RRS James Clark Ross JR20060728 (JR142)
Cruise summary report
| Cruise Info. | |
| Ship name (ship code) | RRS James Clark Ross (74JC) |
| Cruise identifier | JR20060728 (JR142) |
| Cruise period | 2006-07-28 — 2006-08-27 |
| Status | Completed |
| Port of departure | Longyearbyen, Svalbard and Jan Mayen |
| Port of return | Immingham, United Kingdom |
| Objectives | The aims of JR-142 were to collect marine geophysical and geological datasets around the Svalbard archipelago and its continental margin in order to investigate several aspects of the dimensions and dynamics of the ice sheet that covered Svalbard and adjacent seas during the last glacial period, about 20,000 years ago. In particular, the glacier-derived sediments that were eroded, transported and delivered to the ice-sheet margin during this period hold a key to reconstructing the former flow pattern and dimensions of the ice sheet. Debris delivered by fast-flowing ice, occupying cross-shelf troughs and fjords, was important in supplying most full-glacial and deglacial sedimentation to the upper slope. A major slide, Hinlopen Slide, is present north of one such trough, Hinlopen Trough. The links between ice-sheet dynamics, sediment flux and slope instability on this furthest north part of the continental margin of north-west Europe were an important scientific focus for the cruise. The work, funded by the UK NERC, is part of a broader scientific programme under the ESF project Euromargins.
The study area for JR142 was the continental shelf and slope north and north-west of Svalbard, and the north-western Barents Sea to the north-east and east of the archipelago. We used a combination of marine geophysical and geological methods, reported below, to investigate the sea floor and shallow sub-surface stratigraphy north and east of Svalbard. The main datasets acquired on cruise JR-142 during 25 science days, from 28 July to 21 August 2006, were: TOBI 30 kHz side-scan sonar imagery, swath bathymetry and TOPAS data from an extensive area of the huge Hinlopen Slide, on the continental slope north of Svalbard. Swath and TOPAS data, and cores, from Hinlopen Trough, from Nordporten to the scar marking the uppermost part of Hinlopen Slide. Swath and TOPAS data from the Yermak Plateau and adjacent slope, north-west of Svalbard, including imagery of very deep iceberg scour marks and current-produced channels. Swath and TOPAS data, and cores, from the Kvitøya Trough, from its trough mouth and the adjacent upper slope to Erik Eriksen Strait east of Nordaustlandet. Swath and TOPAS data from Olga Strait, between Edgeøya and Kong Karls Land. Swath and TOPAS data, and cores, from Hartogbukta, adjacent to the modern 8,000 km2 ice cap of Austfonna on Nordaustalndet. Opportunity-based geophysical data from the western Norwegian-Svalbard margin, Barents Sea and Bear Island Trough during passage to and from UK to Svalbard |
| Chief scientist | Julian A Dowdeswell (University of Cambridge, Scott Polar Research Institute) |
| Project | North and East Svalbard Margin: Past Ice-Sheet and Slide Activity |
| Coordinating body | Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge |
| Cruise report |  (2.19 MB) |
| Ocean/sea areas | |
| General | Arctic Ocean |
| Specific | Arctic Ocean |
| Track charts | (0.20 MB) |
| Measurements | |
| Physical oceanography | |
| Bathythermograph | Quantity: number of profiles = 17 Description: Expendable Bathythermograph (XBT) |
| Subsurface temperature and salinity measurements | Quantity: number of deployments = 2 Description: TOBI sidescan sonar with attached magnetometer and CTD |
| Geology and geophysics | |
| Core - rock | Quantity: number of cores = 23 Description: Gravity Corer |
| Core - soft bottom | Quantity: number of cores = 23 Description: Gravity Corer |
| Multi-beam echosounding | Quantity: activity duration in days = 30 Description: Kongsberg-Simrad EM120 multibeam swath bathymetry system |
| Long/short range side scan sonar | Quantity: number of deployments = 2 Description: TOBI sidescan sonar with attached magnetometer and CTD |
| Magnetic measurements | Quantity: number of deployments = 2 Description: TOBI sidescan sonar with attached magnetometer and CTD |
