Blog

ArcticABC buoy drift 2019-2020 stranded on Iceland​

In July 2019, a set of ArcticABC ice tethered observatories (ITOs) got deployed from R/V Kronprins Haakon at about 84°N. The ITOs consisted of an Acoustic Zooplankton Fish Profiler (AZFP), a Sea-Ice Mass Balance Array (SIMBA), an automated weather station (AWS) and the newly designed high-sensitivity Light & Temperature chain (LT-ITO). During the drift, the SIMBA, AWS and LT-ITO were unfortunately lost at some point. Their data is safe though, as it was transmitted by Iridium. The AZFP data was successfully downloaded by a data harvesting plane with the help of a broadband radio, only a short time before the AZFP-ITO was washed ashore on the northern coast of Iceland. The surface buoy has been recovered by Icelandic SAR, but the AZFP is unfortunately lost. We have the position of an object in the water closed to where the unit beached itself, which we will check out once the Corona restrictions are eased.

The first completed ArcticABC ITO drift in a nutshell. Click to download the high-res PDF.