Helicopter-borne Magnetics NARES I + II (Kane Basin)

In May/June 2001, as part of the expedition NARES I, an aeromagnetic survey was carried out in the area of the eastern Kane Basin in cooperation with the Canadian GSC, in addition to the survey over the Robeson Channel and parallel to marine geophysical investigations with the Canadian icebreaker Louis S. St. Laurent. Another survey, NARES II, was conducted from Alexandra Fiord in 2003 and covered coastal areas of Ellesmere Island and the western Kane Basin. The aim of the research was to detect and localize the Wegener Fault, a transform fault between Ellesmere Island and NW Greenland, which is closely linked to the opening of the North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean. The helicopter-borne magnetic surveys NARES I + II (Kane Basin) were carried out with a flight line spacing of 2 km, and control profiles were flown every 10 km. During the two expeditions, 11806 km of line data were collected (3573 km in 2001, and 8333 km in 2003), covering an area of approximately 20000 km². The aeromagnetic data were recorded by a magnetometer, which was towed approx. 25 m beneath the helicopter.