Clipperton Island

Clipperton Island, also known as Clipperton Atoll, is a small, uninhabited coral island in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is the only French territory in the North Pacific, located far from Paris, France, and even farther from nearby places like Papeete in French Polynesia and Acapulco in Mexico.

The island was first documented by French explorers in 1711 and claimed by France in 1858. Later, both Mexico and the United States showed interest in the island. Mexico even set up a small group of people there, but they faced many difficulties and were eventually rescued. In 1931, an international decision confirmed that Clipperton belongs to France.

After World War II, the island became a place for scientists to study its unique wildlife, including many birds. Occasionally, people visit the island for research or special radio activities, but it remains mostly empty and quiet, cared for by the French Navy.

Geography

The coral island is found in the East Pacific Ocean, 1,080 km southwest of Mexico, 2,424 km west of Nicaragua, 2,545 km west of Costa Rica, and 2,390 km northwest of the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador. The closest land is Socorro Island, about 945 km to the northwest in the Revillagigedo Archipelago. The nearest French-owned island is Hiva Oa in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia, which is about 3,300 km southeast of Clipperton.

The atoll is low and mostly barren, with some grasses and a few groups of coconut palms. The land around the lagoon is 1.7 square kilometres, with an average height of 2 metres, though a small rocky part called Clipperton Rock rises to 29 metres on its southeast side. The reef around the island, covering 3.7 square kilometres, is full of corals and sometimes shows at low tide. In 2001, a marker was placed to see if the land is rising or sinking.

Environment

The environment of Clipperton Island has been studied a lot, with the first recordings and sample collections done in the 1800s. Today, research focuses mainly on climate science and migratory wildlife.

The SURPACLIP oceanographic expedition, a joint effort by the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the University of New Caledonia Nouméa, conducted extensive studies of the island in 1997. In 2001, French National Centre for Scientific Research geographer Christian Jost continued these studies through the French Passion 2001 expedition, focusing on how Clipperton's ecosystem changes. In 2003, cinematographer Lance Milbrand spent 41 days on the island, recording the experience for the National Geographic Explorer and creating a GPS map for the National Geographic Society.

In 2005, a four-month scientific mission led by Jean-Louis Étienne made a full inventory of Clipperton's mineral, plant, and animal species. They studied algae as deep as 100 m (328 ft) below sea level and looked at the effects of pollution. A 2008 expedition from the University of Washington's School of Oceanography collected sediment cores from the lagoon to study climate change over the past millennium.

Lagoon

Clipperton is a ring-shaped atoll that completely surrounds a stagnant fresh water lagoon. It measures 12 km (7.5 mi) around and covers 720 hectares (2.8 sq mi). The island is the only coral island in the eastern Pacific. The lagoon has no fish and is mostly shallow, except for some deep areas reaching 43–72 m (141–236 ft), including a spot called Trou Sans Fond ('the bottomless hole') with acidic water at its base. Seaweed covers about 45% of the lagoon's surface. The island’s edge is usually 150 m (490 ft) wide, narrowing to 45 m (148 ft) in the northeast.

The lagoon closed off about 170 years ago, turning into a meromictic lake. The shallow parts have eroded coral heads from when the lagoon was last connected to the ocean. The lagoon's surface has lots of phytoplankton, which changes slightly with the seasons. This causes the water layers to stay separated, with a fresh upper layer and a deep layer rich in hydrogen sulfide, which stops coral from growing. Before the lagoon closed, coral and clams could live there, as shown by fossilized specimens.^: 112 

Studies show that microbes on the lagoon's surface are similar to those found elsewhere in the world, while deeper samples show a lot of bacteria and archaea. In 2005, French scientists found three types of dinoflagellate microalgae in the lagoon. The lagoon also has millions of isopods, known for their painful bite.

Some say the lagoon water isn’t safe to drink, but reports from people stranded there in 1962 suggest it was drinkable, though not very tasty. Survivors from 1917 relied on rainwater, and American servicemen in World War II had to use special equipment to make the water safe.

Climate

The island has a tropical oceanic climate, with temperatures between 20–32 °C (68–90 °F, up to 37.8 °C (100.0 °F). Annual rainfall ranges from 3,000 to 5,000 millimetres (120 to 200 in), and humidity is usually between 85% and 95%. The southeast trade winds are common. The rainy season runs from May to October, and the area can see tropical cyclones from April to September. In 1997, Clipperton was affected by the start of Hurricane Felicia, and Hurricane Sandra in 2015. The island has also faced tropical storms and depressions, including Tropical Storm Andres in 2003. The surrounding ocean waters are warm and have seen temperature rises due to global warming.

Flora and fauna

See also: List of endemic species of Clipperton Island

When visitors came in 1898, they said "no land plant is native to the island". Older records from 1711, 1825, and 1839 show low grassy or partially woody plants. During Marie-Hélène Sachet’s visit in 1958, the plants were sparse, with spiny grass, low thickets, a creeping plant (Ipomoea spp.), and coconut palms. This seems to be early-stage plant growth, mostly made up of recently introduced species. Sachet thought Heliotropium curassavicum and possibly Portulaca oleracea might be native. Coconut palms and pigs brought in the 1890s by guano miners were still there in the 1940s. The biggest coconut area is Bougainville Wood (Bois de Bougainville) on the southwest side. On the northwest, common plants include Cenchrus echinatus, Sida rhombifolia, and Corchorus aestuans, forming a shrub cover up to 30 cm (12 in) tall.

The only land animals are two types of reptiles (the Pacific stump-toed gecko and the copper-tailed skink), bright-orange land crabs called Clipperton crabs (Johngarthia oceanica), birds, and ship rats. The rats likely arrived when large fishing boats wrecked on the island in 1999 and 2000.

Pigs introduced in the 1890s reduced the crab population, allowing grassland to cover about 80% of the land. Removing these pigs in 1958 led to the crabs coming back, and most of the grassland disappeared. Today, Clipperton is mostly sandy desert with 674 palms counted in 2001 and five small islands in the lagoon with grass out of reach of crabs. A 2005 report noted that rats, introduced later, have reduced both crab and bird numbers, increasing vegetation and coconut palms. The report urged removing rats to help the island return to its natural state.

In 1825, Benjamin Morrell reported seeing green sea turtles nesting, but later visits didn’t find them, possibly due to guano mining and introduced pigs and rats. Sea turtles found there show signs of injury from fishing. Morrell also mentioned fur and elephant seals in 1825, but they haven’t been seen since.

Birds are common. Morrell noted in 1825: "The whole island is literally covered with sea-birds, such as gulls, whale-birds, gannets, and the booby". Thirteen bird species breed on the island, and 26 others visit. It’s an Important Bird Area due to a large colony of masked boobies, with 110,000 birds recorded. Observed birds include white terns, masked boobies, sooty terns, Cocos boobies, brown noddies, black noddies, great frigatebirds, coots, martins, cuckoos, and yellow warblers. Ducks and moorhens have been seen in the lagoon.

The coral reef on the north side has colonies over 2 metres (6.6 ft) tall. The 2018 Tara Pacific expedition found five colonies of Millepora platyphylla at depths of 28–32 metres (92–105 ft), the first of this fire coral species in the region. Some Porites corals show signs of bleaching and disease.

The reefs around Clipperton have many endemic species, with over 115 identified. These include the Clipperton angelfish (Holacanthus limbaughi), Clipperton grouper (Epinephelus clippertonensis), Clipperton damselfish (Stegastes baldwini), and Robertson’s wrasse (Thalassoma robertsoni). Common fish include Pacific creolefish, blue-and-gold snapper, and various Goatfish. In the water column, trevallies like black jacks, bigeye trevally, and bluefin trevally are common. Other fish include black triggerfish; several groupers like leather bass and starry groupers; Mexican hogfish; whitecheek, convict, and striped-fin surgeonfish; yellow longnose and blacknosed butterflyfish; coral hawkfish; golden pufferfish; Moorish idols; parrotfish; and moray eels, especially speckled moray eels. The waters are important for sharks, especially white tip shark. Galapagos sharks, reef sharks, whale sharks, and hammerhead sharks are also present.

Three expeditions collected sponge specimens, including a visit by U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt in 1938. Of 190 specimens, 20 species were found, including nine unique to Clipperton. One endemic sponge from 1938 was named Callyspongia roosevelti in honor of Roosevelt.

Environmental threats

In February 2010, the Sichem Osprey, a Maltese chemical tanker, ran aground while traveling from the Panama Canal to South Korea. The 170 m (558 ft) ship carried 10,513 metric tons of xylene, 6,005 metric tons of soybean oil, and 6,000 metric tons of tallow.^: 43  All 19 crew members were safe, and the ship reported no leaks. It was refloated on March 6 and resumed service.

In March 2012, crew from the Clipperton Project noticed lots of trash, especially on the northeast shore and around Clipperton Rock. Debris like plastic bottles and containers harms the island's plants and animals. This trash is mostly found on two beaches, while the rest of the island stays cleaner. Other waste has been left by American soldiers (1944–1945), French scientists (1966–1969), and the 2008 expedition. In 2015, the team found a package with 1.2 kilograms (2.6 lb) of cocaine, likely discarded at sea. In April 2023, a French mission collected over 200 kilograms (440 lb) of plastic waste and a bale of cocaine from the beaches.

The Sea Around Us Project estimates Clipperton’s surrounding waters produce about 50,000 metric tons of fish each year. However, due to infrequent French patrols, this includes illegal fishing, lobster harvesting, and shark finning, costing France an estimated €0.42 per kilogram of fish caught.

As deep-sea mining of polymetallic nodules grows in the nearby Clarion–Clipperton zone, similar mining in France’s exclusive economic zone around the island could affect marine life. Polymetallic nodules were found in Clipperton’s zone during the Passion 2015 expedition.

Politics and government

The island is owned by France and is directly managed by the Minister of the Overseas. Though it is French territory, it is not part of the European Union. In the past, both France and Mexico claimed the island, but this was settled in 1931 through a process called arbitration. The Clipperton Island Case is still studied in books about international law.

In the 1930s, people thought Clipperton Island might be useful for airplanes traveling across the Pacific Ocean, but France did not want to build anything there for travel. Later, in 1996, France joined an agreement called the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and again stated its control over waters around the island. In 2018, France made these waters even larger.

In 2007, control of the island was moved from leaders in French Polynesia to the Minister of Overseas France.^: 99  In 2015, a French leader named Philippe Folliot visited the island and later told others about the importance of keeping it French. He also suggested building a place for scientists to study there. In 2022, France officially named the island “La Passion–Clipperton”.

History

Discovery and early claims

There are several stories about who first found the island. One early tale from 1521 tells of a Spanish explorer named Ferdinand Magellan seeing an island called San Pablo while sailing near the American coast. In 1528, another Spanish explorer named Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón spotted an island he called Isla Médanos during a trip to find a route to the Philippines.

The island was first mapped in 1711 by a French merchant named Michel Dubocage. He named it Île de la Passion because he arrived on Good Friday. Some say an English pirate named John Clipperton passed by the island and may have used it as a base.

19th century

After Mexico declared independence in 1821, the island became part of Mexico because old Spanish records mentioned it. Mexico included the island in its constitution in 1917, calling it La Pasión. In 1858, France claimed the island for its guano deposits.

In the late 1800s, an American company tried to mine guano but faced problems. Mexico later sent soldiers to the island and built a lighthouse. By 1914, about 100 people lived there, but supplies stopped arriving during a big conflict in Mexico.

20th century

By 1917, most of the people on the island had passed away. The last survivor was a man named Víctoriano Álvarez, who took control and caused trouble before being killed. The remaining people were taken off the island by a U.S. ship.

In 1931, Italy decided the island belonged to France after a long disagreement between France and Mexico. France officially took control in 1935.

During World War II, the United States placed a weather station on the island but left after the war ended.

Castaways

Over the years, a few groups of people were left on the island or stranded there. In 1893, two workers were left but later rescued. In 1897, a ship’s crew survived on the island until they were saved. In 1947, five American fishermen were rescued after six weeks. In 1962, nine crew members from a sunken ship lived on the island for three weeks before being found and rescued.

Amateur radio DX-peditions

The island is a popular spot for amateur radio enthusiasts because it is far away and has an interesting history. Many groups have visited to operate radio equipment there, making many contacts with people around the world. In 2014, a group combined radio work with scientific studies of the island.