Iceport
Encyclopedia
Ice shelf
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 only found in Antarctica, Greenland and Canada. The boundary between the floating ice shelf and the grounded ice that feeds it is called...
, that can serve as a natural ice harbor
Harbor
A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...
. Though useful, they are not always reliable, as calving
Calving
Calving may refer to:*Calving, the process of giving birth to a calf*Ice calving, the process by which an iceberg breaks off from an ice shelf or glacier...
of surrounding ice shelves can render an iceport temporarily unstable and unusable.
Historical and present use of iceports
Iceports have played a critical role in Antarctic exploration. For example, the Bay of WhalesBay of Whales
The Bay of Whales is a natural ice harbor, or iceport, indenting the front of Ross Ice Shelf just north of Roosevelt Island. It is the southernmost point of open ocean not only of the Ross Sea, but worldwide...
(discovered and named by Ernest Shackleton
Ernest Shackleton
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, CVO, OBE was a notable explorer from County Kildare, Ireland, who was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration...
in the Nimrod in 1908) served as the base for several important Antarctic expeditions, including:
- 1910-1912: Amundsen's South Pole expeditionAmundsen's South Pole expeditionThe first expedition to reach the geographic South Pole was led by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. He and four others arrived at the pole on 14 December 1911, five weeks ahead of a British party led by Robert Falcon Scott...
, led by Roald AmundsenRoald AmundsenRoald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He led the first Antarctic expedition to reach the South Pole between 1910 and 1912 and he was the first person to reach both the North and South Poles. He is also known as the first to traverse the Northwest Passage.... - 1928-1930: Richard Evelyn ByrdRichard Evelyn ByrdRear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd, Jr., USN was a naval officer who specialized in feats of exploration. He was a pioneering American aviator, polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics...
- First expedition - 1933-1935: Richard Evelyn ByrdRichard Evelyn ByrdRear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd, Jr., USN was a naval officer who specialized in feats of exploration. He was a pioneering American aviator, polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics...
- Second expedition - 1939-1941: United States Antarctic Service ExpeditionUnited States Antarctic Service ExpeditionThe United States Antarctic Service Expedition , often referred to as Byrd’s third Antarctic Expedition, was an expedition jointly sponsored by the United States Navy, State Department, Department of the Interior and The Treasury...
, led by Richard Evelyn ByrdRichard Evelyn ByrdRear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd, Jr., USN was a naval officer who specialized in feats of exploration. He was a pioneering American aviator, polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics...
Norsel Iceport
Norsel Iceport
Norsel Iceport , also known as Norselbukta or Bukhta Nursel, is a small iceport in the front of the Quar Ice Shelf, along the coast of Queen Maud Land.-Discovery and naming:...
was used by the Norwegian-British-Swedish Antarctic Expedition
Norwegian-British-Swedish Antarctic Expedition
Norwegian–British–Swedish Antarctic Expedition the first Antarctica expedition involving an international team of scientists...
(NBSAE) to moor and unload the expedition ship Norsel in 1949. The NBSAE established Maudheim Station about 1 mile south of the iceport.
The term iceport was first suggested by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names
Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names
The Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names is an advisory committee of the United States Board on Geographic Names responsible for recommending names for features in Antarctica...
(US-ACAN) in 1956 to denote "ice shelf embayments, subject to configuration changes, which may offer anchorage or possible access to the upper surface of an ice shelf via ice ramps along one or more sides of the feature".
Prior to the invention of the ice pier
Ice pier
An ice pier is a man-made structure used to assist the unloading of ships in Antarctica. It is constructed by pumping seawater into a contained area and allowing the water to freeze. By repeating this procedure several times, additional layers are built up. The final structure is many metres in...
, U.S. ships participating in Operation Deep Freeze
Operation Deep Freeze
Operation Deep Freeze is the codename for a series of United States missions to Antarctica, beginning with "Operation Deep Freeze I" in 1955–56, followed by "Operation Deep Freeze II", "Operation Deep Freeze III", and so on...
discharged cargo at temporary iceports in McMurdo Sound
McMurdo Sound
The ice-clogged waters of Antarctica's McMurdo Sound extend about 55 km long and wide. The sound opens into the Ross Sea to the north. The Royal Society Range rises from sea level to 13,205 feet on the western shoreline. The nearby McMurdo Ice Shelf scribes McMurdo Sound's southern boundary...
. At that time, freighter
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
s and tanker
Tanker (ship)
A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier.-Background:...
s arriving with supplies and fuel were forced to dock as far away as 16 km from the harbor. Ships would moor alongside seasonal pack ice, where longshoremen would offload cargo onto large sleds. Snowcat
Snowcat
A snowcat is an enclosed-cab, truck sized, fully tracked vehicle designed to move on snow. Snowcats are often referred to as 'trail groomers' because of their use for grooming ski trails or snowmobile trails...
s and tractor
Tractor
A tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction...
s would then be used to tow the freight over ice to McMurdo Station, a difficult and potentially dangerous operation.
U.S. Navy engineers constructed the first floating ice pier at McMurdo Station
McMurdo Station
McMurdo Station is a U.S. Antarctic research center located on the southern tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand-claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program, a branch of the National...
, Antarctica’s southernmost sea port, in 1973. Since that time, the use of iceports has declined but not been completely eliminated.
Locations of Antarctic iceports
Iceports in Antarctica include:- Atka IceportAtka IceportAtka Iceport, also known as Atka Bay, is an iceport about long and wide, marking a more-or-less permanent indentation in the front of the Ekstrom Ice Shelf on the coast of Queen Maud Land.-Discovery and naming:...
(70°35′S 7°51′W) - Erskine IceportErskine IceportErskine Iceport , also known as Erskine Bay or General Erskine Bay, is an iceport about 3 nautical miles wide and 6 nautical miles long, which marks a more-or-less permanent indentation extending southeast into the seaward front of the extensive ice shelf fringing Queen Maud Land.-Discovery and...
(69°56′S 19°12′E) - Godel IceportGodel IceportGodel Iceport also known as Godel Bay, is an iceport about 5 nautical miles wide, which marks a more-or-less permanent indentation in the seaward front of the extensive ice shelf fringing the coast of Queen Maud Land.-Discovery and naming:...
(70°09′S 21°45′E) - Norsel IceportNorsel IceportNorsel Iceport , also known as Norselbukta or Bukhta Nursel, is a small iceport in the front of the Quar Ice Shelf, along the coast of Queen Maud Land.-Discovery and naming:...
(71°01′S 1°10′W) - Bay of WhalesBay of WhalesThe Bay of Whales is a natural ice harbor, or iceport, indenting the front of Ross Ice Shelf just north of Roosevelt Island. It is the southernmost point of open ocean not only of the Ross Sea, but worldwide...
(78°30′S 164°20′W)