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Synoptic Arctic Survey community meeting

A Synoptic Arctic Survey community meeting was held on March 31st, in conjunction with the Arctic Science Summit Week in Tromsø. This was a hybrid meeting, with altogether approximately 40 scientists, program managers and early career scientists attending. Everyone thought it was really nice to meet and interact in person again, after two years with only virtual meetings.

The SAS has evolved into a massive effort with a lot of cruises conducted in 2020 and 2021, and some planned for 2022. Partners from Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, South Korea, Sweden and the USA presented past and future cruises. We were in particular impressed by the unique data collected on the German/Russian/Swiss “Arctic Century expedition” to the Barents and Laptev Seas, and troubled by the challenges that this important collaboration is facing in the wake of the war in Ukraine.

We further discussed how to proceed with the synthesis phase that the Synoptic Arctic Survey is now entering. Data sharing and authors for the different papers are issues that need to be resolved in the coming year. We ended the day by enjoying freshly caught cod – or skrei – from the Lofoten area.

The report from the meeting is available here and most of the presentations are available below:

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Nansen Legacy Arctic Basin Cruise

As a Norwegian contribution to this year’s (2021) Synoptic Arctic Survey, the Arctic Basin cruise extended the sampling transect of Nansen Legacy project from the northern Barents Sea shelf and slope into the deep central Arctic Ocean. Using the Norwegian research icebreaker ‘Kronprins Haakon’, the team was able to investigate the Nansen and Amundsen Basin as well as the Gakkel Ridge separating the two basins during a five-week long expedition.

The Nansen Legacy Arctic Basin cruise covered a transect of 2330 km extending from the Nansen Basin NE of the Svalbard slope in the south to the northern part of the Amundsen Basin just south of the Lomonosov Ridge in the north. The geographic bounding box spanned 81.46-87.51°N and 31.34°E-21.53°W and covered a depth range of ca. 2800-4800 m, with sampling covering 2817-4290 m.
The Nansen Legacy Arctic Basin cruise covered a transect of 2330 km extending from the Nansen Basin NE of the Svalbard slope in the south to the northern part of the Amundsen Basin just south of the Lomonosov Ridge in the north. The geographic bounding box spanned 81.46-87.51°N and 31.34°E-21.53°W and covered a depth range of ca. 2800-4800 m, with sampling covering 2817-4290 m.

The scientific team on board was highly interdisciplinary, consisting of 34 participants including physical and chemical oceanographers, ice physicists, ecotoxicologists and biologists as well as safety and helicopter teams. About half of the science team consisted of early career researchers. Chief scientists were Agneta Fransson, Norwegian Polar Institute, and Bodil Bluhm, UiT The Arctic University of Norway.

Sampling efforts focused on sea ice and upper ocean work as well as connectivity to the mid and deep water column and underlying sediments. In addition, the role of transport of elements and organisms from the Siberian shelves through the Transpolar Drift was investigated. Indications of water masses with chemical signatures of the Transpolar Drift were encountered at the northernmost station at 87.5˚N and 17˚W.

The Nansen Legacy Arctic Basin Cruise took place at roughly the same time (Aug-Sep 2021) as the Swedish icebreaker ‘Oden’ was on its SAS expedition in the nearby region between Northeast Greenland and the North Pole.

Written by Lena Seuthe, Scientific advisor Nansen Legacy

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Arctic Century Expedition – One month in the Russian Arctic on board the research icebreaker Akademik Tryoshnikov

An international team of scientists has spent a month on board the Russian research icebreaker, the Akademik Tryoshnikov, studying climate change impacts in the Arctic. From the atmosphere to the High Arctic islands, down the water column to the depths of the ocean, researchers are investigating the ecosystems and biodiversity of the region, and the role they play in our global cycles. Physical and chemical measurements of the atmosphere and the ocean seek to document their interactions with sea ice and to improve forecasts of the changing Arctic environment.

High-resolution ice and sediment cores, that we collect, will allow us understand the history of the ice caps, past climate variability and better understand our future. From the distant past to the present day, litter found at sea and on the beaches of these remote islands paints a picture of the current impact we have on our planet.

The research vessel Akademik Tryoshnikov at Cape Baranov (Severnaya Semlya), ©Swiss Polar Institute

This multidisciplinary expedition to the Kara and Laptev Seas, including the archipelagos of Franz Josef Land and Severnaya Zemlya, marks the celebration of one hundred years of the Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute.

The Arctic Century Expedition brought together 29 scientists and 30 early career researchers from 13 countries, to bring new light to these internationally rarely-visited hotspots for climate studies in the Arctic. The expedition was organized jointly by the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in St. Petersburg, the Swiss Polar Institute and the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel in Germany.

Point of contact: Dr. Heidemarie Kassens at GEOMAR