Nothofagus trees stranded on the Antarctic Peninsula

• Published in: Polar Record
• Main Author: Smith, R.I. Lewis
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2012
• Subjects: General Earth and Planetary Sciences; Ecology; Geography, Planning and Development; Antarctic; Southern Ocean; The Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Antarc*; Polar Record
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247411000726; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247411000726

ABSTRACT The occurrence of two basal sections of southern beech trees ( Nothofagus sp.) embedded in raised cobble beaches and exposed by receding icefields at widely separated locations on islands off the western coast of the Antarctic Peninsula is reported. These are the most southerly records of naturally occurring driftwood. Both are of Fuegian or southern Patagonian origin but whether they arrived at their destinations directly from the north or by circumnavigating the Southern Ocean eastwards is uncertain. While their stranding probably occurred several centuries ago this can only be speculated.