An international and multidisciplinary team of 36 scientists and engineers, with the assistance of the officers and crew of the vessel, will conduct the first full-scale multidisciplinary investigation of deep (4000 m) hydrothermal vents under permanent ice cover in the Arctic, investigating the Aurora vent field (82.5°N) in the Gakkel Ridge.
HACON – HOT VENTS IN AN ICE-COVERED OCEAN – will unravel the geochemical and physical processes that shape the Aurora biological communities and assess the role played by the Gakkel Ridge in connectivity of chemosynthesis-based ecosystems between ocean basins. The project will provide empirical robust data of a pristine system prior to expected climate-change variations and increased human activities in the Arctic region.
Alexander Eeg – photography credits
