U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet FS 2005–3055

(Supercedes FS–50–98)

May 2005

Coastal-Change and Glaciological Maps of Antarctica

Printed on recycled paper

Changes in the area and volume of the 

two polar ice sheets in Antarctica (fig. 1) and 

Greenland are intricately linked to changes in 

global climate, and could result in sea-level 

changes that could severely affect the densely 

populated coastal regions on Earth. Melting 

of the West Antarctica part of the Antarctic 

ice sheet alone could cause a sea-level rise of 

approximately 6 m. The potential sea-level 

rise after melting of the entire Antarctic ice 

sheet is estimated to be 73 m. In spite of its 

importance, the mass balance (the net volumetric gain or loss) of the Antarctic ice sheet 

is poorly known; it is not known whether the 

ice sheet is growing or shrinking. As a result, 

measurement of changes in the Antarctic 

ice sheet has been given a very high priority 

in recommendations by the Polar Research 

Board of the National Research Council, 

by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic 

Research (SCAR), and by the National Science Foundationʼs Office of Polar Programs. 

An extensive archive of early 1970s Landsat 1, 2, and 3 Multispectral Scanner (MSS) 

images of Antarctica was the impetus for the 

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with Scott Polar Research Institute 

(Cambridge, U.K.), to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the glaciological features of 

the coastal regions of Antarctica. The project 

was later modified to include analysis of 

coastal change using Landsat 4 and 5 MSS 

and Thematic Mapper (TM) images from 

the late 1980s/early 1990s, declassified 1963 

Argon (Corona Program) images, 1992 and 

1995 European Space Agency) (ESA) Remote 

Sensing Satellite (ERS) radar images, 9 September–2 October 1997 RADARSAT images, 

Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper 

(ETM+) images (April 1999–May 2003), and 

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images (post-mid-December 

1999). The different data sets allow determination of coastal change in Antarctica for >30 

years where suitable images exist. Coastal 

change has been most pronounced on the 

Antarctic Peninsula in the last few decades, 

where the Wordie Ice Shelf has practically 

disappeared, the northern part of the Larsen 

Ice Shelf has disintegrated, and other ice 

shelves are also changing. Cooperation with 

other Antarctic mapping groups now includes

scientists from Italy, Russia, Norway, Canada. 

Australia, Argentina, and Germany. 

The coastal-change and glaciological mapping task, an element of the Glacier Studies 

Project, has several objectives:

• Determine coastline changes in Antarctica that have occurred at three or more 

time intervals between the mid-1970s 

and the latest available images.

• Establish an accurate base-line series of 

1:1,000,000-scale maps (in both printed 

and digital format) (fig. 2) that defines, 

from the analysis of remotely sensed 

data, the glaciological characteristics of 

the coastline of Antarctica, for example, 

floating ice (ice fronts) and grounded ice 

(ice walls), and the location of floating 

ice fronts during the time periods represented by the imagery.

• Determine glacier-ice velocities of 

selective outlet glaciers, ice streams, 

and ice shelves in some coastal regions.

• Compile an inventory of named (from 

published maps and gazetteers) and 

unnamed (from analysis of Landsat and 

other images) outlet glaciers and ice 

streams in Antarctica.

• Publish the results of the analyses 

in 23 maps as I–2600–A–W of the 

USGS Geologic Investigations Series 

(I–Maps) (fig. 2). Most 1:1,000,000-

scale maps extend to the southernmost 

nunatak within each map area or to the 

southernmost extent of Landsat images 

(about 81.5°S. lat.), although for some 

ice shelves, RADARSAT or MODIS 

images were used to extend maps 

further south. The 1:1,000,000-scale 

maps will be combined to produce a 

24th map, a 1:5,000,000-scale map of 

Antarctica (in both printed and digital 

formats).

Ice fronts, iceberg tongues, and glacier 

tongues are the most dynamic and changeable 

features in the coastal regions of Antarctica. 

Floating ice margins are subject to frequent 

and large calving events or rapid flow. These 

situations lead to annual and decadal changes 

in the position of ice fronts on the order of 

1000 KILOMETERS

90°E

0

0°E

180°W

60°S

90°W 90°E

W 0° E

W 180° E

60°S

80°S

A

B C

E

F

G

H I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R S

V U T

W

°E D

0°E

180°W

60°S

90°W 90°E

W 0° E

W 180° E

60°S

80°S

Cook Ice Shelf

Lazarev 

Ice Shelf

Filchner 

Ice Shelf

Larsen

Ice Shelf

Shackleton

Ice Shelf

Sulzberger

Ice Shelf

Ice Shelf

Abbot

Ice Shelf

EAST

ANTARCTICA

Weddell 

 Sea

Brunt 

Ice Shelf

Fimbul Ice

Shelf Rilser-Larsen

Ice Shelf

0 1000 KILOMETERS

Figure 1. Index map to the principal geographic features of Antarctica, including 

the ice shelves where large coastal-change 

events commonly occur.

Figure 2. Index map showing the locations and names of the 23 published and planned 1:1,000,000-

scale coastal-change and glaciological maps of Antarctica. The dates (2004) of published maps 

are shown that are available in print and digital formats. Web access to digital data is as follows: 

http://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/2600/G for the Saunders Coast map (I–2600–G), for example.

A-Trinity Peninsula 

B-Larsen Ice Shelf

C-Palmer Land

D-Ronne Ice Shelf

E-Eights Coast (2004)

F-Bakutis Coast (2005)

G-Saunders Coast (2003)

H-Ross Ice Shelf

I-Ross Island

J-Drygalski Ice Tongue

K-Oates Coast

L-George V Coast

M-Banzare Coast

N-Budd Coast

O-Queen Mary Coast

P-West Ice Shelf

Q-Amery Ice Shelf

R-Mawson Coast

S-Prince Olav Coast

T-Princess Ragnhild Coast

U-Fimbul Ice Shelf

V-Cape Norvegia

W-Filchner Ice Shelf-Coats 

Land

Published (Date of Publication) and Planned 

USGS I–2600 Maps:
W

several kilometers, even tens of kilometers in 

extreme cases of major calving events (fig. 3). 

On the coastal-change and glaciological maps, the positions of the dynamic ice 

fronts as observed on remotely sensed data 

have been mapped and annotated with the 

exact date of each position. This record 

makes it possible to analyze changes that 

have occurred. Although calving does occur 

along ice walls, the magnitude of the change 

on an annual to decadal basis is generally not 

discernible on the images; therefore, ice walls 

can be used as relatively stable reference features against which to measure other changes 

along the coast. Only a single observation date 

is given for the position of ice walls. 

Velocities of floating glaciers (such as 

glacier tongues, ice streams, ice shelves) are 

determined by three methods. (1) An interactive one in which crevasse patterns are traced 

visually on images. (2) An auto-correlation 

program developed by the U.S. National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration 

(NASA). The larger glacier tongues and ice 

shelves have well-developed rift patterns that 

can be used for velocity measurements. Under 

optimum conditions, errors can be as small as 

±0.02 km per year (a–1), but for most Landsat 

image pairs, where registration of features 

is not as accurate, the accuracy of velocity 

vectors is ±0.1 km a–1. (3) Ice-surface 

velocities can be determined from satellite 

radar interferometry, a technique developed 

by scientists at the California Institute of 

Technology (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) and 

NASA. 

Producing a sophisticated glacier inventory 

of Antarctica according to the requirements 

of the World Glacier Monitoring Service, as 

part of its ongoing “World Glacier Inventory” 

program, is difficult to accomplish with the 

present state of glaciological knowledge about 

Antarctica. Landsat and other images and 

available maps are used in the compilation 

of the coastal-change and glaciological maps 

to produce a reasonably complete preliminary inventory of named and unnamed outlet 

glaciers and ice streams and also to define, 

more accurately, related glaciological features 

such as ice domes, ice piedmonts, ice shelves, 

ice rises, ice rumples, glacier tongues, iceberg 

tongues, etc. 

For more information, please contact: 

Richard S. Williams, Jr. 

U.S. Geological Survey

Woods Hole Science Center oods Hole Science Center 

384 Woods Hole Road 

Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598 

Tel: 508-457-2347 

e-mail: rswilliams@usgs.gov 

Jane G. Ferrigno 

U.S. Geological Survey

926A National Center 

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive 

Reston, VA 20192-0002 

Tel: 703-648-6360 

e-mail: jferrigno@usgs.gov 

Kevin M. Foley 

U.S. Geological Survey

926A National Center 

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive 

Reston, VA 20192-0002 

Tel: 703-648-5285 

e-mail: kfoley@usgs.gov 

The Coastal-Change and Glaciological Maps of Antarctica are being produced 

as Task 2 of the Glacier Studies Project 

[http://www.glaciers.er.usgs.gov] of the 

U.S. Geological Survey Geology Disciplinesʼ Earth Surface Dynamics Program 

[http://geochange.er.usgs.gov], a component of 13 interagency Federal U.S. 

Climate Change Science Program [http://

www.climatescience.gov] of which the U.S. 

Department of the Interior is a member. 

Figure 3. Left, Landsat MSS image of margin of the Filchner Ice Shelf, Weddell Sea, West Antaractica, on 11 November 1973. Right, Landsat image of 

the same area on 18 October 1986 after a major calving event.