Early geological exploration of Seymour Island, Antarctica

During the latter part of the 19th century, the waters off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula began to be visited by ships searching for new whaling grounds. During the austral summer of 1892–1893, two of these early whaling expeditions visited the Seymour Island region on the northeast tip of the peninsula. The Norwegian ship Jason, commanded by Captain C. A. Larsen, reached Antarctica in November 1892; after sailing south along the east side of the peninsula as far as the sea ice would allow, the crew returned to Seymour Island in mid-November and landed on the east side of the island in search of seals. While ashore, Captain Larsen collected the first fossils from the continent of Antarctica. Although he never published any account of his discovery, we know many of the particulars of Larsen’s discovery from Dr. Donald, one of two naturalists assigned to the Dundee Whaling Expedition that arrived in the area shortly after the discovery. In 1901, explorer/scientist Otto Nordenskjöld organized the Swedish South Polar Expedition (1901–1903) to explore the Seymour Island region. Nordenskjöld’s expedition was forced, due to the loss of his ship, the Antarctic, to spend 2½ years in Antarctica. During his forced stay, he explored Seymour Island and the surrounding area and made a number of important scientific discoveries. Although the Swedish South Polar Expedition was one of the most scientifically successful expeditions in the annals of Antarctic exploration, Nordenskjöld did not succeed, due to chance and circumstances beyond his control, in exploiting the truly remarkable fossil deposits that are present on Seymour Island.