Elastic deformation measurements in the ice shelf at the Georg von Neumayer Station in Antarctica

This article describes measurements carried out for a pilot project by a team of women scientists and engineers who spent the winter of 1990/91 at the station.

The Federal Republic of Germany has been operating the Georg von Neumayer Station on the Ekström Ice Shelf in Antarctica since 1981. The ice shelf is a 200 m thick plate of ice that extends from the Antarctic mainland far out over the ocean where it is subject to the influences of the tides and waves.

This article describes measurements carried out for a pilot project by a team of women scientists and engineers who spent the winter of 1990/91 at the station. The measurements involved the application of a specially developed ice measurement probe fitted with strain gages which was inserted deep into the ice. A UPM 40 Multipoint Measuring Unit provided the amplification of the signals.