Signy Island is one of South Orkney Islands, located at the southernmost tip and on the southern arm of the Scotia Ridge. With a surface area of 20 kilometres squared, it is one of the smaller islands of the South Orkneys. It is one of Britain's smallest research stations, with the British Antarctic Survey present on the island from 1947 onwards. It also used to be a year-round station, switching to summer-only in 1996 [1].

The island's coasts are mostly cliffed, except for a few portions of the western, north-east, and south-east coasts. It is largely rugged, although its summits are flat topped and at a uniform elevation of 200-280 meters. Signy island has undergone significant marine erosion, especially glaciation, which has resulted in its current topography. Signy Island has freshwater lakes, and half the island is covered by a permanent ice-cap, with two glaciers, the McLeod and the Orwell [2].

The weather on Signy Island is influenced heavily by ice, where pack ice in the Weddell Sea surrounds the South Orkneys, while fast forms yearly between the pack. There are also icebergs that are present all year. The island is thus climatically very similar to the Antarctic continent with low temperatures and clear skies. The summers are maritime, with heavily, low cloud presence (up to 80% coverage), and wet conditions from depressions that pass to the north-east [2].

Research on Signy Island focusses on seabirds and terrestrial ecology, with many long-term monitoring projects taking place. Thanks to its ecological diversity and plant richness, in 1961, Signy Island was the main centre for biological research for the British Antarctic Survey. There is also research on the lakes, ice, and microclimate of the area, with biologists able to study fundamental processes in an ecosystem with conditions only suitable for smaller terrestrial organisms [1], [3].

This data portal provides access to published data pertaining to Signy Island. Many datasets will have their own pages, with additional information about the project and methods, which are also detailed in the datasets' respective publication page. Pages are also organised by discipline and species or project, when possible. When reusing any data downloaded from this portal or through the Discovery Metadata System, be sure to use the appropriate citation (citation provided on the publication page on the Discovery Metadata System).

All photos have been kindly provided by Derren Fox. Their reuse is not permitted without their permission.