Ice Movement Studies on the Skelton Glacier

Abstract

The volume of ice that flows annually from the Skelton Glacier on the west side of the Ross Ice Shelf between the Worcester and Royal Society Ranges was determined during 1958–59 traverse operations to be approximately 791 × 106 m.3 or 712 × 106 m.3 water equivalent. Annual accumulation on the Skelton névé field and small cirque glaciers is estimated to be 1,018 × 106 m.3 water equivalent, but this figure can be reduced to 712 × 106 m.3 by assuming that 30 per cent of the expected accumulation in the lower slopes of the glacier is lost to adjacent areas of the Ross Ice Shelf by katabatic winds. It is evident that little or no contribution to the nourishment of the Skelton Glacier comes from the high plateau area of East Antarctica. It is suggested that this condition exists generally in the western Ross Sea and Ross Shelf area, and is responsible for the existence of the present “dry” valleys in the McMurdo Sound area. Some estimates of local ice regime are made at two sites on the glacier where ice thickness and strain rates are known.