Shmidt Subglacial Basin

a vast subglacial depression in East Antarctica, located south of 70° S lat., between the Gamburtsev and Golitsyn mountains on the west and the Eastern Plain on the east. Most of the Shmidt Subglacial Basin is below sea level, hidden beneath a thick ice sheet, which is more than 3,000 m thick almost everywhere except the central part, where it exceeds 4,000 m. The basin was discovered by the Soviet antarctic expedition of 1957–59 by means of seismic sounding. Its position and elevations were determined more precisely in 1962, during the Australian expedition’s journey from Wilkes Station to Vostok Station. The basin was named in honor of the Russian scientist O. Iu. Shmidt (Schmidt).