The european research icebreaker AURORA BOREALIS : conceptual design study - summary report = Der europäische Forschungseisbrecher AURORA BOREALIS : Konzeptioneller Schiffsentwurf - Abschlussbericht

SUMMARY Dedicated research vessels that are capable to operate during all seasons of the year and under unfavourable weather conditions in the central Arctic Ocean and in the Southern Ocean are required to fulfil the new needs of polar ocean research for all marine disciplines. Today, no available research vessel has these required capabilities. Thus, the initiative was taken to develop a novel and dedicated research icebreaker with technical capabilities hitherto unrealised, which will enable the vessel to autonomously operate in the Arctic Ocean even during the severest ice conditions in the deep winter serving all marine disciplines of polar research including deep-sea drilling: The AURORA BOREALIS. The technical conceptual design of this research icebreaker with scientific deepsea drilling capability AURORA BOREALIS is summarised in this report. AURORA BOREALIS is planned to be a „European scientific flagship facility‟ open to non-European partners, a multidisciplinary platform for studies ranging from the sub-seafloor into the atmosphere. The ability of AURORA BOREALIS to penetrate into the harshest conditions on Earth and to carry out research in the polar winter can set new standards in the fields of polar research and naval architecture, including environmental safety and sustainability of the highest standards. Currently, no polar research vessel has the capability to autonomously operate in pack ice outside the optimal ice conditions of the late summer season. AURORA BOREALIS, in contrast, is planned as a multi-purpose icebreaking research vessel for Arctic and Antarctic operations with the capability to autonomously navigate in sea-ice with a thickness of more than 2.5 metres. This will for the first time facilitate year-round research, e.g. on the nature of global environmental change. The ship shall have the unique capability to perform scientific deep-sea drilling operations in water depths between 100 and 5000 metres with a penetration of more than 10