarctica and Subantarctic islands. This work led Wise to identify and describe large numbers of novel species, including many species of springtail. In 1965, Wise became the first Curator of Entomology at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, where he was integral in creating the first entomology section within the natural history gallery.
Cryptopygus campbellensis is a species of springtail belonging to the family Isotomidae. The species was first described by Keith Arthur John Wise in 1964. The species is native to Campbell Island in the New Zealand Subantarctic Islands.
Cryptopygus terranovus is a species of springtail belonging to the family Isotomidae. The species was first described by Keith Arthur John Wise in 1967, and is found on Antarctica.
Tullbergia mediantarctica is a species of springtail belonging to the family Tullbergiidae. The species was first described by Keith Arthur John Wise in 1967, and is only known to occur around the Shackleton Glacier area of Antarctica.
Pseudosorensia atlantica is a species of springtail belonging to the family Isotomidae. The species was first described by Keith Arthur John Wise in 1970, and is found in South Georgia.
Tullbergia templei is a species of springtail belonging to the family Tullbergiidae. The species was first described by Keith Arthur John Wise in 1970, and is known to occur in Australian Subantarctic Islands such as Heard Island and Macquarie Island.
Friesea tilbrooki is a species of springtail belonging to the family Neanuridae. The species was first described by Keith Arthur John Wise in 1964. The species was first described by Keith Arthur John Wise in 1970, and is found in South Georgia and other Subantarctic islands including Bouvet Island, Heard Island and Macquarie Island.
Coccorhagidia keithi is a species of prostig mite belonging to the family Rhagidiidae. The species was first described by Russell W. Strandtmann in 1967, and is found in Victoria Land, Antarctica.
