Meteorological and Sea Surface Water Measurement Data from Icebreaker Research Vessel ARAON for 2020-2021 Arctic Research Expeditions

Abstract

Since its construction in 2010, the icebreaker ARAON has been conducting regular polar field surveys to observe changes in the atmosphere and marine environment in polar regions. The Arctic Ocean, a major research area, is directly affected by changes in the ocean, atmosphere and energy circulation system due to the continuous decrease in sea ice. During the Arctic summer season, when sea ice becomes smaller and thinner, the ARAON passes through East Sea, Bering Sea, Chukchi Sea, and Beaufort Sea to investigate the marine environment on the high latitude high seas. The Arctic Ocean is important not only for scientific research due to climate change, but also for economic research such as undersea energy, mineral resources, and Northern Sea route. However, it is difficult to access the Arctic and conduct long-term and continuous field surveys. ARAON carries out Arctic research voyages using various research equipment, and the most basic observation among them is meteorological information and sea water observation data. Weather data include solar radiation, atmospheric temperature, humidity, wind speed and wind direction, and seawater observations include sea water temperature, salinity, conductivity and fluorescence substances. In addition, three-dimensional location information of the research line was obtained. The data will be used as inspection data for satellite data and polar field survey data.