Nansen Ice Sheet () is a long by wide

ice shelf An ice shelf is a large platform of glacial ice floating on the ocean, fed by one or multiple tributary glaciers. Ice shelves form along coastlines where the ice thickness is insufficient to displace the more dense surrounding ocean water. T ...

. It is nourished by the Priestley and Reeves Glaciers and abuts the north side of the

Drygalski Ice Tongue The Drygalski Ice Tongue, Drygalski Barrier, or Drygalski Glacier Tongue is a glacier in Antarctica, on the Scott Coast, in the northern McMurdo Sound of Ross Dependency, north of Ross Island. The Drygalski Ice Tongue is stable by the standa ...

, along the coast of

Victoria Land Victoria Land is a region in eastern Antarctica which fronts the western side of the Ross Sea and the Ross Ice Shelf, extending southward from about 70°30'S to 78th parallel south, 78°00'S, and westward from the Ross Sea to the edge of the Ant ...

, Antarctica. This feature was explored by the South Magnetic Polar Party of the British Antarctic Expedition, 1907-09 and by the Northern Party of the

British Antarctic Expedition, 1910-13 The ''Terra Nova'' Expedition, officially the British Antarctic Expedition, was an expedition to Antarctica which took place between 1910 and 1913. Led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott, the expedition had various scientific and geographical objec ...

Frank Debenham Frank Debenham, Order of the British Empire, OBE (26 December 1883 – 23 November 1965) was Emeritus Professor of Geography at the Department of Geography, Cambridge, Department of Geography, Cambridge University and first director of the Scot ...

, geologist with the latter expedition, applied the name Nansen Sheet as the feature is adjacent to Mount Nansen, the dominating summit in the area.

Geography

The Nansen Ice Sheet covers the southwest of Wood Bay, on the west coast of the Ross Sea. It is west of the

Northern Foothills Northern Foothills () is a line of coastal hills on the west side of Terra Nova Bay, Victoria Land, Antarctica, lying southward of Browning Pass (Antarctica), Browning Pass and forming a peninsular continuation of the Deep Freeze Range. It was na ...

and east of the

Prince Albert Mountains The Prince Albert Mountains () are a major mountain group in Antarctica over long. Located in Victoria Land, they run north–south between the Priestley Glacier to the north and Ferrar Glacier to the south. They are south of the Deep Freeze ...

. From east to west it is fed by Browning Pass, Boomerang Glacier, the Priestley Glacier, the Carnein Glacier and the Reeves Glacier. The Larsen Glacier enters the sea to the southwest of the ice sheet. It abuts the

to the south. Features surrounding the ice shelf include (anti-clockwise from the east) Inexpressible Island, Vegetation Island, Cape Canwe, Gray Rock and Rhodes Head on McCarthy Ridge, Andersson Ridge, Widowmaker Pass and Olson Nunatak.

Features

Coastal features include:

Browning Pass

. An ice-covered pass, long, lying between the main mass of Deep Freeze Range and the

. The pass facilitates movement between the lower ends of Priestley and Campbell Glaciers. The feature was first mapped as a part of Campbell Glacier by the Northern Party of the BrAE, 1910-13. It was remapped by the Southern Party of NZGSAE, 1962-63, and named for Frank V. Browning, a member of the BrAE Northern Party, for whom nearby Mount Browning is also named.

Boomerang Glacier

. A gently curving glacier, long, draining southward from Mount Dickason in the Deep Freeze Range to enter Browning Pass, at the north side of Nansen Ice Sheet. Discovered by the Northern Party of the BrAE, 1910-13, and so named by them because of its shape.

Gray Rock

. An isolated rock lying ENE of Rhodes Head, at the southeast side of Eisenhower Range. Mapped by the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

(USGS) from surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1955-63. Named by the United States

Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names The Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (ACAN or US-ACAN) is an advisory committee of the United States Board on Geographic Names responsible for recommending commemorative names for features in Antarctica. History The committee was established ...

(US-ACAN) for Alvin M. Gray, radioscience researcher at McMurdo Station, summer 1965-66.

Rhodes Head

. A prominent headland forming the extremity of McCarthy Ridge on the southeast side of Eisenhower Range, overlooking the Nansen Ice Sheet. Mapped by USGS from surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1955-63. Named by US-ACAN for Captain James C. Rhodes, USMCR, an LC-130 aircraft commander with United States Navy Squadron VX-6 for several seasons to 1967.

McCarthy Ridge

. A broad, mainly ice-covered ridge with steep sides forming the east wall of Carnein Glacier, in the foothills of southeast Eisenhower Range. Mapped by USGS from surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1955-63. Named by US-ACAN for Peter C. McCarthy, biolab manager at McMurdo Station, winter party 1966.

Carnein Glacier

. A glacier draining the southeast corner of the

Eisenhower Range The Eisenhower Range () is a majestic mountain range, about long and rising to , which rises between Reeves Névé on the west, Reeves Glacier on the south, and Priestley Glacier on the north and east, in Victoria Land, Antarctica. The range ...

, flowing south along the west side of McCarthy Ridge to merge with lower Reeves Glacier at the Nansen Ice Sheet. Mapped by USGS from surveys and USN air photos, 1955-63. Named by US-ACAN for Carl R. Carnein, glaciologist at McMurdo Station, summer 1965-66.

Widowmaker Pass

. A heavily crevassed and therefore dangerous pass leading from Larsen Glacier to Reeves Glacier, between Mount Janetschek and Mount Gerlache. Given this expressive name by the

New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition The New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition (NZGSAE) describes a series of scientific explorations of the continent Antarctica. The expeditions were notably active throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Features named by the expeditions 19 ...

(NZGSAE), 1962-63.

Olson Nunatak

. A bare rock nunatak lying at the south side of the terminus of Reeves Glacier, north of the summit of Mount Gerlache. Mapped by USGS from surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1955-63. Named by US-ACAN for James J. Olson, geophysicist with the USARP Ross Ice Shelf party in the 1961-62 season.

References

Sources

* * *

External links

Flow pattern and rheology of marine ice from Nansen Ice ShelfCompression experiments
{{Antarctica Ice shelves of Antarctica Glaciers of Victoria Land Scott Coast