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| CTD
(Conductivity, temperature, depth) instrument
and carrousel block with twenty four 10-litter
bottles for collection of water samples is
coming on board (left). Celine Gueguen and
Naoaki Uzaka from the International Arctic
Research Center collect water samples for
the analysis of dissolved carbon and chlorophyll
in the CTD laboratory of our ship (right). |
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| From
time to time, the concentration of sea ice
increases and we have to break through sea
ice floes. Sometimes the ice thickness exceeds
1 meter (left, see pieces of ice in the vicinity
of the ship) but other times it is thin (20-30
cm) and breaks easily without significantly
influencing the speed of the ship (right). |
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| WHOI
(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) mooring
deployment. This is our southernmost mooring
located at 75°N and 150°W, with total a depth
of 3800 meters (see web site project
description, scheme of the survey, instrument
description and mooring diagram). |
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| Camille
Coray from the University of Alaska Fairbanks
prepares Bongo nets for sampling zooplankton
on August 13th, 2003. |
Cruise - 2003 Dispatches
Calendar
Dispatch 05 - August 12-14,
2003
By Andrey Proshutinsky
Work underway
We performed observations of water properties on
August 12th and 13th. Six oceanographic stations
were occupied with a spatial interval from 30 to
60 nautical miles and water samples were taken at
various points from the surface to the bottom at
various depths.
We successfully deployed our first mooring (75°N
and 150°W) at depth of 3,800 meters (some photographs
of this procedure are shown). The weather and sea
ice conditions are very good. Each day we receive
updated information from the Canadian National Weather
center and also some radar satellite images of sea
ice from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.
We also receive sea ice drift and ice edge location
forecasts (up to six days in advance) from the Arctic
and Antarctic Research Institute located in St.
Petersburg, Russia.
Unfortunately, we have not yet encountered any birds,
seals, polar bears or other Arctic animals. This
area of the deep ocean does not have enough nutrients
and solar radiation to support the growth of the
single-celled plants in the ocean known as phytoplankton.
Phytoplankton form the base of the food chain. Without
them, higher trophic-level creatures cannot survive.
In addition, the severe climate with its low temperatures
and year-round ice presence is not favorable for
many life forms. Early estimates of phytoplankton
growth rates from the USA drifting polar station
T3 organized on an ice island in the 1970s indicated
that the Arctic Ocean had the lowest values of phytoplankton
growth of all oceans.
More recent measurements have indicated that the
early values were underestimated by a factor of
2-10 (or climate has changed). Thus, some biological
studies continue on our expedition. Camille Coray
of the University of Alaska Fairbanks is responsible
for collecting zooplankton using Bongo nets.
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