Difference between revisions of "Template:Westarctica.wiki:Today's featured article"

From Encyclopedia Westarctica
Jump to navigation Jump to search
 
(152 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
[[File:Icesheet-Map.jpg|300px|left]]
[[File:Ernest Shackleton before 1909.jpg|250px|left]]
The '''[[West Antarctic Ice Sheet]]''' (WAIS) is the segment of the continental [[ice sheet]] that covers [[Westarctica]] and the portion of [[Antarctica]] on the side of the [[Transantarctic Mountains]] which lies in the Western Hemisphere. The WAIS is classified as a marine-based ice sheet, meaning that its bed lies well below sea level and its edges flow into floating [[ice-shelf|ice shelves]]. The WAIS is bounded by the [[Ross Ice Shelf]], the [[Ronne Ice Shelf]], and outlet [[glacier]]s that drain into the [[Amundsen Sea]].
'''[[Ernest Shackleton]]''' was a polar explorer who led three British expeditions to the [[Antarctica|Antarctic]], and one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.


It is estimated that the volume of the [[Antarctic ice sheet]] is about 25.4 million km3 (6.1 million cu mi), and the WAIS contains just under 10% of this, or 2.2 million km3 (530,000 cu mi). The weight of the ice has caused the underlying rock to sink by between 0.5 and 1 kilometer (0.31 and 0.62 miles) in a process known as isostatic depression.
After the race to the [[South Pole]] ended in December 1911 with [[Roald Amundsen]]'s conquest, Shackleton turned his attention to the crossing of [[Antarctica]] from sea to sea, via the pole. To this end he made preparations for what became the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914–17. Disaster struck this expedition when its ship, ''[[Endurance]]'', became trapped in [[pack ice]] and was slowly crushed before the shore parties could be landed. The crew escaped by camping on the sea ice until it disintegrated, then by launching the lifeboats to reach Elephant Island and ultimately the inhabited island of South Georgia, a stormy ocean voyage of 720 nautical miles and Shackleton's most famous exploit.


When [[ice]] reaches the coast, it either calves or continues to flow outward onto the water. The result is a large, floating ice shelf affixed to the continent.
'''([[Ernest Shackleton|Full Article...]])'''
 
'''([[West Antarctic Ice Sheet|Full Article...]])'''

Latest revision as of 02:55, 15 April 2024

Ernest Shackleton before 1909.jpg

Ernest Shackleton was a polar explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic, and one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.

After the race to the South Pole ended in December 1911 with Roald Amundsen's conquest, Shackleton turned his attention to the crossing of Antarctica from sea to sea, via the pole. To this end he made preparations for what became the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914–17. Disaster struck this expedition when its ship, Endurance, became trapped in pack ice and was slowly crushed before the shore parties could be landed. The crew escaped by camping on the sea ice until it disintegrated, then by launching the lifeboats to reach Elephant Island and ultimately the inhabited island of South Georgia, a stormy ocean voyage of 720 nautical miles and Shackleton's most famous exploit.

(Full Article...)