ANT XXV/5, Weekly Report No. 5
Sabrina Radtke, GKSS, with the Ferrybox on board „Polarstern“. (© Photo: S. Radtke)
Punta Arenas – Las Palmas – Bremerhaven
11 April – 24 May 2009
The RV “Polarstern” arrived at Las Palmas on 14.05.09 about 08:00 a.m. where additional scientists and technicians were embarked and the position of the chief scientist passed on to Saad El Naggar as planned since Walter Zenk had to return due to other commitments. After a short stop for supply the ship left the harbour at 11:00 a.m. for sea trials and tests for hydro acoustical systems at water depth more than 2000 m. The tests were carried out stationary nearby Las Palmas. Two engineers from company IXSEA started their work immediately after embarking. They carried out a hydro acoustical tests on the under water navigation system “POSIDONIA”. The new hardware has successfully passed all tests and the system is now operational.The sediment echo sounder “PARASOUND” was supported by a new software via a technician of Atlas Hydrographic. The three technicians and engineers left the ship about 10:30 p.m. by boat to Las Palmas.
After that, “Polarstern” continued her cruise to Bremerhaven. We will arrive at Bremerhaven on 24.05.09 in the morning. All new expedition members started their work after embarking immediately. All research works are accomplished without problems as planned. Depending on sun and cloud conditions meteorologist take measurements from the zodiac on our daily CTD station at 1 p.m. The scientist Sabrina Radtke from GKSS-Forschungszentrum will give you a short report about her work on board. Here is her report:
“In the context of the OCEANET project, a so-called Ferry Box (FB) was installed aboard “Polarstern” during its passage from Punta Arenas (Chile) to Bremerhaven (Germany). The FB is a device developed by the GKSS Research Centre, which performs automatic analysis of sea water. For this purpose, it features different sensor systems leading to detailed information about the sea water quality. FB systems are routinely in use on board of some ferries and container vessels travelling sea routes periodically in the North Sea. This allows for long-term monitoring of the sea water properties along the travelled routes. The passage of “Polarstern” crossing almost the entire Atlantic Ocean, offers the possibility to generate a profile of the sea water quality of several thousand kilometres.
The FB was shipped to Punta Arenas by air cargo. After repairing small transport damages, the FB was successfully installed and get operational. The FB operates continuously during the whole cruise pumping sea water through the system which allows for determining different oceanographic parameters like salinity and water temperature every minute. The data measured by the FB are linked and stored with the vessel data. In addition, the FB system provides sensors for measuring turbidity, pH-value and the content of chlorophyll-a as well as dissolved oxygen. These combined data provide important information about the biological processes in the ocean. The detailed analysis of chlorophyll fluorescence signal for instance, allows not only for determining the quantity of algae but, in addition, for evaluation of the measured algal activity and physiological status.
After successfully testing, it is planed to install such system on board of “Polarstern” for permanent operation. This would provide important scientific information to the researchers on future cruises.”
Warm greetings to everybody at home,
Saad El Naggar
35°N, 12°W; 17 May 2009
