Deep drilling in the Arctic Ocean: Status of the seismic site survey data base
In the last decades, several geophysical research expeditions have led to a significant growth of the seismic database in the Central Arctic Ocean. In particular, the combination of seismic data with results of scientific deep drilling in 2004 have dramatically changed the view on the Arctic climate evolution. Since then, several proposals have been submitted to the Integrated Ocean Drilling Programme (IODP) to solve certain scientific problems through deep drilling. Seismic data are crucial to foster any progress regarding these proposals in the Arctic, in order to justify the selection of the drill sites. This contribution reviews the current distribution of seismic reflection data, especially in the High Arctic. This study will focus on various areas of the High Arctic and briefly address the scientific questions for these specific regions.