Ice Pressure Ridges

One of the more interesting features outside of McMurdo Station is the Ice Pressure Ridges just outside Scott Base. This is the area where the shelf ice from a glacier is moving out and over the Ross Sea and the ice from the Ross Sea meet. The ridges are formed similarly to the way mountains are formed with techtonic plate movement. The when they meet they have only two ways to go, up or down. This is a view from Scott Base.

 Tours are offered now and then for people to walk on a marked path through a section of the pressure ridges. This is a closer view.

The formations include ice and snow. There is some ice here that has been moved to an upright position.

 Here I am next to a larger formation. It is an interesting time to watch where to step as there are inclines, ice and cracks. Slow is the way to go.

 Here is one of the cracks that we had to step over. The marked path is checked and remarked every other day as new cracks form all the time. Stepping into a crack is not a good thing as it could be really deep and one could get hurt.

 Here is one of the more interesting formations.

 As a result of holes being created in the pressure ridges, seals find a way out of the water and rest on top of the ice. There were three seals on our marked path so we had to carefully walk around them at about 50 ft away. We are not allowed to disturb them. If our presence makes them act differently, we are too close.

 Here is a place that the seals may have used to get out of the water.

 This seal was giving us a little show by rubbing his face and rubbing his hind flippers together.
We watched and took photos for at least 15 minutes here.

Another interesting formation at the pressure ridges.

Here is a video of one of the seals rolling its head.