Deployment: ARK-XXVI-3

The Polarstern expedition ARK-XXVI/3 "TransArc" (Trans-Arctic survey of the Arctic Ocean in transition) served the overarching goal to capture the physical, biological and chemical state of the Arctic Ocean in a changing climate. During TransArc, investigators sampled the ocean and ice properties and their ecosystems along gradients from the Eurasian shelf edge to the Canadian Basin.

Polarstern left Tromso on August 5, 2011, with 54 scientists from 10 institutes of 7 countries and 43 crew members on board. A number of ice-tethered buoys and bottom-mounted moorings were deployed and recovered respectively. Ice thickness and optical measurements were made at stations, and an ROV was deployed for under ice observations. CTD casts, plankton net casts and sediment sampling were also conducted. The station work finished on September 26. After passing the ice-free Northern Sea Route to the western Barents Sea and the stormy Norwegian and North Seas, Polarstern returned to Bremerhaven on 6 October 2011.