Nansen Ice Sheet
Encyclopedia
Nansen Ice Sheet or Nansen Ice Shelf, is a 30-mile long by 10 mile wide ice shelf
. It is nourished by the Priestley and Reeves Glacier
s and abutting the north side of the Drygalski Ice Tongue, along the coast of Victoria Land
, Antarctica. This feature was explored by the South Magnetic Polar Party of the British Antarctic Expedition, 1907-09
and by the Northern Party of the British Antarctic Expedition, 1910-13
. Frank Debenham
, geologist with the latter expedition, applied the name Nansen Sheet as the feature is adjacent to Mount Nansen, the dominating summit in the area.
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...
. It is nourished by the Priestley and Reeves Glacier
Reeves Glacier
Reeves Glacier is a broad glacier originating on the interior upland and descending between Eisenhower Range and Mount Larsen to merge with the Nansen Ice Sheet along the coast of Victoria Land. Discovered and named by the British Antarctic Expedition, 1907–09, under Shackleton...
s and abutting the north side of the Drygalski Ice Tongue, along the coast of Victoria Land
Victoria Land
Victoria Land is a region of Antarctica bounded on the east by the Ross Ice Shelf and the Ross Sea and on the west by Oates Land and Wilkes Land. It was discovered by Captain James Clark Ross in January 1841 and named after the UK's Queen Victoria...
, Antarctica. This feature was explored by the South Magnetic Polar Party of the British Antarctic Expedition, 1907-09
Nimrod Expedition
The British Antarctic Expedition 1907–09, otherwise known as the Nimrod Expedition, was the first of three expeditions to the Antarctic led by Ernest Shackleton. Its main target, among a range of geographical and scientific objectives, was to be first to the South Pole...
and by the Northern Party of the British Antarctic Expedition, 1910-13
Terra Nova Expedition
The Terra Nova Expedition , officially the British Antarctic Expedition 1910, was led by Robert Falcon Scott with the objective of being the first to reach the geographical South Pole. Scott and four companions attained the pole on 17 January 1912, to find that a Norwegian team led by Roald...
. Frank Debenham
Frank Debenham
Frank Debenham, OBE was Emeritus Professor of Geography at the Cambridge University and first director of the Scott Polar Research Institute.-Biography:...
, geologist with the latter expedition, applied the name Nansen Sheet as the feature is adjacent to Mount Nansen, the dominating summit in the area.