Cruise BGR10 ARK-XXV/3 2010

Begin of project: July 31, 2010

End of project: October 9, 2010

Status of project: January 13, 2011

Cruise track of Polarstern during ARK-XXV/3 from Reykjavik to the survey area North Baffin Bay and back to Bremerhaven Source: BGR

The multidisciplinary marine geoscientific expedition ARK-XXV/3 was focused on the Greenland part of northern Baffin Bay and was aimed to acquire new geoscientific data to be used for modelling the evolution of the Greenland continental margin and the hydrocarbons in the area. The cruise was performed under the lead of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources Hannover in cooperation with the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven.

Using 70 days of ship time onboard the research icebreaker R/V Polarstern, a comprehensive data set was acquired along profiles extending from the deep oceanic basin in the central part of North Baffin Bay onto the Greenland continental margin in an area which was bordered by the Kane Basin in the North and Disko Island in the South. By means of multi-channel seismic, wide angle seismic, gravimetric and magnetic methods, the structural inventory of the crust in the NW Baffin Bay was investigated. Additionally, heat flow data and sediment cores were collected along lines crossing the Greenland continental margin. The cores were extracted for geochemical and geomicrobiological analysis to be used for basin modelling and studying the hydrocarbon genesis, including their degradation by microorganisms under polar conditions. Geological sampling in the coastal area was done between Melville Bay and Washington Land. The collected rock material will be used to derive constraints on the erosion history of the coastal area. Aeromagnetic data were acquired covering a substantial part of the marine survey area to investigate magnetic signatures of the oceanic crust and the continental margin.

Partner:

The Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven