Breaking the Ice on Arctic Research
Deck machinery, such as winches, launch and recovery systems, and cranes, can transform almost any vessel into a floating laboratory, supporting the technology necessary for scientific data collection and analysis. The Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Amundsen is no exception, as Canada's only icebreaker equipped with scientific facilities in support of national and international multidisciplinary research programs. On board, the vessel boasts 65 scientific systems, 22 fixed and portable laboratories, and 300m2 of wet and dry workspace to perform chemical and biological experiments, analyze sediments and prepare the deployment of autonomous instruments.The CCGS Amundsen is unique in its dual role, performing icebreaking and escort duties in the St. Lawrence Seaway in winter and Arctic science in the summer. Double duty means that all scientific equipment that is not part of the vessel must be loaded and installed on the Amundsen before the start of the annual Arctic expedition. Then, at the end of the expedition season, all equipment and collected samples are packed up and offloaded from the ship during an eight-day demobilization period.The scientific cargo and equipment for the five months of the 2026 Amundsen Expedition, explained Marine Research Coordinator Anissa Merzouk, comprises "containers, winches, oceanographic moorings equipment, large equipment such as the ASTRID Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), as well as all the instruments, consumables and chemicals for 200 scientists from 30 institutions throughout Canada, Europe and the United States who collaborate on nine multidisciplinary research programs."MobilizationThe mobilization period takes place at the Canadian Coast Guard base in Quebec City where the Amundsen docks for a two-week period between June and July. This year, the mobilization team expects to load 80,000 kg of scientific deck equipment and containers onto the vessel, said Quentin Lahaye, an oceanographic instrumentation professional."With the Amundsen Science team and the ship’s crew, we prepare a mobilization plan weeks in advance that serves as a communication and planning tool and contains all the steps needed to ready to ship for the expedition," explained Merzouk. "The mobilization plan proposes a sequence of loading activities that fits the many constraints and requirements for skilled support by the crew and Coast Guard base staff, such as cranes for loading containers and large equipment, re-fueling the ship and loading the dozens of pallets of food needed to feed 79 people, three times a day for 140 days at sea." In the middle of the two-week mobilization period, scientific sea trials take place, consisting of five days in the St. Lawrence Estuary and Saguenay Fjord where the team tests and integrates the sampling equipment and data collection instruments."The mobilization period is a crucial phase of the expedition, as everything has to be onboard, installed and tested before the ship’s departure," Lahaye emphasized. "There is a tremendous amount to coordinate in order to ensure everything is ready by departure day. The mobilization period often feels like a sprint, with everyone giving their all to prepare the ship and scientific operations for the months ahead.”Another major challenge is storage space management and workspace allocation. "I always compare this aspect of the mobilization to a gigantic 4-D puzzle with the fourth dimension being time. For example, the 2026 Expedition is divided into five segments or legs of 28 days each, where each leg will host different scientific teams with different sampling activities and objectives," said Merzouk. "Since they will use the same limited laboratory and work spaces onboard, we have to load and store their equipment somewhere on the ship during mobilization until they arrive at the start of their leg, then they install their labs for four weeks, to finally uninstall everything and put their boxes back into storage at the end of their leg until demobilization."Despite the chaos and stress of mobilization, Merzouk said it marks the start of another exciting research season aboard the Amundsen. "After months of working on spreadsheets and receiving emails, I love the mobilization period because it allows me to connect in person with the scientists and students of the Amundsen community and act as the bridge between them, the Amundsen Science team and our partners at the Canadian Coast Guard. It’s a very intense period but mobilization is definitely the high point of the season for me: it’s the fulfillment of weeks of planning and the result of a huge team effort.""I love watching the ship gradually fill with scientific equipment as we prepare for the expedition. When we first arrive, the vessel feels almost empty. But by the end of mobilization, the labs are fully equipped, containers are packed with supplies, and instruments and sensors can be found in every corner of the ship," added Lahaye. "It’s always exciting to meet teams who have spent months preparing and developing these systems, and to help them integrate everything aboard the ship."Mobilization period. Credit: Amundsen ScienceMobilization period. Credit: Amundsen ScienceASTRIDOne of the key pieces of technology aboard the Amundsen is ASTRID, an ROV made by Forum Energy Technologies. Weighing about 1.5 tons, it's currently configured to go to 1500 meters of depth and explore for more than 250 hours."One of the cool things about this ROV is that it's got a very small footprint, which means that we can put it on various vessels, including small ones. The winch is small, as well as the ROV itself. It makes it a very flexible system," said Gabrielle Inglis, ROV project manager and technician. ASTRID also has two ORION 7 function manipulators that help scientists take samples and manipulate findings in the environment. It has a set of sample drawers for storage, allowing items to be brought up from the sea floor.ASTRID also has an AML Oceanographic Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (CTD) sonde; a Teledyne TOGS5 for heading, pitch and roll; a PS-20 depth sensor; a Teledyne doppler velocity logger; and a Kongsberg Ultra Short Base Line (USBL) cNODE. There are also multiple cameras capabilities, including a SubC 1 Cam alpha HD, a Rayfin MK2 Benthic 4K and digital video recording redundancy.During operations, the ROV team is four or five people to keep it running and manage repairs. "But we really say we just drive the bus," joked Inglis."There's quite a bit of advanced planning involved, as you can imagine," said John O'Brien, a research scientist with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). The scientific personnel assemble a list of mission objectives and identify dive sites months before setting off. "There's a high degree of collaboration, not only within the scientific team, to make sure we align our objectives to achieve the most in the limited dive windows that we have for the most people."Other important considerations for the ROV include weather and risk factors like strong currents or hazardous locations. Despite the challenges though, deploying ASTRID comes with new discoveries and adventures.“We have a good team and we are really happy to see each other again and to work and spend time together,” said Bárbara Neves, research scientist at DFO. “It becomes a family.”“I'm excited to collect some really good samples,” she added. “We have some new projects coming up and the possibility of using the ROV for targeted, very specific samples that otherwise we couldn’t collect.”ASTRID ROV. Credit: Amundsen ScienceSetting SailCCGS Amundsen's 2026 season starts on July 10 and, at 139 days, marks the longest expedition since 2009. The vessel will carry more than 185 scientists from Canada and beyond over the course of five legs, studying the marine and coastal environments of the Labrador Sea, the Canadian Arctic and Greenlandic waters. Amundsen will travel first from Quebec City to Iqaluit, then to Pituffik Space Base, then on to Resolute Bay, before returning to Iqaluit and finally Quebec City."This season, we are welcoming many new research teams aboard the Amundsen. They are bringing a wide range of new equipment and technologies that will be deployed throughout the expedition," said Lahaye. "Every season brings its own experiences and challenges, and the 2026 expedition promises to be especially rich in new projects, collaborations and discoveries."