Nansen Basin Nansen Basin The Nansen Basin (also Central Basin, formerly Fram Basin) is an abyssal plain with water-depths of around 3 km in the Arctic Ocean and (together with the deeper Amundsen Basin) part of the Eurasian Basin. It is named after Fridtjof Nansen. The Nansen Basin is bounded by the Gakkel Ridge on the one side and by the Barents Sea continental shelf on the other. The lowest point of the Arctic Ocean lies within the Nansen Basin and has a depth of 4,665 m. The Barents Abyssal Plain is located at the center of the Fram Basin. The Russian-American
Fridtjof Nansen like a spiral staircase, down towards the depths". In 1909 Nansen combined with Bjørn Helland-Hansen to publish an academic paper, "The Norwegian Sea: its Physical Oceanography", based on the "Michael Sars" voyage of 1900. Nansen had by now retired from polar exploration, the decisive step being his release of "Fram" to fellow Norwegian Roald Amundsen, who was planning a North Pole expedition. When Amundsen made his controversial change of plan and set out for the South Pole, Nansen stood by him. Between 1910 and 1914, Nansen participated in several oceanographic voyages. In 1910, aboard the Norwegian naval vessel "Fridtjof", he