Thurston Glacier

Thurston Glacier is a glacier about long which drains the south-eastern slopes of Mount Siple on Siple Island. The glacier trends eastward and then east-north-eastward to reach the northern shore of the island. It was mapped by the United States Geological Survey from surveys and United States Navy aerial photography, 1959–65.

Discovery and naming

The glacier was named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names for Thomas R. Thurston, a United States Antarctic Research Program meteorologist at Byrd Station in 1965.

Important Bird Area

A 293 ha site, comprising the marine area and fast ice that forms near the terminus of the glacier, has been designated an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it supports a breeding colony of about 3,000 emperor penguins, estimated from 2009 satellite imagery.