Fieldwork Home

Innovative Hydrographic sampling

As we are working in very unaccessable areas much of the field work is based on helicopter transport. It is thus not so easy using standard oceanographic instruments and research vessels.

In March 2006 an Askeladden 16" boat was used for the polynya hydrogrphic sampling. The fieldwork is logistically operated by the University Centre on Svalbard, UNIS (photo by: Jon W. Jeppesen UNIS).

In March 2004 hydrographic sampling in Storfjorden was done based on a skidoo sledge driving along the edge of the fast ice cover.

Storfjorden quite often has a fast ice cover
during the winter months, because the sea
ice is held in position by small islands.
The area of the fast ice varies, but during
March 2004 we found it to be stable enough to deploy a current meter below the fast ice. The Aanderaa Recording Doppler Current Profiler (RDCP) managed to record the flow down
to 32 m depth in nearby Freemansundet
just north of Kapp Lee, revealing strong tidal currents around 50 cm/s.