THE ANTARCTIC ICE SHEET. PART I: ENVIRONMENT, SECTION B: REGIONAL

• Main Author: MELLOR,MALCOLM
• Other Authors: COLD REGIONS RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING LAB HANOVER N H
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1962
• Subjects: *GLACIERS; *ICE; *POLAR REGIONS; CREEP; MELTING; SNOW; TEMPERATURE; THICKNESS; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica; Ice Sheet; Ice Shelves
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/AD0276609; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0276609

Antarctica consists of a continental-type land mass covered by a thick mantle of snow-formed ice. The land surface beneath the ice is below sea level in many places, but since troughs and basins are solidly filled with permanent ice, the rock depression is partly due to imposed ice load, and the earth's crust is of continental type, Antarctica can be regarded as a continent having some major basal troughs. The surfaceAREA OF THE CONTINENT AND ITS FRINGING ICE SHELVES IS ABOUT 5,500,000 SQUARE MILES. (Author)