Sigurd Gunnarson Helle (6 September 1920 – 21 April 2013) was a Norwegian topographer and explorer. He was born in

Hylestad Hylestad is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county in Norway. The former municipality existed from 1915 until its dissolution in 1962. It was located in the southern part of the present-day municipality of Valle in the traditional ...

. He graduated from the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

with the

cand.mag. Candidatus magisterii (male), or candidata magisterii (female), abbreviated as cand.mag., is an academic degree currently awarded in Denmark. The degree is officially translated into English as Master of Arts and currently requires 5 years of stud ...

degree in 1948. He was a research assistant for

Carl Størmer Fredrik Carl Mülertz Størmer (3 September 1874 – 13 August 1957) was a Norwegian mathematician and astrophysicist. In mathematics, he is known for his work in number theory, including the calculation of and Størmer's theorem on consecu ...

, and was hired as a

geodesist Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equival ...

at the Norwegian Polar Institute in 1949. He did field work at

Jan Mayen Jan Mayen () is a Norwegian volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean with no permanent population. It is long (southwest-northeast) and in area, partly covered by glaciers (an area of around the Beerenberg volcano). It has two parts: larger ...

and Svalbard, but is best known for leading the

Sixth Norwegian Antarctic Expedition The sixth Norwegian Antarctic Expedition (''Den norske antarktisekspedisjonen'') was a scientific expedition to Queen Maud Land in Antarctica. The expedition was based at Norway Station () which was located on the Fimbul Ice Shelf bordering the co ...

Queen Maud Land Queen Maud Land ( no, Dronning Maud Land) is a roughly region of Antarctica claimed by Norway as a dependent territory. It borders the claimed British Antarctic Territory 20° west and the Australian Antarctic Territory 45° east. In addi ...

in 1956–1960. He retired in 1987. The Helle Slope and the Sigurd Knolls in Antarctica are named for him.

Hellefonna Hellefonna is a glaciated area in Sabine Land at Spitsbergen, Svalbard. It is located between Kjellströmdalen and Sassendalen, and comprises several smaller glaciers, including Jinnbreen, Innerbreen, Marmorbreen, Skruisbreen and Sveigbreen ...

, a glaciated area in

Sabine Land Sabine Land ( ) is a land area on the east coast of Spitsbergen, Svalbard. It is named after explorer General Sir Edward Sabine. Among the glaciers in the area is the Nordmannsfonna Nordmannsfonna is a glacier in Sabine Land at Spitsbergen, ...

at Spitsbergen, is also named after Helle.

References

1920 births 2013 deaths People from Valle, Norway University of Oslo alumni Norwegian geodesists Norwegian polar explorers Explorers of Antarctica Norwegian topographers {{Norway-academic-bio-stub