The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) participated in the Arctic Ocean icebreaker expedition 2001 arranged by the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat in co-operation with the Swedish Maritime Administration. The aim is to contribute to the understanding of the albedo distribution in the Arctic, from direct measurements during the expedition as well as from future SAR and other satellite data related to albedo distribution. A part of the albedo measurements where carried out in connection to NOAA passages. The project team of the EUMETSAT Climate Monitoring Satellite Application Facility (CM-SAF) will use the ground truth albedo data for validate satellite-based algorithms such as cloud cover (cloud mask) and sea ice albedo determined from NOAA AVHRR data. 

From the operational side SMHI provided the expedition with weather routing through the whole expedition. SAR images for navigation where retrieved by the icebreaker Oden via SMHI from the Tromso Satellite Station.

An ice drifter, provided by US National Ice Centre (NIC), was deployed by SMHI personal on an ice flow in the Makarov Basin for the US Inter-agency Arctic Buoy Program (USIABP). In return NIC provided the expedition with OLS/AVHRR infrared and visible imagery and RADARSAT Scan SAR Wide data available along the track of the icebreaker Oden.

For more information about AO01, read here.