Polarstern Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Service
28.11.2007 - Logistics, Other
The German research vessel Polarstern celebrates its 25th anniversary of service and leads Germany into the new Antarctic research season. The ship will leave from Cape Town on November 28th for a ten-week expedition focussing on climate-related research.
Carrying aboard a total of 53 scientists from eight nations, Polarstern will first supply the German Neumayer Station and deliver construction materials for the new Neumayer III research station. She will then move on to the Lazarev Sea and the eastern part of the Weddell Sea, before returning to Cape Town on February 4th, 2008.
Prof. Ulrich Bathmann from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research and chief scientist on board says: "Our research projects will improve the understanding of physical and biological processes associated with the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the Weddell Gyre, both of which play a key role for the earth's climate".
Polarstern will focus on climate research, investigating complex interactions that allow, for example, plankton algae to absorb carbon dioxide during their summer growth and carry it down to the ocean floor where they provide food for deep-sea organisms. Such research should allow scientists to optimise existing climate models.
The scientific research on Polarstern are part of three major international programmes within the International Polar Year framework and part of both the Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML) and the Census of the Diversity of Abyssal Marine Life (CeDAMar).
Research program SCACE
The Synoptic Circum-Antarctic Climate and Ecosystem Study will explore physical and biological interactions in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. It will provide a unique data and serve as a benchmark for comparison with existing data in order to identify and qualify polar changes.
Research project LAKRIS
The Lazarev Sea Krill Study will investigate in detail the life cycle, distribution and physiology of krill populations in the Lazarev Sea.
ANDEEP-SYSTCO
Lead by the Zoological Institute of the University of Hamburg, this project will attempt to shed light on the unknown world of the deep-sea Southern Ocean and will analyse interactions between atmosphere, water column and seafloor.
