Why is it called Ross Ice Shelf?

The ice shelf is named after Sir James Clark Ross, who discovered it on 28 January 1841. Ross mapped the ice front eastward to 160° W. In 1947, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names applied the name “Ross Shelf Ice” to this feature and published it in the original U.S. Antarctic Gazetteer.

Who is the Ross Sea named after?

explorer James Ross
The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica, between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land and within the Ross Embayment, and is the southernmost sea on Earth. It derives its name from the British explorer James Ross who visited this area in 1841.

Why is the Ross Ice Shelf important?

The Ross Ice Shelf plays an important role in stabilising the Antarctic ice sheet, buttressing the ice that is constantly moving over the land surface.

What is the name of the ice shelf that borders Ross Sea?

Ross Ice Shelf, world’s largest body of floating ice, lying at the head of Ross Sea, itself an enormous indentation in the continent of Antarctica. The ice shelf lies between about 155° W and 160° E longitude and about 78° S and 86° S latitude.

What would happen if the Ross Ice Shelf melted?

Its magnitude, and the fact that thinning of the ice shelf will speed up the flow of Antarctica’s ice sheets into the ocean, mean that it carries significant sea level rise potential if it were to melt. Melting ice shelves like the Ross could cause seas to rise by several feet over the next few centuries.

What is the largest marine reserve in the world?

Ross Sea Region
The Ross Sea Region MPA The 2.06-million-square-kilometer marine reserve, which covers an area larger than Mexico and includes the area under the Ross Ice Shelf, is the world’s largest marine protected area (MPA).

Could a massive ice shelf collapse?

In a new study, scientists at the University of Reading have found that as climate change continues, if Earth’s global temperature rises to 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) above pre-industrial levels, about 193,000 square miles (500,000 square kilometers) of the Antarctic ice shelves could collapse into the …

Where is the Ice Shelf in the Ross Sea?

Ninety percent of the floating ice, however, is below the water surface. Most of Ross Ice Shelf is in the Ross Dependency claimed by New Zealand. It floats in, and covers, a large southern portion of the Ross Sea and the entire Roosevelt Island located in the west of the Ross Sea.

Who was the first person to cross the Ross Ice Shelf?

Ernest Shackleton ‘s southern party (Shackleton, Adams, Marshal, Wild) of the 1908 Nimrod expedition were the first humans to cross the Ice Shelf during its failed attempt to reach the South Pole. Both Roald Amundsen and Scott crossed the shelf to reach the Pole in 1911.

How did the Great Ice Barrier get its name?

They sailed for 250 nautical miles (460 km) along the edge of the low, flat-topped ice shelf they called variously the Barrier or the Great Ice Barrier, later named the Ross Ice Shelf in his honour.

When was the West Ice Shelf first observed?

The ice shelf was first observed during the First German Antarctica Expedition that took place from 1901 to 1903. Since the feature was first viewed from the western side, it was named the West Ice Shelf. 10. Wilkins Ice Shelf