Misplaced Pages

#734265

37-955: The territory lies in West Antarctica , east of the Ross Ice Shelf and the Ross Sea and south of the Pacific Ocean portion of the Antarctic or Southern Ocean , extending eastward approximately to a line between the head of the Ross Ice Shelf and Eights Coast . It stretches between 158°W and 103°24'W. The inclusion of the area between the Rockefeller Plateau and Eights Coast is based upon Byrd's exploration. Because of its remoteness, even by Antarctic standards, most of Marie Byrd Land (the portion east of 150°W) has not been claimed by any sovereign state . It

74-579: A camp was operated at the Ford Ranges (FRD) in western Marie Byrd Land, supporting a part of a United States Antarctic Program (USAP) airborne survey initiated by UCSB and supported by the UTIG flying out of Siple Dome. In 2004–05, a large camp, Thwaites (THW) was established by the USAP 150 km (93 mi) north of NBY, in order to support a large airborne geophysical survey of eastern Marie Byrd Land by

111-535: A complex expedition involving remote helicopter camps and airborne geophysics. Several geological expeditions explored Marie Byrd Land during the period 1978–1993. New Zealand geologists surveyed the Ford Ranges and Edward VII Peninsula in two expeditions, 1978–79 and 1987–88. Exploration of the Marie Byrd Land Volcanic Province began in earnest by U.S. geologists in 1984–85. The WAVE project (West Antarctic Volcano Exploration) focused on

148-487: A series of reference points and benchmarks throughout much of Marie Byrd Land during 1966–1968. USS  Glacier  (AGB-4) explored the parts of the Walgreen Coast and Eights Coast in 1960–61. It had parties of geologists and surveyors along that were deployed to outcrops on land. This expedition to the far eastern reaches of Marie Byrd Land determined that Thurston Peninsula as proposed by earlier expeditions

185-460: A sledge party that visited these isolated outcrops ( nunataks ) in the region bordering the eastern Ross Sea and Ross Ice Shelf. At the same time the first Japanese Antarctic Expedition led by Nobu Shirase landed a shore party on the peninsula. Dean Smith was the pilot during aerial overflights in 1929 with Richard E. Byrd's first Antarctic expedition (1928–1930). It originated from Little America near Amundsen's original base camp Framheim in

222-682: Is Paleozoic metamorphosed sedimentary rock and granitoid , and Mesozoic granitoid. Away from the coasts, the WAIS buries individual mountains and ranges that are not named, the exception being major features such as the Bentley Subglacial Trench. Marie Byrd Seamount ( 70°0′S 118°0′W  /  70.000°S 118.000°W  / -70.000; -118.000 ) is a seamount named in association with Marie Byrd Land; name approved June 1988 ( Advisory Committee on Undersea Features , 228). Not comprehensive. Byrd Station

259-580: Is a volcanic field in northern Marie Byrd Land of West Antarctica , consisting of over 18 large shield volcanoes , 30 small volcanic centres and possibly many more centres buried under the West Antarctic Ice Sheet . It overlies a 500 km (310 mi) wide and 800 km (500 mi) long dome that has formed as a result of fault blocking within the West Antarctic Rift System . Volcanism in

296-637: Is by far the largest single unclaimed territory on Earth , with an area of 1,610,000 km (620,000 sq mi), including Eights Coast , immediately east of Marie Byrd Land. In 1939, United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt instructed members of the United States Antarctic Service Expedition to take steps to claim some of Antarctica as United States territory. Although this appears to have been done by members of this and subsequent expeditions, these do not appear to have been formalized prior to 1959, when

333-752: Is having some effect and that this ice sheet may have started to shrink slightly. Over the past 50 years, the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula has been – and still is – one of the most rapidly warming parts of the planet, and the coasts of the Peninsula are the only parts of West Antarctica that become (in summer) ice-free. These constitute the Marielandia Antarctic tundra and have the warmest climate in Antarctica. The rocks are clad in mosses and lichens that can cope with

370-553: Is mostly covered by a massive ice sheet referred to as the West Antarctic Ice Sheet . In recent decades, this ice sheet has shown signs of decreasing mass. The geologic history of West Antarctica was summarized in a 2020 publication. The parts of West Antarctica not covered with ice ( Antarctic oasis ), which are the coasts of the Antarctic Peninsula , constitute a biodiversity region known as Marielandia Antarctic tundra (after Marie Byrd Land ). This area has

407-677: Is the Russian station Russkaya , which was occupied 1980–1990 and is now closed. East of the Siple Coast off the Ross Ice Shelf, Siple Dome was established as a summer science camp in 1996. Ice cores have been drilled here to retrieve the climate history of the last 100,000 years. This camp also served as a base for airborne geophysical surveys supported by the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG). In 1998–1999,

SECTION 10

#1732775486735

444-770: The Antarctic Treaty System was set up. Some publications in the United States have shown this as a United States territory in the intervening period, and the United States Department of Defense has stated that the United States has a solid basis for a claim in Antarctica resulting from its activities prior to 1959. The portion west of 150°W is part of Ross Dependency claimed by New Zealand . Five coastal areas are distinguished, which are listed from west to east: Marie Byrd Land

481-537: The Fosdick Mountains in 1934. Aerial exploration discovered lands farther east along the Ruppert Coast . The Third Byrd Antarctic Expedition, also called the United States Antarctic Service Expedition , took place from 1939 to 1941. This expedition established two base camps 2,600 kilometres (1,600 miles) apart. West Base was near the former Little America base (68° 29' S, 163° 57' W) and East Base

518-658: The International Geophysical Year (IGY; from July 1957 to end of 1958) that saw several exploratory overland traverses with tractor trains ( Sno-cats and modified bulldozers ). Starting in January 1957 (pre-IGY) Charles R. Bentley led a traverse from Little America V to the new Byrd station along the route blazed by United States Army engineers a few months before (the Army-Navy Drive). His team conducted measurements of ice thickness and of

555-556: The Kohler Range . The Ford Ranges are the most extensive and include more than six individual named mountain groups. The Executive Committee Range includes five volcanoes, some proposed to be dormant or active. The Flood Range comprises a linear chain of Neogene and Quaternary age volcanoes. The Fosdick mountains in the northern Ford Ranges are a 30-kilometer-long span of Cretaceous metamorphic rocks. Most other exposed rock in MBL

592-494: The Ross Ice Shelf on the Ross Sea . West Antarctica was named in the early 20th century. That usage became standard following the International Geophysical Year (1957–1958) and explorations which disclosed that the Transantarctic Mountains provide a useful regional border between West Antarctica and East Antarctica . The Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names approved the name in 1962. West Antarctica

629-720: The Transantarctic Mountains and is covered by the West Antarctic Ice Sheet . It lies between the Ross Sea (partly covered by the Ross Ice Shelf ), and the Weddell Sea (largely covered by the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf ). It may be considered a giant peninsula , stretching from the South Pole towards the tip of South America. West Antarctica is largely covered by the Antarctic ice sheet , but there have been signs that climate change

666-532: The Amundsen Sea. It entails marine, airborne, and on-ice geophysical exploration that will illuminate the character of Marie Byrd Land bedrock geology and the nature of the eastern boundary of the province. The goal is determining the stability of the glacier and prediction of global sea level rise from shrinking of the WAIS. Adjacent to the continent, Marie Byrd Land is bordered by the Amundsen Sea in

703-754: The Bay of Whales, led to the discovery of the Rockefeller Mountains and the Edsel Ford Ranges farther to the east. Byrd named the region after his wife Marie. A geological party led by L. Gould briefly explored parts of the Rockefeller Mountains. The first deep overland exploration occurred during the second Byrd expedition (1933–1935) when a sledge party led by Paul Siple and Franklin Alton Wade reached as far east as

740-621: The Earth's magnetic and gravity field. The following summer season (1957–58) he led a second traverse out of Byrd Station that visited volcanoes of the Marie Byrd Land Volcanic Province for the first time. The traverse reached the Sentinel Mountains beyond eastern Marie Byrd Land before returning to Byrd Station. Bentley led a third traverse out of Byrd Station to the Horlick Mountains in 1958–59. These three traverses led to

777-706: The Fosdick Mountains. The United States Navy mounted several expeditions to Antarctica in the period 1946 to 1959. These expeditions ( Operation Highjump led by R. E. Byrd, Windmill , and Deep Freeze I–IV) included aerial photography using the Trimetrogon system of aerial photographs (TMA; vertical, left, and right oblique images over the same point) over portions of coastal Marie Byrd Land. The U.S. Navy began construction of Byrd Station at 80°S, 120°W with traverses out of Little America V in 1956–57 during Deep Freeze II. These efforts were in advance of

SECTION 20

#1732775486735

814-660: The UTIG. In 2006, a major encampment, WAIS Divide (WSD) was established on the divide between the Ross Sea Embayment and the Amundsen Sea Embayment, in the easternmost portion of Marie Byrd Land, in order to drill a high resolution ice core . Drilling and coring ended in 2014. In 2018, the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration commenced with a large and ongoing physical presence onshore of

851-636: The WAIS have been proposed to follow rift valleys , now buried by ice, which formed in the WARS. The WARS contains a volcanic province with volcanoes active from the Eocene epoch to a few thousand years ago. A mantle plume was discovered deep below Marie Byrd Land. Heat from the plume has been proposed responsible for uplift of a significant portion of West Antarctica to form the Marie Byrd Land Dome. A digital map of Antarctica includes

888-606: The WAIS. Besides the Ross Ice Shelf, significant ice shelves on the coast of the Southern Ocean include the Sulzberger , and Nickerson . Due to the burial of the continental basement of MBL by the WAIS, mountain ranges are exposed towards the coast of MBL where ice thickness is smaller. Prominent ranges include the Ford Ranges in western MBL, The Flood Range , the Executive Committee Range, and

925-588: The discovery of the Bentley Subglacial Trench or Trough, a deep bedrock chasm between MBL and the Transantarctic Mountains of East Antarctica. During 1958–1960 TMA flights and a traverse out of Byrd Station visited and mapped the Executive Committee Range. TMA were flown in western Marie Byrd Land in 1964 and 1965. Following these efforts the United States Geological Survey (USGS) mounted land surveys to establish

962-481: The east and the Ross Sea and Ross Ice Shelf in the west. Mountain ranges are prominent along and near the coastline with a few exceptions. Marie Byrd Land is covered by the vast West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). The WAIS in Marie Byrd Land drains off the continent to the east into the Ross Ice Shelf via seven ice streams . Along the coast of the Southern Ocean and the Amundsen Sea, ice drains via glaciers,

999-705: The geology of Marie Byrd Land. The geologic history of Marie Byrd Land in West Antarctica was summarized in a 2020 publication. Prominent glaciers that drain the WAIS in MBL include the Thwaites, and also the Pine Island Glacier , both of which empty into the Amundsen Sea. Of the seven ice streams that drain into the Ross Ice Shelf, the Bindschadler and Whillans ice streams are the most extensive. The seven ice streams discharge 40 percent of

1036-677: The hinterland of Bakutis Coast . Byrd Station was the only major base in the interior of West Antarctica for many years. In 1968, the first ice core to fully penetrate the Antarctic Ice Sheet was drilled here. The year-round station was abandoned in 1972, and after operating for years as a temporary summer encampment, Byrd Surface Camp, Byrd Station was reopened by the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) in 2009–2010 to support operations in northern West Antarctica. On Ruppert Coast of Marie Byrd Land

1073-412: The intense cold of winter and the short growing-season. Lying on the Pacific Ocean side of the Transantarctic Mountains, West Antarctica comprises the Antarctic Peninsula (with Graham Land and Palmer Land ) and Ellsworth Land , Marie Byrd Land and King Edward VII Land , offshore islands such as Adelaide Island , and ice shelves , notably the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf on the Weddell Sea , and

1110-605: The major one being the Thwaites . West Antarctica and Marie Byrd Land have elevations of up to 1.5 to 2 kilometers on the surface of the WAIS. In contrast, East Antarctica has interior elevations on its ice sheet of over 4 kilometers. The West Antarctic Rift System (WARS) that evolved over the last hundred million years, includes all or part of Marie Byrd Land. The WARS extends from the Ross Sea continental shelf east into Marie Byrd Land. The ice streams and glaciers that drain

1147-585: The mountain ranges within the northern Ford Ranges of Marie Byrd Land (FORCE expedition; Ford Ranges Crustal Exploration). GANOVEX VII a multinational expedition led by Germany visited Edward VII Peninsula in 1992–93. Colorado College geologists led expeditions to the Ford Ranges in 1998–2001 (Ford Ranges), 2005–2007 and 2011–2013 (Fosdick Mountains). Marie Byrd Land hosted the Operation Deep Freeze base Byrd Station (NBY; originally at 80°S, 120°W, rebuilt at 80°S, 119°W), beginning in 1957, in

Marie Byrd Land - Misplaced Pages Continue

1184-528: The volcanic province during the period 1989–1991. The SPRITE project (South Pacific Rim International Tectonic Expedition) explored regions and surroundings of the Hobbs Coast in 1990–1993. Members of both projects were from the U.S., Britain, and New Zealand. During the Austral summers of 1989–1990 and 1990–1991, a geological party from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) explored several of

1221-466: The warmest climate in Antarctica and the moss and lichen -covered rocks are free of snow during the summer months, although the weather is still intensely cold and the growing season very short. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from "West Antarctica" . Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Marie Byrd Land Volcanic Province The Marie Byrd Land Volcanic Province

1258-581: Was first explored from the west where it could be accessed from the Ross Sea. The far western coast of Marie Byrd Land was seen from the decks of Robert Falcon Scott 's ship Discovery in 1902. He named the peninsula adjacent to the Ross Sea King Edward VII Land and the scattered outcrops that were within sight, the Alexandra Mountains . In 1911, during Roald Amundsen 's South Pole expedition, Kristian Prestrud led

1295-521: Was in fact an island ( Thurston Island ). In the same season a geological party led by Campbell Craddock explored the Jones Mountains in the adjacent region. The United States Byrd Coastal Survey during 1966–1969, led by F. A. Wade, conducted geologic mapping of the Alexandra and Rockefeller Mountains and the Ford Ranges and produced a series of 1:250,000 geologic maps of the region. This was

1332-560: Was near the Antarctic Peninsula on Stonington Island (68° 12' S, 67° 3' W). Exploration flights out of these two bases led to the discovery of most of the Marie Byrd Land Volcanic Province (e.g. Executive Committee Range ) and much of the coastal region including the Walgreen, Hobbs, and Ruppert Coasts. During the expedition trail parties from West Base visited the northern Ford Ranges and south slopes of

1369-473: Was the template for the doomed Antarctic bases in: West Antarctica 79°S 100°W  /  79°S 100°W  / -79; -100 West Antarctica , or Lesser Antarctica , one of the two major regions of Antarctica , is the part of that continent that lies within the Western Hemisphere , and includes the Antarctic Peninsula . It is separated from East Antarctica by

#734265