Vahsel Glacier Explained

Vahsel Glacier
Type:	cirque/tidewater
Location:	Heard Island Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands Australia
Thickness:	approximately 55 meters
Terminus:	South West Bay, between Erratic Point and Cape Gazert
Status:	Retreating^[1] ^[2] ^[3] ^[4] ^[5]
Map:	Indian Ocean
Label Position:	top
Embedded:	Wikidata: yes Zoom: 11

Vahsel Glacier is a glacier on the northwestern side of Heard Island in the southern Indian Ocean. It flows west into South West Bay, between Erratic Point and Cape Gazert.^{[6] [7]} Immediately to the north of Vahsel Glacier is Schmidt Glacier, whose terminus is located between Mount Drygalski and North West Cornice. To the south of Vahsel Glacier is Allison Glacier, whose terminus is located south of Cape Gazert, which separates Allison Glacier from Vahsel Glacier.

Discovery and naming

Vahsel Glacier was charted in 1902 by the German Antarctic Expedition under Erich von Drygalski.^[7] A landing party was sent ashore near Atlas Cove on 3 February 1902. Drygalski named the glacier for Richard Vahsel, an officer of the landing party of the Gauss expedition who conducted investigations near Atlas Cove. Vahsel was later captain of Wilhelm Filchner's Deutschland; he died in August 1912 during the drift of the Deutschland.^[6]

Further reading

• Book: U. Radok . D. Watts . amp . 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 . amp . 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 . amp . Recent changes in the glaciers of Heard Island. Polar Record. 23. 255–272. 1986. 10.1017/S0032247400007099. 144. 130086301 .
2. Web site: Andrew Ruddell. 2010-05-25. Our subantarctic glaciers: why are they retreating?. Glaciology Program, Antarctic CRC and AAD. 5 June 2010.
3. Quilty, P.G. . Wheller, G. . amp . 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 . 7 June 2010 . https://archive.today/20121204192707/http://instaar.metapress.com/content/m716t541j2514798/ . 4 December 2012 . dead . dmy-all. free .
6. antarid. 611. Vahsel Glacier. 5 June 2010.
7. antarid. 15837. Vahsel Glacier. 5 June 2010.