Arctic paleoceanography - Quo Vadis?

• Main Author: Thiede, Jörn
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung 1996
• Subjects: Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Fridtjof; North Pole; Berichte zur Polarforschung; Fram Strait; Fridtjof Nansen; Polarforschung; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/38210/; https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/38210/1/Thiede_BerPolarforsch1996212.pdf

Introduction: The new Arctic Challenge Not counting the geographic exploration of the Arctic coast lines by fishermen, commercial traders and a few explorers it is only little more than 100 years ago that systematic investigations of the natural properties of the Arctic Ocean began. It was the German Carl Koldewey who sailed to Fram Strait in 1868 to study the nature of the ice margin, and he was followed by the famous Norwegian Fridtjof Nansen who drifted 1893-1 895 (Nansen, 1904) along with the central eastern Arctic Transpolar Drift - on his newly built polar research vessel FRAM - in his attempt to reach the North Pole (Fig. 1). Both men and their Crews were driven by the desire to understand the special oceanographic properties of the Arctic Oceans as well as the climatic variability and significance of the Arctic sea ice and its distribution. The motive of modern Arctic research is much the Same as more than 100 years ago, but Part of our tools and approaches have been improved over the past 100 years in such a way that we stand a much greater chance to succeed than these scientific pioneers. (.)