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uniquorn

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Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« on: August 04, 2021, 02:14:25 PM »
https://www.polar.se/en/expeditions/synoptic-arctic-survey-2021/

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During August-September 2021, the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat plans to conduct the Synoptic Arctic Survey (SAS) expedition in the Arctic Ocean with the Swedish icebreaker Oden. It is part of an international expedition where Oden is one of twelve research vessels that will map the Arctic Ocean in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

The researchers’ coordinated field efforts are made to study the status and change of the Arctic ecosystem. Together, the measurements will lead to a better understanding of how variations in the Arctic Ocean are interconnected, how the carbon and ecosystems respond to climate change, and how chemical and biological disturbances in one region can spread to another. When scientific studies are conducted across several Arctic regions simultaneously, researchers can gain an understanding of the systems’ basic structures and functions.

https://arcticexpedition2021.blogspot.com/
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Above you can see 3 photos taken from today morning: The one with the life boat is taken at 5.20 at the balloon filling station â€"> this will be my scenery (and hopefully even better soon!) at least twice a day when I am waiting for the balloon to be filled with Helium. The photo from the Helipad and the sun is taken from the 7th deck, where we will also spend a lot of time working during this expedition. I can not complain ! The last photo is from a small melt pond (with the blue water) â€"> once we get on the ice for sampling, we will go to these melt ponds and open leads and measure the fluxes of CO2 and Methane between the surface and the atmosphere. Actually, our first 24h station (stop A in the map in my first posting showing the planned track of the expedition) is planned for Saturday this week. Excited to go out on the ice!

tracker:  https://oden.geo.su.se/map/
thanks Jim Hunt


« Last Edit: August 06, 2021, 12:15:36 AM by oren »

Jim Hunt

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #1 on: August 04, 2021, 02:21:33 PM »
Great minds think alike Uniquorn! Copied from a post I was just writing about the SAS:

Here's the science plan:

https://synopticarcticsurvey.w.uib.no/files/2019/03/SAS-layout-180629.pdf

Here's an overview of last year's voyages:

"The most revolutionary thing one can do always is to proclaim loudly what is happening" - Rosa Luxemburg

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #2 on: August 04, 2021, 02:22:34 PM »
extracts from the blog
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Today the second group went out to the Ice for some sampling - they are still out there. They got the perfect weather for ice work - it feels so warm when being out in the sun, almost no wind!

On the back of the helipad you can see a crane - this if for lifting the CTD (conductivity (for salinity), temperature and depth measurement) in the water and then take it to the bottom and back up. It retrieves vertical profiles and collects water samples. Many of the scientists on board are interested in the output of the CTDs. Unfortunately they had some bad luck with the CTDs yesterday, succeeded with only the last one (out of I guess 7?). BUT the polar bears in the evening made the day successful - even for them. Today I think they were more lucky and have currently one CTD in the water - scientist are eager to get their hands on their first water samples and analyse them in the labs and look at the profiles they get.

Our meteorological instruments are running nicely - as long as the weather stays this calm and nice, sending the weather balloons will be a lot of fun! Day or night - it will always be light and sunny if there are no clouds. Amazing! Some small things to fix and improve but we are ready to go!

« Last Edit: August 04, 2021, 04:03:46 PM by uniquorn »

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #3 on: August 05, 2021, 10:15:57 AM »
Extract from what is turning out to be a nice informative blog :)  Aug5
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A few more days has passed in the Arctic, and we are currently at 84 deg N, heading to our first 24-h ice station, which is planned to be on Saturday 7 August.

For the last two days we had some successful CTD kasts and the work on the Helicopter stations both on Tuesday and yesterday (4/8) were successful. The weather for the helicopter station on Tuesday was absolutely fantastic - the photo below is taken in the evening (yes, it is evening! The sun never sets). I am still so amazed by the beauty of the Arctic - and the sudden changes in the weather.

Yesterday was another successful day for most of us, even though many of us had to work overtime and late in the evening / early morning due to delayed CTD kast schedules. Anyways, we had many happy scientists on board, with lot of water samples to look at. Also regarding our meteorological instrumentations, we discovered an issue with our radio sounding station, but we might have fixed it yesterday - fingers crossed it works now! We have had now 3 launches with out any issues.

The weather yesterday morning was pretty foggy and cloudy, with a slight change in the weather to more sunnier in the afternoon, and then foggy again in the evening. The winds got stronger and today morning 5:30 when launching the weather balloon, the cold breeze was pretty noticeable… hrrr!

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #4 on: August 05, 2021, 10:22:42 AM »
From page 33 of the Science and Implementation Plan
https://synopticarcticsurvey.w.uib.no/files/2019/03/SAS-layout-180629.pdf

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Eularian and Lagrangian observations
Eularian and Lagrangian observations are collected from moored and drifting platforms, respectively. They have the advantage of autonomous operation and are increasingly being deployed in the AO. Examples of Eularian observatories include the Hausgarten mooring array in the Fram Strait, the A‐TWAIN array just north of Svalbard, and the many moorings deployed as part of the DBO. Examples of Lagrangian observatories include Ice Tethered Profilers—the Argo of the Arctic [Toole et al., 2011]—and now also actual Argo drifters as ice sensing algorithms and subsea positioning systems become available.

The Eularian and Lagrangian observatories rely on sensor technologies for collecting their data and there are typically issues with calibration and drift. The SAS can provide data that can enable direct or algorithm‐based corrections of the sensor data, as is now routinely done for biogeochemical Argo data in the Southern Ocean [Williams et al., 2016].

These observatories frequently collect data year‐round and can provide the seasonal (and longer term) context for the interpretation of the SAS data. SAS, on the other hand can provide the spatial context that they are missing. The combination of mooring and drifter data with the SAS hydrographic section data will for example constitute a very powerful mix for constraining not only the flows of mass, salt, heat and carbon into and out of the AO, but also their variations through time. To ensure that this opportunity is used to its maximum extent, we recommend that relevant moorings are equipped with sensors for seawater CO2 chemistry and other biogeochemical properties of seawater. Other regions where longer term moored observations are in particular needed to complement the SAS are the Siberian shelves and the Beaufort Sea, which receive most of the discharge from the Eurasian and American continents. Data from moorings will enable better understanding of the large time variations of this discharge, while the SAS will provide information on its spatial imprints.

Autonomous sampling platforms such as gliders and AUVs may also provide greater spatial context to observations conducted from the ships. Some parameters that could be greatly enhanced by such observations include ice algal areal coverage and fish abundances sub‐ice from optical methods and plankton patchiness. 

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #5 on: August 05, 2021, 09:12:16 PM »
Oden location update and air, water temps. It's a shame sailwx.info is broken. Had to scrape these from https://oden.geo.su.se/map/ (ice overlay seems not to be updating)
Anyone know an easier way?

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #6 on: August 05, 2021, 10:16:59 PM »
Another extract from blog on ice condition.
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We are coming closer to the Northpole - now at 84 N! <>
We were in a big lead (elongated open ocean among the sea ice) for a long time, almost no ice visible, and the thick fog made the visibility rather low (only 300 m).


location updated with yesterdays ice concentration. Trying to make sense of the route and the ocean temps (click) Those water temps must be quite deep.
tech note:
https://oden.geo.su.se/map/  doesn't display the ice overlay correctly for me in firefox. Works ok using chrome

« Last Edit: August 05, 2021, 11:58:27 PM by uniquorn »

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #7 on: August 06, 2021, 11:25:32 AM »
Oden making good headway. Water temps still surprisingly warm. Since they are measuring water temperature while underway, it's likely to be similar to the Polarstern in that there is a water intake stream at the hull and measurement there, so probably 0-5m mixed upper layer rather than a specific depth like a buoy. I couldn't find any data on Oden to verify that though.
As described in the blog post above, they are following leads so open water may be a little warmer than that under ice, nonetheless, we are nowhere near -1.8C yet
Fresher melt layer?

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #8 on: August 06, 2021, 09:28:38 PM »
polarview locations
open water probably good for fishing

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #9 on: August 07, 2021, 01:22:47 PM »
Roughly 86.3N 30.9. Water temp -1C

photos of station1 available here, contrast adjusted crop below.

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #10 on: August 07, 2021, 09:08:28 PM »
2 polarview images of Oden today in a rubble of floes and a gif with them overlaid. 1hr39m between the two images.

worldview aqua modis enlarged with contrast  https://go.nasa.gov/3xwFnPQ
« Last Edit: August 07, 2021, 09:19:56 PM by uniquorn »

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #11 on: August 07, 2021, 09:39:58 PM »
The planned route map

HapHazard

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #12 on: August 07, 2021, 09:43:58 PM »
Interesting route. I look forward to all the documentation of this expedition, and comparing the satellite / model data to the "boots on the ground" data.

Kinda feels like Christmas, as I had no idea this was a thing until this thread popped up.
If I call you out but go no further, the reason is Brandolini's law.

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #13 on: August 08, 2021, 03:44:38 PM »
This is a bit further west than the Oden but they are over the Gakkel ridge at the moment.

Polarview S1B, aug8 overlaid onto NOAA bathy

click for default images 8MB
tech note: Try not to be distracted by the scan lines, it's the polynyas that are of interest here

water temps a little higher recently and polarview S1B overlay
No blog updates.
« Last Edit: August 08, 2021, 04:58:34 PM by uniquorn »

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #14 on: August 08, 2021, 11:14:38 PM »
Extract from the informal blog, ice thickness of 1.5m-1.8m

Quote
This was my first time working on ice - soo exciting! We were not the only group out on the ice: there was a helicopter flight with scientists testing fishing stuff, a SAS sea ice coring group taking sea ice core samples on the ice and us. We have instruments for measuring the gas (CO2, methane) exchange between the melt ponds and the atmosphere (with flux chambers floating on the melt ponds, see phots. Note how shallow the melt pond is - looks like John is walking on the water surface!), ice chambers for measuring the exchange of gases between the ice surface and the atmosphere, temperature sensors for measuring the temperature of the surface, glas bottles for water samples of the melt pond water and ice core drills to drill a whole in the ice for measuring the ice thickness. At the ice surface the thickness of the ice was 1.8 m, whereas at the melt pond a bit less (1.5m). During our work and between each measurement, it is also important to document what you are doing, starting and end times as well as relevant values or notes. I enjoyed being responsible of doing that - controlling our 10 or 20 min measurements and make sure when to start our next one. On the photos below you can see how we are working on the ice with our instrumentations.


Also, in one of the photos below you can see our two stations on the ice: one further away from the ship - that is the ice coring group - and us two closer to the crane and stairs at the red pulka close to the big but shallow melt pond. The crane was attached to the stairs due to safety reasons: if a polar bear surprises us, we can quickly get on board and once the last person is on board, the crane can lift the stairs up from the ice, thus preventing the polar bear to come on board. We had several polar bear watches on ice to look out for polar bears. We were lucky not to confront any danger and could nicely conduct our measurements on the ice. Once getting on the ice, a change in the weather was noticeable - the sky became more cloud covered and we also got some light snow during our ice work. Fortunately the fog did not reach us until later in the evening, so that we could successfully finish our work on the ice for the afternoon.

Rod

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #15 on: August 09, 2021, 12:29:18 AM »
Two thumbs up to Sonja for the very interesting blog on the Oden! 

This is great stuff! 

When you return to school, (if you follow this forum) tell your PI that all of us at ASIF believe you are entitled to a raise! 

Thanks again for the updates and photos on the sea ice conditions!



Bruce Steele

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #16 on: August 09, 2021, 12:39:47 AM »
Rod, Maybe Sonja would appreciate knowing ASIF is watching?  There is a comment space on her blog.

Rod

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #17 on: August 09, 2021, 01:00:12 AM »
Good idea!  Done.

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #18 on: August 09, 2021, 12:49:55 PM »
Oden under way for the second station at the pole. Water temps have dropped a touch. Tempted to speculate that water temps are a little higher over the Gakkel Ridge (note the polynyas in post13)

Temps rose again to -0.9C
« Last Edit: August 09, 2021, 08:46:56 PM by uniquorn »

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #19 on: August 09, 2021, 08:42:23 PM »
Oden's track is visible on polarview S1B. Crossed the 87N line at around 10 UTC, fairly close to 30E, still plenty of polynya around.

Tor Bejnar

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #20 on: August 09, 2021, 09:32:20 PM »
I like that it looks like the boat 'jumped' a section not far south of 87ºN.  (I know, a series of polynya with short stretches of ice between them.)
 :)
Arctic ice is healthy for children and other living things because "we cannot negotiate with the melting point of ice"

FredBear

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #21 on: August 10, 2021, 01:12:00 AM »
I am wondering how much of the visible track was Oden changing direction or was it ice moving the track later??

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #22 on: August 10, 2021, 01:38:09 PM »
Probably they take the easiest route around thicker floes but if there is another S1 image later today and the track is still visible we should be able to tell.

Formal blog update with some good images of snow covered ice and melt ponds.
Location to 2dp :)
Quote

Arctic Ocean, 10 August (N88 ° 01, E29 ° 17)


Tuesday morning and Oden is anchoring to the ice during her journey to the North Pole. The ice is getting stronger and stronger. Today the sun shines together with fog and varying clouds. The temperature is around zero, but it gets colder out on the ice. Three different research teams will go out on the ice today to collect ice cores, water and snow. Onboard Oden, there will be activities on deck all day with CTD profiles and net sampling. We aim to reach the North Pole on Saturday, but it depends on the ice situation and weather.

Text by: Maria Samuelsson, expedition coordinator

No signs of Lindy Hopping yet
« Last Edit: August 10, 2021, 04:28:30 PM by uniquorn »

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #23 on: August 10, 2021, 02:15:09 PM »
I am wondering how much of the visible track was Oden changing direction or was it ice moving the track later??

The whole track drifts a lot but generally they are avoiding thicker floes to take the easiest route. Would be nice to see some bow radar.
Click for comparison 5.5MB
images from aug9 and 10
S1B_EW_GRDM_1SDH_20210809T102710_38FC_N
S1B_EW_GRDM_1SDH_20210810T092857_9248_N

Interesting that there is less deviation further north where they state the ice gets thicker.
They are out of range of the Sentinel satellites now. All we have is cloudy worldview images.
« Last Edit: August 10, 2021, 02:23:11 PM by uniquorn »

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #24 on: August 10, 2021, 04:25:12 PM »
location and temps update.
Those thickness measurements were from high amsr2 conc areas.
No mention of buoys.

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #25 on: August 10, 2021, 09:14:04 PM »
Interesting article featuring Oden from 2017

Creating systems that understand the Arctic    By Grete Wolden   Published 17.04.17
https://norwegianscitechnews.com/2017/04/creating-systems-understand-arctic/
Quote
How can ships travelling in the Arctic maintain their position when ice pushes them in different directions?
Travelling in ice-choked waters can be a daunting affair. Ocean ice is treacherous and constantly moving. Icebergs can drift in and do great damage, and powerful polar winds can pick up suddenly and unexpectedly.
And yet shipping, research and tourism are bringing increased vessel traffic to the Arctic. Oil and gas companies are also sniffing around in northern reaches.
Øivind Kåre Kjerstad is a postdoctoral fellow at the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) and NTNU, and is researching the operations and control of ships in ice and extreme weather. His results may enable more ships to complete complicated missions under extreme conditions in Arctic waters.



The video shows a helicopter landing on the icebreaker Oden during the Oden Arctic Technology Research Cruise 2012. The video was shot by Sveinung Løset as he returned to the ship by helicopter after placing ice tracker sensors on icebergs. Video: Wenjun Lu, Sveinung Løset and SAMCoT


Here’s what the radar operator’s screen looks like aboard the icebreaker Oden as the radar shows the ice around the ship. Photo: SAMCoT

and the link to the paper
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324855152_An_Ice-Drift_Estimation_Algorithm_Using_Radar_and_Ship_Motion_Measurements
from April 2018
« Last Edit: August 11, 2021, 12:47:50 AM by uniquorn »

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #26 on: August 11, 2021, 11:29:28 PM »
A short extract from a long post by Sonja
https://arcticexpedition2021.blogspot.com/2021/08/sunday-8th-ice-station-monday-9th.html

Quote
Sunday 8th - Ice station, Monday 9th Helicopter station!, Tuesday 10th CTD station

Hello again - I am sitting in the bar at 1.15am in the night waiting for the final data from the 00 UTC weather balloon to be received......

and 3 of the 6 photos

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #27 on: August 12, 2021, 11:47:59 AM »
Oden approaching the amsr2 pole hole. The low concentration ice north of Greenland showing up well in this image.

Water temp reporting has stopped.

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #28 on: August 15, 2021, 12:01:02 PM »
Thanks to Bardian for this
https://www.polar.se/media/btank21q/veckobrev-fraan-isbrytaren-oden-2021-08-09.pdf

Weekly letter from the Icebreaker Oden 2021-08-10
(Translated from Swedish by google translate)

Hello!
Now we have finally come out on an expedition again. It has been two years since Oden made a scientific expedition. That it has taken so long is due to the ongoing Corona pandemic that has put sticks in our usual routines and it has been anything but easy to get away. It started with the fact that on July 16, we were quarantined in a hotel, where we all, crew and researchers, sat in separate rooms for eight days. We probably all thought it would be a bit hard to sit in a room for such a long time without getting out, but as we know there are those who are locked up full time and we also had good service with food and amenities, so it there was no need for us. On July 24 we had to muster at Oden and on July 25 we left Sweden.
This expedition goes by the name Synoptic Arctic Survey (SAS) and takes its place on our side of the Arctic Ocean. We start the expedition along the longitude E030 ° 00 'and go north on this line over and past the North Pole. After this straight leg, we start sweeping east and south according to the turquoise line on the map. The V-route down to the Greenland coast, as shown, can be difficult to implement, as the most difficult ice conditions in the entire Arctic Ocean are there. We'll see, everything should get an honest chance.



SAS is part of an international expedition where Oden is one of a dozen research vessels surveying the Arctic Ocean in 2020, 2021 and 2022. The research results are then coordinated to study the status and change of the Arctic ecosystem. Together, the measurements will provide a better picture of how variations in the Arctic Ocean are interconnected, how chemical and biological disturbances in one region can be spread to another. When scientific studies are conducted across several Arctic regions simultaneously, researchers can gain an understanding of the systems' basic structures and functions.
The main question for SAS is:
What is the current state and what ongoing changes are taking place in the marine Arctic system?
SAS is divided into three major research areas:
 Physical driving forces of importance to the ecosystem and the carbon cycle.
 Ecosystem response
 The carbon cycle and ocean acidification

The Arctic is the area on our planet that is currently most affected by climate change, which makes it an important region to map. Changes in the Arctic will affect both locally in the area and our entire planet. The Arctic Ocean is the ocean that is least studied by the Earth's oceans and it is of great importance to our climate.
SAS will provide forecasts by the researchers modeling physical, biological and chemical data. This will form an important basis for future climate models and an increased understanding, especially in an Arctic that is constantly changing. Data collected under SAS will provide a unique reference point that allows researchers to track climate change and its effects in the Arctic for a long time.

Navigation
As I told you about when we last went this route during expedition AO-2018 (Moccha), it was very compact ice and it applies almost to this year as well. The conditions we had in 2012 and 2016 when Oden was this far north, it took about 5 days from the ice edge to this latitude with an average speed of just over 6 knots. It is much tougher this time too and we sail with an average speed of about 3-4 knots. At the time of writing, we are in position N88 ° 30 'E029 ° 32'. The ice offers this resistance, we as ice navigators are happy, as there is constantly gloomy news about "extremely small ice distribution in the Arctic" "Ice-free in the Arctic Ocean" etc. The nature of the ice has been if we start down at the ice edge (N81 °) and up to N83 ° the ice was compact and quite difficult to find your way through.

This should be compared with 2018, when the ice edge was at N83 °, in other words 120nm further south this year. From N83 ° and up to N85 °, there were huge flakes with bumps between them, which is unusual as it is mostly ice-crushers and smaller flakes. N85 ° - now at N88 ° it is a large flat with much less water around the flat, but we find our way around, but we have to break a lot of ice. The weather does not offer much visibility, so it has not been possible to fly as much with the helicopter, but we have done some helicopter shrimp. Our route goes over the North Pole where there is also a 24-hour station, so it will be a longer stop at that point. Considering all the ice we have seen so far, there is great potential that this ice can survive this summer and get older and maybe manage another summer and become perennial ice.
As we lie still for longer periods under the research stations, we can study the ice drift pattern, which is very interesting in our world. A couple of days ago we had moderate winds of around 10-12m / s from S and SW, which lasted for several days and then the whole ice mass gets a real speed and we drove at a speed up to a knot. With these speeds, you have to start looking out for equipment that hangs at a depth of about 4500m, as the wire to the equipment begins to risk hitting the ice edge.


You see in the first picture what the operating patterns look like. Each arc is 12h long and during the first arc we had light winds, but towards the end of that period the wind started to pick up a little more and if you look closely at the end of the first arc and the last picture, it looks a little worried . This concern is due to the ice starting to press on us and we had to let go of the moorings we anchored in the ice and then we just had to let the ice squeeze us instead. It worked a few hours ago, we started moving again in the force of the ice and the wind. We then had to start up the machines and hold position with them until we got up the equipment we had hanging 1500m under the ship. We then turned the ship around and managed to get stuck again and this time until we finished the station. The other two arcs became significantly more elongated due to the increasing wind and the fact that the wind managed to speed up the entire ice mass in the area.



The research
The projects are in full swing and all the labs on board are being fully worked on. At each stop, it is rushed out into every corner of the ship and out onto the ice to collect data and samples. Today we run a vertical trawl for the first time and the first emptying gave some shrimp and a transparent mask. We have not had any luck on the longlines that have hung out from the ice edges, so we are waiting to catch our first fish. We have caught some polar cod, but they live at the surface around the ice and are not too unusual, but we are waiting for the first big fish from the depths of the sea !!!

Odin's engine room
Here are some pictures from Odin's nice engine room. Machines that tirelessly fight on towards our exciting and challenging goals. The machine staff has worked a lot to help the researchers assemble, manufacture holders for equipment and repair equipment that has broken even before we even started research. The 3D printer is hot and the activity in the welding workshop is high.

Wildlife
We have actually seen some animals, 3 polar bears, lots of birds, whales, seals. However, we have not seen a walrus yet. We had a polar bear who was very curious about us and would probably have liked to jump on board to revel in all the good it saw and felt weathering.

Life on board
Life flows smoothly and everyone seems to thrive. The work is now in full swing in the service of research. We have an upcoming North Pole visit, which will probably take place at the end of the week if the ice allows us to get there. 2018, the ice was so dense that we thought that 6nm away was counted as a valid visit. Now we can hope for a visit to N90 ° !! Everyone is tagged in this "North Pole 2021"

Have a good time now, we'll hear from you next week or so.
With cool but sincere greetings
Mattias   


uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #29 on: August 15, 2021, 12:04:19 PM »
and the big net
https://www.polar.se/en/news/2021/premiere-of-the-big-fishing-net/

Quote

Amundsen Basin in the Arctic Ocean, 12 August (N88 ° 58, E24 ° 03)


It is Thursday afternoon. We are waiting for the so-called Bio-CTD in the stern to return to the surface. After that, Oden must be repositioned so that sampling can continue in the bow where there is currently far too much ice to lower an instrument.

During yesterday (11 August), sampling continued from Oden's deck, from the ice next to Oden and helicopter stations. Work is done everywhere on board, and there are activities in all laboratories with various analyzes.

Yesterday (11 August) was also the premiere for the large fishing net that goes by the name "The Beam", as it has a ten-meter long boom that, together with two trawl tables, holds out the opening as it goes up vertically through the water. The net is lowered to a depth of approximately 700 meters to investigate the presence of fish.

There was no catch of fish. On the other hand, various shrimp, crayfish and a few krill were caught, which was the expected result from the deep Amundsen basin.

Text by: Maria Samuelsson, expedition coordinator
« Last Edit: August 15, 2021, 12:10:12 PM by uniquorn »

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #30 on: August 15, 2021, 12:09:38 PM »
and another short extract from a long post by Sonja yesterday
https://arcticexpedition2021.blogspot.com/2021/08/reaching-northpole-on-sunday-15th-early.html

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August 14, 2021
Reaching the North Pole on Sunday the 15th early morning, second helicopter flight on Thursday 12th

For the last couple of foggy and cloudy days, we have been steaming northwards during the nights and staying stationary during the day - with both ice stations and helicopter stations. Right now we are steaming over the night, currently at 89.2 degrees N to reach our last stop before our second big 24-h stop (B) at the North Pole - planned arrival would be Sunday 15th early morning.

3 of the 7 images


uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #31 on: August 15, 2021, 12:13:21 PM »
Pretty close.
Water temps are back, but they still look high.

edit: Possibility it is this

Quote
Oden.Water.SBE45_MainLab.Temperature
Temperature of sea water in laboratory onboard Oden, SMHI pump Sea-Bird 45_MainLab (Water has travelled in pipes from sea water inlet and is consequenttly warmed)

Probably not useful at all.
« Last Edit: August 15, 2021, 07:15:08 PM by uniquorn »

kassy

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #32 on: August 15, 2021, 01:40:53 PM »
Thanks for the updates but i wonder what helicopter shrimp is?
Anybody here who knows some swedish? Must be a google translate thing (short flights would make sense in context).
Þetta minnismerki er til vitnis um að við vitum hvað er að gerast og hvað þarf að gera. Aðeins þú veist hvort við gerðum eitthvað.

Stephan

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #33 on: August 15, 2021, 02:54:25 PM »
Shouldn't we make this topic "sticky" as it was done for the MOSAiC thread?
It is too late just to be concerned about Climate Change

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #34 on: August 15, 2021, 08:27:13 PM »
Beaufort Gyre Exploration Project
https://www2.whoi.edu/site/beaufortgyre/expeditions/2021-expedition/

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2021 Expedition

The 2021 BGOS & JOIS cruise aboard the CCGS Louis St. Laurent is scheduled to depart August 19th, with Sarah Zimmerman as Chief Scientist (with Bill Williams, Rick Krishfield, and Andrey Proshutinsky as shore support). After a one year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the WHOI team will be joining IOS aboard the Louis St. Laurent this year to recover, refurbish, and redeploy moorings as well as deploy ITPs and seasonal IMBs. IOS and collaborators again obtained hydrographic and geochemical stations throughout the region. Live dispatches will be available once the cruise is underway!

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #35 on: August 15, 2021, 10:55:48 PM »
Also coming up:

Nansen Legacy        https://arvenetternansen.com/
Arctic Basin investigation 24 Aug 2021 – 26 Sep 2021

This expedition on Kronprins Haakon bisecting the Oden's route. The same ship is also currently maintaining fixed buoys in the Fram Strait


uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #36 on: August 16, 2021, 10:22:04 PM »
A short extract from today's post
https://arcticexpedition2021.blogspot.com/2021/08/sunny-and-snowy-weekend-second-24-h.html

Quote
August 16, 2021
Sunny and snowy weekend, second 24-h station and arrival at the North Pole today (Monday 16th) evening with North Pole celebration and Lindy Hop on the ice

For the last few days we have been really lucky with the weather - the sun has been shining and occasionally we got some light snowfall from the thin clouds. For each day we have had a helicopter flight - Saturday morning our group went out (without me) for flux measurements and yesterday a deep-sea camera and longlines were setup and now (Monday morning) they are out again with the helicopter to retrieve the instruments.

and two pictures of ice near the north pole

FredBear

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #37 on: August 17, 2021, 11:52:38 PM »
Would love to know if they can see how much the smoke from wildfires is reducing the strength of solar radiation at the ice surface and maybe saving the ice this year. (Probably this information is being saved for the final report?).

oren

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #38 on: August 18, 2021, 08:17:59 AM »
Thanks for these interesting updates. It does appear the ice is in much better shape this year in that region.

Shouldn't we make this topic "sticky" as it was done for the MOSAiC thread?
Good idea. Done.

hst_319

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #39 on: August 18, 2021, 04:22:02 PM »
Thanks for the updates but i wonder what helicopter shrimp is?
Anybody here who knows some swedish? Must be a google translate thing (short flights would make sense in context).

I laughed out loud at helicopter shimp   :D

It is supposed to translate to "helicopter recon", reka in the text being a short form of reconnaissance.

Real sentence: The weather does not offer much visibility, so it has not been possible to fly as much with the helicopter, but we have done some helicopter recon.

kassy

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #40 on: August 18, 2021, 04:56:00 PM »
Tack for clearing that up!
Þetta minnismerki er til vitnis um að við vitum hvað er að gerast og hvað þarf að gera. Aðeins þú veist hvort við gerðum eitthvað.

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #41 on: August 19, 2021, 03:19:58 PM »

Ice thickness at pole is about 2.5m

https://www.polar.se/nyheter/2021/pressmeddelande-30-aarsjubileum-foer-isbrytaren-oden-paa-nordpolen/
From Swedish by Google Translate

Quote
Yesterday, 16 August at 20.46 UTC, the Swedish icebreaker Oden arrived at the North Pole for the tenth time. The first visit was made in 1991 when Oden was the first non-nuclear-powered ship to reach the North Pole together with the German research icebreaker Polarstern. Since then, Oden has been to the North Pole in 1996, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2012, 2016 and 2018.

- The ice situation has been quite tough throughout the trip. We are now navigating the ice around the North Pole and it is about 2.5 meters thick. We celebrated the North Pole visit by inviting everyone to the bridge to see when the GPS receiver switched from N89 ° 59.9 to then start counting down again on the other side of the globe. After we passed the North Pole, everyone had to go out on the ice. Odin's kitchen staff offered grilled sausages and hot chocolate, says Mattias Petersson, captain of the icebreaker Oden.

The visit to the North Pole takes place within the research expedition Synoptic Arctic Survey, which started on 25 July. During the expedition, the researchers investigate the marine ecosystem between Greenland and the North Pole with an ambitious sampling program for hydrographic, chemical and biological parameters.

The area has previously been unexplored due to the difficult ice conditions, but with the help of Oden, the researchers can for the first time collect data here. This will be important for understanding how the ecosystem in the central Arctic works and is affected by a warmer climate.

If the ice conditions and the weather allow, Oden will regularly anchor in the ice in connection with the installation of nine 24-hour ice stations. One of these is set up at the North Pole. The purpose of the stations is to inventory the fish stock in the central Arctic, among other things with the help of a specially designed net that measures ten meters in diameter.

- The beginning of the expedition has gone well. The data collection is rolling on and we are done with a quarter of the samples. We have not caught fish yet, but surprisingly many prawns and prawns that make up the fish's food. After the North Pole, we go to the Lomonosov ridge and the previously unexplored area that is our goal, says Pauline Snoeijs Leijonmalm, professor of marine ecology at Stockholm University, who is Chief Scientist for the research expedition.

The return to Helsingborg is planned for 20 September.

Looks like a slight deviation from the published route.

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #42 on: August 19, 2021, 04:56:24 PM »
Beaufort Gyre Exploration Project
No news yet but Louis S.St Laurent is in the Hudson Strait heading for the Beaufort (I think)
edit: I don't think tracking is working.

Nansen Legacy
Kronprins Haakon back in Longyearbyen
« Last Edit: August 20, 2021, 07:06:49 PM by uniquorn »

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #43 on: August 20, 2021, 07:08:56 PM »
Short extract from long post
https://arcticexpedition2021.blogspot.com/2021/08/northpole-celebration-monday-eve-16th.html

Quote
The ice conditions were variable - at the North Pole we had some thicker ice and some of the planned stops on the way were cancelled due to the ice conditions, which took us also longer to transit than expected. However, at yesterdays ice station, the ice was thinner again, but with a heavy crystallised snow cover on top. The weather was variable - from cloudy to partly sunny and then back to cloudy and foggy. We also had some light snowfall the last days!

3 of the 8 images
« Last Edit: August 20, 2021, 07:36:21 PM by uniquorn »

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #44 on: August 22, 2021, 09:22:23 PM »
Beaufort Gyre Exploration Project
https://www2.whoi.edu/site/beaufortgyre/expeditions/2021-expedition/2021-dispatches/
Quote
2021 Dispatches
Dispatch 1: All Aboard!
Greetings from the Canadian Coast Guard Ice Breaker Louis S. St.-Laurent, where the 19th expedition to Beaufort Gyre has begun! My name is Isabela Le Bras. I am a WHOI scientist new to the BGOS project, and I am thrilled to be participating in the BGOS-JOIS cruise for the first time. I will be joined in dispatch writing by Helen Gemmrich, a journalism masters student from the University of Concordia. Together we will report on the progress of the cruise in near-real time, as well as take deep-dives into the science and life taking place aboard the vessel.
« Last Edit: August 23, 2021, 07:28:59 PM by uniquorn »

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #45 on: August 22, 2021, 09:38:12 PM »
Extract from long post.  Ridged ice thicker than 3m

https://arcticexpedition2021.blogspot.com/2021/08/third-helicopter-station-saturday-21st.html
Quote
In the early morning on Saturday 21st, I woke up again to launch the weather balloon. There were many people awake already at 5am working on their water samples, filtering and analysing. There is a clear change in the ice thickness and ice formations - the ice is much thicker and has lots of ridges, thick snow layers on top and small ice mountain ridges elongated along the ice edges and across the pack ice. The weather felt now 100 procent Arctic - it was snowing rather heavily and we were surrounded by ice and ice ridges, as well  as frozen meltponds and leads. To my knowledge I heard that the CTDs were delayed by 3 hours, which would shift the daily schedule slightly. I saw an opportunity for our group to go out with the helicopter for doing some gas flux measurements at a lead 400m apart from the ship. As there we no helicopter flights planned for the day, I kept on asking if we could go and finally we got green light - we could leave right after lunch and be back by 3 pm at the time of departure. This was AMAZING! We packed our stuff and got ready, put on our rescue/floating suites headed to the helipad - The pilot was kind to do this for us - it was only us three going out: me, Lina (was her first time, SOO happy to be out there with her!) and the pilot. I got to sit in front, as two persons are needed to be seated in front for polar bear surveys and in case of emergency. It was absolutely amazing - we flew a few rounds around the area to look for polar bears - important to check it since we only had one polar bear watch instead of two as usual. We found it to be safe and landed on the ice next to a lead. When we were allowed to start our research, we set up all our instruments and then maintained it while enjoying the scenery and being out there - surrounded by ice, water, helicopter, Oden and snowfall. The time was a bit restricted as we had to be back by 3 pm, but we managed to do the measurements we wanted to do - except for measuring the ice thickness. We could only come down to 3m and the ice was thicker than that! I truly wish we get more opportunities to fly out with the helicopter for some  flux measurements over ice and leads during the last 22 days we have left out here in the Arctic.

3 of the 8 images

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #46 on: August 23, 2021, 07:37:27 PM »
Beaufort Gyre Exploration Project

https://www2.whoi.edu/site/beaufortgyre/expeditions/2021-expedition/2021-dispatches/dispatch-1-all-aboard/

Quote
Science and new crew were up very early yesterday, August 19th, in St. John’s Newfoundland, where we caught a 5am coast guard crew change flight from St. John’s to Cambridge Bay, with a refueling stop in between. In Cambridge Bay, about 70 of us we were ferried to the vessel in groups of five via helicopter (as you can imagine that it took quite a while!). Though we had all tested negative for COVID, we certainly did not want to inadvertently bring COVID to the local Arctic communities, so we were isolated in a large outdoor hangar while we waited for the helicopter. Onboard, we will continue to take COVID tests, wear masks, and social distance as much as possible while carrying out our research.

 
We were welcomed onboard by a “walk of life” tour of the vessel and safety orientation led by the Coast Guard Cadets. Unfortunately I didn’t get photos of everyone trying on the survival suits! We were underway by 1900 ship time (mountain time) when it was discovered that a critical piece of science equipment had broken (the distilled water maker). Luckily, the Canadian Coast Guard Vessel Sir Wilfrid Laurier was not too far away, so we turned back to Cambridge Bay in the middle of the night and arranged for the helicopter to pick up the system from them without any direct human contact. Once this operation was complete at around 1300, we headed back west, ready to do science!
 

2 of the 5 images

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #47 on: August 23, 2021, 10:18:14 PM »
Beaufort Gyre Exploration Project
extract from  Dispatch 2: Science Shakedown
Helen Gemmrich  August 20, 2021
https://www2.whoi.edu/site/beaufortgyre/expeditions/2021-expedition/2021-dispatches/dispatch-2-science-breakdown/

Quote
We arrived on station in the late afternoon, but the day started after breakfast with a training session on the CTD rosette, one of our main sampling methods. “Rosie” collects an assortment of data, including temperature, salinity, pressure, oxygen and water samples. The CTD operator, who sits in a nice, warm shack beside the rosette, can close Rosie’s 24 Niskin bottles for samples at any depth on the click of a button. The rest of the team is on deck, sporting bright red floatation suits, harnesses and hard hats, ensuring that Rosie makes it safely from the lab into the water and back. One rosette cast means roughly 150 water samples, or 150 meticulously labelled bottles that we then need to record in our log sheets after the cast. The science team analyses some samples directly on board, while others are stored in the dedicated science freezers (beside the ship’s “Potato Room” and the gym) and brought back ashore.

2 images of 5
Beaufort sea ice. No coordinates given.
« Last Edit: August 24, 2021, 12:55:53 PM by uniquorn »

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #48 on: August 25, 2021, 11:06:05 PM »
Beaufort Gyre Exploration Project
Dispatch 3: Polar Bears...and More!
https://www2.whoi.edu/site/beaufortgyre/expeditions/2021-expedition/2021-dispatches/dispatch-3-polar-bears-and-more/

2 of 5 images

uniquorn

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Re: Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
« Reply #49 on: August 25, 2021, 11:44:59 PM »
Nansen Legacy
Kronprinz Haakon has left Tromso
https://www.cruisemapper.com/?imo=9739587

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Three good reasons to visit the Arctic Basin in 2021
125 years since the return of Nansen’s Fram expedition
Marit Reigstad, Agneta Fransson & Bodil Bluhm UiT & NPI
friday 20. August 2021 - 14:08

Exactly 125 years after the research vessel Fram with Fridtjof Nansen as scientific leader returned from its drift across the Arctic Basin, the Nansen Legacy revisits the region with Norway’s new research icebreaker Kronprins Haakon. This anniversary is the first of several good reasons why it is timely to revisit and extend our exploration of the Arctic Basin right now.

When Fridtjof Nansen’s expedition was completed in August 1896, his team had discovered the deep Arctic Basin. Since it was previously assumed that the central Arctic Ocean was shallow like the surrounding shelves, the great depths of >3000 m took them by surprise. They also brought proof of the Transpolar Drift, an ocean current crossing the Arctic Basin, as well as on how ocean currents from lower latitudes enter and impact the Arctic Ocean.
The changing Arctic urges better understanding

Presently, the Arctic Basin is changing in many ways as a result of rising global temperatures. That is the second good reason to pay more attention to the Arctic Basin. There are limited amounts of physical, chemical and biological data and especially time series from the central Arctic region. The declining sea ice cover, however, is well documented, as is the regional freshwater accumulation in the Beaufort Gyre, a circular surface current over the Amerasian part of the Arctic Basin.

Also an increasing similarity to the North Atlantic in the Eurasian sector is taking place including the northward expansion of Atlantic species. The recent ice-drift projects Norwegian Young sea ICE cruise 2015 (N-ICE 2015) and Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC 2019/2020) have provided valuable data on the seasonality of both the physical-chemical environment and biological dynamics over periods of 6-12 months. Still we lack understanding of how the system functions and changes on regional levels, but also on how different regions are interconnected on a Pan-Arctic scale. This gap requires a follow up to the baseline studies carried out during the N-ICE and MOSAiC.

The Nansen Legacy project, Norway´s joint Arctic marine science effort, has since 2018 investigated the seasonally ice-covered and rapidly changing northern Barents Sea. We cover both seasonal and interannual variability along a climatic gradient across the Barents Sea shelf, shelf-break and adjacent deep Arctic Basin. This year, honoring Nansen’s return with the Fram 125 years ago, we zoom out and extend the climate gradient across the entire Nansen Basin, the Gakkel Ridge and into the Amundsen Basin in the central Arctic Ocean. The motivation is to better understand to what degree changes observed on the shelf and in the inflowing Atlantic Water propagate into the Arctic Basin. Moreover, the deeper parts of the basin, which are filled with older water, are not well investigated. Our investigation is interdisciplinary so that we can grasp the complex interactions involved in changing climate and ecosystem responses. Our study targets processes and interactions across the atmosphere, sea ice, ocean and seafloor.
Synoptic observations: connect Arctic knowledge to a ‘whole’

A third good reason to visit the Arctic Basin this year is the international joint research initiative, the Synoptic Arctic Survey (SAS). The SAS aims to conduct comparable ocean measurements at almost the same time in the different Arctic regions. This approach will facilitate [b1] a large-scale picture of the status and change of the Arctic carbon cycle and marine ecosystems including relevant physical drivers. The Arctic regions are interconnected, but it is not yet well understood how changes propagate from one region to another. With every nation providing puzzle pieces from their region, the understanding of the whole Arctic Ocean can be improved. The Nansen Legacy expedition with RV Kronprins Haakon contributes to the SAS from the Norwegian side with an extended transect from the Barents Sea shelf break to the Amundsen Basin. At almost the same time the Swedish icebreaker Oden and the Canadian Louis St. Laurent each take the same type of measurements in other slices of the Arctic Ocean. Previous cruises in SAS have been performed in 2020 by the Japanese RV Mirai and the Korean RV Aaron.

The Synoptic Arctic Survey coincides with the start of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Sciences for sustainable Development (in short: Ocean Decade). The Ocean Decade also includes the Arctic as a target region due to the major changes seen here over the past few decades. An important step for the scientific investigation of the changing Arctic Ocean is an international agreement to prevent unregulated fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean for the coming 15 years. The agreement entered into force this summer, and gives scientists time to generate knowledge for the management of the regions fisheries.

Hence, 125 years after the Fram expedition returned from the Central Arctic Ocean with the discovery of the deep Arctic Basin, there is an urgent need to update and extend our understanding of how climate changes impact the Arctic. This year major steps are taken in the right direction.
« Last Edit: August 26, 2021, 12:25:41 PM by uniquorn »