Shelves
An ice shelf is a thick, floating platform of ice that forms where a glacier or ice sheet flows down to a coastline and onto the ocean surface. Ice shelves are found in Antarctica, Greenland and Canada only. more...
 Home
Bath
 Bath Accessory Sets
Bath Mats, Rugs
Bath Pillows
Caddies, Cabinets
Children's Bath Items
Mirrors
Non-Slip Appliques, Mats
Other Bath Items
Plaques, Signs
Scales
Shelves
Shower Curtain Hooks
Shower Curtains
Shower Heads
Shower Radios
Soap Dishes, Dispensers
Tissue Box Covers
Toilet Brushes & Holders
Toilet Seats
Toilet Tissue Holders
Towel Racks
Towels, Washcloths
Tumblers, Toothbrush Holders
Vanities
Wall Hooks, Hangers
Wastebaskets
Whirlpool, Spa
Bedding
Furniture
Gardening & Plants
Home Decor
Lamps, Lighting, Ceiling...
Patio & Grilling
Pools & Spas
Rugs & Carpets
The boundary between the floating ice shelf and the grounded (resting on bedrock) ice that feeds it is called the grounding line. When the grounding line retreats inland, water is added to the ocean and sea level rises.
In contrast, sea ice is formed on water, is much thinner, and forms throughout the Arctic Ocean. It also is found in the Southern Ocean around the continent of Antarctica.
Ice shelves flow by gravity-driven horizontal spreading on the ocean surface. That flow continually moves ice from the grounding line to the seaward front of the shelf. The primary mechanism of mass loss from ice shelves is iceberg calving, in which a chunk of ice breaks off from the seaward front of the shelf. Typically, a shelf front will extend forward for years or decades between major calving events. Snow accumulation on the upper surface and melting from the lower surface are also important to the mass balance of an ice shelf.
The thickness of modern-day ice shelves ranges from about 100 to 1000 meters. The density contrast between solid ice and liquid water means that only about 1/9 of the floating ice is above the ocean surface. The world's largest ice shelves are the Ross Ice Shelf and the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica.
Canadian ice shelves
All Canadian ice shelves are attached to Ellesmere Island and lie north of 82°N:
Alfred Ernest Ice Shelf;
Ayles Ice Shelf (broke up in 2005);
M'Clintock Ice Shelf;
Markham Ice Shelf;
Milne Ice Shelf;
Ward Hunt Ice Shelf;
Antarctic ice shelves
44 percent of the Antarctic coastline has ice shelves attached. Their aggregate area is 1,541,700 km² . The individual ice shelf areas are listed below, in a clockwise manner, starting in the west of Eastern Antarctica:
Filchner Ice Shelf;
Brunt Ice Shelf;
Riiser-Larsen Ice Shelf;
Quar Ice Shelf;
Ekstrom Ice Shelf;
Jelbart Ice Shelf;
Fimbul Ice Shelf;
Lazarev Ice Shelf;
Hannan Ice Shelf;
Zubchatyy Ice Shelf;
Wyers Ice Shelf;
Edward VIII Ice Shelf;
Amery Ice Shelf;
Publications Ice Shelf;
West Ice Shelf;
Shackleton Ice Shelf;
Moscow University Ice Shelf;
Voyeykov Ice Shelf;
Cook Ice Shelf;
Slava Ice Shelf;
Gillett Ice Shelf;
Nansen Ice Sheet;
McMurdo Ice Shelf;
Ross Ice Shelf;
Swinburne Ice Shelf;
Sulzberger Ice Shelf;
Nickerson Ice Shelf;
Getz Ice Shelf;
Dotson Ice Shelf;
Crosson Ice Shelf;
Cosgrove Ice Shelf;
Abbot Ice Shelf;
Venable Ice Shelf;
Stange Ice Shelf;
Baka Ice Shelf;
George VI Ice Shelf;
Wilkins Ice Shelf;
Wordie Ice Shelf;
Jones Ice Shelf;
Müller Ice Shelf;
Prince Gustav Ice Shelf;
Larsen Ice Shelf;
Ronne Ice Shelf;
Read more at Wikipedia.org
|
Contact
