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The Laptev Sea, the largest ice factory of the Arctic Ocean, was the destination of the expedition TRANSDRIFT V (ARK XIV/1b), which took place from July 28 to August 26, 1998 (Tiksi–Tromsø). 56 German and Russian scientists carried out an extensive multidisciplinary working program aboard the German research vessel Polarstern.

The eastern Laptev Sea and the area northeast of the Taymyr Peninsula were the main target areas for the expedition. The scientific goal of TRANSDRIFT V was the investigation of the Arctic environment and its significance for the global climate. The remarkably shallow shelf region of the Laptev Sea, which is characterized by high amounts of river runoff, is a key region for gaining an understanding of the workings of global change.

The main scientific objectives of the expedition can be summarized as follows:

• seasonal and annual variability of biogeochemical and hydrological cycles in the Laptev Sea
• studies of the distribution of offshore permafrost
• ecology and carbon-flux studies in the Laptev Sea
• reconstruction of short term environmental changes during the past 100 years
• sea-level history and sediment dynamics of the Laptev Sea shelf since the last glacial

The weekly reports of TRANSDRIFT V can be found here.

 

The participants of the expedition:

Chief scientists

• Igor Dmitrenko, Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute
• Heidemarie Kassens, GEOMAR Research Center for Marine Geosciences

Meteorology

• Boris Ivanov, Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute

Oceanography

• Andrey Anoshkin, Krylov Shipbuilding Research Institute
• Vladimir Churun, Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute
• Igor Dmitrenko, Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute
• Pavel Golovin, Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute
• Sergey Kirillov, Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute
• Leonid Timokhov, Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute
• Denis Volkov, Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute

Geochemistry

• Svetlana Berezovskaya, Russian State Hydrometeorological University
• Andrey Chernykh, All-Russia Research Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources of the World Ocean (VNIIOkeangeologia)
• Yuri Chtcherbakov, Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute
• Jens Hoelemann, GEOMAR Research Center for Marine Geosciences
• Miroslav Nitishinsky, Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute
• Sergey Pivovarov, Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute
• Hartwig Schroeder, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
• Christopher Strobl, Heidelberg University
• Dirk Wagner, Hamburg University

Biology

• Ekaterina Abramova, Lena Delta Reserve
• Alexandr Gukov, Lena Delta Reserve
• Viktor Petryashev, Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences
• Vladimir Pozdnyakov, International Biological Station "Lena-Nordenskiold"
• Annette Scheltz, Institute for Polar Ecology
• Michael Schmid, Institute for Polar Ecology
• Kirsten Tuschling, Institute for Polar Ecology

Permafrost

• Sven-Ole Bude, GEOMAR Research Center for Marine Geosciences
• Viktor Butsenko, All-Russia Research Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources of the World Ocean (VNIIOkeangeologia)
• Sergey Drachev, P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences
• Arndt Duerr, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
• Anette Gierlichs, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
• Evgeny Gusev, All-Russia Research Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources of the World Ocean (VNIIOkeangeologia)
• Wilfried Jokat, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
• Norbert Kaul, Bremen University
• Alexandr Kholodov, Moscow State University
• Norbert Lensch, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
• Hartmut Martens, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
• Frank Niessen, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
• Ebba Schmidt, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
• Wolfgang Schneider, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
• Kerstin Thalmann, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
• Nikolas Tsoukalas, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
• Thomas von Larcher, Bremen University
• Estella Weigelt, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research

Paleoceanography

• Henning Bauch, GEOMAR Research Center for Marine Geosciences
• Bernd Binder, Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg
• Claudia Didié, GEOMAR Research Center for Marine Geosciences
• Bernhard Fuerst, Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg
• Jan Helmke, GEOMAR Research Center for Marine Geosciences
• Heidemarie Kassens, GEOMAR Research Center for Marine Geosciences
• Thomas Mueller-Lupp, GEOMAR Research Center for Marine Geosciences
• Evgeny Musatov, All-Russia Research Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources of the World Ocean (VNIIOkeangeologia)
• Sergej Neufeld, GEOMAR Technology GmbH
• Ekaterina Taldenkova, Moscow State University

Observer

• Alexandr Chichaev
• Alexandr Olshevsky
• Andrey Poznyak

Interpreter

• Bettina Rohr, GEOMAR Research Center for Marine Geosciences