Totten Glacier is a large (about 40 miles long and 20 miles wide) glacier

Glacier

A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...

 off the Budd Coast

Budd Coast

Budd Coast , part of Wilkes Land, is that portion of the coast of Antarctica lying between the Hatch Islands, at 109°16'E, and Cape Waldron, at 115°33'E. It was discovered in February 1840 by the U.S. Exploring Expedition under the leadership of Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, and named by Wilkes for...

 of Wilkes Land

Wilkes Land

Wilkes Land is a large district of land in eastern Antarctica, formally claimed by Australia as part of the Australian Antarctic Territory, though the validity of this claim has been placed for the period of the operation of the Antarctic Treaty, to which Australia is a signatory...

 in Australian Antarctica. It drains northeastward from the continental ice but turns northwestward at the coast where it terminates in a prominent tongue close east of Cape Waldron

Cape Waldron

Cape Waldron is an ice-covered cape in Antarctica, just westward of Totten Glacier. It was delineated by G.D. Blodgett from aerial photographs taken by USN Operation Highjump , and named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names for R.R. Waldron, purser on the sloop USS Vincennes of the...

. It was first delineated from aerial photographs taken by USN Operation Highjump (1946-47), and named by US-ACAN for George M. Totten, midshipman

Midshipman

A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...

 on the USS Vincennes

USS Vincennes (1826)

USS Vincennes was a 703-ton Boston-class sloop of war in the United States Navy from 1826 to 1865. During her service, Vincennes patrolled the Pacific, explored the Antarctic, and blockaded the Confederate Gulf coast in the Civil War. Named for the Revolutionary War Battle of Vincennes, she was...

 of the United States Exploring Expedition

United States Exploring Expedition

The United States Exploring Expedition was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States from 1838 to 1842. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones. The voyage was authorized by Congress in...

 (1838-42), who assisted Lt. Charles Wilkes

Charles Wilkes

Charles Wilkes was an American naval officer and explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 and commanded the ship in the Trent Affair during the American Civil War...

 with correction of the survey data obtained by the expedition.

Scientists studying the effects

Effects of global warming

This article is about the effects of global warming and climate change. The effects, or impacts, of climate change may be physical, ecological, social or economic. Evidence of observed climate change includes the instrumental temperature record, rising sea levels, and decreased snow cover in the...

 of global warming

Global warming

Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...

 have proposed that sea water encroachment in the area could destablilize a significant portion of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet

East Antarctic Ice Sheet

The East Antarctic Ice Sheet is one of two large ice sheets in Antarctica, and the largest on the entire planet. The EAIS lies between 45° West and 168° East longitudinally....

.

Totten Glacier Tongue is a prominent glacier

Glacier

A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...

 tongue extending seaward from Totten Glacier

Totten Glacier

Totten Glacier is a large glacier off the Budd Coast of Wilkes Land in Australian Antarctica. It drains northeastward from the continental ice but turns northwestward at the coast where it terminates in a prominent tongue close east of Cape Waldron...

. Delineated from air photos taken by U.S. Navy Operation Highjump (1946-47) and named by 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 association with Totten Glacier.

See also

• Ice stream
  Ice stream
  An ice stream is a region of an ice sheet that moves significantly faster than the surrounding ice. Ice streams are a type of glacier. They are significant features of the Antarctic where they account for 10% of the volume of the ice...
  
  
• List of glaciers in the Antarctic
• List of Antarctic ice streams
• Mertz Glacier
  Mertz Glacier
  Mertz Glacier is a heavily crevassed glacier in George V Coast of East Antarctica. It is the source of a glacial prominence that historically has extended northward into the Southern Ocean, the Mertz Glacial Tongue...