At an impressive 500km by 80km by 2.5km of solid ice, the Lambert Glacier is the world’s longest valley glacier. It’s vastness dominates the surrounding Prince Charles Mountains vista but from the ground it is difficult to see the patterning that makes glaciers so beautiful. Glaciers flow like water, though infinitely slowly and from the air the sight of the Lambert Glacier’s tributary ice flows coming from the ice sheets on the polar plateau is curious, fluid and on a scale beyond belief. This is one of the most desolate places you can imagine yet it’s remoteness and drama make it a stunning environment. It’s not that easy to arrange to fly over the glacier but it’s not impossible and is an unforgettable experience. The length of the glacier is fed by sheet outlet glaciers from the west and it runs along part of the Lambert Graben, a trough in the shelf along a fault line in the Prydz Bay area of East Antarctica. 35 square kms of ice a year is contributed to the bay from the Lambert Glacier. The Lambert Glacier is of particular importance in current studies on the movement of the Antarctic ice sheets and the Arctic masses response to the earths changing climate.

Written by  Pavel Rejstra.

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