Buffer Island

Buffer Island is a mostly ice-covered island lying west of the Wordie Ice Shelf, northwest of Mount [Balfour (Antarctica)|Mount Balfour], Fallières Coast. The feature was photographed from aircraft by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition in 1947. Following survey by the Falkland [Islands Dependencies Survey] in 1958 it was named "Buffer Ice Rise" by the UK Antarctic [Place-names Committee] because it obstructed the northwestward flow of the ice shelf in this vicinity. The UK-APC amended the name to Buffer Island following a general eastward recession of the Wordie Ice Front in about 1999, which disclosed the feature to be an island.