GoNorth – Fieldwork in the Arctic Ocean

In 2009 the United Nations' Shelf Commission supported the Norwegian claim for an extended continental shelf north of Svalbard, into the Nansen Basin.

Given that the scientific knowledge about the new-gained shelf areas is limited, it implied the necessity for new marine fieldwork and data-collection as this would provide expertise required by national authorities to reach sound and science-based decisions about the area in question.Hence the mission of the Norwegian GoNorth consortium was established. It continues to organize and launch a series of scientific expeditions deep into the Arctic Ocean to acquire new and essential knowledge about the oceanic areas, from the sea floor and subsea geology, through the water column, to the surface sea ice. The program is ambitious and strives for scientific excellence while at the same time being economically feasible and a key knowledge-provider. The program seeks, in other words, to bring Norway to the forefront as a responsible manager of the environment and the natural resources.

The first GoNorth expedition was carried out in 2022 with Norwegian research vessel Kronprins Haakon heading for the Nansen Basin and the northern part of the Knipovich Ridge. In 2023, during the summer-expedition with the RV Kronprins Haakon, GoNorth scientists did, in collaboration with scientists onboard the German icebreaker vessel Polarstern, target one of the slowest spreading areas of the global system of mid-ocean ridges: the Gakkel Ridge. An exciting summer-cruise is planned for 2024 in collaboration with the Swedish icebreaker ship Oden with destination Morris Jesup Rise and the Yermak-plateau. Here we will introduce the project history and goals, its recent successful field campaigns and discoveries made as well as present the outlook for future Polar Ocean explorations.