# Iceport

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An **iceport** is a more-or-less permanent indentation in the front of an [ice shelf](/source/Ice_shelf), that can serve as a natural ice [harbour](/source/Harbour). Though useful, they are not always reliable, as [calving](/source/Ice_calving) of surrounding ice shelves can render an iceport temporarily unstable and unusable.

## Historical and present use of iceports

Iceports have played a critical role in Antarctic exploration. For example, the [Bay of Whales](/source/Bay_of_Whales) (discovered and named by [Ernest Shackleton](/source/Ernest_Shackleton) in the *[Nimrod](/source/Nimrod_(1867_ship))* in 1908) served as the base for several important [Antarctic expeditions](/source/List_of_Antarctic_expeditions), including:

- 1910-1912: [Amundsen's South Pole expedition](/source/Amundsen's_South_Pole_expedition), led by [Roald Amundsen](/source/Roald_Amundsen)
- 1928-1930: [Richard Evelyn Byrd](/source/Richard_Evelyn_Byrd) - First expedition
- 1933-1935: [Richard Evelyn Byrd](/source/Richard_Evelyn_Byrd) - Second expedition
- 1939-1941: [United States Antarctic Service Expedition](/source/United_States_Antarctic_Service_Expedition), led by [Richard Evelyn Byrd](/source/Richard_Evelyn_Byrd)

[Norsel Iceport](/source/Norsel_Iceport) was used by the [Norwegian-British-Swedish Antarctic Expedition](/source/Norwegian-British-Swedish_Antarctic_Expedition) (NBSAE) to moor and unload the expedition ship [MV *Norsel*](/source/MV_Norsel_(1945)) in 1949. The NBSAE established [Maudheim Station](/source/Maudheim_Station) about 1 mile south of the iceport.

The term *iceport* was first suggested by the [Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names](/source/Advisory_Committee_on_Antarctic_Names) (US-ACAN) in 1956 to denote "ice shelf embayments, subject to configuration changes, which may offer anchorage or possible access to the upper surface of an ice shelf via ice ramps along one or more sides of the feature".[1]

Prior to the invention of the [ice pier](/source/Ice_pier), U.S. ships participating in [Operation Deep Freeze](/source/Operation_Deep_Freeze) discharged cargo at temporary iceports in [McMurdo Sound](/source/McMurdo_Sound). At that time, [freighters](/source/Cargo_ship) and [tankers](/source/Tanker_(ship)) arriving with supplies and fuel were forced to dock as far away as 16 km from the harbor. Ships would moor alongside seasonal [pack ice](/source/Pack_ice), where [longshoremen](/source/Longshoremen) would offload cargo onto large sleds. [Snowcats](/source/Snowcat) and [tractors](/source/Tractor) would then be used to tow the freight over ice to McMurdo Station, a difficult and potentially dangerous operation.

[U.S. Navy](/source/U.S._Navy) engineers constructed the first floating ice pier at [McMurdo Station](/source/McMurdo_Station), Antarctica’s southernmost [sea port](/source/Sea_port), in 1973.[2][3] Since that time, the use of iceports has declined but not been completely eliminated.

## Locations of Antarctic iceports

Iceports in [Antarctica](/source/Antarctica) include:

- [Atka Iceport](/source/Atka_Iceport) ([70°35′S 7°51′W](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?params=70_35_S_7_51_W))
- [Erskine Iceport](/source/Erskine_Iceport) ([69°56′S 19°12′E](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?params=69_56_S_19_12_E))
- [Godel Iceport](/source/Godel_Iceport) ([70°09′S 21°45′E](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?params=70_09_S_21_45_E))
- [Norsel Iceport](/source/Norsel_Iceport) ([71°01′S 1°10′W](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?params=71_01_S_1_10_W))
- [Bay of Whales](/source/Bay_of_Whales) ([78°30′S 164°20′W](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?params=78_30_S_164_20_W))

## See also

- [Ice pier](/source/Ice_pier)

## References

1. [U.S. Polar Programs](https://www.nsf.gov/about/budget/fy2000/00OPP.htm) [National Science Foundation](/source/National_Science_Foundation) FY2000.

1. ["Unique ice pier provides harbor for ships,"](http://antarcticsun.usap.gov/pastIssues/2005-2006/2006_01_08.pdf) Antarctic Sun. January 8, 2006; McMurdo Station, Antarctica.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Iceport](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceport) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceport?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.