Page 267 - Fundamentals of Geomorphology

250 PROCESS AND FORM

0° 0° 60°S

60°S

M a u d d
Q u e e n n M a u L a n 70°S
Q u e e
L a n d d
70°S
Larsen D
Larsen
Ice Shelf
Ice Shelf
Weddell
W eddell T
T
Sea
Sea r 80°S D
r
80°S
a
a
A Antarctic n S
ntarctic
n
mery
P
s
Ronne
eninsula
Peninsula Ronne s A Amery
Ice Shelf
a
a
Ice Shelf n Lambert Ice Shelf
Ice Shelf
Lambert
n
Glacier
Glacier
t
t
a
a
Dome
Dome
W
est
r
D r West
rgus
A Argus
c
Ice Shelf
c
t
t D Ice Shelf
D i i
S c
c
90°
90°W S 90°E E
90°W
D D
D D S S S
D
Shackleton
Shackleton
M
M
Shelf
Ice
o
o Ice Shelf
S
u
u
Amundsen
Amundsen n S
n
Sea D D Ross t t
Sea
Ross
a
Ice Shelf a i i L a n d
Ice Shelf
D
D n s
n
s
W i l k e s
500 m bathymetric contour
R
oss
Ross
Ice divide Sea D S
Sea
D Dome
S Saddle
Ice shelf grounding line
Mountains above ice sheet 180°
180°
Figure 10.2 Antarctica. The dashed outer line denotes the 500-m bathymetric contour, dashed interior lines denote
ice divides with domes D and saddles S, solid lines denote tidewater ice-sheet margins, hachured lines denote ice shelf
calving margins, dotted lines denote ice shelf grounding lines, and black areas denote mountains above the ice sheet.
Source: Adapted from Hughes et al. (1985)
and are frozen to the bedrock. Its ice ranges in several islands, this area would remain below sea
thickness from approximately 2,000 to 4,000 metres. level. In part owing to the ruggedness of the bedrock
Terrestrial ice streams drain the edge of the East floor, the surface of the West Antarctic inlandsis has
Antarctica inlandsis, which contains several ice shelves, an irregular topography. Floating ice shelves in pro-
including the Amery Ice Shelf. Only the Lambert tected embayments, such as the Ronne Ice Shelf,
Glacier runs deeply into the heart of the ice sheet. fringe it. Marine ice controls the seaward drainage.
The West Antarctic inlandsis lies on a generally The West Antarctica inlandsis is the world’s only
rugged bedrock floor, much of which lies below remaining marine ice sheet. It is grounded over deep
sea level. If the ice were to melt, this floor would interior subglacial basins, which helps to stop its
rise through isostatic compensation. Apart from collapsing.