Difference between revisions of "Template:POTD protected"

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The '''[[Pine Island Glacier]]''' (PIG) is a large ice stream, and the fastest melting [[glacier]] in Antarctica, responsible for about 25% of Antarctica's [[ice]] loss. The glacier ice streams flow west-northwest along the south side of the [[Hudson Mountains]] into [[Pine Island Bay]], [[Amundsen Sea]], Westarctica. It was mapped by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) from surveys and [[United States Navy]] (USN) air photos, 1960–66, and named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) in association with Pine Island Bay.
The '''[[southern elephant seal]]''' is one of the two species of elephant seals. It is the largest member of the clade Pinnipedia and the order Carnivora, as well as the largest marine mammal that is not a cetacean. It gets its name from its massive size and the large proboscis of the adult male, which is used to produce very loud roars, especially during the breeding season.


The area drained by Pine Island Glacier comprises about 10% of the [[West Antarctic Ice Sheet]]. Satellite measurements have shown that the Pine Island Glacier Basin has a greater net contribution of ice to the sea than any other ice drainage basin in the world and this has increased due to recent acceleration of the ice stream.
The world population was estimated at 650,000 animals in the mid-1990s, and was estimated in 2005 at between 664,000 and 740,000 animals. Studies have shown the existence of three geographic subpopulations, one in each of the three oceans. Tracking studies have indicated the routes traveled by elephant seals, demonstrating their main feeding area is at the edge of the Antarctic continent. While elephant seals may come ashore in [[Antarctica]] occasionally to rest or to mate, they gather to breed in subantarctic locations.


<p><small>Photographer: Polargeo</small></p>
<p><small>Photographer: Liam Quinn</small></p>
[[:Category:Images|'''(More Images)''']]
[[:Category:Images|'''(More Images)''']]
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Latest revision as of 03:24, 2 May 2024

Elephant Seal penguins.jpg

The southern elephant seal is one of the two species of elephant seals. It is the largest member of the clade Pinnipedia and the order Carnivora, as well as the largest marine mammal that is not a cetacean. It gets its name from its massive size and the large proboscis of the adult male, which is used to produce very loud roars, especially during the breeding season.

The world population was estimated at 650,000 animals in the mid-1990s, and was estimated in 2005 at between 664,000 and 740,000 animals. Studies have shown the existence of three geographic subpopulations, one in each of the three oceans. Tracking studies have indicated the routes traveled by elephant seals, demonstrating their main feeding area is at the edge of the Antarctic continent. While elephant seals may come ashore in Antarctica occasionally to rest or to mate, they gather to breed in subantarctic locations.

Photographer: Liam Quinn

(More Images)