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Difference between revisions of "Amundsen Sea"
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A study in October 2004 suggested that because the ice in the Amundsen Sea had been melting rapidly and riven with cracks, the offshore ice shelf was set to collapse "within five years". The study projected a sea level rise of 1.3 m (4.3 ft) from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet if all the sea ice in the Amundsen Sea melted. | A study in October 2004 suggested that because the ice in the Amundsen Sea had been melting rapidly and riven with cracks, the offshore ice shelf was set to collapse "within five years". The study projected a sea level rise of 1.3 m (4.3 ft) from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet if all the sea ice in the Amundsen Sea melted. | ||
Measurements made by the British Antarctic Survey in 2005 showed that the ice discharge rate into the Amundsen Sea embayment was about 250 km3 per year. Assuming a steady rate of discharge, this alone is sufficient to raise global sea levels by 0.2 mm per year. | Measurements made by the British Antarctic Survey in 2005 showed that the [[ice]] discharge rate into the Amundsen Sea embayment was about 250 km3 per year. Assuming a steady rate of discharge, this alone is sufficient to raise global sea levels by 0.2 mm per year. | ||
A subglacial volcano has also been detected in the area, just north of the Pine Island Glacier near the [[Hudson Mountains]]. It last erupted approximately 2,200 years ago, indicated by widespread ash deposits within the ice, in what was the largest known eruption in Antarctica within the past 10 millennia. | A subglacial volcano has also been detected in the area, just north of the Pine Island Glacier near the [[Hudson Mountains]]. It last erupted approximately 2,200 years ago, indicated by widespread ash deposits within the ice, in what was the largest known eruption in Antarctica within the past 10 millennia. Volcanic activity in the region may be contributing to the observed increase of glacial flow, although currently the most popular theory among the scientists studying this area is that the flow has increased due to warming ocean water. This water has warmed due to an upwelling of deep ocean water which is due to variations in pressure systems, which could have been affected by [[global warming]]. | ||
==Amundsen Sea as part of the Southern Ocean== | ==Amundsen Sea as part of the Southern Ocean== | ||
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==Pine Island Bay== | ==Pine Island Bay== | ||
[[Pine Island Bay]] (74°50′S 102°40′W) is a bay about 40 miles (64 km) long and 30 miles (48 km) wide, into which flows the ice of the Pine Island Glacier at the southeast extremity of the Amundsen Sea. It was delineated from aerial photographs taken by USN Operation Highjump in December 1946, and named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names for the USS Pine Island, seaplane tender and flagship of the eastern task group of USN Operation Highjump which explored this area. | [[Pine Island Bay]] (74°50′S 102°40′W) is a bay about 40 miles (64 km) long and 30 miles (48 km) wide, into which flows the ice of the [[Pine Island Glacier]] at the southeast extremity of the Amundsen Sea. It was delineated from aerial photographs taken by USN Operation Highjump in December 1946, and named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names for the USS ''Pine Island'', seaplane tender and flagship of the eastern task group of USN Operation Highjump which explored this area. | ||
==Russell Bay== | ==Russell Bay== | ||