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This study estimates energy and mass balance at the edge of the Antarctic ice sheet close to a non-glaciated area. An automatic weather station was installed on the ice sheet, near all ice free area of Schirmacher Oasis in Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica. Hourly snow-meteorological parameters were recorded and observed during the summer of the year 2007-08. Hourly radiative and turbulent energy fluxes were estimated at the ice surface. An ultrasonic sensor was used to measure accumulation or ablation at the glacier Surface. Ground Penetrating Radar was also used to measure the changes in ice thickness at the observation point. The net radiative flux was the main heat source and the latent heat flux was the main heat sink for the ice sheet with seasonal average values Of 98 W m(-2) and -86.7 W m(-2) respectively. There was a high ablation rate for the ice sheet near the non-glaciated area with a seasonal mean of 0.0172 m w.e. per day. Over the period 10 November 2007-7 February 2008 the mass balance was -1.53 in w.e. Good correlation (r(2) = 0.97) was observed between estimated and observed hourly ablation of the glacier. Sublimation and melt processes contributed 16.5% and 83.5% respectively to the net summer ablation.