Beyond the Polar Circle in the Arctic winter: the activity of the Alliance research vessel began

(To Marina Militare)
16/02/18

The ship, after leaving the port of Reykjavík, sailed north, heading towards the east coast of Greenland at the edge of perennial ice, where scientific activity will begin.

Over the next two weeks, the forty-seven crew members of the Navy ship Alliance, together with the 4 researchers of the NATO Center for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE) and the 18 researchers of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), coming from 8 different countries, will provide for the characterization of the area with continuous use of Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP), ultrasonic current profiler able to measure the speed and direction of the current along the water column. Furthermore, electrical conductivity (C), temperature (T) and depth (D) of the water will be measured by lowering CTD probes at depths ranging from 500 to 1500 meters. Two gliders will also be used for the measurements, operating autonomously and controlled from a base in Norway.

The races will be made along the south-east-northwest directions of the operations area, where the west limit is determined by the presence of the ice.

To these activities are added the launches of meteorological balloons, the analysis of the water samples taken and as soon as the meteorological conditions allow it, a meteorological buoy will also be launched. 
The next stop is scheduled in Isafjordur, Iceland, towards the end of February while the return to Italy at the end of the mission is scheduled for April 2018.

Ship Alliance left La Spezia on 17 January under the command of the frigate captain Daniele Cantù, to carry out surveys between the seas of Iceland and Greenland, beyond the Polar Circle, as part of the multidisciplinary Iceland-Greenland Seas Project, a project curated by the CMRE of NATO.
Responsible for the scientific mission is Dr. Robert Pickart, WHOI scientist, assisted by the head of the Navy mission, the captain of vessel Massimiliano Nannini.