<jats:p>During the German Antarctic Expedition field season 1989–90. hotwater drilling was undertaken on the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf (FRIS) at 77° S 52°c W to investigate the temperature-depth profile and the bottom-melting rate, which arc significant parameters for mass- and energy-balance studies of the ice shelf. Remeasurements of installed chains in 1991-92 yie1ded reliable results.</jats:p> <jats:p>Taking glaciological, geodetic and geophysical data on a flowline through the central part of FRIS. we developed a two-dimensional thermal model to reconstruct the measurernents from a steady-state temperature depth profile about 550 km upstream on Möllereisstrom. Considering mass and energy conservation, a basal layer of 350 m of marine ice was calculated with thermal properties, depending on salinity and temperature. In areas with strong basal freezing, almost isothermal depth profiles in the marine ice layer are derived. Further downstream, in areas of basal melting, a nearly cubic temperarure-depth profile is observed.</jats:p>