|
Aurora Basin
Aurora Subglacial Basin is a large subglacial basin of Wilkes Land to the west of Dome Charlie and trending northwest toward the coast in the vicinity of Shackleton Ice Shelf. The basin was delineated by the SPRI-NSF- TUD airborne radio echo sounding program, 1967–79, and named after ''Aurora'', the ship of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911–14, led by Douglas Mawson. The Aurora Subglacial Basin is largely grounded below sea level, making it susceptible to marine ice sheet instability. The Aurora Subglacial Basin is drained in part by Totten Glacier, which responds readily to melt induced by upwelling Upwelling is an physical oceanography, oceanographic phenomenon that involves wind-driven motion of dense, cooler, and usually nutrient-rich water from deep water towards the ocean surface. It replaces the warmer and usually nutrient-depleted sur ... of warm circumpolar deep water and could raise global sea level by more than 3.5 m. In 2011 ice-penetrating ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Structural Basin
A structural basin is a large-scale structural geology, structural formation of rock stratum, strata formed by tectonics, tectonic warping (Fold (geology), folding) of previously flat-lying strata into a syncline fold. They are geological depression (geology), depressions, the inverse of dome (geology), domes. Elongated structural basins are a type of geological Trough (geology), trough. Some structural basins are sedimentary basins, aggregations of sediment that filled up a depression or accumulated in an area; others were formed by tectonic events long after the sedimentary layers were deposited. Basins may appear on a geologic map as roughly circular or elliptical, with concentric layers. Because the strata dip toward the center, the exposed strata in a basin are progressively younger from the outside in, with the youngest rocks in the center. Basins are often large in areal extent, often hundreds of kilometers across. Structural basins are often important sources of coal, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wilkes Land
Wilkes Land is a large district of land in eastern Antarctica, formally claimed by Australia as part of the Australian Antarctic Territory, though this claim has been held in abeyance for the period of the operation of the Antarctic Treaty, to which Australia is a signatory. Geography Wilkes Land fronts on the southern Indian Ocean between Queen Mary Coast and Adélie Land, Adelie Land, extending from Cape Hordern in 100°31' E to Pourquoi Pas Point, in 136°11' E. The region extends as a Circular sector, sector about 2600 kilometre, km towards the South Pole, with an estimated land area of 2,600,000 km², mostly glaciated. Subdivisions It is further subdivided in the following coastal areas which can also be thought of as sectors extending to the South Pole: # Knox Coast: 100°31' E to 109°16' E # Budd Coast: 109°16' E to 115°33' E # Sabrina Coast: 115°33' E to 122°05' E # Banzare Coast: 122°05' E to 130°10' E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dome Charlie
Dome C , also known as dôme Circe, Dome Charlie ( US) or dôme Concordia, is located at Antarctica at an elevation of above sea level, on one of several domes of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Location dome C is on the Antarctic Plateau, inland from the French research station at Dumont D'Urville, inland from the Australian Casey Station and inland from the Italian Zucchelli Station at Terra Nova Bay. Russia's Vostok Station is away. Dome C is the site of the Concordia Research Station, jointly operated by France and Italy. History In the 1970s, dome C was the site of ice core drilling by field teams of several nations. Designated Dome Charlie (NATO Phonetic Alphabet code for the letter ''C'') by the U.S. Naval Support Force, Antarctica, and its Squadron VXE-6, which provided logistical support to the field teams, in January and November 1975, three LC-130 Hercules aircraft suffered severe damage during attempted takeoffs. In November 1975 and November 1976, the U.S. Navy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shackleton Ice Shelf
Shackleton Ice Shelf is an extensive ice shelf fronting the coast of East Antarctica from 95° E to 105° E. It extends for an along-shore distance of about , projecting seaward about in the western portion and in the east. It occupies an area of . It is part of Mawson Sea and separates the Queen Mary Coast to the west from the Knox Coast of Wilkes Land to the east. Discovery and naming The existence of this ice shelf was first made known by the USEE under Charles Wilkes who mapped a portion of it from the '' Vincennes'' in February 1840. It was explored by the Australian Antarctic Expedition under Douglas Mawson (1911–14) who named it for Sir Ernest Shackleton. The extent of the ice shelf was mapped in greater detail in 1955, using aerial photography obtained by US Navy Operation Highjump, 1946–47. Further mapping by the Soviet Expedition of 1956 showed the portion eastward of Scott Glacier to be a part of this ice shelf. Important Bird Area A 500&nb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scott Polar Research Institute
The Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) is a centre for research into the polar regions and glaciology worldwide. It is a sub-department of the Department of Geography in the University of Cambridge, located on Lensfield Road in the south of Cambridge. SPRI was founded by Frank Debenham in 1920 as the national memorial to Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his companions, who died on their return journey from the South Pole in 1912. It investigates issues relevant to the Arctic and Antarctic in the environmental sciences, social sciences and humanities. The institute is home to the Polar Museum and has some 60 personnel, consisting of academic, library and support staff plus postgraduate students, associates and fellows attached to research programmes. The institute also hosts the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research. Research SPRI has several research groups. Notable researchers that have been based at the institute include Julian Dowdeswell, British diplomat Bryan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Science Foundation
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health. With an annual budget of about $9.9 billion (fiscal year 2023), the NSF funds approximately 25% of all federally supported basic research conducted by the List of American institutions of higher education, United States' colleges and universities. In some fields, such as mathematics, computer science, economics, and the social sciences, the NSF is the major source of federal backing. NSF's director and deputy director are appointed by the president of the United States and Advice and consent, confirmed by the United States Senate, whereas the 24 president-appointed members of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Technical University Of Denmark
The Technical University of Denmark (), often simply referred to as DTU, is a polytechnic university and school of engineering. It was founded in 1829 at the initiative of Hans Christian Ørsted as Denmark's first polytechnic, and it is today ranked among Europe's leading engineering institutions. It is located in the town Kongens Lyngby, north of central Copenhagen, Denmark. Along with École Polytechnique in Paris, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Eindhoven University of Technology, Technical University of Munich and Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, DTU is a member of EuroTech Universities Alliance. History DTU was founded in 1829 as the "College of Advanced Technology" (Danish: Den Polytekniske Læreanstalt). The Physicist Hans Christian Ørsted, at that time a professor at the University of Copenhagen, was one of the driving forces behind this initiative. He was inspired by the École Polytechnique in Paris, France which Ørsted had visited as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SY Aurora
SY ''Aurora'' was a 580-ton barque-rigged steam yacht built by Alexander Stephen and Sons Ltd. in Dundee, Scotland, in 1876, for the Dundee Seal and Whale Fishing Company. She was long with a beam. The hull was made of oak, sheathed with greenheart and lined with fir. The bow was a mass of solid wood reinforced with steel-plate armour. The heavy side frames were braced by two levels of horizontal oak beams. Its primary use was whaling in the northern seas, and it was built sturdily enough to withstand the heavy weather and ice that would be encountered there. That strength proved useful for Antarctic exploration as well and between 1911 and 1917 it made five trips to the continent, for both exploration and rescue missions. Whaling Between the years 1876 and 1910, ''Aurora'' made the annual trip from Dundee, Scotland to St. John's, Newfoundland to take part in the whale and seal hunt in the North Atlantic. There were a couple of notable events in this time. In 1884, along wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australasian Antarctic Expedition
The Australasian Antarctic Expedition was a 1911–1914 expedition headed by Douglas Mawson that explored the largely uncharted Antarctic coast due south of Australia. Mawson had been inspired to lead his own venture by his experiences on Ernest Shackleton's ''Nimrod'' expedition in 1907–1909. During its time in Antarctica, the expedition's sledging parties covered around of unexplored territory, while its ship, , navigated of unmapped coastline. Scientific activities included meteorological measurements, magnetic observations, an expansive oceanographic program, and the collection of many biological and geological samples, including the discovery of the first meteorite found in Antarctica. The expedition was the first to establish and maintain wireless contact between Antarctica and Australia. Another planned innovation – the use of an aircraft – was thwarted by an accident before the expedition sailed. The plane's fuselage was adapted to form a motorised sledge or "air ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Douglas Mawson
Sir Douglas Mawson (5 May 1882 – 14 October 1958) was a British-born Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Sir Ernest Shackleton, he was a key expedition leader during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Mawson was born in England and was brought to Australia as an infant. He completed degrees in mining engineering and geology at the University of Sydney. In 1905 he was made a lecturer in petrology and mineralogy at the University of Adelaide. Mawson's first experience in the Antarctic came as a member of Shackleton's Nimrod Expedition, ''Nimrod'' Expedition (1907–1909), alongside his mentor Edgeworth David. They were part of the expedition's northern party, which became the first to attain the South magnetic pole and to climb Mount Erebus. After his participation in Shackleton's expedition, Mawson became the principal instigator of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (1911–1914). The expedit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marine Ice Sheet Instability
In glaciology, an ice sheet, also known as a continental glacier, is a mass of glacial ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than . The only current ice sheets are the Antarctic ice sheet and the Greenland ice sheet. Ice sheets are bigger than ice shelves or alpine glaciers. Masses of ice covering less than 50,000 km2 are termed an ice cap. An ice cap will typically feed a series of glaciers around its periphery. Although the surface is cold, the base of an ice sheet is generally warmer due to geothermal heat. In places, melting occurs and the melt-water lubricates the ice sheet so that it flows more rapidly. This process produces fast-flowing channels in the ice sheet — these are ice streams. Even stable ice sheets are continually in motion as the ice gradually flows outward from the central plateau, which is the tallest point of the ice sheet, and towards the margins. The ice sheet slope is low around the plateau but increases steeply at the margin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Totten Glacier
Totten Glacier is a large glacier draining a major portion of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, through the Budd Coast of Wilkes Land in the Australian Antarctic Territory. The catchment drained by the glacier is estimated at , extending approximately into the interior and holds the potential to raise sea level by at least . Totten drains northeastward from the continental ice but turns northwestward at the coast where it terminates in a prominent tongue close east of Cape Waldron. It was first delineated from aerial photographs taken by USN Operation Highjump (1946–47), and named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) for George M. Totten, midshipman on of the United States Exploring Expedition (1838–42), who assisted Lieutenant Charles Wilkes with correction of the survey data obtained by the expedition. Totten Ice Shelf is a floating portion of Totten Glacier, laterally bounded by the Aurora Subglacial Basin to the south and Law Dome to the north. The ice shel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
