ITP26 Deployment Operations

ITP 26 was the final ITP deployment on the Federov 2008 expedition.   Because the proposed deployment site was away from the location of the ship and its intended cruise track, all of the ITP deployment gear was loaded into the helicopter with the intent of conducting a survey and the deployment on the same trip (unlike the previous 3 deployments on the cruise).  The helicopter pilots and ice surveying team were anxious and excited to find a suitable flow for our operations, but also concerned because they would need to land and shut down the helicopter while the ITP deployment team worked and Russian scientists performed ice measurements in strategic locations to determine the ice flow's overall dimensions and characteristics.

Because of the ice conditions in the area, a >2 meter thick floe with a slight hummock was selected.  The helicopter landed, shut down and after approximately 2.5 hours the deployment and inductive modem test were completed -- slightly faster than previous days, due to the help from the pilots who were eager to lend a hand and learn what the operation was about.  Once completed, it was refreshing to be able to load the helicopter and leave the deployment site immediately to return to the ship, rather than have to wait for transportation as previously.