AT-807F Arctic Offshore Engineering – Fieldwork (3 ECTS)

UNIS contact person: Aleksey Shestov

Course requirements:

Enrolment in a relevant PhD programme and previous participation in AT-323, AT-327/AT-827 or AT-332/AT-832.

Academic content:

The course addresses methods used to characterise sea ice with respect to mechanical and physical properties.

Specific topics:

• Sampling of vertical/horizontal ice cores
• Determination of salinity, temperature and density profiles in sea ice
• Uniaxial compressive tests of sea ice
• Fracture testing of sea ice
• Description of the damage mechanisms during testing
• Structure of sea ice
• Spatial variability of ice properties
• Study of effects of ice loads on coastal structures
• Thin sections and characterisation of the structure of ice.

Learning outcomes:

Knowledge
Upon completing the course, the students will:

• have basic understanding of how to behave and work in an Arctic climate on land and sea ice.

Skills
Upon completing the course, the students will:

• have gained experience in conducting the most common standard techniques for characterizing an ice cover by sampling sea ice.

General competences
Upon completing the course, the students will:

• be able to explain and discuss how ice samples can be used to characterize both physical and mechanical properties of ice by physical testing. This competence applies to engineering aspects in the design of offshore structures.

Learning activities:

The course extends over one week including compulsory safety training and about four hours lecturing, and is run in combination with AT-307F. During this week, three days will be spent in the field where the students will take active part in the logistics. Students as a group are required to prepare a joint field report containing the major findings from the fieldwork. The AT-807F students will take on more in-depth analysis of the obtained data than the AT-307F students, and will be responsible for the overall reporting. The report should be submitted later in the semester (by 1 June).

Compulsory learning activities:

Fieldwork.
 All compulsory learning activities must be approved in order to have the report assessed.

Assessment:

Application deadline: 15 October 2021

Investigation of ice bustles at Kapp Amsterdam, Svea. Photo: Håvard Wilson/UNIS.

AT-307F/807F fieldwork in Svea. Photo: Anatoly Sinitsyn/UNIS.