By the end of the 1960's the
Ross Ice Shelf was already one of the better
explored regions in Antarctica, yet glaciological
and geophysical measurements had been
limited largely to studies at Little America,
the International Geophysical Year traverse
loop around the shelf, and an L-shaped movement
survey. Consequently, when plans were
being made for drilling an access hole to the
ocean beneath the interior of the shelf, it
was decided to conduct an airlifted survey
covering the entire ice shelf: the Ross Ice
Shelf Geophysical and Glaciological Survey
(RIGGS). Measurements of many kinds were
carried out at the 200 RIGGS stations over
the 5-year period 1973-1978. Quantities determined
included accumulation rate, strain
rate, ice thickness, subglacial water depth,
and gravity at 75-95% of the sites; temperatures
and movement rate at 40-50% of the
sites; seismic and radio wave velocities and
electrical resistivities at 10-20 sites; and
radar polarization at six sites. More extensive
programs, including core drilling to
50-100 m, tidal-gravity recording, and long
seismic refraction profiles to investigate
submarine geologic structure, were carried
out at 10 primary and supplementary base
camps. In addition, 13,500 km of airborne
radar sounding were completed. Detailed seasonal
tabulations of the types and locations
of measurements are presented in this paper,
along with a brief season-by-season narrative.