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.
thumb|upright=1.2|Antarctic Peninsula map
thumb|Location of the Antarctic Peninsula within [[Antarctica]]
The Antarctic Peninsula is part of the larger peninsula of West Antarctica, protruding from a line between Cape Adams (Weddell Sea) and a point on the mainland south of the Eklund Islands. Beneath the ice sheet that covers it, the Antarctic Peninsula consists of a string of bedrock islands; these are separated by deep channels whose bottoms lie at depths considerably below current sea level. They are joined by a grounded ice sheet. Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost tip of South America, is about away across the Drake Passage.
The Antarctic Peninsula is in area and 80% ice-covered.
The marine ecosystem around the western continental shelf of the Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) has been subjected to rapid climate change. Over the past 50 years, the warm, moist maritime climate of the northern WAP has shifted south. This climatic change increasingly displaces the once dominant cold, dry continental Antarctic climate. This regional warming has caused multi-level responses in the marine ecosystem such as increased heat transport, decreased sea ice extent and duration, local declines in ice-dependent Adélie penguins, increase in ice-tolerant gentoo and chinstrap penguins, accelerated greening due to the spread of moss, alterations in phytoplankton and zooplankton community composition as well as changes in krill recruitment, abundance and availability to predators.
The Antarctic Peninsula is currently dotted with numerous research stations, and nations have made multiple claims of sovereignty. The peninsula is part of disputed and overlapping claims by Argentina, Chile, and the United Kingdom. None of these claims have international recognition and, under the Antarctic Treaty System, the respective countries do not attempt to enforce their claims. The British claim, however, is recognised by Australia, France, New Zealand, and Norway. Argentina has the most bases and personnel stationed on the peninsula.
History
thumb|[[Booth Island and Mount Scott flank the narrow Lemaire Channel on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula, 2001.]]
thumb|Off the coast of the Peninsula are numerous islands. Here is [[Webb Island and, behind it, Adelaide Island. See the image description page for a detailed description of the other geographical features.]]
Discovery and naming
The most likely first sighting of the Antarctic Peninsula, and therefore also of any part of the Antarctic mainland, was on 27 January 1820 by an expedition of the Imperial Russian Navy led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen. But the party did not recognize as the mainland what they thought was an icefield covered by small hillocks.
Three days later, on 30 January 1820, Edward Bransfield and William Smith, with a British expedition, were the first to chart part of the Antarctic Peninsula. This area was later to be called Trinity Peninsula and is the extreme northeast portion of the peninsula. The next confirmed sighting was in 1832 by John Biscoe, a British explorer, who named the northern part of the Antarctic Peninsula as Graham Land.
The first European to land on the continent is also disputed. A 19th-century seal hunter, John Davis, was almost certainly the first. But, sealers were secretive about their movements and their logbooks were deliberately unreliable, to protect any new sealing grounds from competition.
The 1950s saw a marked increase in the number of research bases as Britain, Chile and Argentina competed to make claims over the same area. Meteorology and geology were the primary research subjects.
Since the peninsula has the mildest climate in Antarctica, the highest concentration of research stations on the continent can be found there, or on the many nearby islands, and it is the part of Antarctica most often visited by tour vessels and yachts. Occupied bases include Base General Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme, Bellingshausen Station, Carlini Base, Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station, Palmer Station, Rothera Research Station, and San Martín Base. Today on the Antarctic Peninsula there are many abandoned scientific and military bases. Argentina's Esperanza Base was the birthplace of Emilio Marcos Palma, the first person to be born in Antarctica.
Oil spill
The grounding of the Argentine ship the ARA Bahía Paraíso and subsequent oil spill occurred near the Antarctic Peninsula in 1989.
Geology
Antarctica was once part of the Gondwana supercontinent. Outcrops from this time include Ordovician and Devonian granites and gneiss found in the Scar Inlet and Joerg Peninsula, while the Carboniferous-Triassic Trinity Peninsula Group are sedimentary rocks that outcrop in Hope Bay and Prince Gustav Channel. Ring of Fire volcanic rocks erupted in the Jurassic, with the breakup of Gondwana, and outcrop in eastern Graham Land as volcanic ash deposits. Volcanism along western Graham Land dates from the Cretaceous to present times, and outcrops are found along the Gerlache Strait, the Lemaire Channel, Argentine Islands, and Adelaide Island. These rocks in western Graham Land include andesite lavas and granite from the magma, and indicate Graham Land was a continuation of the Andes. This line of volcanoes are associated with subduction of the Phoenix Plate. Metamorphism associated with this subduction is evident in the Scotia Metamorphic Complex, which outcrops on Elephant Island, along with Clarence and Smith Islands of the South Shetland Islands. The Drake Passage opened about 30 Ma as Antarctica separated from South America. The South Shetland Island separated from Graham Land about 4 Ma as a volcanic rift formed within the Bransfield Strait. Three dormant submarine volcanoes along this rift include The Axe, Three Sisters, and Orca. Deception Island is an active volcano at the southern end of this rift zone. Notable fossil locations include the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous Fossil Bluff Group of Alexander Island, Early Cretaceous sediments in Byers Peninsula on Livingston Island, and the sediments on Seymour Island, which include the Cretaceous extinction.
Geography
thumb|Geographic map of Antarctica
thumb|upright|Satellite image of Antarctic Peninsula
thumb|upright|Relief map
The peninsula is very mountainous, its highest peaks rising to about . Notable peaks on the peninsula include Deschanel Peak, Mounts Castro, Coman, Gilbert, Jackson, William, Owen, Scott, and Hope, which is the highest point at ,. These mountains are considered to be a continuation of the Andes of South America, with a submarine spine or ridge connecting the two. This is the basis for the position advanced by Chile and Argentina for their territorial claims. The Scotia Arc is the island arc system that links the mountains of the Antarctic Peninsula to those of Tierra del Fuego.
There are various volcanoes in the islands around the Antarctic Peninsula. This volcanism is related to extensional tectonics in Bransfield Rift to the west and Larsen Rift to the east.
The landscape of the peninsula is typical Antarctic tundra. The peninsula has a sharp elevation gradient, with glaciers flowing into the Larsen Ice Shelf, which experienced significant breakup in 2002. Other ice shelves on the peninsula include the George VI, Wilkins, Wordie and Bach Ice Shelves. The Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf lies to the east of the peninsula.
Islands along the peninsula are mostly ice-covered and connected to the land by pack ice. Separating the peninsula from nearby islands are the Antarctic Sound, Erebus and Terror Gulf, George VI Sound, Gerlache Strait and the Lemaire Channel. The Lemaire Channel is a popular destination for tourist cruise ships that visit Antarctica. Further to the west lies the Bellingshausen Sea and in the north is the Scotia Sea. The Antarctic Peninsula and Cape Horn create a funneling effect, which channels the winds into the relatively narrow Drake Passage.
Hope Bay, at , is near the northern extremity of the peninsula, Prime Head, at 63°13′S. Near the tip at Hope Bay is Sheppard Point. The part of the peninsula extending northeastwards from a line connecting Cape Kater to Cape Longing is called the Trinity Peninsula. Brown Bluff is a rare tuya and Sheppard Nunatak is found here also. The Airy, Seller, Fleming and Prospect Glaciers form the Forster Ice Piedmont along the west coast of the peninsula. Charlotte Bay, Hughes Bay and Marguerite Bay are all on the west coast as well.
On the east coast is the Athene Glacier; the Arctowski and Åkerlundh Nunataks are both just off the east coast. A number of smaller peninsulas extend from the main Antarctic Peninsula, including Hollick-Kenyon Peninsula and Prehn Peninsula at the base of the Antarctic Peninsula. Also located here are the Scaife Mountains. The Eternity Range is found in the middle of the peninsula. Other geographical features include Avery Plateau, the twin towers of Una Peaks.
In March 2025, scientists reported the discovery of a thriving marine ecosystem under where a iceberg the size of Chicago had been before breaking off from the George VI Ice Shelf around 2020. More than below, the seafloor showed a flourishing ecosystem including several new species scientists discovered during their research.
Climate
thumb|Nearly cloud-free view of the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula during spring
thumb|[[Hope Bay, Antarctica|Hope Bay glacier, 2012]]
Because the Antarctic Peninsula, which reaches north of the Antarctic Circle, is the most northerly part of Antarctica, it has the mildest climates within this continent. Its climate is therefore classified as a tundra, rather than an ice cap. Its temperatures are warmest in January, averaging , and coldest in June, averages from . Its west coast from the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula south to 68° S, which has a maritime Antarctic climate, is the mildest part of the Antarctic Peninsula. Within this part of the Antarctic Peninsula, temperatures exceed for 3 or 4 months during the summer, and rarely fall below during the winter. Farther south along the west coast and the northeast coast of the peninsula, mean monthly temperatures exceed for only one or two months of summer and average around in winter. The east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula south of 63° S is generally much colder, with mean temperatures exceeding for at most one month of summer, and winter mean temperatures ranging from . The colder temperatures of the southeast, Weddell Sea side, of the Antarctic Peninsula are reflected in the persistence of ice shelves that cling to the eastern side.
Precipitation varies greatly within the Antarctic Peninsula. From the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula to 68° S, precipitation averages per year. A good portion of this precipitation falls as rain during the summer, on two-thirds of the days of the year, and with little seasonal variation in amounts. Between about 68° S and 63° S on the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula and along its northeast coast, precipitation is or less with occasional rain. Along the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula south of 63° S, precipitation ranges from . In comparison, the subantarctic islands have precipitation of per year and the dry interior of Antarctica is a virtual desert with only precipitation per year.
Climate change
Because of issues concerning global climate change, the Antarctic Peninsula and adjacent parts of the Weddell Sea and its Pacific continental shelf have been the subject of intensive geologic, paleontologic, and paleoclimatic research by interdisciplinary and multinational groups over the last several decades. The combined study of the glaciology of its ice sheet and the paleontology, sedimentology, stratigraphy, structural geology, and volcanology of glacial and nonglacial deposits of the Antarctic Peninsula has allowed the reconstruction of the paleoclimatology and prehistoric ice sheet fluctuation of it for over the last 100 million years. This research shows the dramatic changes in climate, which have occurred within this region after it reached its approximate position within the Antarctic Circle during the Cretaceous Period.
The Fossil Bluff Group, which outcrops within Alexander Island, provides a detailed record, which includes paleosols and fossil plants, of Middle Cretaceous (Albian) terrestrial climates. The sediments that form the Fossil Bluff Group accumulated within a volcanic island arc, which now forms the bedrock backbone of the Antarctic Peninsula, in prehistoric floodplains and deltas and offshore as submarine fans and other marine sediments. As reflected in the plant fossils, paleosols, and climate models, the climate was warm, humid, and seasonally dry. According to climate models, the summers were dry and winters were wet. The rivers were perennial and subject to intermittent flooding as the result of heavy rainfall.
Warm high-latitude climates reached a peak during the mid-Late Cretaceous Cretaceous Thermal Maximum. Plant fossils found within the Late Cretaceous (Coniacian and Santonian-early Campanian) strata of the Hidden Lake and Santa Maria formations, which outcrop within James Ross, Seymour, and adjacent islands, indicate that this emergent volcanic island arc enjoyed warm temperate or subtropical climates with adequate moisture for growth and without extended periods of below freezing winter temperatures.
After the peak warmth of the Cretaceous thermal maximum the climate, both regionally and globally, appears to have cooled as seen in the Antarctic fossil wood record. Later, warm high-latitude climates returned to the Antarctic Peninsula region during the Paleocene and early Eocene as reflected in fossil plants. Abundant plant and marine fossils from Paleogene marine sediments that outcrop on Seymour Island indicate the presence of cool and moist, high-latitudes environment during the early Eocene.
thumb|upright=1.5|[[Glaciology|Glaciomarine sedimentation at the margin of an ice-covered continent during interglacial]]
The deglaciation of the Antarctic Peninsula largely occurred between 18,000 and 6,000 years ago as an interglacial climate was established in the region. It initially started about 18,000 to 14,000 years ago with retreat of the ice sheet from the Pacific outer continental shelf and the continental margin within the Weddell Sea. Within the Weddell Sea, the transition from grounded ice to a floating ice shelf occurred about 10,000 years ago. The deglaciation of some locations within the Antarctic Peninsula continued until 4,000 to 3,000 years ago. Within the Antarctic Peninsula, an interglacial climatic optimum occurred about 3,000 to 5,000 years ago. After the climate optimum, a distinct climate cooling, which lasted until historic times, occurred.
The Antarctic Peninsula is a part of the world that is experiencing extraordinary warming. Each decade for the last five, average temperatures in the Antarctic Peninsula have risen by . Ice mass loss on the peninsula occurred at a rate of 60 billion tons / year in 2006, with the greatest change occurring in the northern tip of the peninsula. Seven ice shelves along the Antarctic Peninsula have retreated or disintegrated in the last two decades. According to a study by the British Antarctic Survey, glaciers on the peninsula are not only retreating but also increasing their flow rate as a result of increased buoyancy in the lower parts of the glaciers. Professor David Vaughan has described the disintegration of the Wilkins Ice Shelf as the latest evidence of rapid warming in the area. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has been unable to determine the greatest potential effect on sea level rise that glaciers in the region may cause.
Xanthoria elegans and Caloplaca are visible crustose lichens seen on coastal rocks.
The animals of Antarctica live on food they find in the sea—not on land—and include seabirds, seals and penguins. The seals include: leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx), Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii), the huge southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina), and crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophagus).
Paleogene and Early Eocene marine sediments that outcrop on Seymour Island contain plant-rich horizons. The fossil plants are dominated by permineralized branches of conifers and compressions of angiosperm leaves, and are found within carbonate concretions. These Seymour Island region fossils date to about 51.5–49.5 and are dominated by leaves, cone scales, and leafy branches of Araucarian conifers, very similar in all respects to living Araucaria araucana (monkey puzzle) from Chile. They suggest that the adjacent parts of the prehistoric Antarctic Peninsula were covered by forests that grew in a cool and moist, high-latitude environment during the early Eocene.