ALTEX Arctic Cruise
October 7 - November 7, 2001
Tromso, Norway to the Arctic Circle
Logbook
MBARI researchers departed for the Arctic Circle in early October to conduct a month-long program at sea to test a newly-designed autonomous underwater vehicle.
The ALTEX AUV, its name derived from the Atlantic Layer Tracking Experiment, was designed to help scientists determine what happens to Atlantic water as it enters the Arctic Ocean. The ALTEX AUV is uniquely equipped with science sensors and an ice-buoy communication system that allow it to gather data beneath the ice sheet and beam it back to researchers via satellite.
The MBARI team is testing the sensors, ice-buoy operation, high-latitude navigation, and operational techniques during the mission that is taking place aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Ice Breaker Healy in waters north of the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard.
Additional partners in this remarkable expedition include SSI (Scientific Solutions Incorporated), Fuel Cell Technologies Limited, Pacific Marine Environmental Lab, Office of Naval Research, National Science Foundation, and the United States Coast Guard.
Select a day marked by an underline from the calendar to the left to read that day's expedition report.