ITP 24 Deployment Operations

The final ocean buoy deployment during the ARKXXIII/3 expedition on the Polarsternwas near the Nansen-Gakkel Ridge in early October. Weather conditions were good for most of the deployment, and a suitable deployment site was easily located in the center of an ice floe, about 500 m from the open edge with a small ridge about 15-20 m away on the other side. The helicopter was able to get the gear out and the ship docked onto the floe, and deployments of the ITP 24 and PAWS (21.9 m apart) went well. The ice was about 1.5 m thick around the ITP, becoming gradually thicker toward the ridges. Unfortunately, thick fog appeared near the end of the deployment and the helicopter could not fly, so that some of the equipment had to be laboriously transported back to the ship by Nansen sledge.

More information on the buoy deployments and expedition is provided in the ARK-XXIII/3 cruise report.

Photos by Dirk Kalmbach, Takashi Kikuchi, Sebastian Mechler, Alexander Nauels, and Benjamin Rabe.

ITP 25 was deployed on a 1.5 m floe about 20 m from the ridge shown in rear. All of the gear was trans4orted to the deployment site by helicopter.

Just prior to lowering ITP 24 profiler though augured hole in the ice, the buoy deployment team poses for a photo.

Ben Rabe confirms inductive modem communications between the deployed ITP profiler and surface package upon deployment.

the deployment team (with helpers) had to resort to hauling the deployment apparatus back to the ship using the traditional Nansen sled technique

A dense fog had developed by the end of the deployment so that the helicopter could not fly, and the deployment team (with helpers) had to resort to hauling the deployment apparatus back to the ship using the traditional Nansen sled technique.

Harnessed to the Nansen sled for the hauling operation, Ben Rabe, Alexander Nauels and Takashi Kikuchi wish the selected site was closer to the ship.