Rippon Glacier is a small

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

located in

Kemp Land Kemp Land is a thin sliver of Antarctica including, and lying inland from, the Kemp Coast. Part of the Australian Antarctic Territory, Australian Antarctic claim it is defined as lying between 56° 25' E and 59° 34' E, and, as with other sectors ...

East Antarctica East Antarctica, also called Greater Antarctica, constitutes the majority (two-thirds) of the Antarctic continent, lying on the Indian Ocean side of the continent, separated from West Antarctica by the Transantarctic Mountains. It lies almost ...

. It is close east of

Seaton Glacier Seaton Glacier () is a glacier 17 miles (27 km) long, flowing southeast into Edward VIII Ice Shelf at the northwest part of Edward VIII Bay. It was mapped by Norwegian cartographers from aerial photos taken by the Lars Christensen Expedition ...

, flowing southward into

Edward VIII Ice Shelf Edward VIII Ice Shelf is an ice shelf occupying the head of Edward VIII Bay in Antarctica. The northern part of this feature was called Innviksletta (the inner bay plain) by Norwegian cartographers, who mapped it from aerial photos taken by the Lars ...

Discovery and naming

Rippon Glacier was mapped from aerial photos taken by ANARE (

Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions The Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE ) is the historical name for the Australian Antarctic Program (AAp) administered for Australia by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). History Australia has had a long involv ...

) in 1956, and named for Sgt. Ralph Tudor Rippon,

RAAF "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

, airframe fitter at

Mawson Station The Mawson Station, commonly called Mawson, is one of three permanent bases and research outposts in Antarctica managed by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). Mawson lies in Holme Bay in Mac. Robertson Land, East Antarctica in the Austra ...

in 1959.Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) of the United States Geological Survey
Rippon Glacier
Accessed 22 May 2010.Gazetteer of the Australian Antarctic Data Centre
Rippon Glacier
Accessed 22 May 2010.

Weather conditions

Just to the south of Rippon Glacier is a large valley formed by the

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

and Wilma Glaciers. These two glaciers, along with the Seaton and Rippon Glaciers, all flow into the King Edward Ice Shelf. To the west are the

Napier Mountains The Napier Mountains are a group of close set peaks, the highest being Mount Elkins, at about 2,300 meters above sea level. This mountain range is located in Enderby Land, in the claimed Australian Antarctic Territory, East Antarctica. Location ...

, running northwest from

Mount Elkins Mount Elkins, also known as Jökelen (which means "The Glacier") is a dark, steep-sided mountain with three major peaks, the highest above sea level, in the Napier Mountains of Enderby Land. Enderby Land is part of East Antarctica, and is claime ...

. Still further west are the

Tula Mountains The Tula Mountains are a group of extensive mountains lying immediately eastward of Amundsen Bay in Enderby Land, Antarctica. They were discovered on January 14, 1930, by the British Australian New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE) ...

, beyond which the Beaver Glacier flows into

Amundsen Bay Amundsen Bay, also known as Ice Bay, is a long embayment wide, close west of the Tula Mountains in Enderby Land, Antarctica. The bay was seen as a large pack-filled recession in the coastline by Sir Douglas Mawson on 14 January 1930. Seen by Capta ...

. Collectively, these terrain features significantly modify weather produced by

synoptic scale The synoptic scale in meteorology (also known as large scale or cyclonic scale) is a horizontal length scale of the order of 1000 kilometers (about 620 miles) or more. This corresponds to a horizontal scale typical of mid-latitude depressions (e. ...

systems. Dramatic changes can occur over short distances and in short time intervals. One problem with some moist southeasterly airstreams is cloud formation northwest of Seaton and Rippon Glaciers that produces whiteout conditions looking inland of Rippon Depot.

Flora

The following species have been sighted within 1.0 degrees of Rippon Glacier:

Fungi

*'' Buellia frigida'' *'' Caloplaca athallina'' *''

Caloplaca citrina ''Caloplaca'' is a lichen genus comprising a number of distinct species. Members of the genus are commonly called firedot lichen, jewel lichen.Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, gold lichens, "ora ...

'' *'' Candelariella flava'' *'' Japewia tornoensis'' *'' Lecanora expectans'' *'' Physcia caesia'' *''

Physcia dubia ''Physcia'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Physciaceae. The genus name means "inflated" or "sausage-like", referring to the form of the type species. According to a 2008 estimate, the widespread genus contains 73 species. Species ...

'' *''

Pseudephebe minuscula ''Pseudephebe minuscula'' is a species of fruticose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. In North America, it is known colloquially as coarse rockwool. It has an antitropical distribution. Description The lichen has a dark brown to almost black ...

'' *'' Rinodina olivaceobrunnea'' *'' Xanthoria mawsonii''

Fauna