Antarctic Technology Offshore Lagoon Laboratory
floating oceanographic laboratory for in situ observation experiments
The Antarctic Technology Offshore Lagoon Laboratory (ATOLL) was a floating oceanographic laboratory for in situ observation experiments. This facility also tested instruments and equipment for polar expeditions. The ATOLL hull was the largest fiberglass structure ever built at that time. It was in operation from 1982 to 1995.
Structure and infrastructure
The ATOLL was composed of three curved fiberglass elements, each 25 m (82 ft) long and having a draught of only 38 cm (15 in). For towing, the elements could be assembled in a long S-shape; in operation, the elements would form a horseshoe shape surrounding 150 m2 (1,615 sq ft) water surface. The lab provided ample space for twelve researchers. The laboratory contained a lab, storage and supply facilities, a dormitory, computer room, and a fireplace.
The laboratory was installed and operated in the Baltic Sea (and the Bay of Kiel in particular) at the initiative and under the direction of Uwe Kils, at the Institute of Oceanography (Institut für Meereskunde) of the University of Kiel. The fiberglass hulls themselves were bought from Waki Zöllner's "Atoll" company.
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This entry incorporates text from “Antarctic Technology Offshore Lagoon Laboratory” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.