The structural glaciology of southwest Antarctic Peninsula Ice Shelves (ca. 2010)

Abstract

The Antarctic Peninsula has recently seen a rapid breakup of its peripheral ice shelves, attributed to atmospheric and oceanic warming in the region. Previous work has illustrated that the final breakup mechanisms are often controlled by the structural glaciology of the ice shelf, and thus understanding the structure of the remaining 'stable' ice shelves is of fundamental importance to assess their future response to continued environmental changes. The accompanying map presents the structural glaciology of Bach, George VI and Stange Ice Shelves in the southwest Antarctic Peninsula, from ca. 2010, with a description of each feature presented here. © 2013 Copyright Tom Holt.