Research infrastructure
Environmental sciences – planet Earth
Research infrastructure
Environmental sciences – planet Earth
The Oden ice-breaker
Oden provides a research infrastructure with opportunities for multi-faceted studies of the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, marine ecosystems, and also the sediment and geology of ocean floors.
The ice-breaker is one of few research ships around the world that can operate in the difficult ice conditions of the Arctic and Antarctic oceans. The ship is owned by the Swedish Maritime Administration and is rented out to the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat for research purposes. Since the first expedition to the Arctic in 1991, the research equipment onboard has been expanded and developed. The research infrastructure today includes meteorological and oceanographical instruments, advanced sonar sounding systems for mapping the ocean floor and water mass, winches for water and sediment sampling, and also laboratory facilities. Access to Oden has meant that Sweden has been able to offer a combination of a powerful ice-breaker with modern research equipment, not just to researchers active in Sweden, but also internationally, which has strengthened Swedish research in this area.
The Swedish Research Council, together with the six participating universities and public agencies, fund investments in new research equipment onboard, while the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat is responsible for the rent and operation of Oden during the expeditions.
