Sea Trials for Australia's New Icebreaker Delayed Due to COVID-19
Australia's newly built Antarctic icebreaking research and supply vessel (RSV) is nearly ready to be delivered, but its sea trials have been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) said.Construction of the ship commenced at Damen’s Galați shipyard in Romania in May 2017, and the vessel was floated out in September 2018 prior to its scheduled arrival at home port Hobart in 2020. But delays brought on tby the COVID-19 outbreak have derailed the delivery schedule.“The fit-out and testing schedule for the vessel is being severely impacted by travel
Mapping the Ikaite Columns of the Ikka Fjord, SW Greenland
in areas outside of the Fjord, generally in sediments where an identified calcite inhibitor exists facilitating the formation of Ikaite meaning its presence can be explained. Without an inhibitor common calcite, not ikaite would otherwise form.In recent years ikaite has been found forming in Arctic and Antarctic sea ice. This is an especially interesting development as there are no known calcite inhibitors in open marine settings where sea ice can form, suggesting that there are other methods of Ikaite formation. If we can understand the key factors for ikaite precipitation, using Ikka Fjord and its columns
Deep-Sea Coral Gardens, Graveyards Discovered Off Australia
canyons, are largely unexplored. The expedition explored the Bremer, Leeuwin and Perth canyons, all of which have extensive fossil coral deposits, with the Leeuwin especially notable for a massive pedestal-like coral graveyard.“This has global implications given these waters originate from around Antarctica which feed all of the major oceans and regulate our climate system” said Professor Malcolm McCulloch from UWA. Australia has only one oceanographic vessel available for scientific research and no supporting deep sea underwater robots, which makes this expedition so important and rare.Facing
Measuring the Hostile Ocean Beneath Hurricanes
to serve a broad range of applications. During the Macondo oil spill in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico, Slocum gliders collected subsurface data to support response work. Recent payloads have included turbulence sensors for measuring ocean mixing, bio-acoustic sensors for assessing zooplankton stocks off Antarctica, and hydrophones for near real-time monitoring of North Atlantic right whales off the east coasts of U.S. and Canada. Slocum gliders are serving new roles at Antarctic research sites as well, especially at the edge of ice sheets.Storm Monitoring GlidersFor the last decade, Slocum gliders from
@ SAMS, Science + Autonomy = Answers
to change that. It went into the Norwegian arctic Barents Sea in January (24-hour darkness), April and July (24-hour daylight) - something no one had done in that area in a single year - to gather data on cruises using research vessels (the University of Tromsø’s Helmer Hanssen and British Antarctic Survey’s RRS James Clark Ross). To fill multi-month-long gaps between the cruises and overlapping with the cruises, G2 Slocum gliders were deployed. The Slocum used is part of the UK’s Marine Autonomous & Robotics Systems (MARS) pool and can dive to 200m deep.With support from modelling
Damen Inks Deal for Hydrographic R/V
Authority) at their Mamonal location. The vessel, which will be 83 meters in length with a beam of 16 meters, will be the largest and most complex vessel ever to be built in Colombia.DIMAR will operate the vessel in Colombian waters, both Pacific and Caribbean, and will also sail it to the Antarctic. The vessel has various types of hydrographic equipment on board, including all deck equipment, for example, a large A-frame on the aft, and also extensive laboratory capacity on board. It also features a Helicopter deck and hangar, that can handle a Dauphin or a Bell 412 helicopter
NATO RV Alliance is not just quiet, it’s ice-capable
most research ships coming out now are quiet enough.Are there ships out there today that meet those “aspirations?”There are other very good ships out there. The Norwegian’s brand new PC-3 class icebreaking research vessel Kronprins Haakon will be operating in both the Arctic and Antarctic. It is an absolutely phenomenal vessel.Is it quiet?Nothing is as quiet as Alliance, but do we need her to be that super, super quiet? We may, because things change in the submarine world. But we can also use autonomous offboard systems. We’re not in the game of towing miles
Polar RV Sir David Attenborough Naming Ceremony
Thursday, 26 September, the ceremonial naming of the new British polar research ship RRS Sir David Attenborough will take place at the Cammell Laird Birkenhead shipyard.The ship was commissioned by the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council, built by Cammell Laird, and operated by the British Antarctic Survey. This vessel is designed to transform how ship-borne science is conducted in the Polar Regions and its commissioning is part of a major UK Government polar infrastructure investment program aiming to keep Britain at the forefront of world-leading research in Antarctica and the Arctic. The
July: Earth's Hottest Month Ever Recorded
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), July 2019 was hottest month on record for the planet and Polar sea ice melted to record lows.Much of the planet sweltered in unprecedented heat in July, as temperatures soared to new heights in the hottest month ever recorded. The record warmth also shrank Arctic and Antarctic sea ice to historic lows.The average global temperature in July was 1.71 degrees F above the 20th-century average of 60.4 degrees, making it the hottest July in the 140-year record, according to scientists at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. The previous hottest month
