Southern Patagonian Ice Field

The Southern Patagonia Ice Field (Spanish: "Hielos Continentales" or "Campo de Hielo Sur") is the third biggest extension of continental ice after Antarctica and Greenland, located at the Southern Patagonic Andes between Argentina and Chile.It is the bigger of two remnant parts of the Patagonian Ice Sheet.

Background

It extends from parallels 48° 20′ S to 51° 30′ S for approximately 350 kilometres, and has an area of 16,800 km², of which 14,200 km² belong to Chile and 2,600 km² to Argentina. Fifty kilometers of the Chile–Argentina border, between Mount Fitzroy and Cerro Murallon, remain undefined. [cite web | url = http://www.difrol.cl/acuerdo_de_hielos.htm 1998 | title= Border agreement between Chile and Argentina| accessdate=2006-10-27] [cite web | url=http://www.turistel.cl/v2/secciones/mapas/informacion/ruteros/aisen.htm | title=Map showing border between Chile and Argentina (partly undefined) | accessdate=2006-10-27]

The ice mass feeds dozens of glaciers in the area, among which are the Upsala (902 km²), Viedma (978 km²) and Perito Moreno (258 km²) in the Los Glaciares National Park in Argentina, and the Pío XI Glacier or Bruggen Glacier (1,265 km², the biggest and longest in the southern hemisphere outside of Antarctica), O'Higgins (820 km²), Grey (270 km²) and Tyndall (331 km²) in Chile. The glaciers going to the west flow into the fjords of the Patagonian channels of the Pacific Ocean; those going to the East flow into the Patagonian lakes Viedma and Argentino, and eventually, through the rivers "de la Leona" and Santa Cruz, to the Atlantic Ocean.

An important part of the ice field is protected under different national parks, such as the Bernardo O'Higgins and Torres del Paine in Chile, and the aforementioned Los Glaciares in Argentina.

There are several volcanoes under the glaciers, such as Lautaro Volcano.

History

Thorough explorations include the expeditions of Federico Reichert (1913-1914), Alberto de Agostini (1931), and Harold William Tilman and Jorge Quinteros (1955-1956); as well as Eric Shipton (1960-61). First full (North-South) crossing of the field was accomplished in 1998 by Pablo Besser, Mauricio Rojas, José Montt and Rodrigo Fica. Nevertheless some areas of the field remain largely unexplored

From the air, initial exploration was conducted in 1928-9 by Gunther Plüschow after whom a glacier is named. It was further studied in 1943 by aerial photographs made by the United States Air Force on request of the Chilean government.

Borderline

The Southern Patagonian Ice Field is the last border issue between Chile and Argentina. In 1991 the governments of Chile and Argentina agreed on a borderline, but President Menem of Argentina retracted the project in view of the low acceptance in parliament. Later, in 1996, both governments explicitly agreed that the borderline in this zone is to be excluded and a note about the issue is to be added to any map of the zone.

In 2006 the Argentine "Instituto Geográfico Militar" (IGM) edited a map without a note on the region, instead drawing Argentine claims to the official borderline. After Chilean diplomatic protests the Argentine government withdrew the map and urged Chile to expedite the demarcation of the international border that was already established by both countries in the 1881 treaty.

In January 2008, technicians of both countries began the final demarcation of the border. [ [http://www.igm.gov.ar/node/151 IGM press release: Trazado de Límites en los Hielos Continentales Patagónicos] ]

ee also

* Northern Patagonian Ice Field
* List of glaciers
* Argentina-Chile relations

References

External links

* [http://www.aventurarse.com/expediciones/transpatagonia/antecedentes.html# Expeditions in the SP Ice Field]
* [http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/p1386i/chile-arg/wet/index.html USGS]
* [http://www.emol.com/noticias/internacional/detalle/detallenoticias.asp?idnoticia=229660 Subsecretario argentino de turismo dice que mapa de Campos de Hielo es oficial] "El Mercurio", Chile 29 August 2006
* [http://www.clarin.com/diario/2006/08/29/elpais/p-01201.htm Hielos Continentales: reclamo de Chile por los mapas argentinos] Clarín, Argentina 29 August 2006
* [http://www.clarin.com/diario/2006/08/30/um/m-01262333.htm Tras la fricción por los Hielos Continentales, la Argentina llama a Chile a demarcar los límites "lo antes posible"] Clarín, 30 August 1996
* [http://www.condor.cl/1-3710.html Zoff um jeden Meter Eis] Condor, Chile 8 September 2006 (German Language)