The GoNorth 2024 Expedition Is a Wrap
The GoNorth 2024 expedition concluded last week after a three-week scientific voyage, from August 29 to September 19, exceeding expectations with a wealth of new data, thanks to favourable ice and weather conditions.
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One of the highlights of this 2024 expedition was the exploration of Independence Fjord, a rarely visited area at Greenland’s northern tip. Locked in by sea ice most of the year, only two water depth soundings were available to the ship’s captain before the journey. Now, thanks to the passage of the research vessel FF Kronprins Haakon, scientists have collected millions of depth data points, marking a significant leap in understanding this untouched region.
“It’s exhilarating to conduct science in such an unexplored area,” said expedition co-lead Bjørg Risebrobakken. “Everywhere we looked, there was something new to discover. We felt a deep responsibility to collect as much data as possible.”
Unlocking Greenland's Hidden History
During the expedition, FF Kronprins Haakon sailed through Independence Fjord, framed by glaciers and dotted with enormous icebergs. The team collected sediment cores at four locations, which will help uncover the history of the fjord and the Greenland ice sheet, shedding light on how the ice sheet has evolved and what it releases into the ocean as it melts due to global warming.
The sediments on the ocean floor serve as an archive of Earth’s history. As layers of sediment accumulate, they trap clues about the past – from the remnants of tiny organisms like forams to the chemical composition of their microscopic shells. By analyzing these layers, scientists can unravel the environmental conditions that existed thousands, even millions, of years ago.
In total, the team retrieved 122 short sediment cores and 32 longer gravity cores throughout the voyage using the expedition’s two multicorers. These samples will be studied for years, offering insights into the Arctic's environmental changes.
Educating the Next Generation of Arctic Experts
A key mission of GoNorth is to train future Arctic Ocean specialists. This year’s expedition included five PhD candidates studying geology, geomicrobiology, cybernetics and computer vision. One of the participants, Hannah Rose Babel from CDeepSea, was focused on sampling porewater—water trapped in sediments—from cores taken during the first week of the voyage. By analyzing the chemical makeup of this porewater, along with DNA analyses, she aims to understand which microorganisms inhabit the subseafloor.
Microbes in these deep-sea sediments play a crucial role in cycling chemical elements between the seabed and the ocean. Prior to this expedition, our understanding of life in the deep sediments of the central Arctic Ocean was based on just three small samples. Now, thanks to the GoNorth team, researchers will have a much clearer picture of the Arctic’s subseafloor microbiology.
The groundbreaking data collected during GoNorth 2024 will fuel scientific discovery for years to come, contributing to our understanding of the Arctic’s past and the future of this fragile ecosystem.
(Compiled from information submitted by Daniel Albert in his daily reports from the expedition)