svalbard

UConn Researchers Deploy Innovative Seafloor Lander in the Arctic

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By Cloé Mueller.

20 October 2026. This summer, researchers from the Broadband Acoustic Lab (BAL), led by Dr. Liz Weidner in UConn's Department of Marine Sciences, successfully deployed a seafloor lander in the Arctic to study changing ocean conditions in a glacial fjord.

The lander, a triangular aluminum platform equipped with advanced acoustic instruments, was deployed in Hansbukta, a glacial bay within Hornsund Fjord in southwest Svalbard. The scientific team included Dr. Weidner, BAL Ph.D. student Cloé Mueller, and Dr. Tom Blanford from the University of New Hampshire.

Echosounder equipment on a ship
Seafloor lander aboard the M/V Ulla Rinman prior to deployment in Hansbukta, Hornsund Fjord, Svalbard, with the Hansbreen glacier terminus visible in the background. The acoustic system on the lander consists of a WBAT and two high-frequency broadband echosounders.

Team of researchers on a research vessel
The scientific team from left to right: Dr. Tom Blanford, Dr. Liz Weidner, and Cloé Mueller.

Positioned ~55 meters below the surface, the lander uses upward-looking sonar systems to continuously monitor the water column above it. These acoustic observations will be used to investigate ocean structure, sea ice conditions, and mixing processes in the fjord throughout the year.

The team successfully recovered the instrument one week after deployment, obtaining an initial acoustic dataset th­­­­at will help validate the system and guide future analyses. The lander was then redeployed for a full year of observations and will be recovered during a return campaign next summer. The year-long record will provide an unprecedented view of how polar ocean conditions evolve across seasons, including during the winter months when the fjord is inaccessible for fieldwork.

A map of the study site in Svalvard
The field campaign site in Hansbukta bay of Hornsund Fjord, Svalbard. The yellow star marks the seafloor lander deployment site. The navy line illustrates the terminus extent of Hans glacier in July 2026. Solid cyan, pink and red lines denote three acoustic survey collection transects: 1) lander cross (red), 2) along and across fjord (cyan), and 3) glacial scans (pink). Black outlined markers indicate CTD sampling stations for each transect type. The inset image of Svalbard provides broader geographic context.