Historical occurrence of Antarctic icebergs within mercantile shipping routes and the exceptional events of the 1890s
A major consideration for maritime activity in the Southern Hemisphere is the northern limit of icebergs, or the Southern Ocean Limit Of Known Ice (SOLOKI). This analysis of historical reports of icebergs during Southern Hemisphere voyages from 1687 to 1933 provides a basis for examination of their...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
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| Series: | Journal of Glaciology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143023000801/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1797648241396809728 |
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| author | Robert Keith Headland Nicholas Edward Hughes Jeremy Paul Wilkinson |
| author_facet | Robert Keith Headland Nicholas Edward Hughes Jeremy Paul Wilkinson |
| author_sort | Robert Keith Headland |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A major consideration for maritime activity in the Southern Hemisphere is the northern limit of icebergs, or the Southern Ocean Limit Of Known Ice (SOLOKI). This analysis of historical reports of icebergs during Southern Hemisphere voyages from 1687 to 1933 provides a basis for examination of their geographical and chronological occurrence during ~250 years. The analyses use tabulated data from 742 voyages and other reports from many sources, some including first-person descriptions. While these data are dependent on icebergs being reported by mariners, as well as the variable frequency of voyages, they demonstrate distinct periods of exceptional frequency of icebergs occurring in certain localities, particularly the far South Atlantic. Based upon historical records the evidence suggests unprecedented numbers of icebergs were present in southern shipping channels in the 1890s. When these historical observations are combined with modern iceberg drift trajectories, their possible origin can be elucidated. Owing to the numbers of icebergs seen and their geographical spread, our results suggest that this was possibly the largest near-synchronous calvings in the last 300 years, and the northernmost extent of the SOLOKI. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T15:29:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-90f764c871844ca3b779982dc919fa78 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T15:29:18Z |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Glaciology |
| spelling | doaj.art-90f764c871844ca3b779982dc919fa782023-10-27T08:53:57ZengCambridge University PressJournal of Glaciology0022-14301727-565211310.1017/jog.2023.80Historical occurrence of Antarctic icebergs within mercantile shipping routes and the exceptional events of the 1890sRobert Keith Headland0Nicholas Edward Hughes1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3510-0656Jeremy Paul Wilkinson2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7166-3042Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, UKNorwegian Meteorological Institute, Tromsø, NorwayBritish Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UKA major consideration for maritime activity in the Southern Hemisphere is the northern limit of icebergs, or the Southern Ocean Limit Of Known Ice (SOLOKI). This analysis of historical reports of icebergs during Southern Hemisphere voyages from 1687 to 1933 provides a basis for examination of their geographical and chronological occurrence during ~250 years. The analyses use tabulated data from 742 voyages and other reports from many sources, some including first-person descriptions. While these data are dependent on icebergs being reported by mariners, as well as the variable frequency of voyages, they demonstrate distinct periods of exceptional frequency of icebergs occurring in certain localities, particularly the far South Atlantic. Based upon historical records the evidence suggests unprecedented numbers of icebergs were present in southern shipping channels in the 1890s. When these historical observations are combined with modern iceberg drift trajectories, their possible origin can be elucidated. Owing to the numbers of icebergs seen and their geographical spread, our results suggest that this was possibly the largest near-synchronous calvings in the last 300 years, and the northernmost extent of the SOLOKI.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143023000801/type/journal_articleAntarctic glaciologyicebergsiceberg calving |
| spellingShingle | Robert Keith Headland Nicholas Edward Hughes Jeremy Paul Wilkinson Historical occurrence of Antarctic icebergs within mercantile shipping routes and the exceptional events of the 1890s Journal of Glaciology Antarctic glaciology icebergs iceberg calving |
| title | Historical occurrence of Antarctic icebergs within mercantile shipping routes and the exceptional events of the 1890s |
| title_full | Historical occurrence of Antarctic icebergs within mercantile shipping routes and the exceptional events of the 1890s |
| title_fullStr | Historical occurrence of Antarctic icebergs within mercantile shipping routes and the exceptional events of the 1890s |
| title_full_unstemmed | Historical occurrence of Antarctic icebergs within mercantile shipping routes and the exceptional events of the 1890s |
| title_short | Historical occurrence of Antarctic icebergs within mercantile shipping routes and the exceptional events of the 1890s |
| title_sort | historical occurrence of antarctic icebergs within mercantile shipping routes and the exceptional events of the 1890s |
| topic | Antarctic glaciology icebergs iceberg calving |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143023000801/type/journal_article |
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