Compton Glacier
| Compton Glacier | |
|---|---|
| Type | cirque/tidewater |
| Location | Heard Island, Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Australia |
| Coordinates | 53°3′S 73°37′E / 53.050°S 73.617°ECoordinates: 53°3′S 73°37′E / 53.050°S 73.617°E |
| Length | 3 nautical miles (6 km) |
| Thickness | 55 meters |
| Terminus | Compton Lagoon, between Gilchrist Beach and Fairchild Beach |
| Status | Retreating |
Compton Glacier is a glacier, 3 nautical miles (6 km) long, flowing northeast from the lower slopes of the Big Ben massif to the northeast side of Heard Island in the southern Indian Ocean. Its terminus is located at Compton Lagoon, between Gilchrist Beach and Fairchild Beach. To the northwest of Compton Glacier is Ealey Glacier, whose terminus is located close southeast of Cape Bidlingmaier. To the southeast of Compton Glacier is Brown Glacier, whose terminus is located at Brown Lagoon. Round Hill separates Compton Glacier from Brown Glacier.
The lower reaches of this glacier were charted and named Morgan's Iceberg on an 1860 sketch map compiled by Captain H.C. Chester, American sealer operating in the area during this period. The feature was surveyed in 1948 by the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions, who applied the name Compton Glacier for G.S. Compton, assistant surveyor with the expedition.
The landscape of Heard Island and nearby McDonald Island is constantly changing due to volcanism, strong winds and waves, and climate change. Volcanic activity has been observed in this area since the mid-1980s, with fresh lava flows on the southwest flanks of Heard Island. Satellite imagery shows that McDonald Island increased in size from about 1 to 2.5 square kilometers between 1994 and 2004, as a result of volcanic activity.
In addition to new land being produced by volcanism, warming of the climate is causing the retreat of glaciers (see below section). These combined processes produce new ice-free terrestrial and freshwater ecoregions such as moraines and lagoons, which are now available for colonization by plants and animals. Heard Island has vast colonies of penguins and petrels, and large harems of land-based marine predators such as elephant seals and fur seals. Due to the very high numbers of seabirds and marine mammals on Heard Island, the area is considered a "biological hot spot". The marine environment surrounding the islands features diverse and distinctive benthic habitats that support a range of species including corals, sponges, barnacles and echinoderms. This marine environment also serves as a nursery area for a range of fishes, including some species of commercial interest.
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