Once the hot water hole is completed through the Ross Ice Shelf, we will have about 12 hours to do science operations in the ocean gap between the ice and the seafloor before the drilling team begins deploying the riser pipe.
While we are working in between the ice and the ocean floor, we will be using a CTD. This stands for conductivity, temperature, and depth and it refers to a set of instruments that can measure these properties in the ocean. A CTD device’s primary function is to detect how the conductivity and temperature of the water column changes relative to depth. Conductivity is a measure of how well a solution conducts electricity and it is directly related to salinity. By measuring the conductivity of seawater, the salinity can be derived from the temperature and pressure of the same water. The depth is then derived from the pressure measurement by calculating the density of water from the temperature and the salinity.
A CTD is deployed through the water column (often from an oceanographic research vessel), but we are dropping it through our bore hole using a winch.
In addition to the CTD instruments, NIWA oceanographer Ollie Twigge has attached a camera and lights to the frame that will be deployed into the ocean through the ice hole in order to image the base of the ice and the seafloor.
We hope to be able to show you what we find in this ocean space some time soon.
KIS-3 Team photo by Anthony Powell (Antarctica New Zealand)
Here's the entire KIS3 Team outside the drilling tent.
Back row: Martin "Paddy" Loughney, Rob Teasdale (Antarctica NZ), John Hillock (Antarctica NZ), Jason Coenen, Arne Ulfers, Richard Levy, Tim McPhee, Sean Heaphy, Darcy Mandeno
Middle row: Hedley Berge, Jenn Danis (Antarctica NZ), Tina van de Flierdt, Veronika Meduna, Gavin Dunbar, Jane Chewings, James McPhail, Tony "TK" Kingan
Front row: Ollie Chappell, Denise Kulhanek, Jae Il Lee, Jim Marschalek, Ollie Twigge, Rayanna Francis (Antarctica NZ), Linda Balfoort, Alex Michaud, Adam Rutten
