Giant icebergs: A review of the recent calving of icebergs from the Ross Ice Shelf
| dc.contributor.author | Elliott, Tui | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2017-08-17T02:47:01Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2017-08-17T02:47:01Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2001 | en |
| dc.description.abstract | The Ross Ice Shelf, the largest in Antarctica, is a huge sheet of glacial ice and snow extending from the eastern Antarctic mainland, into the southern Ross Sea. These ice shelves are thick sheets of floating freshwater ice that have slid off the Antarctic continent. Thousands of year's worth of snow accumulation forms the continental icecap. At a very slow pace it flows down to the sea where it replenishes the parts of the ice shelf that break off. The year 2000 has witnessed the calving of several remarkably large icebergs in the Ross and WeddelUSeas of Antarctica, including the calving of B-15, thought to be the largest iceberg yet to be observed. These and similar events since 1988 have raised great interest in both the Scientific world and in the popular press. The calvings have created a great opportunity for more research into such areas as ice shelf flows, calving processes and evolution Of icebergs, their characteristics, drift movements and deterioration. Previously data on many of these processes was limited and prediction models primitive. Many questions are still unanswered but these events have provided the research community with a unique opportunity to study and hew data. With the aid of modern technology, irnproved data has been gathered and more accurate applications and predictions have been made. Questions on the possible impact of climate change have been investigated with more confidence, and models have been developed on the likely occurrence of iceberg hazards. The Ross Ice Shelf, the largest in Antarctica, is a huge sheet of glacial ice and snow extending from the eastern Antarctic mainland, into the southern Ross Sea. These ice shelves are thick sheets of floating freshwater ice that have slid off the Antarctic continent. Thousands of year's worth of snow accumulation forms the continental icecap. At a very slow pace it flows down to the sea where it replenishes the parts of the ice shelf that break off. The year 2000 has witnessed the calving of several remarkably large icebergs in the Ross and WeddelUSeas of Antarctica, including the calving of B-15, thought to be the largest iceberg yet to be observed. These and similar events since 1988 have raised great interest in both the Scientific world and in the popular press. The calvings have created a great opportunity for more research into such areas as ice shelf flows, calving processes and evolution Of icebergs, their characteristics, drift movements and deterioration. Previously data on many of these processes was limited and prediction models primitive. Many questions are still unanswered but these events have provided the research community with a unique opportunity to study and hew data. With the aid of modern technology, irnproved data has been gathered and more accurate applications and predictions have been made. Questions on the possible impact of climate change have been investigated with more confidence, and models have been developed on the likely occurrence of iceberg hazards. | en |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10092/14044 | |
| dc.language | English | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | University of Canterbury | en |
| dc.rights | All Rights Reserved | en |
| dc.title | Giant icebergs: A review of the recent calving of icebergs from the Ross Ice Shelf | en |
| dc.type | Theses / Dissertations | en |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Science | en |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Canterbury | en |
| thesis.degree.level | Postgraduate Certificate | en |
| thesis.degree.name | Postgraduate Certificate in Antarctic Studies | en |
| uc.college | Faculty of Science | en |