Julian Gutt: The Antarctic Polarstern / CAML Expedition ANTXXIII/8

09 Jan 2007 - Interviews, Water & Oceans, Ice & Snow, Flora & Fauna, Antarctic

Dr Julian Gutt

Huge areas of sea floor (around 3,250 km²) have been freed up by the collapse 4 years ago of the Larsen B platform along the Antarctic Peninsula, leaving a blank spot on Antarctic maps. Polarstern, the research flagship of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, will shortly conduct there the first major biological research. Gauthier Chapelle, scientific officer of the International Polar Foundation and onboard as outreach officer interviewed the chief scientist of the expedition: Julian Gutt.

Dr Gutt, what is your experience as a researcher in Antarctica?

This is my 9th scientific expedition to the Antarctic since 1985 and I have written approximately 60 publications on communities living on sea-floor, krill and fish. I am a member of several steering committees, e.g. EBA, the new biological program of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), the Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML) and the German committee for the International Polar Year.

What are you going to study specifically (that is, your team)?

My personal interest is closely linked to the ecosystem research of the entire CAML group on board. I work mainly with larger animals, how and why they coexist with a high biodiversity at the sea-floor. Of specific interest is what kind of life exists under the large floating ice shelves (up to several hundred meters thick) which are connected to the huge Antarctic ice cap.

A few years ago these ice shelves collapsed in the Larsen A/B area due to regional warming. Now and for the first time we have the opportunity to study life in such an area. During the disintegration of the ice shelves many icebergs calved and the question arises whether grounding icebergs only devastate life at the sea-floor or whether such disturbance contributes to a high biodiversity. A variety of different stages of recolonization within different communities can be expected ...but up to what intensity of disturbance?

Based on the data collected during this expedition we will try to predict the future of this fauna after environmental conditions have changed so dramatically, using a computer-based modelling approach. The animals in this region are growing too slowly to observe easily significant actual changes that have already taken place since the disintegration of the ice shelves.

In cooperation with Bremen University field work is conducted using a Remotely Operated Vehicle, which is an underwater robot equipped with video cameras to quantify, register and observe small-scale patterns and processes. The ROV is also equipped with a manipulator to collect specific animals or to sample sediment under visual guidance.

I have been working with this modern imaging method since my first Antarctic expedition "A picture says a thousand words" but this information has to be converted to scientific data, which is a big challenge.

What are your main responsibilities as a chief scientist of such an expedition?

I am the head of the scientific crew consisting of 52 persons on board. I have to manage the entire scientific program, this includes chairing meetings in which the detailed working plan for the next days will be discussed and finally decided. I have to control almost every cast of all sampling devices.

We have an almost 24 hours working day: I can sleep for a while but I am on call all the time. This means if anything unusual happens I have to wake up and find a solution. In other words I am in charge to make my colleagues happy with the best possible scientific program, which - on such a big ship - means to find the best possible compromise.

All these activities have to be coordinated with the captain, Uwe Pahl, his first officer Uwe Grundmann, and the chief engineer "Ole" Ziemann. I'm supporting an active outreach project in order to inform people interested in science and the taxpayer at home as well as other countries, which are home to the participants of this expedition.

Finally, I would like to mention that each day as a chief scientist; it is my pleasure to give my best to maintain a wonderful and peaceful atmosphere between the colleagues from 14 different countries from the Americas and Europe and the excellent cooperation between crew and scientists.

By: Gauthier Chapelle