Observations of a rift in the Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica
Abstract During seismic profiling on the northwest Ronne Ice Shelf Antarctica, a rift in the ice shelf was encountered. The rift trends southeast to northwest and is located approximately 30 km inland from the present-day ice front The rift is 340 m wide and the surface elevation of the ice shelf dr...
| Published in: | Journal of Glaciology |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
1994
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| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000003968 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000003968 |
| Summary: | Abstract During seismic profiling on the northwest Ronne Ice Shelf Antarctica, a rift in the ice shelf was encountered. The rift trends southeast to northwest and is located approximately 30 km inland from the present-day ice front The rift is 340 m wide and the surface elevation of the ice shelf drops by 14.65 m over the axis of the rift. The rift has an asymmetrical base with a near-vertical ice-water interface on its northeast flank and a more gently dipping ice-water interface forming its southeastern flank. The ice shelf thins from a thickness of 350 m away from the rift to a thickness of 225 m at the rift axis. The rift is the probable location of a future major calving event on this section of the Ronne Ice Shelf, an event which would release an iceberg of up to 30 km by 180 km into the Weddell Sea. |
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