Rothschild Island

Rothschild Island is a black, rugged island that stretches for 39 kilometres (24 miles). It is mostly covered in ice, with tall peaks rising above from the Desko Mountains in Antarctica. The island sits 8 kilometres (5 miles) west of the northern part of Alexander Island, near the north entrance to Wilkins Sound. It is part of the amazing and wild landscape of Antarctica, where many scientists go to study nature and climate change.

Geography and wildlife

Lazarev Bay separates Rothschild Island from Alexander Island. The island has a mountain range called the Desko Mountains, which stretches for about 20 miles from Bates Peak to Overton Peak. These mountains rise to about 1,000 metres at peaks like Enigma Peak and Fournier Ridge. Other notable peaks include Goward Peak, Mirnyy Peak, Morrill Peak, Schenck Peak, and Thuma Peak.

There are three small areas of volcanic rock on the island. An emperor penguin colony lives in a bay between Alexander Island and Rothschild Island. This colony has around 700 breeding pairs. It was visited by scientists in 2015–2016 and was the only one of five such colonies not to lose all its babies in 2022 due to melting ice. In November 2022, helicopters counted 820 baby penguins and 228 adult penguins there.

History

The island was first seen in 1825 by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen. Later, during the French Antarctic Expedition from 1908 to 1910, it was named Rothschild Island by Jean-Baptiste Charcot to honor Édouard Alphonse James de Rothschild, a leader of the Rothschild banking family of France.

Explorers thought the island might be connected to nearby Alexander Island, but in 1940, the United States Antarctic Service Expedition confirmed it was separate by flying over and mapping it. Detailed maps were made later by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition and others using photos from the air and satellites.

In 1976, a team from the British Antarctic Survey became the first people to visit Rothschild Island. More visits followed, and a part of the island was named after one of the researchers.

Threats and preservation

This remote area has never been home to people, and it is protected by the Antarctic Treaty System. This system stops industrial development, waste disposal, and nuclear testing. However, the delicate ecosystems here can still be harmed by more tourists, especially those arriving on cruises across the Southern Ocean from the port of Ushuaia, Argentina.