Bach Ice Shelf

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The ice shelves of the Antarctic peninsula. Bach in the lower left. Antarctic-Peninsula-Ice-Shelves.png
The ice shelves of the Antarctic peninsula. Bach in the lower left.

The Bach Ice Shelf ( 72°S72°W / 72°S 72°W / -72; -72 ) is an ice shelf which is irregular in shape and 45 miles (72 km) in extent, occupying an embayment in the south part of Alexander Island entered between Berlioz Point and Rossini Point. The ice shelf supports the south face of the Beethoven Peninsula, along with some minor extensive peninsulas and small inlets (Weber Inlet, Boccherini Inlet etc.) Bach ice shelf also supports the north side of the Monteverdi Peninsula. A minor embayment in this position first appeared on the charts of the US Antarctic Service, which explored the south part of Alexander Island by air and from the ground in 1940. The ice shelf was delineated by Derek J.H. Searle of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey in 1960, from air photos taken by the 194748 Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition. It was named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee after the German composer Johann Sebastian Bach.

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In a 2009 review, the Bach Ice Shelf was listed as one of 5 Antarctic peninsula Ice shelves that were not retreating. However, with the retreat of the Wilkins Ice Shelf possibly signalling a southward retreat of the limit of viability, Bach Ice Shelf may be the next to come under threat. [1]

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The geography of Antarctica is dominated by its south polar location and, thus, by ice. The Antarctic continent, located in the Earth's southern hemisphere, is centered asymmetrically around the South Pole and largely south of the Antarctic Circle. It is washed by the Southern Ocean or, depending on definition, the southern Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. It has an area of more than 14.2 million km2. Antarctica is the largest ice desert in the world.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ice shelf</span> Large platform of glacial ice

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amundsen Sea</span> Arm of the Southern Ocean

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antarctic Peninsula</span> Peninsula located in northern Antarctica

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Island</span> Island in the Bellingshausen Sea off Antarctica

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larsen Ice Shelf</span> Ice shelf in Antarctica

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince Gustav Ice Shelf</span> Ice shelf in Antarctica

Prince Gustav Ice Shelf was an ice shelf of more than 15 nautical miles (28 km) extent occupying the south part of Prince Gustav Channel, including Rohss Bay, James Ross Island. Named by United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) in 1990 in association with the channel. The ice shelf has since retreated and collapsed; in 1995 Prince Gustav Channel was open throughout its length, and only a remnant in Rohss Bay remained.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crane Glacier</span> Glacier in the Aristotle Mountains of the Antarctic Peninsula

Crane Glacier is a narrow glacier which flows 30 miles (50 km) in an east-northeasterly direction along the northwest side of Aristotle Mountains to enter Spillane Fjord south of Devetaki Peak, on the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. Sir Hubert Wilkins photographed this feature from the air in 1928 and gave it the name "Crane Channel", after C.K. Crane of Los Angeles, reporting that it appeared to be a channel cutting in an east-west direction across the peninsula. The name was altered to "Crane Inlet" following explorations along the west coast of the peninsula in 1936 by the British Graham Land Expedition, which proved that no through channel from the east coast existed as indicated by Wilkins. Comparison of Wilkins' photograph of this feature with those taken in 1947 by the Falklands Islands Dependencies Survey shows that Wilkins' "Crane Channel" is this glacier, although it lies about 75 miles (120 km) northeast of the position originally reported by Wilkins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jones Ice Shelf</span> Former ice shelf in Antarctica

Jones Ice Shelf was the ice shelf occupying the Jones Channel, between the Arrowsmith Peninsula and Blaiklock Island, on the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctica. It was named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee in 1981 in association with the channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flask Glacier</span> Glacier in Antarctica

Flask Glacier, is a gently-sloping glacier, 25 nautical miles long, flowing east from Bruce Plateau to enter Scar Inlet between Daggoo Peak and Spouter Peak in Graham Land, Antarctica. The lower reaches of this glacier were surveyed and photographed by the Falklands Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) in 1947. The entire glacier was photographed by the Falkland Islands and Dependencies Aerial Survey Expedition in 1955–56, and mapped by the FIDS in 1957. It was named by the UK Antarctic Place-names Committee after the third mate on the Pequod in Herman Melville's Moby-Dick; or, The White Whale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilkins Sound</span> Seaway in Antarctica

Wilkins Sound is a seaway in Antarctica that is largely occupied by the Wilkins Ice Shelf. It is located on the southwest side of the Antarctic Peninsula between the concave western coastline of Alexander Island and the shores of Charcot Island and Latady Island farther to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muller Ice Shelf</span> Former ice shelf in Antarctica

Muller Ice Shelf, also known as Müller Ice Shelf according to the original German spelling of the family name Müller, was an ice shelf lying southwest of Hooke Point in southwest Lallemand Fjord, Arrowsmith Peninsula, Loubet Coast. It was nurtured by Brückner Glacier and Antevs Glacier.

Eroica Peninsula is an ice-covered peninsula lying north of Beethoven Peninsula and Mendelssohn Inlet in western Alexander Island, Antarctica. The tip of the peninsula is Kosar Point, marking the western extremity of the Eroica Peninsula. It was mapped from trimetrogon air photography taken by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition, 1947–48, and from survey by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, 1948–50. It was named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee after Beethoven's Eroica symphony, in association with Beethoven Peninsula. Eroica Peninsula is one of the eight peninsulas of Alexander Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evans Glacier (Graham Land)</span> Glacier in Antarctica

Evans Glacier is a gently-sloping glacier 15 nautical miles (28 km) long and 4 nautical miles (7 km) wide, draining the southeast slopes of Travnik Buttress eastwards between Rugate Ridge and Poibrene Heights to flow into Vaughan Inlet on the east coast of Graham Land, Antarctica. It was discovered by Sir Hubert Wilkins in an aerial flight, December 20, 1928, and named "Evans Inlet" by him for E.S. Evans of Detroit. A further survey by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey in 1955 reported that this low-lying area is not an inlet, but is formed by the lower reaches of Hektoria Glacier and the feature now described.

Monteverdi Peninsula is a large ice-covered peninsula lying between the Bach Ice Shelf and George VI Sound, forming the southernmost extremity of Alexander Island, Antarctica. The southern side of the feature was first seen and charted by Finn Ronne and Carl Eklund of the United States Antarctic Service, 1939–41, who traversed the entire length of George VI Sound. The peninsula was mapped from trimetrogon air photography taken by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition in 1947–48, and from survey by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, 1948–50. It was named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee after Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starbuck Glacier</span> Glacier in Antarctica

Starbuck Glacier is a glacier 15 nautical miles (28 km) long, flowing east along the south side of Taridin Ridge and Padesh Ridge, and entering Scar Inlet immediately north of Mount Queequeg, on the east coast of Graham Land. Surveyed and partially photographed by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) in 1947. The entire glacier was photographed by the Falkland Islands and Dependencies Aerial Survey Expedition (FIDASE) in 1955–56, and mapped from these photos by the FIDS in 1957. Named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) after the first mate on the Pequod in Herman Melville's Moby-Dick.

References

  1. 1 2 A. J. Cook; D. G. Vaughan (2009). "Ice shelf changes on the Antarctic Peninsula" (PDF). The Cryosphere Discussions. 3: 579–630. doi: 10.5194/tcd-3-579-2009 .