New Research Suggests Tidal Motion Influences Flow of The Rutford Ice Stream
Abstract: Flow variations of the Rutford Ice Stream are directly related to tidal changes.
- Tidal Motion Influences Antarctic Ice Sheet
News Release by the British Antarctic Survey, December 23, 2006 - Fortnightly variations in the flow velocity of Rutford Ice Stream
by G. Hilmar Gudmundsson, Nature 444, 1063-1064 (December 21, 2006)
The Rutford Ice Stream is located in West Antarctica. It is roughly 90 miles long, 15 miles wide, and over 1 mile thick, and drains an area larger than the Netherlands.
Stretching for hundreds of miles, and responsible for most of the ice leaving the ice sheet to enter the ice shelf, ice streams are ice sheet regions moving significantly faster than surrounding ice. They are significant features of the Antarctic where they account for roughly ten percent of the ice volume.
- Updated: April 6, 2007
