The Wordie Ice Shelf () was a confluent

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 ...

projecting as an

ice shelf An ice shelf is a large floating platform of ice that forms where a glacier or ice sheet flows down to a coastline and onto the ocean surface. Ice shelves are only found in Antarctica, Greenland, Northern Canada, and the Russian Arctic. The b ...

into the SE part of

Marguerite Bay Marguerite Bay or Margaret Bay is an extensive bay on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula, which is bounded on the north by Adelaide Island and on the south by Wordie Ice Shelf, George VI Sound and Alexander Island. The mainland coast on th ...

between

Cape Berteaux Cape Berteaux is a cape surmounted by a high rock peak between Mikkelsen Bay and Wordie Ice Shelf on the west coast of Graham Land. The French Antarctic Expedition under Charcot, 1908–1910, originally applied the name Berteaux to an island in ess ...

and Mount Edgell, along the western coast of

Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martín in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctic ...

. In March 2008, the

British Antarctic Survey The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of global issues, and to provide an active presence in the Antarctic on ...

reported that it appeared ready to break away from the Antarctic Peninsula. By April 2009 it had done so, vanishing completely. Discovered by the British Graham Land Expedition (BGLE) under Rymill, 1934–37, who named this feature for Sir

James Wordie Sir James Mann Wordie CBE FRS FRSGS LLD (26 April 1889 – 16 January 1962) was a Scottish polar explorer and geologist. Friends knew him as Jock Wordie. He was President of the Royal Geographical Society from 1951 to 1954. Early life and ed ...

, Honorary Secretary (later President) of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

, member of the Discovery Committee, and chairman of the

Scott Polar Research Institute The Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) is a centre for research into the polar regions and glaciology worldwide. It is a sub-department of the Department of Geography in the University of Cambridge, located on Lensfield Road in the south o ...

. He also had been geologist and Chief of the Scientific Staff of the British expedition, 1914–16, under

Ernest Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of ...

References

External links

USGS Antarctic Peninsula information

Scott Polar Research Institute
Ice shelves of Antarctica Bodies of ice of Palmer Land Bodies of ice of Graham Land Fallières Coast {{FallièresCoast-geo-stub

See also

References

External links