Icebreaker Oden has become the first vessel to reach the remote and uncharted Victoria fjord in northern Greenland.
At the beginning of August, Swedish icebreaker Oden left the port of Thule in northwest Greenland with about 40 researchers from Sweden, the USA, Denmark, Australia, and Switzerland. The primary geographical focus region of the expedition named GEOEO North of Greenland 2024 expedition (GEOEO24) is the inaccessible Victoria Fjord.
The expedition is coordinated by the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat, and the two scientific leaders of the expedition are from Stockholm University. They are Martin Jakobsson, professor of marine geology and geophysics, and Nina Kirchner, professor of glaciology. Of the eleven research groups on board, seven are led by Stockholm University.
Melting Glaciers Affect Sea Level
The focus of the expedition is on investigating how much and how fast the ice sheet in North Greenland can contribute to the global sea-level rise. Knowledge is currently unsatisfactory about what happens when glaciers meet the sea and become seawater through melting. It is important to know in more detail how these processes are going and at what speed, mainly in order to be able to develop scenarios for how much the global sea level will rise in a warmer climate. This knowledge is also important for climate models.
At sea outside northern Greenland. (Image credit: Martin Jakobsson)
Furthest Point Modern Icebreaker Expeditions Can Reach
On August 10, icebreaker Oden reached the northern part of Nares Strait. This marks the point where the heavy sea ice of the Lincoln Sea begins and is typically the furthest that modern icebreaker expeditions can reach. The area of the Lincoln Sea and the adjacent central Arctic Ocean is often referred to as “the Last Ice Area”, as this is predicted to be the final region to maintain year-round pack ice if the current trend of diminishing sea ice continues.
Challenging Battle Against Multi-Year Sea Ice
“It was clear that continuing northward would be difficult, so the decision was made to stay in the area of Newman Bugt to conduct research and observe how the conditions evolve in the Lincoln Sea. After some very successful days of data collection, however, we decided on the evening of August 12 to attempt a push further north. It turned into a challenging battle against multiyear sea ice and pressure ridges. Our average speed was around 2 knots, and at times, we made no progress at all. Helicopter ice reconnaissance flights became essential during this period,” writes Martin Jakobsson and Nina Kirchner in a mail from icebreaker Oden.
The floating platform used to take sediment cores from the bottoms of the lakes. (Image credit: Flore Wijnands)
“The toughest stretch was about 35 nautical miles north of Newman Bugt, but the ice became slightly more navigable as we approached Victoria Fjord. Finally, on August 15 in the evening, the expedition reached the most northerly point of the Ryder 2019 expedition, when Oden was the first vessel to enter the Sherard Osborn Fjord where Ryder Glacier drains.”
Luck on Their Side
“From here, we had to begin mapping our way forward as the seafloor is unknown, and we cannot risk that Oden runs aground. The very entrance of Victoria Fjord, where Stephenson’s Island is situated, was reached after about two days of mapping, and this is where we are now. We had estimated only a 20 percent chance of reaching the Victoria Fjord, so luck was on our side this time,” writes Martin Jakobsson and Nina Kirchner.
Collecting Samples of Bones and Teeth
One of the research groups onboard Oden is led by palaeogeneticist Love Dalén at Stockholm University. The research group will collect samples on land and look for bones and teeth from animals. They will also take bottom samples in lakes and the sea. The aim is to be able to see how historical climate change affected the ecosystems and the distribution of flora and fauna in Greenland.
