http://www.crrel.usace.army.mil/library ... R96_23.pdf
The 1994 Arctic Ocean Section. The First Major Scientific Crossing of the Arctic Ocean
— Historic Firsts —
• First U.S. and Canadian surface ships to reach the North Pole
• First surface ship crossing of the Arctic Ocean via the North Pole
• First circumnavigation of North America and Greenland by surface ships
• Northernmost rendezvous of three surface ships from the largest Arctic nations—Russia,
the U.S. and Canada—at 89°41′N, 011°24′E on August 23, 1994
— Significant Scientific Findings —
• Uncharted seamount discovered near 85°50′N, 166°00′E
• Atlantic layer of the Arctic Ocean found to be 0.5–1°C warmer than prior to 1993
• Large eddy of cold fresh shelf water found centered at 1000 m on the periphery of the
Makarov Basin
• Sediment observed on the ice from the Chukchi Sea to the North Pole
• Biological productivity estimated to be ten times greater than previous estimates
• Active microbial community found, indicating that bacteria and protists are significant consumers of plant production
• Mesozooplankton biomass found to increase with latitude
• Benthic macrofauna found to be abundant, with populations higher in the Amerasia Basin
than in the Eurasian Basin
• Furthest north polar bear on record captured and tagged (84°15′N)
• Demonstrated the presence of polar bears and ringed seals across the Arctic Basin
• Sources of ice-rafted detritus in seafloor cores traced, suggesting that ocean–ice circulation
in the western Canada Basin was toward Fram Strait during glacial intervals, contrary to the
present Beaufort Gyre
• Cloud optical properties linked to marine biogenic sulfur emissions
• Near-surface fresh water found to be derived from river runoff except in the Nansen Basin
where it comes from melting ice
• Arctic Ocean determined to be a source to the atmosphere and Atlantic Ocean of some
organic contaminants, rather than a sink
• Predominant sources of radionuclide contaminants in the ocean found to be from atmospheric weapons testing and European reprocessing plants
Sponsored by
United States:
National Science Foundation
Office of Naval Research
U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Coast Guard
Defense Nuclear Agency
Canada:
Department of Fisheries and Oceans
Department of Indian and Northern Affairs
Department of the Environment
Canadian Coast Guard
AOS-94 Chief Scientist: Knut Aagaard
U.S. Chief Scientist: Arthur Grantz
Canadian Chief Scientist: Eddy Carmack
Commanding Officer, CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent: Captain Philip O. Grandy
Commanding Officer, USCGC Polar Sea: Captain Lawson W. Brigham
Published by
U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory
72 Lyme Road
Hanover, NH 03755
Special Report 96-23