In SPIN
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Science Spin January 2009
Europe breaks the ice in polar research
By Sean Duke
The study of the polar regions, both Arctic and Antarctic, is increasingly important to understand what is happening to global climate. However, it is technically very difficult and costly to organise scientific missions to these areas. Typically, these missions must take place in summer only, and involve up to three vessels, one to conduct research and another two to break the ice. Europe, however, has recently laid down a marker, with its announced intention to build a world-class polar research vessel, to be called Aurora Borealis, which will be a drill ship, an icebreaker and a research vessel all rolled into one.
Europe has announced its intention to build a world-class icebreaker called the Aurora Borealis - pictured in model form here - that will be a drill ship, an icebreaker and a research vessel all in one
Scientists believe that it is very important and urgent to conduct more comprehensive scientific work in the Arctic Ocean. This was shown, for example, by the fact that in just one year, between 2006 and 2007, the sea ice cover in the Arctic Ocean was reduced by 30 per cent. This indicates that something serious is happening requiring serious study.
Up to now, research vessels, due to cost and technical issues, have had a limited time window for study in the Arctic. Ice is a problem, and that means that missions must be planned for summer time, when ice cover is reduced. A research vessel must travel with icebreakers, as for it to take marine cores at sites of interest, these must be ice free. To take these cores, sophisticated drilling equipment must travel onboard with the research vessel, but there can be limitations on the depth of water that drilling can take place in.
As well as questions about climate, and the worrying opening of previously ice-bound and closed Arctic seaways, scientists have questions about the nature of the marine life existing in the Arctic, the currents of water that pass under the ice, and the permafrost which is situated on land, and contains methane encased in dead organic material. As regards this last question, if permafrost melts, there is concern that the subsequent mass release of methane - a greenhouse gas - could seriously impact on the Earth's climate.
There are many other questions that scientists have, which could be solved by conducting more detailed study of the Arctic and Antarctic Ocean floor - work that could best be done by an remotely operated vehicle, or ROV. For example, scientists do not know much about the creatures that are living under the polar ice. How do these organisms survive in such extreme environments? To answer such a question it would be necessary to conduct the research when the environment is at its most extreme - during winter. Furthermore, geologists and the energy industry would be very interested to know whether there are gas hydrates, indicating the presence of oil and gas, beneath the poles.
Difficult
The difficulties that face scientists when organising a mission to study polar oceans can be seen, for example, with the recent Arctic Coring Expedition (Acex). It was necessary to have three ships involved in this campaign - a minimum requirement for an Arctic mission at the moment. The Swedish registered ship, the Vidar Viking, served as the coring vessel, and there were two icebreakers, the Swedish icebreaker Oden, and the main icebreaker clearing the path, the Russian nuclear icebreaker, Sovetskiy Soyuz.
The goal of Acex was to collect the first complete climate history from marine cores taken beneath the Arctic Ocean. This work took place in 2006, and sediments were taken at a very remote location called the Lomonosov Ridge, an underwater mountain chain at 880 North, or about 250 km from the North Pole. This was the first time such a scientific operation was attempted by scientists in such a hostile environment. It required the two icebreakers to constantly circle the Vidar Viking to allow it remain in position for drilling.
Advance
The great advance proposed for the Aurora Borealis is that the two icebreakers that accompanied the Vidar Viking on Acex could be dispensed with at it breaks its own ice.Aurora will also be an improvement for several other reasons. It will provide a capability to stay out at sea for a longer time, up to three months, conducting research. Also, unlike the present, it will be capable of doing research even in the harsh Arctic winter months.
Another issue - an economic one primarily - concerns the use of sophisticated equipment, such as ROVs, which could explore under the ice. There has been a reluctance to deploy ROVs on Arctic missions up to now as there was a risk that a vessel, which could cost in the region of €6 million, would be cut off and lost by ice. Aurora greatly reduces this risk.
In the future, it is very likely that scientists will want to deploy permanent underwater observatories at the bottom of the Arctic and Antarctic ocean floors. The equipment that will make up such observatories will be expensive, but could be safely deployed from the Aurora. These observatories could act as continuous monitoring stations, checking the thickness of sea ice, and the extent of cover. The Aurora could help make this a reality.
Furthermore, the Aurora could act as a means of ground-truthing data that has been gathered from space by satellites. Earth observation satellites today can monitor the polar regions, but, currently, there is no way of verifying the data they collect on Earth. A ship like Aurora could do this better than any other, by virtue of its ability to spend a long time at sea in the poles, checking and confirming satellite data, and gathering new data.
Vessel
Aurora will have a drill rig onboard that is completely enclosed from the outside. This means that drillers will be able to work inside, and shielded from the extreme cold - a benefit also for the machinery. The drill rig will be capable of drilling in waters of up to 5,000 metres depth, about the maximum water depths seen in the Arctic and Antarctic.
The ship will be an icebreaker, and a very powerful one, with 85 megawatts of diesel propulsion power. That's more even that the very powerful Russian nuclear icebreakers. For the benefit of those onboard there is to be an atrium, or a glass roof, which will make use of any daylight present in the sometimes dark Arctic Ocean. There will be modern laboratories onboard, with plenty of space to store materials in containers while at sea.
The vessel is to be 199 metres in length, 49 metres wide, and capable of 50 knots. It will house a total of 120 people, which means 70 scientists in non-drilling mode and 50 scientists when the ship is in drilling mode. There is to be enough fuel for missions of up to 90 days.
The greatest engineering challenge to those designing Aurora was the issue of dynamic positioning. This means designing a ship that is capable of staying in the same position, breaking the ice, and drilling. For the first time ever a ship has been designed that is capable of doing all of this independently, and this has been proved in 'ice tank' tests.
The ship will be subject to extremes of weather, so it is to have a double 'hide' and an extremely stable open water performance. The requirement to be stable in the open sea is especially important should the Aurora be involved in Antarctic missions. This is because the vessel will, in that situation, be required to cross the so-called 'Roaring Forties' - the name that sailors give to the very strong winds at latitudes between 400S and 500S. These prevailing westerly winds are strong because there is little landmass to slow them down.
Deployment
Companies in Germany, Finland, USA and Norway have been involved up to now in the technical design for Aurora. Once the final costings are done in early 2009, then the project will be put out to tender for construction companies to bid on. The plan then is that construction will start some time in 2010 or 2011, with the first scientific mission to take place in 2013 or 2014. This will trigger the start of a new dawn in polar studies.
