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Geologic Investigations Series Map I-2600-B

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##### Prepared in cooperation with the British Antarctic Survey, the Scott Polar Research Institute, and the Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie

## Coastal-Change and Glaciological Map of the Larsen Ice Shelf Area, Antarctica: 1940–2005 

#### By Jane G. Ferrigno,1  Alison J. Cook,2  Amy M. Mathie,3 Richard S. Williams, Jr.,4   Charles Swithinbank,5 Kevin M. Foley,1 Adrian J. Fox,2 Janet W. Thomson,6 and Jörn Sievers7

1 U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA, U.S.A.2 British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, United Kingdom 3 U.S. Geological Survey, Carson City, NV, U.S.A.4 U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole, MA, U.S.A.5 Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, United Kingdom6 Formerly with British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, United Kingdom 7 Bundesamt für Kartographie and Geodäsie (formerly Institut für Angewandte Geodäsie), Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Published 2008 

| Introduction
Changes in the area and volume of polar ice sheets are intricately linked to         changes in global climate, and the resulting changes in sea level could severely                impact the densely populated coastal regions on Earth. Antarctica is Earth’s largest         reservoir of glacial ice. Melting of the West Antarctic part alone of the Antarctic         ice sheet would cause a sea-level rise of approximately 6 meters (m), and the         potential sea-level rise after melting of the entire Antarctic ice sheet is         estimated to be 65 m (Lythe and others, 2001) to 73 m (Williams and Hall, 1993).         The mass balance (the net volumetric gain or loss) of the Antarctic ice sheet is         highly complex, responding differently to different climatic and other conditions         in each region (Vaughan, 2005).  In a review paper, Rignot and Thomas (2002) concluded         that the West Antarctic ice sheet is probably becoming thinner overall; although it         is known to be thickening in the west, it is thinning in the north.  The mass balance         of the East Antarctic ice sheet is thought by Davis and others (2005) to be positive         on the basis of the change in satellite-altimetry measurements made between 1992 and 2003. 

Measurement of changes in area and mass balance of the Antarctic ice sheet was         given a very high priority in recommendations by the Polar Research Board of         the National Research Council (1986), in subsequent recommendations by the         Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) (1989, 1993), and by the         National Science Foundation’s (1990) Division of Polar Programs. On the basis         of these recommendations, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) decided that the         archive of early 1970s Landsat 1, 2, and 3 Multispectral Scanner (MSS) images         of Antarctica and the subsequent repeat coverage made possible with Landsat and         other satellite images provided an excellent means of documenting changes in         the cryospheric coastline of Antarctica (Ferrigno and Gould, 1987). The         availability of this information provided the impetus for carrying out a         comprehensive analysis of the glaciological features of the coastal regions         and changes in ice fronts of Antarctica (Swithinbank, 1988; Williams and         Ferrigno, 1988). The project was later modified to include Landsat 4 and 5 MSS         and Thematic Mapper (TM) images [and in some areas Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper         Plus (ETM+) images], RADARSAT images, aerial photography, and other data where available,         to compare changes that occurred during a 20- to 25- or 30-year time interval         (or longer where data were available, as in the Antarctic Peninsula). The results         of the analysis are being used to produce a digital database and a series         of USGS Geologic Investigations Series Maps (I–2600) (Williams and others, 1995;         Ferrigno and others, 2002; and Williams and Ferrigno, 2005) (available online at         http://www.glaciers.er.usgs.gov).   

The paper version of this map is available for purchase from the        USGS Store.       | First posted March 2009
-  **Larsen         Map I-2600-B** PDF (29,883 KB) 
- Pamphlet to Accompany Map

For additional information, please contact the author.         

Part or all of this report is presented in Portable Document Format (PDF); the latest version of Adobe Reader or similar software is required to view it. Download the latest version of Acrobat® Reader, free of charge. |
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Suggested citation:Ferrigno, J.G., Cook, A.J., Mathie, A.M., Williams, R.S., Jr., Swithinbank, Charles, Foley, K.M., Fox, A.J., Thomson, J.W., and Sievers, Jörn, 2008, Coastal-change and glaciological map of the Larsen Ice Shelf area, Antarctica: 1940–2005: U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Investigations Series Map I–2600–B, 1 map sheet, 28-p. text. 

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