Shirase Glacier ( ja, 白瀬氷河; ''Shirase Hyōga'') is a large

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 ...

entering Havsbotn, the bay that forms the head of Lutzow-Holm Bay in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

. The area occupied by this feature was first mapped as a bay and named Instefjorden (the innermost fjord) by the

Lars Christensen Expedition Lars is a common male name in Scandinavian countries. Origin ''Lars'' means "from the city of Laurentum". Lars is derived from the Latin name Laurentius, which means "from Laurentum" or "crowned with laurel". A homonymous Etruscan name was borne ...

(LCE) of 1936–37. Surveys by

Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition The refers to a series of Japanese Antarctic expeditions for scientific research. The first JARE expedition was launched in 1957 to coordinate with the International Geophysical Year. This was the team which left 15 dogs, including Taro and Ji ...

(JARE) of 1957–62, revealed the large glacier in this position which they named after Lt.

Nobu Shirase was a Japanese army officer and explorer. He led the first Japanese Antarctic Expedition, 1910–12, which reached a southern latitude of 80°5′, and made the first landing on the coast of King Edward VII Land. Shirase had harboured polar am ...

, leader of the

Japanese Antarctic Expedition The Japanese Antarctic Expedition of 1910–12, in the ship '' Kainan Maru'', was the first such expedition by a non-European nation. It was concurrent with two major Antarctic endeavours led respectively by Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott ...

of 1911–12. Its nearby features were also charted and named by JARE unless otherwise noted. The Instekleppane Hills are a group of low rock hills that protrude above the ice slopes at the east side of Shirase Glacier, just south of the southeastern extremity of Lützow-Holm Bay in

. The hills were mapped by Norwegian cartographers from air photos taken by LCE personnel and named "instekleppane" ("the innermost lumps") after their appearance. Azarashi Rock, whose name means "seal rock," is located approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the glacier. Mae-hyōga Rock is an exposed rock on the east side of the glacier. The name "Mae-hyoga-iwa" ("outer glacier rock") was given in association with nearby Oku-hyōga Rock ("inner glacier rock"). Oku-hyōga Rock sits southeast of Mae-hyoga, and is the southernmost bare rock exposed along the east side of the glacier.

References

Ice streams of Antarctica Glaciers of Queen Maud Land Prince Harald Coast {{QueenMaudLand-glacier-stub

See also

References