After 183 days in the Antarctic, the research vessel Polarstern returned to its home port today, 15 May. She was welcomed in Bremerhaven in the presence of Federal Research Minister Dorothee Bär and the Director of the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), Hajo Eicken. From its voyage, the Polarstern is bringing back important findings on the causes of the recent sea ice retreat in the Antarctic and its repercussions.
As Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space Dorothee Bär explains: “The Polarstern ranks as the most important ship in our research vessel fleet. After six months, she returns today bringing significant results for science. As a consequence, this is changing our understanding of the world's oceans and shows us that the Antarctic sea ice is also being impacted by climate change. This has consequences for us all. I would like to thank the researchers and crew on board, as well as the AWI, who made it possible to unearth this treasure for research. Germany is at the forefront of marine research. In order to ensure that we can continue to conduct leading-edge research in the Arctic and Antarctic with international partners in the future, the Polarstern will be replaced by its successor vessel, the Polarstern II, as from 2030 – after 40 years of service.”
Dr Hajo Eicken, Scientific Director of the AWI, emphasises: "For 40 years now, the Polarstern has been bringing new findings to light that help us to understand the formative role of the polar regions in the Earth system. Our understanding of the Antarctic in particular has changed considerably thanks to the data collection the Polarstern has enabled. The interaction of the ice sheet with the ocean and the ecosystems determined by the sea ice now appear much more dynamic and variable than was the case when the ship was originally commissioned. The effects of these changes are the subject of current research at the AWI using models and data from ice cores and sediment cores."
Background
About the expedition
The focus of the last Antarctic expedition of the Polarstern was on the causes of the recent sea ice retreat. While the decline in sea ice around the North Pole has been documented for decades, the Antarctic was considered stable for a long time. The summer sea ice extent, however, has also been declining sharply in the south since 2017. The researchers recorded the sea ice thickness along 4,400 kilometres by way of aerial surveys and on 35 days while travelling through the ice. These values help to categorise the long-term development of Antarctic sea ice and its significance for life.
The expedition was also significant for species conservation: An international research team investigated how biodiversity and ecosystem functions are changing in the eastern Weddell Sea – a biodiversity hotspot. The Weddell Sea is considered as one of the last largely untouched marine areas on our planet. Germany has been urging for the establishment of a marine protected area in the Weddell Sea for years, which is once again supported by the data collected.
WASCAL
Fourteen Master's degree students from West African countries took part in the last leg of the Polarstern's journey for a fortnight, as part of the WASCAL Floating University. During the transit from Mindelo (Cabo Verde) to Bremerhaven, they analysed ocean samples, among other things.
Together with West African partners, the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) founded the climate competence centre WASCAL (West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use) in 2012. The WASCAL graduate school programme is carried out in cooperation with GEOMAR, Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel.
The Polarstern research vessel
As one of the world's leading research vessels, the Polarstern makes a significant contribution to the exploration of both polar regions, the oceans and the global climate. The icebreaking research vessel Polarstern was launched in 1982. Since then, it has travelled almost two million nautical miles in the course of more than 150 expeditions. The Polarstern is owned by the Federal Republic of Germany, represented by the BMFTR, and is operated by the AWI for research purposes. The ship is a research platform for national and international scientists and also serves to supply Neumayer III, the German Antarctic research station. During the last expedition to Antarctic waters, a previously uncharted island was discovered in the Weddell Sea. Modern research vessels are indispensable platforms for state of the art, transfer-orientated climate and biodiversity research on our seas and oceans. There are seven ocean-going research vessels active under the auspices of the BMFTR.
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