Amundsen Sea
The Amundsen Sea is an arm of the Southern Ocean off Marie Byrd Land in western Antarctica. It is bounded by Cape Flying Fish, the northwestern tip of Thurston Island to the east and Cape Dart on Siple Island to the west. East of Cape Flying Fish starts the Bellingshausen Sea. The sea is named for the Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen.[1]
The sea is mostly ice-covered. The ice sheet which drains into the Amundsen Sea averages about 3 km (1.9 mi) in thickness. It is roughly the size of the state of Texas. The area is known as the Amundsen Sea Embayment (ASE). It forms one of the three major ice drainage basins of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
Pine Island Bay
Pine Island Bay (74°50′S 102°40′W / 74.833°S 102.667°W) is a bay about 40 miles (64 km) long and 30 miles (48 km) wide. The ice of the Pine Island Glacier at the southeast end of the Amundsen Sea flows into it. It was named for USS Pine Island.[2]
Russell Bay
Russell Bay (73°27′S 123°54′W / 73.450°S 123.900°W) is a rather open bay in southwestern Amundsen Sea. It goes along the north sides of Siple Island, Getz Ice Shelf and Carney Island, from Pranke Island to Cape Gates. It is named for Admiral James S. Russell, USN, Vice Chief of Naval Operations.[3]
References
- ↑ "Amundsen Sea". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- ↑ "Pine Island Bay". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- ↑ "Russell Bay". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
Other websites
Media related to Amundsen Sea at Wikimedia Commons