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A Report on Arctic Fieldwork, Svalbard, March 2015

20 May 2015

In March 2015 a team from the IRDR consisting of

svea ucl.ac.uk/silva/rdr/people/peter-sammonds" target="_self">Prof. Peter Sammonds, Dr. Ben Lishman, Sally Scourfield and Andrew Goldsmith travelled to Svalbard in order to undertake Arctic fieldwork. With much logistical support from the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), the team travelled by snow scooter to the mining town of Svea. From here it was possible to work on sea ice in the Van Mijenfjorden fjord.

Experiments were designed to investigate the physical properties of ice rubble. Primarily the effect of ice rubble on ice-ice friction was explored by employing a setup similar to a double-direct shear experimental setup.  Experiments to investigate the properties of and processes involved in ice rubble consolidation were also done.

Research in this area has important implications for reducing the risks associated with shipping and offshore operations in the Arctic, where rubble ice is generated by vessels and by ice deformation processes. This is particularly problematic around Arctic ports, where vessels that frequently transit the same channel generate accumulations of broken ice. Growing interest in Arctic petroleum exploration provides substantial motivation for research into these risks, and oil companies are often the source of funding opportunities.

We would like to thank the University Centre in Svalbard for their logistical support, and Total for their financial support, without which fieldwork would not have been possible.