Alexander Island shown within Antarctica

For the Canadian arctic island see Alexander Island, Nunavut. Image File history File links Alexander_Island. ... Image File history File links Alexander_Island. ... Reference map of Canadian arctic islands. ... Alexander Island, Nunavut. ...

Alexander Island (71°00′ S 70°00′ W) lies in the Bellingshausen Sea off the coast of Antarctica and linked to it by an ice shelf. It has an area of 43,250 km². The Bellingshausen Sea (71°00′ S 085°00′ W) is an area along the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula between Alexander Island and Thurston Island. ... Ross Ice Shelf An ice shelf is a thick, floating platform of ice that forms where a glacier or ice sheet flows down to a coastline and onto the ocean surface, typically in Antarctica or Greenland. ...

The island was discovered by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen on January 28, 1821, but it was believed to be part of the Antarctic mainland until 1940. The island is claimed by the United Kingdom, Chile and Argentina. In the 1950s, a British base administered as part of the British Antarctic Territory was constructed as Fossil Bluff. It is now used as a meteorological centre and refuelling base. Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen (Russian: ; Faddey Faddeyevich Bellinsgauzen) (September 20, 1778–January 13, 1852) served as a naval officer of the Russian Empire and commanded the second Russian expedition to circumnavigate the globe, which discovered the continent of Antarctica on their way. ... January 28 is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1821 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... // Events and trends The 1950s in Western society was marked with a sharp rise in the economy for the first time in almost 30 years and return to the 1920s-type consumer society built on credit and boom-times, as well as the height of the baby-boom from returning... Flag of the British Antarctic Territory The British Antarctic Territory is the British claim to land and islands in Antarctica, and is the oldest territorial claim on the continent. ... Satellite image of Hurricane Hugo Meteorology is the scientific study of the atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and forecasting. ...