How to turn annual supply shipments to Antarctica into repeat scientific surveys

By turning annual cargo voyages to Norway’s Troll Station in Antarctica into repeat scientific surveys, researchers are building one of the few long-term observational records on the King Haakon VII Sea, a poorly studied part of the Southern Ocean.

The result is a sharper picture of how ice, ocean, ecosystems and carbon cycling interact in a region that matters for sea-level rise, marine life and the global climate.

The cargo vessel at the ice edge, unloading supplies for Troll Station in 2021. Photo credit: Stein Tronstad / Norwegian Polar Institute

What makes TrollTransect stand out is its ability to create continuity in a place where research is usually difficult, expensive and rare. Since 2020, scientists travelling on Norway’s annual resupply voyages to Troll Station have collected repeated observations from the waters off Dronning Maud Land.

TrollTransect is not about one single dataset. It is about bringing many kinds of evidence together. Researchers carry out repeated ocean profiles, deploy and recover deep-ocean moorings, sample sea ice and seawater, collect sediment cores, and record seabirds, mammals, fish and zooplankton along the route.

These measurements help scientists track how warm deep water moves towards the Antarctic margin, how sea ice changes through the year, and how biological production and carbon export respond. In other words, the platform links physical oceanography, marine biology, biogeochemistry and geology in exactly the way that modern polar science increasingly needs.

How is this done in practice? The answer is with a mix of ingenuity and persistence. The ship is not a dedicated research vessel. Instead, scientists work from heated and insulated laboratory containers placed on the cargo ship, supported by custom equipment for sampling and mooring operations.

During a roughly 40-day voyage, researchers often have only about a week for focused scientific work, and they must fit their plans around weather, sea ice and the vessel’s main task of resupplying Troll Station. Small teams take on several roles at once.

This model of working creates opportunities for early career researchers, helps generate publications, attracts international attention and supports new funding applications.

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Check out this new article published in Fram Forum to learn how TrollTransect has opened up new opportunities to study a data-poor region that sits close to major questions about Antarctic change.

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The article was originally published by Fram Forum under the title TrollTransect: No free ride, but much to be gained. The 2024 TrollTransect cruise report can be found here.

To find out more about the iC3 researchers involved, see the interviews with Tore Hattermann, Sebastien Moreau, Terri Souster and Monica Winsborrow.