Archive of News and Press Releases
Polarstern returns to its homeport with precious cargo
The research vessel Polarstern is expected to enter its homeport with the early-morning high tide on Thursday, 20 April 2017, marking the end of a five-month season in the Antarctic for the icebreaker and her crew. Many geoscientists in Bremerhaven can’t wait to see the samples that were collected during a six-week foray into the Amundsen Sea this February and March, which are expected to help decode the glacial history of West Antarctica and improve the accuracy of prognoses for future sea-level rises. Once the samples have been unloaded, preparations…
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Researchers unravel the drivers of large iceberg movement
When, in the foreseeable future, a tabular iceberg nearly seven times the size of Berlin breaks off the Larsen C Ice Shelf in the Antarctic, it will begin a journey, the course of which climate researchers at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research can accurately predict. The researchers have now succeeded in modelling how Antarctic icebergs drift through the Southern Ocean, and in identifying the physical factors behind their movement and their melting. Which factors are most important tends to depend on the size of…
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Transit cruise from Punta Arenas to Las Palmas
This year’s return journey of RV Polarstern from Antarctica began with the departure in Punta Arenas in the evening of March 20, 2017. We left a bit earlier than scheduled with a small team of scientists and technicians on board through the Magellan Strait bound for the Atlantic.
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RV Polarstern opens its doors to the public
On the weekend of 22 and 23 April, Germany’s largest research vessel, the icebreaker Polarstern, will open her doors to the public as part of the Science Year 2016*17 – Seas and Oceans. As they walk about the ship, visitors can tour the laboratories, living accommodations, and the bridge, giving them a feel for what it’s like to be part of an expedition. Further, the Alfred Wegener Institute will highlight its research efforts in exhibitions arrayed around the ship on the grounds of the Lloyd Werft shipyards. Science dating, presentations and fireside…
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Litter is present throughout the world’s oceans: 1,220 species affected
Where is marine litter concentrated, and which species and ecosystems does it affect? Researchers at the Alfred Wegener Institute have for the first time compiled all scientific data published on marine litter in a single, comprehensive database, now accessible from the online portal AWI Litterbase (www.litterbase.org).
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Summary
In this last weekly report, I will give a short résumé of our exciting expedition. We left with great expectations for the Amundsen Sea 6 weeks ago with the MeBo drilling device and other scientific equipment on board to collect samples and data that will help us to decipher the history of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
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When the sea ice melts, juvenile polar cod may go hungry
Polar cod fulfil a key role in the Arctic food web, as they are a major source of food for seals, whales and seabirds alike. But the polar cod themselves might soon be the hungry ones. Under the ice of the central Arctic, the juvenile fish are indirectly but heavily dependent on ice algae. As a result, retreating sea ice could have far-reaching impacts on the food web. Though researchers have long since suspected this relation existed, an international team of researchers led by the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine…
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Look, who is calling?
Four different types of killer whales live in the Southern Ocean. They are known to differ in feeding ecology and appearance. However, little is known about the distribution and behaviour of these different killer whale ecotypes. To answer these questions, scientists monitor the whales’ communication with specific underwater sound recorders. However, so far nobody knew, which calls the different ecotypes are using.
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End of a successful Expedition
A world of gigantic icebergs made the scenery which Polarstern passed through on its track from Pine Island Bay to the western Amundsen Sea Embayment. The icebergs are so abundant here because of a bathymetric ridge that extends northwards from Bear Peninsula and onto which the icebergs are grounded and move only slightly at the peaks of high tide.
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Interesting Discoveries
A week passed by that was full of alternating expectations and events. Sea ice got in the way, but such is life when working in polar environments. But there is always a Plan B, and this time we continued in the eastern part of the Amundsen Sea Embayment, where sea ice and weather conditions were more favourable.
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