Meteorological Technology International
  • News
    • A-E
      • Agriculture
      • Automated Weather Stations
      • Aviation
      • Climate Measurement
      • Data
      • Developing Countries
      • Digital Applications
      • Early Warning Systems
      • Extreme Weather
    • G-P
      • Hydrology
      • Lidar
      • Lightning Detection
      • New Appointments
      • Nowcasting
      • Numerical Weather Prediction
      • Polar Weather
    • R-S
      • Radar
      • Rainfall
      • Remote Sensing
      • Renewable Energy
      • Satellites
      • Solar
      • Space Weather
      • Supercomputers
    • T-Z
      • Training
      • Transport
      • Weather Instruments
      • Wind
      • World Meteorological Organization
      • Meteorological Technology World Expo
  • Features
  • Online Magazines
    • April 2025
    • January 2025
    • September 2024
    • April 2024
    • Archive Issues
    • Subscribe Free!
  • Opinion
  • Videos
  • Supplier Spotlight
  • Expo
LinkedIn Twitter Facebook
  • Sign-up for Free Weekly E-Newsletter
  • Meet the Editors
  • Contact Us
  • Media Pack
LinkedIn Facebook
Subscribe
Meteorological Technology International
  • News
      • Agriculture
      • Automated Weather Stations
      • Aviation
      • Climate Measurement
      • Data
      • Developing Countries
      • Digital Applications
      • Early Warning Systems
      • Extreme Weather
      • Hydrology
      • Lidar
      • Lightning Detection
      • New Appointments
      • Nowcasting
      • Numerical Weather Prediction
      • Polar Weather
      • Radar
      • Rainfall
      • Remote Sensing
      • Renewable Energy
      • Satellites
      • Solar
      • Space Weather
      • Supercomputers
      • Training
      • Transport
      • Weather Instruments
      • Wind
      • World Meteorological Organization
      • Meteorological Technology World Expo
  • Features
  • Online Magazines
    1. April 2025
    2. January 2025
    3. September 2024
    4. April 2024
    5. January 2024
    6. September 2023
    7. April 2023
    8. Archive Issues
    9. Subscribe Free!
    Featured
    April 15, 2025

    In this Issue – April 2025

    By Web TeamApril 15, 2025
    Recent

    In this Issue – April 2025

    April 15, 2025

    In this Issue – January 2025

    December 13, 2024

    In this Issue – September 2024

    August 8, 2024
  • Opinion
  • Videos
  • Supplier Spotlight
  • Expo
Facebook LinkedIn
Subscribe
Meteorological Technology International
Polar Weather

Polar research vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough completes ice trials

Dan SymondsBy Dan SymondsMarch 31, 20224 Mins Read
Share LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email
Share
LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email

The UK’s newest icebreaking research vessel the RRS Sir David Attenborough has completed its initial ice trials during its maiden voyage to Antarctica – a critical milestone in the commissioning of the new polar ship.

The trials team tested the ship’s capability over 10 days in January by following a set of standard procedures to ensure the ship fulfils its contractual specifications to perform in ice. British Antarctic Survey (BAS) operates the RRS Sir David Attenborough, which is owned by UKRI-NERC (UK Research and Innovation-Natural Environment Research Council).

The ship was tested through ice, at every power level, to measure its performance and compare it to the expected, modeled results. The team also performed a range of other maneuvers including reversing, turning, as well as impact tests at different speeds in areas of sea ice around the Antarctic Peninsula and Bellingshausen Sea.

The team enlisted the help of satellites to locate suitable areas of ice for the trials. Most maneuvers took place in fast ice – ice that is attached to the coast and not moving. This allowed the team to calculate accurately the amount of energy required to break the ice. Tests in various ice conditions and concentrations, such as open and closed pack ice, give a complete picture of the ship’s performance.

To fully understand the ship’s performance, the trials team took measurements of the ice, including ice thickness and the amount of snow, as well as physical properties of the ice such as temperature and salinity.

Ralph Stevens, captain of RRS Sir David Attenborough, BAS, said, “Overall, we’re really pleased with the ship’s performance in ice trials – in some trials it actually performed better than we expected. The trials did highlight some issues with the ship which need to be addressed but this was expected – the SDA is a bespoke ship with a complex design, and the purpose of trials is to find the things that don’t work so well.

“The thing that surprised us most was how comfortable the ship was while breaking through the sea ice. The bow breaks the ice in a completely different way to our previous vessels and is much quieter than expected,” he said.

The ship encountered unprecedented sea ice conditions after the ice trials – second-year sea ice, covered in a thick 1.5m layer of snow. This hampered efforts to reach Stange Sound to deliver critical science cargo in support of the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration.

The RRS Sir David Attenborough is a Polar Ice Class 5 (PC5) ship, meaning it can operate year-round in medium, first-year ice. The ship can break through ice 1m thick at a speed of 3kts (5.6km/h). When it is ice breaking, the ship rises up on the ice and uses its weight – 15,000 tons – to break through.

This multidisciplinary research platform will transform how ship-based science is conducted in the Polar Regions, and provide scientists with state-of-the-art facilities to research the oceans, seafloor, ice and atmosphere.

The ship’s sensitive acoustic instruments are housed within the hull and covered with a protective material to ensure they are protected when the ship is in ice. Other instruments, such as the farsounder forward-looking sonar, which warns of navigational hazards under the water (such as unchartered rocks), is fitted on a retractable pole and will only be deployed when the ship is not icebreaking. The ship also has a moon pool – a 4x4m hole through the middle of the ship – through which researchers can deploy instruments, even when in ice.

The RRS Sir David Attenborough will return to the UK in June 2022 at the end of the Antarctic season. The ship will spend several weeks in refit to rectify the issues identified during ice trials, and to finish commissioning science equipment, which was delayed due to Covid-19. The ship will also spend around 30 days at sea conducting initial science trials, testing acoustic and winch equipment. These trials are to ensure all the complex science equipment on board the ship is functioning correctly and will provide the crew and science teams the opportunity to establish new protocols and ways of working. Further science trials will take place during the 2022/23 Antarctic season.

Previous ArticleMet Office to increase heatwave thresholds for some areas of the UK
Next Article VIDEO: European agencies unveil plans to create digital twin of Earth

Read Similar Stories

Data

VIDEO: Caltech’s autonomous underwater vehicle harnesses ocean currents to improve ocean monitoring

May 21, 20255 Mins Read
Extreme Weather

Ship’s satellite receiver detects landslide-generated tsunami for the first time

May 20, 20254 Mins Read
Lightning Detection

Vaisala unveils helideck monitoring software for offshore operations

May 9, 20253 Mins Read
Latest News

NASA selects University of Texas at Arlington researcher for wildfire smoke warning system

May 23, 2025

University of Pennsylvania and Microsoft Research develop machine-learning weather prediction model

May 22, 2025

VIDEO: Caltech’s autonomous underwater vehicle harnesses ocean currents to improve ocean monitoring

May 21, 2025

Receive breaking stories and features in your inbox each week, for free


Enter your email address:


Supplier Spotlights
  • ZOGLAB Microsystem Co., Ltd
Latest Job Postings
  • Postdoctoral researcher position on land surface and vegetation modelling (R2)

    • Barcelona
    • Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación
    • Full Time
  • HPC Engineer for Earth Sciences applications (RE1/2)

    • Barcelona
    • Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación
    • Full Time
Getting in Touch
  • Contact Us / Advertise
  • Meet the Editors
  • Download Media Pack
  • Free Weekly E-Newsletter
Our Social Channels
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
© 2025 UKi Media & Events a division of UKIP Media & Events Ltd
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Notice and Takedown Policy

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the ...
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.

CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Functional

Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.

Performance

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

Analytics

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

Advertisement

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.

Others

Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.

SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by