Skip to main content

Antarctica, coastal morphology

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Beaches and Coastal Geology

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

  • 52 Accesses

The Antarctic coast may be classified as glacial tectonic and glacial erosional, because in its genesis the ice action was more important than the marine influence.

Many works have been written on Antarctic geology, but only a few have coastal morphologic importance. Among the first were Cailleux (1963), Adie (1964), and Markov et al. (1968–70); sea-level changes were studied by Adie (1964). An attempt at reconstitution of ancient coastal environments has been made by Araya and Hervé (1966).

Principal Parts of the Antarctic Coasts

Two principal parts are separated by means of a line that follows the Transantarctic Mountains lineament (Fig. 1). This lineament coincides with the eastern coast of the Weddell Sea and the western coast of the Ross Sea. The West Antarctic coast is strongly indented and delimited by the Ross and the Weddell seas. Three parts distinguish this coast: the Antarctic Peninsula is the most prominent and indented part of the coast. The coast of the Amundsen Sea, at...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 569.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adie, J.R., ed., Antarctic Geology, SCAR-IUGS Symposium on Antarctic Geology, Cape Town. Amsterdam: North Holland Publ., 758p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Araya, R., and Hervé, F., 1966. Estudio geomorfológico y geológico en las Islas Shetland del Sur, Antarctica. Santiago: Inst. Antárct. Chil., Publ. 8, 76p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bentley, C. R., 1964. The structure of Antarctica and its ice cover, in H. Idishaw, ed., Solid Earth and Interface Phenomena. Cambridge: MIT Press, 335–389.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker, P. E., 1974. Volcanism and plate tectonics in the Antarctic Peninsula and Scotia Arc, I.A.V.C.E.I. Symp. Internac. Volcanol. Santiago Preprint 4, 6p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cailleux, A., 1963. Géologie de Antarctique. Paris: S.E.D.E.S., Expéd. Polaires Françaises, No. 242, 201p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elliot, D. H., 1974, The tectonic setting of the Jurassic Ferrar Group, Antarctica, I.A.V.C.E.I. Symp. Internac. Volcanol. Santiago Preprint 27, 12p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flores-Silva, E., 1970. Geomorphological observations and generalizations on the coasts of the South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula, SCAR-IUGS Symposium on Antarctic Geology, Oslo, Noruega, 99–103.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gonzáles-Ferrán, O., 1969. Cadenas volcánicas de la Tierra María Byrd, Bol. Inst. Antarct. Chil. 4, 19–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gonzáles-Ferrán, O., and Katsui, Y., 1970. Estudio integral del volcanismo ceonzoico superior de las Islas Shetland del Sur, Antarctica, Inst. Antarct. Chil. Ser. Cient 1(2), 123–174.

    Google Scholar 

  • Markov, K. K.; Bardin, V. I.; Levedev, V. L.; Orlov, A. I.; and Suetova, I. A., 1968–70. The Geography of Antarctica. Jerusalem: Trans. Nat. Sci. Found., Israel Progr. Sci. Trans., 370p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nichols, R. L., 1968. Coastal geomorphology, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, Jour. Glaciology 51, 449–478.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, N., 1979. Ice-foot processes, Zeitschr. Geomorphologie, N. F. 23(2), 233–242.

    Google Scholar 

  • Voronov, P. S., 1964. Tectonics and neotectonics of Antarctica, in R. J. Adie, ed., Antarctic Geology,681–691.

    Google Scholar 

Cross-references

Download references

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1982 Hutchinson Ross Publishing Company

About this entry

Cite this entry

Araya-Vergara, J.F. (1982). Antarctica, coastal morphology . In: Beaches and Coastal Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30843-1_16

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30843-1_16

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-87933-213-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-387-30843-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics