Vahsel Glacier
| Vahsel Glacier | |
|---|---|
| Type | cirque/tidewater |
| Location | Heard Island, Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Australia |
| Coordinates | 53°04′S 73°23′E / 53.067°S 73.383°E |
| Thickness | approximately 55 meters |
| Terminus | South West Bay, between Erratic Point and Cape Gazert |
| Status | Retreating |
Vahsel Glacier (53°04′S 73°23′E / 53.067°S 73.383°E) is a glacier on the northwestern side of Heard Island in the southern Indian Ocean. It flows west into South West Bay, between Erratic Point and Cape Gazert. Immediately to the north of Vahsel Glacier is Schmidt Glacier, whose terminus is located between Mount Drygalski and North West Cornice. To the south of Vahsel Glacier is Allison Glacier, whose terminus is located south of Cape Gazert, which separates Allison Glacier from Vahsel Glacier. Click here to see a map of Vahsel Glacier and the northwestern coast of Heard Island.
Vahsel Glacier was charted in 1902 by the German Antarctic Expedition under Erich von Drygalski. A landing party was sent ashore near Atlas Cove on 03 Feb 1902. Drygalski named the glacier for Richard Vahsel, an officer of the landing party of the Gauss expedition who conducted investigations near Atlas Cove. Vahsel was later captain of Wilhelm Filchner's Deutschland; he died in August 1912 during the drift of the Deutschland.
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.
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