The direct contact of warm ocean water with the front and base of ice shelves is the main driver for accelerated mass loss of the
Antarctic ice sheet. We present a compilation of observations from various projects and methodological approaches applied
over the last decade along the Dronning Maud Land coast and highlight their importance for understanding the ice-ocean
interactions. With a focus on the Ekström ice shelf, these include spatially continuous seismic observations in combination with
airborne gravity inversion to yield sub-shelf bathymetry and geomorphological evidence of past ice-flow activity; ice-dynamic
numerical modelling to investigate the role of seafloor/subglacial substrate characteristics to enhance or reduce ice-sheet
extent and advance/retreat rates; sub-shelf CTD measurements to determine ocean properties driving basal melting; satellitebased
remote sensing to determine ice-shelf height changes and spatially-distributed basal melting; and point measurements of
basal melt with surface-based phase-sensitive radar to determine ocean-driven melt and validate remote-sensing products. As
the Dronning Maud Land coast plays a critical role in preconditioning the water mass of the coastal current before it enters the
Filcher ice-shelf cavity, we argue that a coordinated inter- and transdisciplinary observational network is required to facilitate
monitoring a potential ice-sheet mass loss in this part of Antarctica