On 10 August, four researchers from Chalmers University of Technology boarded the icebreaker Oden for a six-week expedition to the Central Arctic Ocean. The aim of the voyage is to improve our understanding of the interactions between the ocean, sea ice and atmosphere in a rapidly changing Arctic. An important part of the expedition is the international Early Career Researcher Programme, which includes 24 of the expedition’s 35 researchers.
“The programme is one of the main objectives of the expedition. It focuses on the Arctic climate system and combines lectures, seminars and practical fieldwork. The aim is to educate the next generation of polar researchers,” says Leif Eriksson, Professor of Radar Remote Sensing at Chalmers University of Technology.
The Arctic is warming significantly faster than the global average, making the region a key environment for research into the future climate. The expedition takes place during late summer, when Arctic sea ice approaches its annual minimum extent following the summer melt season. This period provides a unique opportunity to study how sea ice responds to changing environmental conditions and to investigate the interactions between the ocean, sea ice and atmosphere when the ice cover is at its most vulnerable.
The current expedition is the second in a series of three planned missions involving researchers and research vessels from Canada and Sweden. The Canadian icebreaker Louis S. St-Laurent is primarily focused on seabed mapping. To ensure the best possible survey conditions, the Swedish icebreaker Oden will break a path through the ice ahead of the Canadian vessel. At the same time, researchers on board Oden will carry out a wide range of scientific measurements and observations.
The expedition consists of six scientific work packages, with Chalmers researchers participating in three of them:
Meteorology and Aerosols
Oceanography and Marine Chemistry
Sea Ice Properties
Young researchers have shaped the scientific programmes
The work package on sea ice properties is led by Leif Eriksson at the Division of Geoscience and Remote Sensing at Chalmers, who emphasises that the Early Career Researchers themselves have shaped much of the scientific programme.
“Each work package has its scientific focus, but it is the early career researchers who have defined what they want to do. They have written proposals describing their research and why they want to join the expedition. That means there are more scientific questions and a broader scope than in a normal scientific expedition,” says Leif.
Researchers in his work package will investigate questions such as: What does the surface of sea ice look like? How do pressure ridges form? How do waves interact with sea ice? How is energy transported between the ocean and the atmosphere? The overall aim is to improve our understanding of changes in sea ice and to validate satellite observations.
Three early career researchers from Chalmers participate in the expedition: Cornelius Quigley, postdoctoral researcher at the Division of Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Department of Environment and Energy Sciences; Faustine Mascaut, postdoctoral researcher at Onsala Space Observatory, Department of Physics and Astronomy; and Julia Iwan, PhD student at Water Environment Technology, Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering.
The research proposals of Faustine and Julia were selected for the Early Career Research Programme and Cornelius participate in a project funded by the Swedish National Space Agency where Chalmers and the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat will improve the use of satellite data for safer and more resource-efficient ship transport and research expeditions in ice-covered waters.
Julia Iwan
“My research focuses on optical methods and biogeochemical cycles, such as organic matter and nitrate. I work with optical sensors and want to link their measurements to dissolved organic matter in natural waters along the river-to-sea continuum. I have a special interest in the Arctic because of the large-scale changes taking place as a result of global warming.”
“This expedition fits perfectly with my research because several of the sensors and methods I have been working with will be used during the voyage. It will give me valuable experience of research expeditions and the opportunity to explore scientific methods related to the Arctic Ocean.”
“I think I’m looking forward to it all: the experience of being on an icebreaker, growing my network within the Arctic research community, learning more about the Arctic Ocean, exploring new research methods and collecting samples in this unique environment.”
Faustine Mascaut
“I work within the Meteorology and Aerosols work package. My focus is on the interaction between the ocean, sea ice and the lowest part of the atmosphere, and how these processes affect clouds. On board, we will use a range of instruments, including radar, radiometers and instruments for measuring turbulent fluxes.”
“My main objective is to learn as much as I can and see everything. At the same time, the data collected during the expedition will be very valuable for my research. I am developing models for polar regions, and the observations can be used to improve and evaluate them.”
“Within the meteorology group, researchers are working on a range of different questions. One researcher is focusing on improving weather forecasts in polar regions, another on aerosol transport and the movement of atmospheric particles. My own work focuses on the vertical fluxes between the ocean, ice and atmosphere and their impact on clouds.”
Cornelius Quigley
“My focus during the expedition is to get as much in-situ data as possible on the ice. We will deploy drifters on the sea ice. They have a connection to satellites that allows us to monitor their position over time. In that way, we can compare observations on the ice with satellite imagery and gain a better understanding of how well our algorithms and methods perform.”
“I previously took part in an expedition to Greenland where, over the course of three weeks, we deployed similar instruments on ice floes and monitored changes in the ice over several months. I’m looking forward to doing something similar again, but this time in a larger research environment and together with researchers from many different disciplines.”
More than research on board
The expedition also includes two work packages that are not directly research-focused. Upper secondary school teacher Henrik Swärd is participating in the Teacher Programme, which aims to strengthen the link between polar research and schools and to develop educational material based on the expedition’s work. The goal is to make the expedition’s research accessible and relevant to pupils and teachers.
Author and playwright Andreas Norman is participating in the Artist Programme. Previous expeditions have included illustrators and artists as part of the programme. The aim is to help communicate research, the Arctic environment and humanity’s relationship with the unknown to a wider audience, while creating new stories and perspectives on the Arctic and polar research.
These two work packages further broaden the expedition’s mission and scope.
“A six-week expedition like this is always special, but what makes this one particularly special is that it brings together many different scientific questions and disciplines in the same place. Participants do not only work on their own projects; they also learn from one another and gain a broader understanding of how the Arctic climate system works. It will be a very exciting and intensive journey where we learn a great deal in a short period of time,” says Leif Eriksson.
Read more:
Read about the previous expedition Art of Melt: Expedition will meet the Arctic spring.
Contacts:
- Professor, Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Environmental and Energy Sciences
- Doctoral Student, Water Environment Technology, Architecture and Civil Engineering
- Postdoc, Onsala Space Observatory, Physics and Astronomy
- Postdoc, Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Environmental and Energy Sciences