''Oden'' is a large

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

, built in 1988 for the

Swedish Maritime Administration The Swedish Maritime Administration ( sv, Sjöfartsverket) is the government agency in Sweden which provides services to the transport sector by keeping the sea lanes open and safe. The agency is to a certain degree financed through fees levied o ...

. It is named after the Norse god Odin. First built to clear a passage through the ice of the Gulf of Bothnia for cargo ships, it was later modified to serve as a research vessel. Equipped with its own helicopter and manned by 15 crew members it has ample capacity to carry laboratory equipment and 80 passengers, functioning independently in harsh

Polar ice packs Sea ice arises as seawater freezes. Because ice is less dense than water, it floats on the ocean's surface (as does fresh water ice, which has an even lower density). Sea ice covers about 7% of the Earth's surface and about 12% of the world's o ...

of the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...

and Antarctic seas. It was the first non-nuclear surface vessel to reach the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

(in 1991), together with the German research icebreaker ''Polarstern''. It has participated in several scientific expeditions in

and

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

Expeditions

''Oden'' Antarctic Expedition 2007

The joint project was a co-operative endeavor between the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to collect a range of data in rarely traveled areas of the Antarctic seas and coastline. The international research team studied the oceanography and bio-geochemistry of the region, with emphasis on the processes that control the growth and fate of phytoplankton in the ocean.

''Oden'' Antarctic Expedition 2008

From 25 November 2008 to 12 January 2009, an international research team participated in an expedition onboard ''Oden'', collecting a range of data in rarely traveled areas of the Antarctic seas and coastline, including the Amundsen and eastern Ross Seas. They studied production and destruction of greenhouse gases and their effects on sea ice microorganisms. The study was designed to allow future researchers to better understand and monitor the Antarctic region.

''Oden'' Southern Ocean Expedition 2009

''Oden'' was in Antarctica during the southern summer 2009-2010.

''Oden'' Antarctic Expedition 2010

''Oden'' was in Antarctica between 4 December 2010 and 20 January 2011. The expedition investigated the ice, biology, oceanography, and biogeochemistry of the Amundsen Sea

Polynya A polynya () is an area of open water surrounded by sea ice. It is now used as a geographical term for an area of unfrozen seawater within otherwise contiguous pack ice or fast ice. It is a loanword from the Russian полынья (), which r ...

. There was a controversy that ''Oden'' was not assisting the shipping in Swedish waters, which had problems in the unusually cold winter. The Swedish government decided to keep ''Oden'' at home for the season 2011-2012 which turned out to be unusually mild.

Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021

In August and September 2021 ''Oden'' conducted a major Arctic cruise to study the status and change of the Arctic ecosystem. The cruise concluded on 20 September 2021 when ''Oden'' arrived at the southern Swedish port of Helsingborg.

Other

''Oden'' has participated in numerous scientific expeditions in the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

arctic archipelago. In 2016 ''Oden'' accompanied on an undersea mapping expedition to the Canadian Arctic.

References

External links

Swedish Maritime Administration pdf describing OdenArticle on Antarctic Research featuring Oden
Science, 19 August 2011. {{DEFAULTSORT:Oden (Icebreaker) Icebreakers of Sweden Ships of Sweden 1988 ships North Pole