Muller Island

Muller Island is an uninhabited island in the Scotia Sea. An isolated, rocky island of only , it is often shrouded in fog, forming a hazard for shipping vessels. The nearest significant landmass is Coronation Island some to the south.

History

The island was first sighted in 1875 by Anglo-German naval captain John Muller on the HMS Endymion. However, the first record of a landing on the island was by Lars Christensen, who landed in December 1936. Christensen attempted to claim the island for Denmark, not realising it was already claimed by the United Kingdom; Christensen thought it was a different island after making a minor navigation error. His error caused tension between The Two countries until the Danish claim was officially renounced during Christian X's visit to London the following year.

British explorers did not set foot on the island until 1967, when a team of scientists visited to investigate the local ecosystem. They found a small petrel colony provided virtually the only sign of fauna on the island. After a ship was almost wrecked on the island in a storm, several navigational aids were installed during the 1970s. These were augmented by a small hut, placed to help potential castaways and to allow scientific researchers to stay for longer on future visits. In 1982, the island was considered a target by Argentine forces but was not occupied or invaded during the Falklands War which affected other British territories in the region. Since 2005, researchers from the University of Nottingham have made occasional visits to examine the unusual properties of fractals found within shale on the island.

See also

• List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands