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| This photo, taken
by the Radarsat Antarctic Mapping Project, depicts an upstream portion of
the Whillans Ice Stream, one of the most studied ice streams in Antarctica.
Formerly known as Ice Stream B, this basin of flowing ice in the western
part of the continent was re-named by the Advisory Committee for Antarctic
Names to honor late Ohio State University glaciologist Ian Whillans. From
the earliest days of his 38-year career in polar science, Whillans recognized
that such ice streams hold the key to determining the stability of the West
Antarctic Ice Sheet. Whillans died May 9, 2001, after 32 years of service
to Ohio State. Photo courtesy of the Byrd Polar Research Center at Ohio
State University. [High-res image available here.] |
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| Ohio State geology
professor Ian Whillans measuring the rate of flow of what he knew to be
Ice Stream B, one of the major rivers of ice flowing off the Antarctic Plateau
and towards the Ross Sea. This fall, an international committee renamed
the feature the Whillans Ice Stream in recognition of his decades of work
on this glaciological feature. The renaming was highly unusual since Antarctic
features are almost never renamed after their initial name has been in use
for some time. |
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| Whillans' team of
researchers unload supplies from one of the Antarctic program's Twin Otter
aircraft at a remote camp near one of the continents massive ice streams,
glaciological features that fascinated Whillans throughout his career as
a scientist/professor at Ohio State University. |
