The Mawson Glacier () is a large glacier on the east 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, descending eastward from the

Antarctic Plateau The Antarctic Plateau, Polar Plateau or King Haakon VII Plateau is a large area of East Antarctica that extends over a diameter of about , and includes the region of the geographic South Pole and the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station. Thi ...

to the north of Trinity Nunatak and the

Kirkwood Range The Kirkwood Range () is a massive coastal mountain range in Antarctica, extending north–south between Fry Glacier and Mawson Glacier. A broad low-level platform on the seaward side of the range is occupied by the Oates Piedmont Glacier. It is ...

, to enter the

Ross Sea The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica, between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land and within the Ross Embayment, and is the southernmost sea on Earth. It derives its name from the British explorer James Clark Ross who ...

, where it forms the Nordenskjöld Ice Tongue. The glacier was first mapped by the British Antarctic Expedition (1907–09) and named for

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 expedition physicist, who later led two other Antarctic expeditions, 1911–14, and 1929–31.

Glaciology

After the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) there was dynamic retreat of the ice sheet covering the Ross Sea in the Mawson Glacier region. The glacier thinned abruptly between 7,500 and 4,500 years ago, then thinned more gradually until recently. This thinning was very similar to what happened at the

Mackay Glacier Mackay Glacier () is a large glacier in Victoria Land, descending eastward from the Antarctic Plateau, between the Convoy Range and Clare Range, into the southern part of Granite Harbour. It was discovered by the South magnetic pole party of the B ...

to the south. Probably the ice sheet retreat and glacial ice drawdown were caused by ocean warming.

Course

The Mawson Glacier rises on the Antarctic Plateau. Features of the region of its head include Battlements Nunatak, Reckling Peak, Jarina Nunatak and Trinity Nunatak. The

Odell Glacier The Odell Glacier () is a glacier draining northeast between Allan Hills and Coombs Hills into the upper Mawson Glacier in Victoria Land, Antarctica. It was named by the New Zealand Antarctic Place-Names Committee (NZ-APC) for Noel Odell, who w ...

and Chattahoochee Glacier flows into the head of the glacier. Mawson Glacier flows east past the Walker Rocks and Mount Murray to its north and the

to its south. It flows past Charcot Cove and Bruce Point to the north and the Oates Piedmont Glacier and Cape Day to its south, to terminate in the NordenSkjold Ice Tongue.

Features

Battlements Nunatak

. A large nunatak near the head of Mawson Glacier, about northwest of

Allan Hills The Allan Hills () are a group of hills, mainly ice free and about long, lying just north-west of the Coombs Hills near the heads of Mawson Glacier and Mackay Glacier in the Oates Land and Victoria Land regions of Antarctica. Exploration and n ...

. It is mostly ice free and has a number of small peaks running in a line west from the main peak. Discovered and named by the New Zealand party (1957–58) of the CTAE. The name describes the steep rock peaks of the nunatak.

Reckling Peak

. An isolated peak, high, which surmounts the central part of a ridge located at the icefalls at the head of Mawson Glacier. Mapped by USGS from ground surveys and Navy air photos. Named by US-ACAN in 1964 for Lt. Commander Darold L. Reckling, pilot with U.S. Navy Squadron VX-6, 1961.

Reckling Moraine

. A moraine located west of Reckling Peak, the latter at the head of Mawson Glacier. The site of the moraine is part of a long, narrow patch of bare ice that extends west from Reckling Peak, from which the moraine is named. The name arose following the collection of meteorites at the moraine by a USARP field party in the 1979–80 season.

Jarina Nunatak

. Nunatak lying west-northwest of the main summit of Trinity Nunatak in the stream of the Mawson Glacier. Named by US-ACAN in 1964 for Lt. Commander Michael Jarina, pilot with U.S. Navy Squadron VX-6 in 1962.

Trinity Nunatak

. A large nunatak in the stream of the Mawson Glacier, about north of the Convoy Range in Victoria Land. Mapped in 1957 by the New Zealand Northern Survey party of the CTAE (1956–58), which applied the name because of its three summits.

Mouth

Charcot Cove

. A re-entrant in the coast of Victoria Land between Bruce Point and Cape Hickey. Discovered by the BrNAE (1901–04) which named this feature for Dr. Jean B. Charcot, noted Arctic and Antarctic explorer.

Marin Glacier

. A glacier just west of Cape Hickey, flowing southeast into Charcot Cove on the coast of Victoria Land. Mapped by USGS from ground surveys and Navy air photos. Named by US-AC AN in 1964 for Bonifacio Marin, engineman at McMurdo Station, 1962.

Bruce Point

. A point situated at the south side of Charcot Cove on the coast of Victoria Land. Discovered by the BrNAE (1901–04) under Capt. Robert F. Scott, who named the feature for William S. Bruce, leader of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (1902–04).

Cape Hickey

. Cape on the coast of Victoria Land, just east of Charcot Cove and Marin Glacier. It forms the outer, north portal of the re-entrant through which Mawson Glacier flows to the Ross Sea. Mapped by USGS from ground surveys and Navy air photos. Named by US-ACAN in 1964 for Lt. John Hickey, USN, pilot with Navy Squadron VX-6, who participated in Topo North and South surveys in 1962.

Cape Cornely

. A cape on the coast of Victoria Land north of Cape Day. The cape is marked by a rock exposure and is situated at the south side of the terminus of Mawson Glacier. Mapped by USGS from surveys and U.S. Navy aerial photographs, 1957–61. Named by US-ACAN for Joseph R. Cornely, USN, radioman with the wintering parties at Little America V, South Pole Station, and McMurdo Station in three years, 1958, 1961 and 1963.

Nordenskjöld Ice Tongue

. A broad glacier tongue extending eastward from the Mawson Glacier into the Ross Sea. Discovered by the BrNAE (1901–04) and named for Otto Nordenskjold, Swedish geographer who led an expedition to Antarctica in 1901. This feature had become well established by the name Nordenskjold Ice Tongue prior to initiation of systematic application of common specific names to a glacier and its glacier tongue. Although this feature is a glacier tongue, the generic term ice tongue is retained in the name to reduce ambiguity.

Oates Piedmont Glacier

An extensive lowland ice sheet east of the

, occupying the whole of the coastal platform between the

Fry Glacier Fry Glacier () is a glacier draining the slopes at the northeast corner of the Convoy Range and flowing along the south end of the Kirkwood Range into Tripp Bay, Victoria Land, Antarctica. It was first charted by the British Antarctic Expeditio ...

and Mawson Glacier. Surveyed in 1957 and named by the N.Z. Northern Survey Party of the CTAE (1956–58) after Capt. Lawrence E.G. Oates who, with Captain Scott and three companions, perished on the return from the South Pole in 1912.

Cape Day

. A cape on the coast of Victoria Land east of Mount Gauss. First charted by the BrAE (1907–09) which named this cape after Bernard C. Day, electrician and motor expert with the expedition.

References

Sources

* * * * {{Portal bar, Geography Glaciers of Victoria Land Scott Coast