On the way to Neumayer Station III

On 9 January, we reach a 60 nautical mile wide belt of dense pack ice, which hugs the Antarctic ice shelf.  Right at the edge of the pack ice belt, SUIT and RMT nets are being deployed. Farther inside, where floe is next to floe, these methods are augmented by ice stations and under-ice ROV surveys on and under suitable floes, to examine their flora and fauna. Melting away in thick snowsuits, the scientists drill through the floes all the way into the underlying water (Fig. 2) to retrieve ice cores, which allow studying the structure and colonization of the sea ice.

During our search for suitable floes we are particularly fond of near-real time ice charts which are recorded (on demand) by the TerraSAR-X and Sentinel-1 satellites and prepared for us by the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) und der Bremer company Drift & Noise Polar Services GmbH. The different temporal and spatial resolutions of these products, which are uploaded to our on-board navigation system, allow us identifying and accessing regions of varying floe characteristics to sample a representative selection of floes.  In addition, these charts are essential for an effective navigation in these waters, as they facilitate answering the eternal question of these ice infested waters: which way to choose when circumnavigating the next big ice floe ahead: clockwise or anti-clockwise.

Shortly before berthing at Neumayer Station III, our fish biologists finally get their chance. After a 4-week long wait, they deploy a fish trap (Fig. 3) and a newly designed fish mooring in a polynya directly in front of the ice shelf, which, small but stable, is located somewhat west of Neumayer Station III.   There, large grounded icebergs provide a natural barrier against sea ice with drifts west with the coastal current along the ice shelf (Fig. 4).  Behind the ice shelf, open water prevails at depths of 400m, optimal conditions for the deployment of the fish trap which we intend to recover in few days’ time.

This polynya already gave us shelter 4 years ago when a broken propeller kept us from steaming north across a thick belt of pack ice. Successful navigation would have been questionable with only one fully functional variable-pitch propeller.  Cheers arise, when our companions from four years back recognise some rather uniquely shaped ice bergs which stood sentinel then, and probably will still do so for years to come (Fig. 5).

The morning of the last day of this report period finds Polarstern at the "Nordanleger" of Atka Seaport, the port of the Neumayer Station III.  Actually, it is just the northernmost extent of the ice shelf here, towering some 10 m above sea level and extending to about 70 m below, at which we take berth while constantly pushing against the prevalent coastal current and tides to dynamically keep our position while unloading cargo und bunkering fuel for the Neumayer III team, which has arrived with Pistenbullies, Skidoos and sledges.  At about noon Polarstern is well placed and ready to start the cargo operation, on which we will report next time, including our visit to Neumayer III station.

Crew and scientists send their greeting in good health from aboard Polarstern.

Olaf Boebel