NOAA sends survey vessel on mission to improve Arctic charts

摘要

In response to the need for better charts of the Arctic Ocean, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has sent the 231-foot research ship Fairweather on a two-month mission to conduct hydrographic surveys in Kotzebue Sound. The Arctic is experiencing a prolonged shipping season resulting from a significant loss of sea ice. Critical areas are "increasingly transited by the offshore oil and gas industry, cruise liners, military craft, tugs and barges, and fishing vessels," explained NOAA Corps Capt. David Neander, commanding officer of Fairweather, in a press release. Yet many of the areas seeing increased traffic have not been charted since the 1800s, when soundings were done with a lead line.