US Coast Guard Icebreaker Broke Down, So Norway Retrieved Buoy W. Vital Science Data Off Alaska
The moorings were set out in the Beaufort Sea last year with a plan to be recovered by the United States’ Coast Guard icebreaker “USCGC Healy” this fall. The icebreaker, though, had to cancel the voyage just after leaving port in Alaska in August due to a fire in one of the engines. With the U.S. Coast Guard not having other capable ice-classed ships available, the Norwegians were asked to assist.
“KV Svalbard”, the country’s largest Coast Guard ship with icebreaking capabilities, started the voyage across the Arctic in mid-October in what is the first ever sailing by the Norwegians to the waters north of Alaska. “The first of the three moorings with the instruments was lifted onboard in an operation that lasted for 10 hours under demanding conditions for the crew,” s Navy spokesperson Michel Hayes says to The Barents Observer.
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The data in the instruments recovered is part of a trans-Arctic science project aimed at measuring the mean ocean temperature across the whole Arctic Basin using acoustic thermometry. Last summer, three moorings were placed north of Alaska, and three others north of Svalbard. Recovering all are vital for the total understanding.
The scientists are happy that the data are not lost. Interviewed by Norway’s TV2, head of the research team Hanne Sagen says this rescue mission is important for securing important information about ocean environment for future climate science. “If the moorings in the Beaufort Sea could not be recovered, we would just have the data from our instruments north of Svalbard. This mission is therefore saving the full research project,” Sagen says from onboard the ship.
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https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/arctic/2020/11/important-climate-data-rescued-norwegian-coast-guard-north-alaska