Punta Arenas – Las Palmas – Bremerhaven
11 April – 24 May 2009

Of 11th April at midday a charter bus with the destination Tourismo Polarstern was arranged for the transfer between Punta Arenas and a petrochemical zone called Cabo Negro about 30 km north of the city. Both sites lie on the south shore of the Straits of Magellan. The POLARSTERN tour started shortly after 6 PM. It is the last leg of cruise ANT-XXV that began on 31st October 2008. The return leg to Bremerhaven will be used again for continuous observations of energy and mass fluxes within the atmospheric boundary layer. The scientific party on board (eleven persons) is exclusively composed of German personnel. With respect to earlier legs this is a rather atypical situation for the ship.

After leaving the Straits of Magellan we headed towards the Rio Grande Rise. We plan to continue hydrographic observations there in the Vema Channel. By now all recording equipment is in operational condition. Two initial CTD stations were occupied without problems.

Two members of the Research Division <Integrative Ecophysiology> of the Alfred-Wegener-Institute remained on board. It is their task to observe living fishes from Antarctic waters for further molecular genetic and physiological analyses in Bremerhaven. For simplicity we refer to Heidrun Windisch and Nils Koschnick’s short report:

The main species in our tanks consist of Antarctic eelpouts, Pachycara brachycephalum, which are cod-like fishes. Additionally there are four other species in smaller quantities.

Our fish are highly adapted to extreme low temperatures round about 0°C. To ensure a good water quality in the aquaria, the water has to be changed daily. For that purpose large quantities of seawater have to be cooled in advance. The water quality must be analyzed permanently to ensure the good health of the fish. Meanwhile crossing the tropics will be a difficult challenge.

Easter brought us a memorable two-day long sequence of the very best from the kitchen.

As for today we send greetings to all relatives, colleagues, and friends who follow our activities in the South Atlantic with interests.

Walter Zenk (Chief Scientist)
16 April 2009, 45° S, 57° W