ITP34 Deployment Operations

It was the second week of October, the daylight hours were decreasing, and while the air temperature was only about -5°C, the wind chill was much less during the deployment of ITP 34, the last of the JOIS 2009 cruise. The morning reconnaissance by helicopter revealed that the ice conditions in the area appeared to largely consist of a rubble field, obscured by a light coating of wind-blown snow, hampering floe selection. However, a relatively small level floe of 2.8 m thickness was identified on the second landing and selected for the buoy site.

Back on the ship, the instruments and deployment apparatus were staged, and the operations began in the afternoon. After three flights of passengers and a slingload of gear, augering of the icefloe immediately began, while another group of scientists surveyed the icefloe. As there was no shelter from the frigid wind, no time was wasted completing the operations. Within an hour, the profiler was lowered into the water, 40 minutes later the buoy was installed, and everyone was safely back onboard the warm ship another 40 minutes after that.

Brian Hogue clears snow from the 10.5” diameter ice hole being augered by Kris Newhall and Jim Dunn for the ITP deployment through the 2.8 m floe. (Rick Krishfield)

With the last slingload, ITP 34 surface package and profiler (in box) were loaded in the back seat of the helicopter and delivered to the floe by helicopter pilot Jim Myra. (Rick Krishfield)

Dunn steadied the profiler which is temporarily suspended from the tripod with nylon rope, while Newhall secured the cable guides and Rick Krishfield readied the inductive modem coupling.

When the anchor and ~15-20 m of wire were lowered through the icehole, it was time to attach the profiler to the wire. Dunn steadied the profiler which is temporarily suspended from the tripod with nylon rope, while Newhall secured the cable guides and Rick Krishfield readied the inductive modem coupling. (Gary Morgan)

With profiler attached, Dunn and Newhall unspool the remaining 750 of wire rope while bear watcher Ed Bridgeman looks on. (Rick Krishfield)

With the surface package attached, Newhall began the procedure for slipping the remaining wire rope and transferring the load to the bale at the bottom of the potted section of wire. (Rick Krishfield)

Hogue and Newhall level the snow around the base of the buoy to delay self heating of the buoy which could cause it to sink into the ice the following summer. (Rick Krishfield)

Now with the buoy completely installed, the wind lessened and sun emerged, and the deployment team posed for a photo with ITP 34. (Gary Morgan)