52. RAE © Christoph Knöfel 52. RAE © Christoph Knöfel

Measuring the ice

Even though Polar Geodesy nowadays mainly means work in the office, fieldwork is still indispensible. Geodesists from TU Dresden regularly head to Greenland and Antarctica.

read more Measuring the ice

Important topics

Heading-south © Loebel
Polarstern PS141 EASI-3

The expedition PS141 EASI-3 is the consortium's third research expedition with the “Polarstern” since 2022. The research group will focus primarily on geodetic-geophysical measurements in East Antarctica’s outer area. Using measurements from global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), the team aims to record the movement of the Earth's crust with the utmost precision, revealing its reaction to past and present changes in ice mass. Together with geophysical measurements, the data should contribute to a better understanding of the deformation and internal structure of the Earth in the East Antarctic region
DML GNSS-Messung (Kottas) © Eric Buchta (TU Dresden)
Dronning Maud Land 2022/2023

Due to the Corona pandemic, geodetic measurements could not take place in Dronning Maud Land during the past two seasons 2020/2021 and 2021/2022. Therefore, we are all the more pleased that geodetic work in the area of western Dronning-Maud Land will be possible again in the current Antarctic season 2022/2023. This time we are involved in two expeditions with our working group, namely in ANT-LAND based at Neumayer III station and in the South African Antarctic Expedition based at SANAE-IV station.
RTK Messungen an Land © Mirko Scheinert
Polarstern heading to Antarctica
Polarstern ARK 24-3 © Kristin Novotny
Geodesists from TU Dresden finish Greenland expedition

On 6 September 2016, the journey PS100 of the Polarstern research vessel ended in Tromsø. Two geodesists from TU Dresden onboard returned from their northeast Greenland campaign.
Antarktis © Christoph Knöfel
More expedition reports

Geodesists from TU Dresden regularly measure on the ice and in its vicinities. Read reports from selected expeditions to Antarctica and Greenland.
Nahe der argentinischen Sommerstation Primavera © Peter Busch

Measuring the ice

Polar geodesy today mainly means analysing satellite data, or modelling changes of the ice or the solid Earth in the office. Nevertheless, field work in Antarctica and Greenland is still indispensable. Direct measurements in the field provide the necessary data with which satellite observations can be verified and with which mathematical models of crustal deformations, for example, can be improved.

Dresden geodesists regularly set off for several weeks to obtain measurement data in Greenland and Antarctica using global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) as well as classical geodetic methods. In the coastal areas of Antarctica, ships such as the German research icebreaker "Polarstern" usually form the mobile base for the work. Other areas such as the blue ice fields of Schirmacher Oasis or the subglacial Lake Vostok are the target of field expeditions that lead deep into the interior of the continent.

Geodesy students frequently support our field work and thereby get first-hand experience on the art of geodetic measurements under the harsh conditions of polar expeditions. During the fieldwork, the researchers regularly report on their work in weekly reports - read a selection of our colleagues' work reports here and take part in the polar geodesy adventure.