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→Ice shelves of Westarctica
Westarctica (talk | contribs) (Source content drawn from Wikipedia article on Ice Shelves.) |
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[[File:Ross Ice Shelf.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Edge of the Ross Ice Shelf]] | |||
An '''ice shelf''' is a thick floating platform of [[ice]] that forms where a [[glacier]] or ice sheet flows down to a coastline and onto the ocean surface. Ice shelves are only found in [[Antarctica]], Greenland, Canada and the Russian Arctic. The boundary between the floating ice shelf and the anchor ice (resting on bedrock) that feeds it is called the grounding line. The thickness of ice shelves ranges from about 100 to 1000 meters. | An '''ice shelf''' is a thick floating platform of [[ice]] that forms where a [[glacier]] or ice sheet flows down to a coastline and onto the ocean surface. Ice shelves are only found in [[Antarctica]], Greenland, Canada and the Russian Arctic. The boundary between the floating ice shelf and the anchor ice (resting on bedrock) that feeds it is called the grounding line. The thickness of ice shelves ranges from about 100 to 1000 meters. | ||
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Typically, a shelf front will extend forward for years or decades between major calving events. Snow accumulation on the upper surface and melting from the lower surface are also important to the mass balance of an ice shelf. Ice may also accrete onto the underside of the shelf. | Typically, a shelf front will extend forward for years or decades between major calving events. Snow accumulation on the upper surface and melting from the lower surface are also important to the mass balance of an ice shelf. Ice may also accrete onto the underside of the shelf. | ||
The density contrast between glacial ice and liquid water means that 1/9 up to 1/6 of the floating ice is above the ocean surface - depending on how much air at which pressure is contained in the bubbles within the glacial ice, stemming from compressed snow | The density contrast between glacial ice and liquid water means that 1/9 up to 1/6 of the floating ice is above the ocean surface - depending on how much air at which pressure is contained in the bubbles within the glacial ice, stemming from compressed snow. The height of the shelf above the sea can be even larger, if there is a lot of less dense firn and snow above the glacier ice. | ||
The world's largest ice shelves are the Ross Ice Shelf and the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica. | The world's largest ice shelves are the Ross Ice Shelf and the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica. | ||
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==Ice shelves of Westarctica== | ==Ice shelves of Westarctica== | ||
Westarctica has | [[File:Ice-Shelf Melting.jpg|thumb|Rates of basal melt of Antarctic ice shelves]] | ||
Westarctica has eight major ice shelves surrounding its coastal regions. From east to west, they are: | |||
* [[Abbot Ice Shelf]] | |||
* [[Cosgrove Ice Shelf]] | |||
* [[Crosson Ice Shelf]] | * [[Crosson Ice Shelf]] | ||
* [[Dotson Ice Shelf]] | * [[Dotson Ice Shelf]] | ||
* [[Getz Ice Shelf]] | * [[Getz Ice Shelf]] | ||
* [[Nickerson Ice Shelf]] | * [[Nickerson Ice Shelf]] | ||
* [[Sulzberger Ice Shelf]] | |||
* [[Ross Ice Shelf]] - ''(Only a small part of the south east portion)'' | |||
[[Category:Science]] | [[Category:Science]] | ||