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| Slessor Glacier | |
|---|---|
| Name | Slessor Glacier |
| Location | Coats Land, Antarctica |
| Terminus | Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf |
Slessor Glacier is a major outlet glacier in Coats Land, Antarctica, flowing westward into the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf near the Weddell Sea. The glacier drains a large portion of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet and connects with adjacent ice streams and glaciers in a region bounded by the Theron Mountains and the Shackleton Range. Slessor Glacier has been the focus of aerial survey, satellite remote sensing, and field campaigns from organizations such as the British Antarctic Survey, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the German Aerospace Center.
Slessor Glacier lies within Coats Land on the eastern margin of the Weddell Sea embayment, adjacent to the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf and the inland plateau of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. The glacier occupies a broad trough between the Shackleton Range to the north and the Theron Mountains to the south, and it receives mass from tributary glaciers draining from the Dufek Massif and nearby nunataks. Its terminus abuts the floating Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf near the junction with the Jubilee Glacier and lies down-ice of the Henry Ice Rise and Crane Icefall regions. The basin feeding Slessor Glacier connects with catchments mapped during the International Geophysical Year and subsequent mapping by the United States Geological Survey and the Scott Polar Research Institute.
Slessor Glacier functions as a major ice stream conveying ice from the interior East Antarctic Ice Sheet to the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf and ultimately the Southern Ocean. Its flow dynamics show shear margins, basal sliding, and longitudinal stretching similar to other Antarctic outlet glaciers observed by ICESat and CryoSat missions. Radar sounding surveys by teams from the British Antarctic Survey and the Alfred Wegener Institute have characterized bed topography, basal conditions, and englacial layering, revealing areas of basal melt influenced by subglacial hydrology and geothermal fluxes associated with crustal features mapped by the Geological Survey of Antarctica. Ice-penetrating radar and GPS campaigns have measured surface velocity, strain rates, and seasonal variability comparable to adjacent ice streams such as those feeding the Filchner Ice Shelf and studied in the Antarctic Peninsula context by researchers at Columbia University and University of Oslo.
Early reconnaissance of the region was conducted during the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition and aerial photographic missions by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition and later by the U.S. Navy Operation Deep Freeze. Detailed mapping was advanced by the Scott Polar Research Institute and photographic interpretation from U.S. Navy flights in the mid-20th century. The glacier was named in association with figures and sponsors of polar exploration commemorated by the British Antarctic Survey and national naming committees such as the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee. Subsequent field parties from the British Antarctic Survey and the Australian Antarctic Division established remote camps and logistic routes connecting to bases such as Rothera Research Station and Halley Research Station for science and resupply.
Slessor Glacier has been the subject of international research incorporating satellite altimetry from ICESat-2, radar altimetry from CryoSat-2, and gravimetry from the GRACE mission to infer mass balance and temporal change. Field programs by the British Antarctic Survey, the Alfred Wegener Institute, and teams affiliated with University of Cambridge and Ohio State University deployed GPS, seismic, and radar instrumentation to resolve basal conditions, ice rheology, and grounding-line positions. Numerical modeling studies using frameworks developed at institutions like NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research have coupled ocean–ice interactions at the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf front with inland ice dynamics to assess sensitivity to changes in ocean heat transport documented by Southern Ocean Observing System cruises. Long-term monitoring links to polar observational networks including the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research and data centers such as the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
Concerns about Slessor Glacier center on its contribution to sea-level change if interior drainage changes or ice-shelf buttressing at the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf is reduced by ocean warming. Studies by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change authors and investigators at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and British Antarctic Survey examine scenarios in which increased warm-water intrusions into the Weddell Sea cavity lead to basal melting, grounding-line retreat, and dynamic thinning. Paleoclimate evidence from nearby ice cores analyzed at laboratories such as British Antarctic Survey and University of Bern provides context for past variability, while coupled climate models run at centers like Met Office Hadley Centre and National Center for Atmospheric Research project potential future responses. Ongoing monitoring aims to detect early signals of acceleration similar to those documented for outlets in the Amundsen Sea sector by research programs funded by agencies including the European Space Agency.
Surrounding geographic features include the Theron Mountains, the Shackleton Range, the Jubilee Glacier, and ice rises such as Henry Ice Rise, all of which influence local flow regimes and crevasse patterns mapped by the United States Geological Survey and the Scott Polar Research Institute. Human activity is primarily scientific, with logistics supported by national programs such as the British Antarctic Survey, the Australian Antarctic Division, and the United States Antarctic Program, operating research stations, aircraft, and icebreaker support including vessels chartered through agencies like the National Science Foundation and the Australian Antarctic Division. Conservation and management fall under the Antarctic Treaty System and the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, which guide permitting for research and environmental stewardship in the region.
Category:Glaciers of Coats Land