23
Glacier Naming Honour In December, the UK Antarctic Place-names Committee celebrated the 200th anniversary of the discovery of Antarctica by honouring 28 scientists and explorers who have made a significant and sustained contribution to Antarctic science.
We are delighted to report that Professor David Thomas is amongst these, having a glacier named after him.
David spent much of his academic career in the School of Ocean Sciences before moving to the University of Helsinki last year and remains an honorary professor in SOS. The name continues an established naming theme of Marine Biologists and Oceanographers in this area. Indeed, the nearby Fogg Headland is named after GE (Tony) Fogg, who held the Established Chair of Marine Biology at Bangor from 1971- 1985, a post David also held between 2006 and 2020. David did 4 of his 6 Antarctic expeditions while at Bangor in 1997, 1998, 2004/05 & 2006. Amongst the other 28 scientists honoured in December was Karen Heywood FRS, British Antarctic oceanographer and Professor of Physical Oceanography at the University of East Anglia (UEA). ‘Thomas Glacier’ (72°51’S, 61°09’W) is about 23 km long and 3 km wide, flowing north from the Wegener Range, Palmer Land, between Fogg Highland and Heezen Glacier to enter Violante Inlet.
