Whillans Ice Stream

BW

The Whillans ice stream - (formerly ice stream B) is a glacier in Westantarktika and flow to the Ross Ice Shelf. The current flowing in a westerly direction ice stream has a flow rate at the surface of up to 800 meters per year. The glacier is about 500 kilometers long, up to 95 km wide and about 600 meters thick.

The Whillans ice stream - parallel to the stagnant Kamb and Bindschadler - to fast-flowing ice stream and flows as well as these at the Siple Coast in the Ross Sea. From the south-east him the van der Veen - ice stream flowing to.

While many other ice streams have developed along subglacial grave structures, the ice streams of the Siple Coast are shallow foundation and characterized by very low bed and surface slopes, and a strongly fluctuating dynamics. Geophysical studies show that there is a four to five kilometers long and about ten feet deep freshwater bubble beneath the Whillans ice stream -. This referred to as Lake Whillans subglacial lake is about 800 meters below the ice surface.

Usually twice a day the Whillans ice stream - triggers seismic waves corresponding to an earthquake of magnitude 7. This makes the glacier, after earlier hours of standstill, jerky movements of up to 70 centimeters. These are triggered by the tides of the Ross Sea.