Antarctic Ice Sheet

E399075

Earth science subject cryospheric feature glacier system ice sheet

The Antarctic Ice Sheet is the vast, continent-spanning mass of glacial ice covering Antarctica, holding the majority of Earth’s freshwater and playing a critical role in global sea-level and climate regulation.

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All labels observed (6)

Label	Occurrences
Antarctic ice sheet	18
Antarctic Ice Sheet canonical	5
Antarctic ice sheet system	4
East Antarctic Ice Sheet	3
Antarctic ice sheet margin	1
Antarctic ice sheets	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T3918804 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Antarctic Ice Sheet
Context triple: [ICESat missions, focusesOn, Antarctic Ice Sheet]

A. Ross Ice Shelf
The Ross Ice Shelf is the world’s largest ice shelf, a vast floating extension of the Antarctic ice sheet that plays a key role in buttressing inland glaciers and influencing global sea-level stability.
B. Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf
The Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf is one of Antarctica’s largest ice shelves, fringing the southern Weddell Sea and playing a key role in the region’s glaciology and ocean circulation.
C. McMurdo Ice Shelf
The McMurdo Ice Shelf is a large floating extension of the Antarctic ice sheet located in the southwestern Ross Sea near Ross Island and McMurdo Sound.
D. Brunt Ice Shelf
The Brunt Ice Shelf is a vast floating expanse of glacial ice on the coast of Antarctica, known for its dynamic crevassing and as a key site for polar research and monitoring.
E. Larsen Ice Shelf
The Larsen Ice Shelf is a large Antarctic ice shelf fringing the eastern coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, known for its dramatic partial collapses that have highlighted the impacts of climate change.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Antarctic Ice Sheet
Target entity description: The Antarctic Ice Sheet is the vast, continent-spanning mass of glacial ice covering Antarctica, holding the majority of Earth’s freshwater and playing a critical role in global sea-level and climate regulation.

A. Ross Ice Shelf
The Ross Ice Shelf is the world’s largest ice shelf, a vast floating extension of the Antarctic ice sheet that plays a key role in buttressing inland glaciers and influencing global sea-level stability.
B. Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf
The Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf is one of Antarctica’s largest ice shelves, fringing the southern Weddell Sea and playing a key role in the region’s glaciology and ocean circulation.
C. McMurdo Ice Shelf
The McMurdo Ice Shelf is a large floating extension of the Antarctic ice sheet located in the southwestern Ross Sea near Ross Island and McMurdo Sound.
D. Brunt Ice Shelf
The Brunt Ice Shelf is a vast floating expanse of glacial ice on the coast of Antarctica, known for its dynamic crevassing and as a key site for polar research and monitoring.
E. Larsen Ice Shelf
The Larsen Ice Shelf is a large Antarctic ice shelf fringing the eastern coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, known for its dramatic partial collapses that have highlighted the impacts of climate change.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (90)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Earth science subject ⓘ cryospheric feature ⓘ glacier system ⓘ ice sheet ⓘ
affectedBy	El Niño–Southern Oscillation ⓘ atmospheric warming ⓘ changes in Southern Annular Mode ⓘ greenhouse gas forcing ⓘ ocean warming ⓘ
area	about 14 million square kilometers ⓘ about 5.4 million square miles ⓘ
averageThickness	about 1.2 miles ⓘ about 2 kilometers ⓘ
borderedBy	Southern Ocean ⓘ
climateRole	buffer for global sea-level rise on long timescales ⓘ major regulator of Earth energy balance ⓘ major reservoir in global hydrological cycle ⓘ
contains	about 60 percent of Earth freshwater ⓘ about 90 percent of Earth glacial ice ⓘ majority of Earth freshwater ice ⓘ
containsRecord	greenhouse gas concentrations in ice cores ⓘ long climate history in ice cores ⓘ past atmospheric temperatures in ice cores ⓘ volcanic eruptions in ice cores ⓘ
covers	Antarctic continent ⓘ linked to: Antarctica
EastAntarcticContributionToSeaLevelRise	over 50 meters if fully melted ⓘ
formedBy	accumulation of snowfall ⓘ
governedBy	Antarctic Treaty System ⓘ
hasIceCoreSite	Byrd Station ⓘ Dome C ⓘ Dome Fuji ⓘ Vostok Station ⓘ WAIS Divide ⓘ linked to: WAIS Divide field camp
hasPart	Amery Ice Shelf ⓘ Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet ⓘ East Antarctic Ice Sheet ⓘ Larsen Ice Shelf system ⓘ linked to: Larsen Ice Shelf Ronne-Filchner Ice Shelf ⓘ linked to: Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf Ross Ice Shelf ⓘ West Antarctic Ice Sheet ⓘ linked to: West Antarctica floating ice shelves ⓘ grounded ice ⓘ ice streams ⓘ subglacial hydrological system ⓘ subglacial lakes ⓘ
hasSubglacialLake	Lake Ellsworth ⓘ Lake Vostok ⓘ Lake Whillans ⓘ
influences	Antarctic Bottom Water formation ⓘ Southern Ocean circulation ⓘ global climate ⓘ global sea level ⓘ global thermohaline circulation ⓘ planetary albedo ⓘ
locatedOn	Antarctica ⓘ
losesMassBy	basal melting ⓘ calving of icebergs ⓘ ice shelf thinning ⓘ ice stream flow to ocean ⓘ surface melting ⓘ
massBalance	difference between snowfall and ice loss ⓘ
maximumThickness	over 2.5 miles ⓘ over 4 kilometers ⓘ
monitoredBy	GRACE gravimetry ⓘ InSAR measurements ⓘ airborne radar surveys ⓘ field observations ⓘ satellite altimetry ⓘ
partOf	Earth climate system ⓘ global cryosphere ⓘ
potentialContributionToSeaLevelRise	about 190 feet if fully melted ⓘ about 58 meters if fully melted ⓘ
protectedBy	Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty ⓘ
regulates	global sea-level change ⓘ regional climate in Southern Hemisphere ⓘ
researchedBy	Alfred Wegener Institute ⓘ linked to: Helmholtz Association Australian Antarctic Division ⓘ British Antarctic Survey ⓘ SCAR ⓘ United States Antarctic Program ⓘ
restsOn	Antarctic bedrock ⓘ subglacial basins below sea level ⓘ
stabilityControlledBy	bedrock topography ⓘ buttressing from ice shelves ⓘ marine ice sheet instability processes ⓘ ocean heat content ⓘ
threatenedBy	anthropogenic climate change ⓘ
volume	about 26.5 million cubic kilometers of ice ⓘ about 6.4 million cubic miles of ice ⓘ
WestAntarcticContributionToSeaLevelRise	about 3 to 5 meters if fully melted ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (32)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

ICESat missions → focusesOn → Antarctic Ice Sheet ⓘ

Winter (Frozen Planet) → filmingLocation → Antarctic ice sheet ⓘ

subject linked to: Winter