Periglacial Landforms and Processes of the Sub-Antarctic and Antarctic Islands

Periglacial research in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic has not yet achieved the level of sophistication found for Arctic and Alpine regions. Nevertheless, there is a wide assemblage of periglacial landforms on the southern islands and a number of valuable studies have been undertaken, most of which are not that well known by workers in the northern hemisphere. In this species-poor environment a strong relationship is often found between plant life and the patterned ground. As land areas in the vast Southern Ocean are very limited, the palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatological evidence provided by fossil and active periglacial features and processes is of the utmost importance. A brief summary of much of the available periglacial literature is presented in an attempt to generate interest in this field of study on the southern islands.