CAGE13-6 Cruise Report: Marine Geological Cruise to Storfjordrenna and Bjørnøyrenna

Abstract

The cruise was part of the GlaciBar (Glaciations in the Barents Sea Area) project (PetroMaks project funded by The Norwegian Research Council, Statoil, Det Norske and BG Norway) and the recently funded Center of Excellence for Gas Hydrate Environments and Climate (CAGE) (funded by The Norwegian Research Council)

The objectives of this cruise were:

• Examine and map marine features connected to the last deglaciation of the Svalbard/Barents Sea Ice Sheet (SBIS) in the northwestern part of the Barents Sea, within the Storfjordrenna, south of Spitsbergen.
• Mapping spatial distribution of glacial rafts in the central Barents Sea.
• Map and study the field of depressions/craters in the central Barents Sea, which are linked to gas hydrate eruptions following the deglaciation of the region.
• Perform coring in order to improve
  • the postglacial chronology and
  • understanding of the dynamics related to the deglaciation of the Barents Sea area.
• Perform subsampling of free “head space” gas for further geochemical studies within sediment cores.

The cruise may be known as: CAGE13_KA