GEOGRAPHY 3 



The late Mr Andrew Scott, at the time of his death, was engaged on a systematic 

 account of the Copepoda ; but it is to be feared that the work is too incomplete for 

 publication. 



We have had extensive help from the Statistical Branch of the Ministry of Agriculture 

 and Fisheries, who have carried out numerous calculations for us from the results of 

 our analyses. To Mr T. Edser, head of this Department, and his staff we tender our 

 grateful thanks for much helpful advice and for all the trouble they have taken with the 

 work. 



Finally, we are greatly indebted to the Trustees of the British Museum, who have 

 allowed us to work in the laboratories of the British Museum (Natural History), and 

 to the officers and staff of that institution for their never-failing kindness and ready help. 

 Part of the work was also carried out in the Department of Zoology and Oceanography 

 in the University College of Hull. 



GEOGRAPHY AND HYDROLOGY OF SOUTH GEORGIA 



AND ADJACENT AREAS 



The island of South Georgia lies upon a submarine ridge, which stretches in a 

 parabolic curve, from the end of South America to meet the Antarctic Continent at the 

 western extremity of Graham Land. This ridge, which is almost continuous through- 

 out its length, has been called the Scotia Arc. 1 On it also lie the Burdwood Bank, the 

 Shag Rocks, the South Sandwich Islands and the South Orkneys. To the west it encloses 

 a deep oceanic area, connected with the Pacific Ocean by Drake Passage, and now 

 known as the Scotia Sea. To the east stretches the great Southern Ocean, where, at a 

 little distance beyond the ridge, depths of over 8000 m. have recently been obtained 

 by the ' Meteor ' and the ' Discovery II '. To the north of the Arc is the Atlantic Ocean 

 and to the south lies the Weddell Sea. The chart in Fig. 1 shows the contours of the 

 sea floor in this area. 



South Georgia itself, a narrow mountainous island, 116 miles long and roughly 

 20 miles wide, lies between the parallels 54 and 55 S and between the meridians 36 

 and 38 W. Its long axis runs from north-west to south-east, and the coast along its 

 north-east side and at its two ends is deeply indented by long fjords, which form 

 admirable shelter for the whaling stations and ships. The lofty mountains, which form 

 a chain running the length of the island, rise steeply out of the sea from a submerged 

 plateau or shelf which surrounds the island at a depth of 1 50 to some 250 m. on all 

 sides. In most directions this shelf extends for some 30 or 40 miles, but to the north- 

 west—towards the Shag Rocks— it extends for some 80 miles. When the edge of the 

 plateau is reached, the sea bottom falls away very steeply to the ocean floor. The chart 

 in Fig. 2 shows the contours of the sea floor immediately round South Georgia, and 

 Fig. 3 shows a diagrammatic section passing through the island at right angles to its 

 axis and along the line AB in Fig. 2. 



1 It has also, at Suess's suggestion, been called the South Antillean Arc. 



