iQ2300 runs from 2025 to 2030 and includes fieldwork at the German Station Neumayer III and the Swedish stations Wasa and Svea in Dronning Maud Land. Two icebreaker expeditions are also planned: one in February 2028 and another towards the end of 2030.

iQ2300 is a multi-year research initiative in Antarctica running from 2025 to 2030. It includes recurring fieldwork at the German station Neumayer III and the Swedish stations Wasa and Svea in Dronning Maud Land, plus two icebreaker expeditions planned for February 2028 and towards the end of 2030.

Researchers are collecting field data to better understand past changes in the East Antarctic ice sheet and how it is responding to a warmer climate. Their work addresses questions such as how thick the ice is, how quickly the ice flows, where and how much the ice sheet melts in contact with the ocean, where surface melting occurs, and whether meltwater is present beneath the ice. The team will combine atmospheric, Earth-system, ice-sheet, and sea-level modelling with the new observations.

Why the Riiser-Larsen ice shelf is in focus

Where the East Antarctic Ice Sheet contacts the ocean, it thins and floats, forming an ice shelf. These floating ice shelves affect the ice sheet flow behind them. If an ice shelf thins or breaks-off, inland ice will flow more rapidly towards the ocean and contribute more to sea-level rise.

–  Last season, we began collecting the field data needed to understand the Riiser-Larsen ice Shelf system. The ice shelf regulates the ice behind it. Warmer water underneath the ice shelf could increase melting from below and affect its stability and ability to regulate the upstream ice. This makes it important to study how the ice, ocean, and atmosphere interact, says Arjen Stroeven, professor of Physical Geography at Stockholm University and leader of the iQ2300 research theme.

Field season 2026/27 – investigating ice, bedrock and crustal movements

The 2026/27 fieldwork is based at Wasa and takes place within the Riiser-Larsen Ice Shelf catchment. Three work packages (WP) will investigate different parts of the system.

WP 7 combines radar observations of ice thickness and other field data with ice-dynamical modelling. The aim is to improve understanding of the bed conditions beneath the ice and how the ice flows, providing better data for projections of future ice-sheet change.

WP 10 uses satellite and gravity measurements to study movements of the Earth’s crust. The observations help researchers understand how tides and changing ice and snow loads affect the Earth's response, resulting in improved models of land uplift.

WP 11 investigates how the ice sheet has thinned over thousands of years. This season, reconnaissance work will use ice-penetrating radar to map ice thicknesses around nunataks, alongside geological mapping, sediment sampling, and firn-core analyses. The findings will help identify suitable drilling sites for a planned follow-up field season. The planned drilling will recover bedrock and basal sediment samples from shallow depths to help reconstruct past ice-surface elevations lower than today.

– By combining observations of the ice sheet today with evidence of how it has changed in the past, we can improve numerical ice-sheet models used to assess how it may respond to a warmer climate and contribute to future sea-level rise, says Arjen Stroeven.

The overarching goal is to improve estimates of the contribution by the East Antarctic Ice Sheet to sea-level rise through 2300. The findings should inform future IPCC assessments and be presented during the International Polar Year 2032–2033.