The Swedish Polar Research Secretariat is organizing a research expedition to the Beringia-region in the summer of 2005 using the ice-breaker Oden as a platform. The scientific focus and logistical framework for the expedition have been outlined, based on interests expressed by the Swedish research community and by scientists and representatives of research organisations in Russia and the United States. An international workshop for the design of the Beringia 2005 expedition was held in Stockholm in November 2002.

The Beringia 2005 expedition can be seen as a completion of earlier tundra ecology efforts: Tundra Ecology 1994 along the entire Eurosiberian Arctic coast, and Tundra Northwest 1999 along the Canadian Arctic archipelago and Nunavut.

A call for proposals has been distributed among the scientific community in Sweden and a selection of Swedish candidate projects has been made by the Swedish Polar Research Committee in spring 2003. There is a strong ambition to make this an international venture and to develop collaborative arrangements with arctic organisations operating in this region. Scientists are encouraged to integrate their research with Swedish counterparts as well as to approach their own organizations, which then are welcome to establish a direct relation with the Polar Research Secretariat in order to work out joint agreements.

Oden played a major role in the success of the ARCTIC CORING EXPEDITION (ACEX) in August and September of 2004. The expedition obtained deep cores from the Lomonosov Ridge under challenging conditions. In the aerial photo at right (click for a larger view), all three vessels of the expedition can be seen working together on this historic achievement. The sea ice is moving from top to bottom of the image. Sovetskiy Soyuz, near the top, is doing heavy icebreaking, splitting up the large floes. In the middle Oden, while also serving as the expedition command center and laboratory, further disintegrates the ice and pushes larger pieces aside. This allows the drilling vessel, Vidar Viking, at bottom, to remain on station and drill, in the midst of heavy moving ice.

ACEX is a project of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP)