Filchner Ice Shelf

Filchner Ice Shelf 

an ice shelf in Western Antarctica on the Weddell Sea, between the Luitpold Coast and Berkner Island. Filchner Ice Shelf was discovered in 1912 by the German antarctic expedition of W. Filchner; before the late 1960’s, the name was also applied to the ice shelf located west of Berkner Island, the Ronne Ice Shelf. In 1956–57 the scientific Shackleton Station was operated by the British on the Weddell Sea in the northern part of the Filchner Ice Shelf, and from 1957 to 1962 the Ellsworth Station, which belonged first to the USA, and then to Argentina, was located there. Argentina established the General Belgrano Station there in 1955, and from 1965 to 1969 the Argentine station Sobral was located in the southern part of the ice shelf. In connection with the research begun by the Soviet antarctic expeditions in the Weddell Sea region late in 1975, the seasonal scientific station and expedition base Druzhnaia was opened in the coastal region of the ice shelf on Dec. 31, 1975.