US ice drift station FRAM-IV : report on the Norwegian field program

Abstract

The US ice drift station FRAM-IV was deployed in the Arctic Ocean at 83° 57'N, 21 °E on 15 March 1982 a bo ut 200 n.m. north of Svalbard and manned by twenty US and three Norwegian scientists. During 57 days of operation, the camp drifted about 165 n.m. southwestwards from the Eurasian Basin onto the northern flank of the Yermak Plateau. The US scientific program focused on ocean acoustics, oceanography and meteorology, while the main objective of the Norwegian program was to obtain a geophysical traverse from the deep ocean to the continental margin north of Svalbard. Generally good weather and ice conditions permitted all major scientific objectives to be completed successfully. The main achievements of the Norwegian program were acquisition of 200 km of seismic multi-channel (20) reflection data and joint with US institutions seven refraction profiles of 20-80 km length. A total of 87 regional depth and gravity measurements were made to map the northeastern extension of the Yermak Plateau.