Helmer Hanssen HH180101
Cruise summary report
| Cruise Info. | |
| Ship name (ship code) | Helmer Hanssen (58HJ) |
| Cruise identifier | HH180101 |
| Cruise period | 2018-01-04 — 2018-01-18 |
| Status | Completed |
| Port of departure | Tromsø, Norway |
| Port of return | Tromsø, Norway |
| Purpose | Research |
| Objectives | The Polar Night Cruise HH180101 was joint effort by the UiT-based research programs Polar Night and Arctic SIZE and the NERC-funded Arctic PRIZE (Productivity in the Seasonal Ice Zone). For Polar Night this was the 7th cruise to be undertaken in January - to investigate fundamental processes occurring throughout the polar ecosystem in deep winter, characterised by exceptionally low light conditions. Arctic SIZE is a new research initiative within UiT to investigate the ecology of the seasonal ice zone and HH180101 provided an opportunity for mid-winter sampling. Arctic PRIZE is focused on the evolution of the Barents Sea shelf system from winter through spring to summer and this cruise was the first of three such cruises in 2018 (January, April and June).
The Arctic PRIZE project was focussed on occupying stations along the 30E line of longitude to complete a suite of sampling that spanned the oceanography, water column optics and chemistry, phytoplankton communities and their physiological state, zooplankton response to light cycles and benthic communities. This will set a winter baseline for further cruises in 2018. The ultimate aim of Arctic PRIZE is to understand the balance between ice cover, nutrient concentration and phytoplankton dynamics to understand how the productivity of seasonally covered shelves will alter in a future arctic state. A key objective for PRIZE was the deployment and utilisation of robotic platforms (AUV and gliders) to extend spatial and temporal data collection. A total of 21 stations were occupied (excluding shakedown station), ranging from a single CTD profile to full station with all project parameters measured. In addition there was deployment of 2 gliders (+1 emergency recovery), AUV operations (not resulting in data collection) and 3 Norwegian-led experiments on light pollution. In total there were 170 gear deployments. Most of the sampling was done in open water of the Barents Sea with a single station in the fjord location of Hornsund. Stations visited included those occupied during the 2017 JCR Changing Arctic Ocean cruise JR16006. |
| Chief scientist | Finlo R Cottier (Scottish Association for Marine Science), Jorgen Berge (University of Tromsø, Department of Arctic and Marine Biology) |
| Ocean/sea areas | |
| General | Barents Sea Arctic Ocean |
| Specific | Svalbard |
| Track charts |  (0.65 MB) |
| Measurements | |
| Physical oceanography | |
| CTD stations | Quantity: number of profiles = 19 Description: Full depth CTD profiles for temp/salinity/DO/Chla/Turbidity |
| Transparency (eg transmissometer) | Quantity: number of profiles = 9 Description: Profiles to ~40m with Inherent Optical Properties rig |
| Optics (eg underwater light levels) | Quantity: number of profiles = 9 Description: Profiles to ~40m with Inherent Optical Properties rig |
| Other physical oceanographic measurements | Quantity: number of deployments = 2 Description: 2 Slocum Gliders (From NERC/MARS) rated to 200m deployed for 3 month mission. 1 recovered 12 hours later due to leaking. |
| Chemical oceanography | |
| Oxygen | Quantity: number of profiles = 10 Description: 2 samples taken from each profile (surface + deep) |
| Phosphate | Quantity: number of profiles = 13 Description: Vertical profile at ~10 discrete depths |
| Total - P | Quantity: number of profiles = 13 Description: Vertical profile at ~10 discrete depths |
| Nitrate | Quantity: number of profiles = 13 Description: Vertical profile at ~10 discrete depths |
| Nitrite | Quantity: number of profiles = 13 Description: Vertical profile at ~10 discrete depths |
| Total - N | Quantity: number of profiles = 13 Description: Vertical profile at ~10 discrete depths |
| Ammonia | Quantity: number of profiles = 13 Description: Vertical profile at ~10 discrete depths |
| Silicate | Quantity: number of profiles = 13 Description: Vertical profile at ~10 discrete depths |
| Isotopes | Quantity: number of profiles = 12 Description: Vertical profile at ~10 discrete depths for 18O and 15N |
| Contamination | |
| Suspended matter | Quantity: number of stations = 7 Description: SPM measured in surface only |
| Biology and fisheries | |
| Primary productivity | Quantity: number of stations = 5 Description: Water samples taken at surface for C14 uptake incubations |
| Phytoplankton pigs (eg chlorophyll, fluorescence) | Quantity: number of stations = 13 Description: Water samples taken at the surface |
| Particulate organic matter (inc POC, PON) | Quantity: number of stations = 8 Description: Water samples taken at the surface |
| Dissolved organic matter (inc DOC) | Quantity: number of stations = 15 Description: Water samples taken at surface an ~5 other depths |
| Phytoplankton | Quantity: number of stations = 6 Description: Water samples taken at the surface for flow-cytometry analysis |
| Zooplankton | Quantity: number of stations = 6 Description: Sampling for zooplankton using various WP2/WP3/MIK/MPS/Tucker |
| Zoobenthos | Quantity: number of cores = 18 Description: Box coring at 5 discrete stations totalling 18 cores. |
| Meteorology | |
| Incident radiation | Quantity: activity duration in days = 12 Description: Continuous radiation measurements |
