Ice-covered Hydrothermal Fields of the Arctic

July 30, 2014

Drs. Chris German and Jeff Seewald, of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, are participating in a multi-national expedition to study carbon dioxide hydrothermal venting on the Gakkel Ridge, in the Arctic Ocean. The expedition, led by a German team, sails on the research vessel and icebreaker Polarstern from July 5 to August 10 in the Fram Strait—along the East Greenland slope in the west and near Svalbard in the east.

Drs. German and Seewald will be looking at the life that lives on the underside of the ice using their new vehicle, Nereid-Under-Ice.

Through its Cooperative Institute for the North Atlantic Region, the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research provided funds for German and Seewald’s participation in this expedition, including transportation for Nereid-Under-Ice.