The operators of the large and medium-sized German research vessels have jointly established a procedure which offers the opportunity to exchange the applications for ship time for individual ships. This procedure provides a comparable standard as to the reviews for all ships and thus helps optimizing operation.

Proposals for POLARSTERN and HEINCKE may only be submitted to Portal deutsche Forschungsschiffe  (www.portal-forschungsschiffe.de). Here, you will also find all necessary information on how to write the proposal.

AWI-internal main-user and secondary-user applications for both vessels have to be related very closely to the POV IV programme (exception: Third party funded projects). Therefore, it is necessary to consult the scientific coordinator (polcoord@awi.de) and the AWI Board of Directors well before submitting an application.

Twice a year, you may submit proposals for all medium and large-scale research vessels: End of February and end of August each year.

For HEINCKE – season 2022:

Submission deadlines: August 31, 2020 and February 28, 2021 - in each case until 10:00 am at the latest

For POLARSTERN (main use):

Submission deadline: February 28., 2021 - until 10:00 am at the latest

TRANSIT:   from 2022 (South to North) and later (only applications without significant additional need for shiptime)

ARKTICA and ANTARKTICA: The mid-term planning for expeditions into the polar regions until March 2025 is completed. Currently, no further main-user applications can be accepted for these areas.

For POLARSTERN (secondary-use):

Currently the submission deadlines are the same as for medium-sized ships - end of August and end of February each year with a lead-time of approx. 1.5 years. Applications are currently possible for transit (south - north) at mid 2022.

Please also keep informed about: www.portal-forschungsschiffe.de

If you have any questions, please contact: polcoord@awi.de

Expeditions with the smaller vessels of the Alfred Wegener Institute require shorter periods of planning. We do, though, recommend to submit proposals in due time. Proposals for Uthörn, Mya II, Aade and Diker are sent directly to the contact persons.

At the Neumayer III Station the AWI is performing a long-term research program comprising observations in the fields of meteorology, atmospheric chemistry and geophysics. During the polar summer from December until February Neumayer III, in combination with the plateau station „Kohnen“, is used as logistical base for flight operations all over Antarctica as well as field campaigns on the continental ice sheet.

The logistic requirements of such expeditions differ with regard to large-scale or short-term projects:

• Short-term projects: are performed in January/February of the coming season (freight is being transported on board Polarstern), or in November/December (freight is completely being transported by aircraft).
• Large-scale projects: long-time and/or early starting campaigns (November until February). In this case, freight can only be transported into Antarctica on board Polarstern. This means that transport hast o be effeccted in the previous season.

Information for expedition participants here.

If you have any questions, please contact neumayer-coordination@awi.de .

The Dallmann laboratory provides a basis for biological and geoscience field work. From October to April, 14 scientists can use laboratories, workshops and storage rooms.