Intern:ESONET/Arctic Ocean

Arctic water exiting into the Atlantic ocean between Europe and Greenland is an important component of the global deep water circulation of the planet and its heat budget. Establishment of a long term station here is important for tracking global change as ice cover decreases but there are also important deep sea habitats such as mud volcanoes in the "Hausgarten" region, off Svalbard

Regional contact person
[mailto:tsoltwedel@awi-bremerhaven.de Thomas Soltwedel] Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) Am Handelshafen 12 27570 Bremerhaven Germany

Phase 1: Autonomous nodes
- autonomous observatory - 15 permanent sampling sites - depth transect from Vestnesa Ridge to the Molloy Deep (1000- 5500 m) - latitudinal transect following the 2500 m isobath - central HAUSGARTEN station as experimental area for long-term experiments - repeated sampling - deployment of moorings - different long-term lander systems will act as local observation platforms - installation of other long-term in situ instruments - visual observations with towed photo/video systems

- working-class Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV)
 * targeted sampling
 * positioning and servicing of autonomous measuring instruments
 * performance of in situ experiments and geo-referenced videofootage

- Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV)


 * Technical specifications:
 * * Maximum diving depth: 3000 m
 * * Average speed: 3 - 4 knots
 * * Travelling distance: at first ~ 70 km (which can easily be upgraded by additional batteries to 160 km)
 * * Length: 318 cm (may be increased to 500 cm)
 * * Weight in air: 220 kg (may be increased to 800 kg)
 * * Payload weight: ~ 20 % of total weight
 * * not connected by a cable to a surface vessel


 * The scientific payload modules carry several instruments:
 * * Digital still or video camera
 * * CTD
 * * Methane sensor
 * * Transmissiometer
 * * Sidescan sonar
 * * Sediment profiling sonar
 * * sensing and sampling programs

Phase 2: Cable and first nodes (2007-2009)
- Installation of a junction box (free-falling device).
 * local energy supply for short- and medium-term observations
 * measurements
 * experiments

- Acquire experiences with this kind of technology, e.g. the handling of underwater plugs by an ROV. - Prepare for event-driven activation of, for example, sediment traps, water sampler, crawler surveys.

Phase 3: Cabled observatory (from 2010)
- Cable connection of HAUSGARTEN observatory to a land base.