It takes several hours to put in a mooring (for readers new to the blog, a mooring is an anchor, along with scientific instruments, on a line that reaches from the ocean floor to nearly the surface). We recently did one of our deepest mornings, going almost about 3800meters down into the ocean (almost 2.5 miles). After we found an open water space, lowered the anchor and scientific instruments down along the line, not only had we drifted, but the ice floes were drifting and closing in on us as well. The wind was strong (16meters/second or 36 miles per hour), and the water currents strong as well. Over several hours, you may guess what happens to a ship in those conditions. So we had to move to continually stay in open water. The thing is, in 2 years we need to be able to find this mooring to bring it back to the surface along with all instruments. So we needed to “triangulate” its exact location now. This involves the ship circling (or triangulating) around the general location of the mooring – then, using the signal from multiple locations, we can calculate its exact location. We have completed several moorings along the 126°E longitude line, which follow the red line in the photo below (you can also see the little red ship turning). Having moorings along this line, or “transect,” allows scientists to monitor water conditions from shallow waters (250meters) straight into the deep waters (nearly 4000meters) of the Amundsen Basin. Now we’re headed off further to the east, and we’ll be putting buoys under the ice soon!
Do hurricanes in the Atlantic break up Arctic sea ice?
Hi Eduardo, hurricanes don’t break up sea ice, but Atlantic Ocean currents actually flow into the Arctic, and vice versa. That is actually what some of the scientists here are studying. When water flows from one place to the other, it can bring its own temperature, salt levels, and oxygen levels. So that means that Atlantic water can actually affect the Arctic. Some of the monitoring instruments we are putting in the ocean are actually working on this, so great question!
Wow. How did it feel to brake through that 2 meter thick ice, was the ship shaking or something?????
Dear Ernesto, yes it is amazing that the ship can get through that ice! First of all, it sounds like a construction zone, and you can definitely feel the ship shake and rumble. It feels like bumps and vibrations, and sometimes it even sounds like a really hard rainstorm when the ship is going through ice – then you realize that the sound is ice scraping by, not rainfall!