FRAM – High North Research Center for Climate and Environment

Digital edition 2024

Troll Observing Network – status and progress in 2023

Troll Observing Network (TONe) is a new national research infrastructure that will contribute to the collection of observational data from physical, biological, chemical and geological processes in Antarctica.


By: Birgit Njåstad and Christina Pedersen // Norwegian Polar Institute

Foto av NILU’s Atmospheric Composition Observatory
Storms at Troll enshroud NILU’s Atmospheric Composition Observatory. “It was exciting to see how the first storms would affect the TONe instruments, but everything seems to have gone smoothly,” says project leader Wenche Aas. Weather and climate are a challenge for many of the TONe installations. Sébastien Descamps (in charge of the seabird monitoring observatory) notes that although time-lapse cameras are nothing new, getting them to work properly in such an extreme environment is challenging, and adds: “Every single component needs to be well protected and firmly fastened in order to survive the extreme winter storms. The cold is also a challenge for batteries, especially since it is not possible to charge them via solar panels during the winter.” Ionic Observatory leader Wojciech Miloch says that the design of the digisonde antenna had to be changed during the planning phase due to the particularly difficult wind conditions the antenna must withstand at Troll. Photo: Jan-Gunnar Winther / Norwegian Polar Institute.

2023 was the second year of the five-year establishment phase of the TONe project – an active and diverse year in which the partners faced various phases and challenges in the establishment of their observatories. By 2027, eight observatories and a drone service will be in place at and around the Troll research station in Dronning Maud Land, in an area with relatively little observational data already available. Here is a brief summary of some highlights from the year.

Foto av Sébastien Descamps
Sébastien Descamps, responsible for the Seabird Monitoring Observatory, retrieved the first memory chip full of images at the end of 2023. By using machine learning to analyse the images, we will obtain basic data on the status and trends of important seabird populations in Dronning Maud Land. Photo: Lea Lipphardt and Sébastien Descamps / Norwegian Polar Institute.

Instruments installed and operational

  • Seabird Monitoring Observatory (Norwegian Polar Institute): Time-lapse cameras and automatic weather stations were installed in two seabird colonies. The cameras will regularly take pictures throughout the year and provide data on phenology, population density, and breeding success.
  • Atmospheric Composition Observatory (NILU): Three TONe instruments have been installed at NILU’s observatory at Trollhaugen. They measure the greenhouse gases CO2 and CH4; particle size distribution, and trace gases such as NO2, SO2, O3 and formaldehyde. The data are already flowing in and we have the start of exciting new time series. Atmospheric Composition Observatory project leader Wenche Aas notes that these measurements are particularly valuable because there are few observatories in the southern hemisphere and scarcely any information from Antarctica.
  • Multidisciplinary Ocean Moored Observatory (Norwegian Polar Institute and University of Bergen): Existing rigs over the continental shelf at 6°E off Dronning Maud Land were complemented by new TONe instruments during the annual TrollTransect cruise in January 2023.
Foto av seismiske instrument
The seismic instruments will be at the Troll station in the 2024–2025 season. Johannes Schweitzer, responsible for the seismic and infrared arrays, was excited to receive and test the instruments and is “confident that they will, after they have been installed, contribute the highest quality data for future research”. Photo: NORSAR.

Plans for instruments under the ice

  • Fimbulisen Ice-Shelf Observatory (Norwegian Polar Institute): 2023 was used for planning and implementing a 50-day field campaign to the Fimbulisen ice shelf, where drilling will take place through the 400-metre thick ice. TONe instruments will subsequently be installed above and under the ice. The expedition set off in mid-December 2023, hoping for a successful campaign.

Instruments prepared, sent to Troll

  • Ionospheric Observatory (University of Oslo): 2023 was primarily used to clarify all technical details of the digisonde radar that will be set up. At the end of the year, the equipment was sent to Troll for installation in the 2024–2025 season. The brain of the radar is called a sounder and is a very precious piece of equipment, so precious in fact that Wojciech Miloch, the head of the Ionospheric Observatory, will be taking it with him on the flight down to Troll. He dares not let it out of his sight.
  • Seismic Array and Infrasound Array (NORSAR): 2023 was used for procurement of these arrays, testing their functionality and performance, and preparations for shipping them to Troll. It has also taken time to plan the practical and technical aspects of constructing the installation, which will cover an area of almost a square kilometre in difficult and rocky terrain at the Troll station.
Gruppefoto
Expedition participants at the Troll research station. In the background, snowcat vehicles and sledges are loaded with a total of 90 tonnes of equipment that will be driven to the first drill site on the Fimbulisen ice shelf. Photo: Julien Witwicky / CNRS Grenoble.

Facilitating planned construction

  • The operators from the Norwegian Polar Institute at Troll have had their hands full planning the groundwork for three new observatories and supporting the demanding drilling campaign during a short Antarctic summer. Jon Hugo Strømseng, leader of the Norwegian Polar Institute’s Antarctic Section, emphasises that they have done a lot of thorough planning together with the people involved in TONe, which is particularly important for a successful implementation.

Further reading

Learn more about TONe at www.npolar.no/tone


Want to read the magazine?

Download the PDF-version of Fram Forum