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Glossary of basic Antarctica terms |
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Helpful Antarctica cruise You will hear and read these terms during your Antarctica cruise. Knowing their meanings will give you a head start in your Antarctica learning adventure.
Icebergs and
A large floating body of ice broken off a glacier (a process called calving).
An iceberg is downgraded to a bergy bit when - by melting, splitting or tumbling - it no longer rises at least 5 meters (16 feet) about water.
A bergy bit is downgraded to a "growler" when it no longer rises at least a meter (3 feet) above the waterline. Ship captains fear them because they are numerous and are hard to spot. Growlers have sunk many a vessel over the centuries. They derive their name from the ominous sound they make when rubbing against a hull.
Other ice formations
An ice mass that is attached to the seabed or other fixed underwater object. It's immobile and can be a navigational hazard, especially when it is sizable and lies completely below water level.
A floating ice pane fastened to the shore or an iceberg.
A huge, flat sheet of ice floating on the sea. It's called an ice floe if smaller than 10 kilometers (6 miles) or so in length.
Floating ice units that have been "packed together" into a single entity by wind and currents.
Thin, small, disc-shaped, tightly grouped floating ice layers. They became circular by the erosive force of repeatedly bumping into each other.
Ice that has become fragile, easily breakable because of its age.
A massive tabletop iceberg. Some measure over 50 kilometers (30 miles) or more in length. You see them in abundance when you sail through the Antarctica Sound, which is aptly nicknamed "Iceberg Alley".
Other widely used terms
This defines the southern hemisphere summer (Austral means "southern"). It occurs when winter is taking place in the northern hemisphere.
It's where the warmer and saltier Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans collide with the colder and less-dense Southern Ocean that surrounds Antarctica. The convergence's line is an irregular circle that completely rings the Antarctica continent - and is, on average, about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from it.
The excrement of penguins (and of bats and some seabirds).
A strong, cold wind flowing downhill (due to gravitational action) on the slopes of glaciers, ice fields and the polar cap.
A partially buried peak or ridge. It protrudes dramatically like an island from a glacier or snow field.
Those that live mainly in open sea, such as the Wandering Albatross.
That's us, in our bright red parkas.
There are several
This is what we normally think of when we hear the word "south pole". By definition, it's the southern point of the axis of our planet's rotation. Its latitude is exactly 90-degrees south.
This is a barber-striped pole encircled with national flags. It is set into the ice at the Geographical South Pole (see above). It's a photo-op symbol, not a scientific indicator. Because the polar ice cap at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station drifts about 10 meters (33 feet) a year, the Ceremonial South Pole is accurate only when the staff repositions the marker, which seldom occurs.
It's where you will end up if you follow the needle of your compass until it points skyward. This pole changes its position regularly. It is now submerged in the ocean, about 2,700 kilometers (1,700 miles) from the Geographic South Pole, in the general direction of Australia.
It resides approximately midway between the Geographic and Magnetic South Poles - and like the latter, it wanders.
Click these buttons
Pages specific to the
Antarctica cruises
wonder map
My "What it's Like"
My general
Click the button below for Regent's website for Minerva itineraries with maps, a list of cruise-specialist travel agents near you, plus other useful trip-planning information.
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Pages specific to the
Antarctica cruise
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I hope your luxury cruise ship dreams come true - and that this travel page helps you enjoy your vacation, tour or trip Web page ©2008 HQP / Hillman Quality Publications
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Iceberg
