Movement of the Amery Ice Shelf

Polar Record ◽  
1967 ◽  
Vol 13 (85) ◽  
pp. 439-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip Law
Keyword(s):  
Prydz Bay ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Glacier System ◽  
Amery Ice Shelf ◽  
Lambert Glacier

The Lambert Glacier system, one of the largest in Antarctica, drains from Princess Elizabeth Land into Prydz Bay, terminating in the Amery Ice Shelf, in about long 70° to 75° E.

scholarly journals Radio-echo sounding of the lambert glacier basin

1975 ◽  
Vol 15 (73) ◽  
pp. 103-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. I. Morgan ◽  
W. F. Budd
Keyword(s):  
Surface Topography ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Drainage Basin ◽  
Ice Thickness ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Deep Trench ◽  
Glacier System ◽  
Amery Ice Shelf ◽  
Lambert Glacier ◽  
Echo Sounding

AbstractSeveral seasons of aerial ice-thickness soundings over the region of the Prince Charles Mountains, the Lambert Glacier system, the Amery Ice Shelf, and their drainage basin in east Antarctica have now been completed. The measurements provide detailed maps of surface topography and ice thickness over an area of about 2 X 105 km2. The equipment used consisted of a 100 MHz echo sounder designed and constructed by Antarctic Division and carried in a Pilatus Porter aircraft. ERTS imagery provides a valuable background for portraying the echo-sounding results. These results show that an extensive, deep subglacial valley system forms the basis of the large drainage basin with concave ice surface topography which channels the ice flow into the Amery Ice Shelf. Deep glacial streams penetrate a long way into the ice-sheet basin. The rock relief is considerable, varying from 3 000 m above (present) sea-level to 2 000 m below sea-level. A very deep subglacial trench exists in the region of the confluence of the Fisher, Mellor, and Lambert Glaciers where the ice thickness reaches 2 500 m. The low surface slope and high ice velocity are suggestive of high melt production in this region. The strong echo, together with the high bedrock back-slope, suggests that the deep trench may contain a basal melt lake.

The Amery Ice Shelf and its hinterland

Polar Record ◽  
1960 ◽  
Vol 10 (64) ◽  
pp. 30-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malcolm Mellor ◽  
Graeme McKinnon
Keyword(s):  
Prydz Bay ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Amery Ice Shelf ◽  
Antarctic Research ◽  
Lambert Glacier ◽  
The Antarctic

During the thirty years since the Amery Ice Shelf was first sighted there has been a steady accumulation of information, first on the ice shelf itself and later on the interesting mountains and glacier systems which lie to its south. The ice shelf occupies the head of a large embayment consisting of Prydz Bay and Mackenzie Bay, which deeply indents the coastline of the Antarctic mainland near the borders of MacRobertson Land and Princess Elizabeth Land. An associated valley runs south from the bay, between the Prince Charles Mountains and the Mawson Escarpment, and it is occupied by one of the world's largest valley glaciers, the Lambert Glacier. (In fact, recent findings by Soviet parties suggest that the Lambert Glacier is considerably longer than the Beardmore Glacier.) The exploration, survey and subsequent mapping of the ice shelf, and the mountains and glaciers of its hinterland, by Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions in recent years has been a major contribution to Antarctic geography.

scholarly journals The Mass Budget of the Lambert Glacier Drainage Basin, Antarctica

1979 ◽  
Vol 24 (90) ◽  
pp. 511
Author(s):  
Ian Allison
Keyword(s):  
Total Mass ◽  
Drainage Basin ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Mass Budget ◽  
Glacier System ◽  
Amery Ice Shelf ◽  
Positive Balance ◽  
Lambert Glacier ◽  
Positive State

Abstract Estimates have been made of the mass budget of the total drainage basin of Lambert Glacier. These show a small but significant positive state of balance for the interior basin (the accumulation area up-stream of the major ice streams) and strongly suggest a positive balance for the Lambert Glacier system (the region of major ice streams, between the Amery Ice Shelf and the interior basin). The total mass flux into the interior basin is estimated as 60 Gt a–1. Results are presented from a number of ice movement stations established between 1972 and 1974 around the perimeter of thesouthern Prince Charles Mountains. These results, together with ice thicknesses from radio echo-sounding in the area, give a total mass outflux through the 2000 m contour of 30 Gt a–1, implying a budget excess of a further 30 Gt a–1 over the whole interior basin. Results from velocity and ice-thickness measurements give a mass discharge through a section near the junction of Lambert Glacier and the Amery Ice Shelf of 11 Gt a–1. Losses within the Lambert Glacier system proper account for a further 7 Gt a–1 and an overall mass excess of 12 Gt a–1 is estimated for the Lambert Glacier system. This present positive state of balance contrasts with geomorphological evidence from the southern Prince Charles Mountains of a large drop in ice level in recent geological time, and the ice surface in the area may now be building up after a major recession. This paper has been published in full in Journal of Glaciology, Vol. 22, No. 87,1979, p. 223—35.

scholarly journals The Mass Budget of the Lambert Glacier Drainage Basin, Antarctica

1979 ◽  
Vol 24 (90) ◽  
pp. 511-511
Author(s):  
Ian Allison
Keyword(s):  
Total Mass ◽  
Drainage Basin ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Mass Budget ◽  
Glacier System ◽  
Amery Ice Shelf ◽  
Positive Balance ◽  
Lambert Glacier ◽  
Positive State

AbstractEstimates have been made of the mass budget of the total drainage basin of Lambert Glacier. These show a small but significant positive state of balance for the interior basin (the accumulation area up-stream of the major ice streams) and strongly suggest a positive balance for the Lambert Glacier system (the region of major ice streams, between the Amery Ice Shelf and the interior basin). The total mass flux into the interior basin is estimated as 60 Gt a–1. Results are presented from a number of ice movement stations established between 1972 and 1974 around the perimeter of thesouthern Prince Charles Mountains. These results, together with ice thicknesses from radio echo-sounding in the area, give a total mass outflux through the 2000 m contour of 30 Gt a–1, implying a budget excess of a further 30 Gt a–1 over the whole interior basin. Results from velocity and ice-thickness measurements give a mass discharge through a section near the junction of Lambert Glacier and the Amery Ice Shelf of 11 Gt a–1. Losses within the Lambert Glacier system proper account for a further 7 Gt a–1 and an overall mass excess of 12 Gt a–1 is estimated for the Lambert Glacier system. This present positive state of balance contrasts with geomorphological evidence from the southern Prince Charles Mountains of a large drop in ice level in recent geological time, and the ice surface in the area may now be building up after a major recession.This paper has been published in full in Journal of Glaciology, Vol. 22, No. 87,1979, p. 223—35.

scholarly journals The Mass Budget of the Lambert Glacier Drainage Basin, Antarctica

1979 ◽  
Vol 22 (87) ◽  
pp. 223-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Allison
Keyword(s):  
Total Mass ◽  
Drainage Basin ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Mass Budget ◽  
Glacier System ◽  
Amery Ice Shelf ◽  
Positive Balance ◽  
Lambert Glacier ◽  
Positive State

AbstractEstimates have been made of the mass budget of the total drainage basin of Lambert Glacier. These show a small but significant positive state of balance for the interior basin (the accumulation area up-stream of the major ice streams), and strongly suggest a positive balance for the Lambert Glacier system (the region of major ice streams, between the Amery Ice Shelf and the interior basin). The total mass flux into the interior basin is estimated as 60 Gt a−1. Results are presented from a number of ice movement stations established between 1972 and 1974 around the perimeter of the southern Prince Charles Mountains. These results, together with ice thicknesses from radio echo-sounding in the area, give a total mass outflux through the 2 000 m contour of 30 Gt a−1, implying a budget excess of a further 30 Gt a−1over the whole interior basin. Results from velocity and ice thickness measurements give a mass discharge through a section near the junction of Lambert Glacier and the Amery Ice Shelf of 11 Gt a−1. Losses within the Lambert Glacier system proper account for a further 7 Gt a−1and an overall mass excess of 12 Gt a−1is estimated for the Lambert Glacier system. This present positive state of balance contrasts with geomorphological evidence from the southern Prince Charles Mountains of a large drop in ice level in recent geological time, and the ice surface in the area may now be building up after a major recession.

scholarly journals Radio-echo sounding of the lambert glacier basin

1975 ◽  
Vol 15 (73) ◽  
pp. 103-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. I. Morgan ◽  
W. F. Budd
Keyword(s):  
Surface Topography ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Drainage Basin ◽  
Ice Thickness ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Deep Trench ◽  
Glacier System ◽  
Amery Ice Shelf ◽  
Lambert Glacier ◽  
Echo Sounding

AbstractSeveral seasons of aerial ice-thickness soundings over the region of the Prince Charles Mountains, the Lambert Glacier system, the Amery Ice Shelf, and their drainage basin in east Antarctica have now been completed. The measurements provide detailed maps of surface topography and ice thickness over an area of about 2 X 105km2. The equipment used consisted of a 100 MHz echo sounder designed and constructed by Antarctic Division and carried in a Pilatus Porter aircraft. ERTS imagery provides a valuable background for portraying the echo-sounding results. These results show that an extensive, deep subglacial valley system forms the basis of the large drainage basin with concave ice surface topography which channels the ice flow into the Amery Ice Shelf. Deep glacial streams penetrate a long way into the ice-sheet basin. The rock relief is considerable, varying from 3 000 m above (present) sea-level to 2 000 m below sea-level. A very deep subglacial trench exists in the region of the confluence of the Fisher, Mellor, and Lambert Glaciers where the ice thickness reaches 2 500 m. The low surface slope and high ice velocity are suggestive of high melt production in this region. The strong echo, together with the high bedrock back-slope, suggests that the deep trench may contain a basal melt lake.

scholarly journals Flow regime of the Lambert Glacier-Amery Ice Shelf system, Antarctica: structural evidence from Landsat imagery

1994 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 401-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Hambrey ◽  
Julian A. Dowdeswell
Keyword(s):  
Flow Regime ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Landsat Imagery ◽  
Drainage Basins ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Glacier System ◽  
Amery Ice Shelf ◽  
Conflicting Evidence ◽  
Digital Manipulation ◽  
Lambert Glacier

High-resolution visible and near-infrared satellite imagery provides a means of investigating the structural glaciology, and in turn the dynamics, of large ice masses. The Lambert Glacier-Amery Ice Shelf system is one of the largest ice drainage basins in Antarctica and has previously yielded conflicting evidence concerning its dynamic behaviour: either that the system has a propensity for surging or that it has a constant flow regime. Digital manipulation of Landsat imagery allows analysis of the structure of the glacier system, showing longitudinal foliation, medial moraines and crevasse patterns that provide no evidence of surging behavior during the residence time of ice in the glacier system.

The Mass Budget of the Lambert Glacier Drainage Basin, Antarctica

1979 ◽  
Vol 22 (87) ◽  
pp. 223-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Allison
Keyword(s):  
Total Mass ◽  
Drainage Basin ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Mass Budget ◽  
Glacier System ◽  
Amery Ice Shelf ◽  
Positive Balance ◽  
Lambert Glacier ◽  
Positive State

AbstractEstimates have been made of the mass budget of the total drainage basin of Lambert Glacier. These show a small but significant positive state of balance for the interior basin (the accumulation area up-stream of the major ice streams), and strongly suggest a positive balance for the Lambert Glacier system (the region of major ice streams, between the Amery Ice Shelf and the interior basin). The total mass flux into the interior basin is estimated as 60 Gt a−1. Results are presented from a number of ice movement stations established between 1972 and 1974 around the perimeter of the southern Prince Charles Mountains. These results, together with ice thicknesses from radio echo-sounding in the area, give a total mass outflux through the 2 000 m contour of 30 Gt a−1, implying a budget excess of a further 30 Gt a−1 over the whole interior basin. Results from velocity and ice thickness measurements give a mass discharge through a section near the junction of Lambert Glacier and the Amery Ice Shelf of 11 Gt a−1. Losses within the Lambert Glacier system proper account for a further 7 Gt a−1 and an overall mass excess of 12 Gt a−1 is estimated for the Lambert Glacier system. This present positive state of balance contrasts with geomorphological evidence from the southern Prince Charles Mountains of a large drop in ice level in recent geological time, and the ice surface in the area may now be building up after a major recession.

scholarly journals Flow regime of the Lambert Glacier-Amery Ice Shelf system, Antarctica: structural evidence from Landsat imagery

1994 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 401-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Hambrey ◽  
Julian A. Dowdeswell
Keyword(s):  
Flow Regime ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Landsat Imagery ◽  
Drainage Basins ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Glacier System ◽  
Amery Ice Shelf ◽  
Conflicting Evidence ◽  
Digital Manipulation ◽  
Lambert Glacier

High-resolution visible and near-infrared satellite imagery provides a means of investigating the structural glaciology, and in turn the dynamics, of large ice masses. The Lambert Glacier-Amery Ice Shelf system is one of the largest ice drainage basins in Antarctica and has previously yielded conflicting evidence concerning its dynamic behaviour: either that the system has a propensity for surging or that it has a constant flow regime. Digital manipulation of Landsat imagery allows analysis of the structure of the glacier system, showing longitudinal foliation, medial moraines and crevasse patterns that provide no evidence of surging behavior during the residence time of ice in the glacier system.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document