Challenger Glacier Explained

Challenger Glacier
Type:	cirque/tidewater
Location:	Heard Island Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands Australia
Width:	0.8nmi
Terminus:	eastern side of Corinthian Bay, close west to Saddle Point
Status:	Retreating^[1] ^[2] ^[3] ^[4] ^[5]
Map:	Indian Ocean
Label Position:	top
Mark:	Blue_pog.svg
Embedded:	Wikidata: yes Zoom: 11

Challenger Glacier is a tidewater glacier on the north side of Heard Island^[6] in the southern Indian Ocean. Located 1nmi east of Baudissin Glacier, Challenger Glacier is 0.8nmi wide and flows into the eastern side of Corinthian Bay, close west to Saddle Point.^{[6] [7]} To the east of Challenger Glacier is Downes Glacier, whose terminus is located at Mechanics Bay, between Saddle Point and Cape Bidlingmaier. To the west of Challenger Glacier is Baudissin Glacier, whose terminus is located at the western side of Corinthian Bay, near Sealers Cove.

Discovery and naming

The glacier appears to have been first charted by the Gauss expedition under Erich von Drygalski, 1901–03, who portrayed a single large glacier flowing into Corinthian Bay. In 1948 the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE) determined that more than one glacier discharges into Corinthian Bay. ANARE applied the name Challenger Glacier to the easternmost of these glaciers to commemorate the work of the British Challenger Expedition, 1873–76.

Further reading

• Book: U. Radok . D. Watts . Snow and Ice (Proceedings of the Moscow Symposium, August 1971). A synoptic background to glacier variations of Heard Island. International Association of Hydrological Sciences. Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK. 104. 1975. 42–56. http://iahs.info/redbooks/a104/iahs_104_0042.pdf. 7 June 2010.
• Book: Truffer, M., Thost, D. and Ruddell, A.. Antarctic CRC Research Report No. 24. The Brown Glacier, Heard Island: its morphology, dynamics, mass balance and climate setting. Cooperative Research Centre for the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Environment, University of Tasmania. Hobart, Tasmania. 2001. 1–27.
• Kevin Kiernan . Anne McConnell . Glacier retreat and melt-lake expansion at Stephenson Glacier, Heard Island World Heritage Area. Polar Record. 38. 207. 297–308. 2002. 10.1017/S0032247400017988. 37333655 . 7 June 2010.

External links

• Click here to see a map of Heard Island and McDonald Islands, including all major topographical features
• Australian Antarctic Division
• Australian Antarctic Gazetteer
• Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica
• Australian Antarctic Names and Medals Committee (AANMC)
• United States Geological Survey, Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)
• Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR)

Notes and References

1. Ian F. Allison . Peter L. Keage . Recent changes in the glaciers of Heard Island . Polar Record . 23 . 255–272 . 1986 . 10.1017/S0032247400007099 . 144. 130086301 .
2. Web site: Andrew Ruddell . 25 May 2010 . Our subantarctic glaciers: why are they retreating? . Glaciology Program, Antarctic CRC and AAD . 5 June 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20091002074124/http://www.aad.gov.au/default.asp?casid=2100 . 2 October 2009 . dead .
3. Quilty, P.G. . Wheller, G. . Heard Island and the McDonald Islands: A window into the Kerguelen Plateau (Heard Island Papers) . Pap. Proc. R. Soc. Tasm. . 133 . 2 . 1–12 . 2000 .
4. Budd, G.M. . Changes in Heard Island glaciers, king penguins and fur seals since 1947 (Heard Island Papers) . Pap. Proc. R. Soc. Tasm. . 133 . 2 . 47–60 . 2000 .
5. Douglas E. Thost . Martin Truffer . Glacier Recession on Heard Island, Southern Indian Ocean . Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research . 40 . 1 . 199–214 . February 2008 . 10.1657/1523-0430(06-084)[THOST]2.0.CO;2 . 130245283 . https://archive.today/20121204192707/http://instaar.metapress.com/content/m716t541j2514798/ . dead . 2012-12-04 . 7 June 2010 . free .
6. antarid . 2598 . Challenger Glacier . 6 June 2010.
7. antarid . 615 . Challenger Glacier . 5 June 2010.