Gaussberg (or Schwarzen Berg, Mount Gauss) is an extinct, high volcanic cone in East Antarctica fronting on Davis Sea immediately west of Posadowsky Glacier. It is ice-free and conical in nature, having formed subglacially about 55,000 years ago. The current edifice is thought to be the remains of a once-larger mountain that has been reduced by glacial and subaerial erosion. The volcano has produced lamproite magmas, and is the youngest volcano to have produced such magmas on Earth. Research history Discovered in February 1902 by the German Antarctic Expedition under Erich von Drygalski, who named it after his expedition ship which in 1902 remained stuck in ice for a year. The ship in turn was named in honour of the German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss. Drygalski observed the volcano with the help of a tethered balloon. Owing to its peculiar composition, Gaussberg has been intensively researched. The mountain was investigated in 1912 by the 1911-1914 Australasian Antarctic Expedition, by the Soviet Antarctic Expedition in 1956–1957, by Australian expeditions in 1977 and 1981 and by an expedition linked to an entity "K.D.C" in 1997. Regional krill stocks in turn were named after the mountain. Owing to its peculiar composition and isolated location, the volcano has an importance out of proportion to its actual size. The mineral gaussbergite is named after the volcano. Geography and geomorphology The volcano lies in Kaiser Wilhelm II Land, Antarctica, close to the West Ice Shelf and between the Australian Davis Station and Russian Mirny Station. It lies on the Davis Sea immediately west of Posadowsky Glacier. Gaussberg is within the Antarctic territory claimed by Australia, and the only ice-free outcrop between Mirny Station and the Vestfold Hills. It consists of a , cone located between the East Antarctic Ice Sheet on three sides and the sea on the fourth. It is the only exposure of rock in the region, with rocky outcrops at the summit and on the northern flank. The edifice covers an area of about and has a volume of . Most of the edifice is made out of pillow lavas with radii of and thick crusts. The volcano is covered with lava fragments resembling lapilli which may have formed through erosion. Gaussberg has no volcanic crater, rather having a ridge at the summit. The volcano has several terraces of undetermined origin and may have formed as a shield volcano with multiple vents. The