Geological investigations in South Victoria Land, Antarctica

Abstract

The first collections of rocks from the Ross Sea region were made during the three voyages of H.M.S. "Erebus" and "Terror" under Sir James Clark Ross, between 1839 and 1843. During Ross' first voyage, a landing was made at Possession Island in northern Victoria Land. In 1841 Ross discovered the 250 mile long ice barrier which was later named after him (Map 1 & 2). The British Southern Cross Expedition of 1898-1900 under Borchgrevink surveyed the Ross Barrier and established its recession southward. Rock specimens were collected from Cape Adare and Robertson Bay. During the following decade a great deal of work was carried out on the coastline and mountains by members of the Scott ("Discovery", 1901-04 and "Terra Nova", 1910-13) and Shackleton ("Nimrod", 1907-09) expeditions, notably H.T. Ferrar, T.W.E. David, D. Mawson, R.E. Priestley, F. Debenham and T. Griffith-Taylor. This work included reconnaissance surveys in much of the mountainous country forming the horst along the west side of the Ross Sea and the Ross Ice Shelf, as well as detailed mapping of the areas around the Ferrar Glacier and Terra Nova Bay.