Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) Survey in Wolstenholme Fjord, Greenland, April 2017

The principal investigators of this project propose to design and develop an integrated underwater acoustic sensor network for ice-covered

seas. The sensor and communication network will support 1) long-term, intelligent distributed Arctic observing systems, 2) assimilation of remote-sensing and in-situ under-ice measurements, and 3) regional and global climate modeling with real-time measurements. Such a network holds the promise to revolutionize under-ice ocean sampling in polar regions. Ocean water properties in Wolstenholme Fjord adjacent to Thule Air Base (TAB) in Greenland were profiled at 68 discrete stations in April 2017. The fjord was covered by land-fast sea ice and thus provided a stable platform from which to test, deploy, and recover a range of oceanographic and acoustic sensor systems via snowmobiles during day-light hours in April when air temperatures are generally above -25 °C.

We collected about 4-7 stations per section at ~10 sections that crossed bathymetric features such as entrance channels, basins, and sills. Sections with 1-2 km station spacing were also placed across Moltke, Knud Rasmussen, and Chamberlin Glaciers.