Ross Ice Shelf

A giant wall of ice floats on the sea.

This ice is very, very big. It is almost as large as France.

Most of the ice stays under the water. Only a small part is above the sea. The ice is also very thick. It can be many meters deep.

This ice works like a brake. It helps slow down moving ice from the land. This keeps the land ice from moving too fast.

Sometimes, big pieces break off. These pieces become huge icebergs. One iceberg was even bigger than Belgium!

Many people have traveled here. They went to study the cold ice. It is a very special place.

The Ross Ice Shelf is a massive plate of floating ice.

It is in Antarctica. It is about the size of France. The ice is very thick. In some spots, it is 750 meters deep.

Most of this ice stays under the water. Only a small part is above the sea. This part is like a tall wall. It can be 50 meters high.

Ice shelves act like brakes. They slow down glaciers on the land. Without these brakes, glaciers would move much faster. The shelf also grows. Glaciers add more ice to it. Also, seawater freezes underneath the ice. This makes the shelf thicker. Sometimes, large pieces break off. These pieces are called icebergs.

One huge iceberg was larger than the country of Belgium.

Many explorers have visited this place. Sir James Clark Ross found it in 1841. Later, people like Robert Falcon Scott studied the ice. Scientists still go there today. They drill holes to study the water and life below. They even use robots to explore under the ice.

The Ross Ice Shelf is a huge plate of floating ice in Antarctica.

It covers a massive area of about 500,809 square kilometers. This is nearly the same size as the country of France. The shelf is about 800 kilometers wide and 970 kilometers long.

Most of the ice stays hidden under the ocean surface. Only about ten percent of the ice is visible above the water. The edge facing the open sea looks like a tall, vertical wall. This ice front is over 600 kilometers long and reaches up to 50 meters above the water.

This giant ice shelf works in a very special way. It is formed by glaciers that flow from the land into the sea. These glaciers act like a conveyor belt, adding more ice to the shelf. The shelf also grows as seawater freezes underneath the heavy ice. This freezing can add 40 to 50 centimeters of thickness.

The ice shelf acts like a brake for the glaciers on land. It slows them down so they do not flow too fast into the ocean. Sometimes, large chunks of ice break off the edge. These pieces are called icebergs. One famous iceberg, named B-15, broke off in March 2000. It was the largest iceberg ever recorded.

Explorers first met this massive wall of ice many years ago. Sir James Clark Ross discovered the shelf on January 28, 1841. He led an expedition using two ships named Erebus and Terror.

At first, sailors called it "The Barrier" because it blocked their path south. Ross found it while searching for the South Magnetic Pole. Later, the name was officially changed to the Ross Ice Shelf. In 1947, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names used the term "Ross Shelf Ice." By 1956, the name we use today was finally published.

Many famous people have traveled across this frozen landscape. Robert Falcon Scott studied the ice during his expedition from 1901 to 1904. He used measurements to figure out that the ice was very thick.

He estimated the ice was about 274 meters thick on average. Later, Ernest Shackleton's team was the first to cross the shelf in 1908. Both Roald Amundsen and Scott successfully crossed it to reach the South Pole in 1911. Amundsen described seeing huge ridges and arches of ice on the horizon. These explorers had to be very brave to face such a "mystic Barrier."

Today, scientists use high-tech tools to study the shelf. They want to learn about the life living in the water below. In 1977, a team successfully drilled a hole through the ice. They were able to sample the water every few days for three weeks.

They found that the temperature at the bottom was −2.16 degrees Celsius. More recently, teams from New Zealand have used special tools. They used a robot named Icefin to explore the liquid spaces under the ice.

They even found an under-ice river that was 250 meters deep. These discoveries help us understand how our planet stays balanced.

The Ross Ice Shelf is a massive, floating plate of ice in Antarctica.

It covers a vast area of approximately 500,809 square kilometers. This makes the shelf nearly the size of the country of France. The ice mass is about 800 kilometers wide and 970 kilometers long. Most of this ice remains hidden beneath the ocean surface. Only about ten percent of the ice is visible above the water. The edge facing the open sea forms a nearly vertical wall. This ice front is more than 600 kilometers long. It rises between 15 and 50 meters above the water surface.

This ice shelf functions through a continuous cycle of growth and movement. Glaciers on the land flow toward the sea, constantly adding new ice to the shelf. At the same time, seawater freezes underneath the floating mass. This freezing process can increase the thickness of the ice by 40 to 50 centimeters. The shelf also moves, pushing out into the sea at a rate of 1.5 to 3 meters every day. Occasionally, large chunks of ice break away from the edge. This process is known as calving. In March 2000, the world's largest recorded iceberg, B-15, calved from the Ross Ice Shelf. This single iceberg was slightly larger than the country of Belgium.

Ice shelves play a critical role in the stability of the Antarctic environment. They act as physical brakes for the glaciers on land. By providing resistance, the shelf slows the flow of ice into the ocean. The shelf also helps moderate the amount of melting on glacier surfaces. If an ice shelf is removed, the glaciers behind it can increase in speed. This happens because of reduced braking forces and meltwater percolation. Faster glaciers may dump more ice into the ocean than they collect as snow. This relationship is important because the West Antarctic Ice Sheet contains enough ice to raise sea levels by 5 meters.

Humans first encountered this massive structure in the mid-19th century. Sir James Clark Ross discovered the ice shelf on January 28, 1841. He led a British Admiralty expedition using two ships named the Erebus and the Terror. These ships had specially strengthened wooden hulls to navigate through pack ice. Ross was searching for the position of the South Magnetic Pole. He originally called the formation "The Barrier" because it blocked passage to the south. He even compared the massive ice cliffs to the cliffs of Dover. In 1947, the name was changed to "Ross Shelf Ice." By 1956, it was officially published as the "Ross Ice Shelf."

Many famous explorers used the shelf as a gateway to the South Pole. Robert Falcon Scott conducted significant studies during the Discovery Expedition from 1901 to 1904. He used the buoyancy of icebergs to estimate the ice was 274 meters thick on average. His measurements showed the ice had advanced 555 meters north in 13.5 months. Later, Ernest Shackleton's party was the first to cross the shelf during the 1908 Nimrod expedition. Both Amundsen and Scott successfully crossed the shelf to reach the Pole in 1911. Amundsen described seeing huge, arched ridges that rose 150 meters high on the horizon.

Modern science uses advanced technology to study the secrets hidden beneath the ice. In 1977, the Ross Ice Shelf Project successfully drilled through the ice. This was believed to be the first oceanographic ice shelf borehole. Scientists sampled the water every few days for three weeks. They mapped the sea floor and studied the tides and local fish. They estimated the temperature at the base of the shelf was −2.16 °C. More recently, New Zealand scientists used a robot named Icefin to explore liquid cavities. This vehicle was designed to explore environments similar to the moon Europa.

Recent expeditions have revealed even more complex details about the shelf's behavior. In 2017, a team led by Christina Hulbe found evidence that ice in the central region was re-freezing. However, this growth appeared variable rather than a long-term trend. This variability may be caused by tidal mixing. In 2021, researchers discovered an under-ice river that was 250 meters deep. This river was essentially oceanic in nature. The team also found evidence of a tsunami caused by the 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai eruption. These findings show that the Ross Ice Shelf is a constantly changing system.