ITP60 Deployment Operations

The last ITP deployed during the 2012 TransArc cruise on the R/V Polarstern was ITP 60 with biosuite sensors.  It was important to expand the ice hole as much as possible while augering to fit the biosuite profiler, as the sensors on endcap occupy the full 10.5” diameter. The ice floe was large, but the best ice was located near the ship, not too far from the edge where the floe thickness was about 1.5+-0.3 m. There were a few hidden meltponds in the vicinity (discovered by skidoo), but the ITP site was bit higher and surrounded by various sized ridges.