Hausgarten Expedition ends

Earlier than in previous years, the Polarstern had departed this season for the Fram Strait between Spitsbergen and Greenland to conduct the long-term observations in the so-called Hausgarten (home garden) of the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). The multidisciplinary research programme included work in the deep sea, oceanographic and biological measurements in the water column and research on litter both in the atmosphere and on the seabed of the Arctic. 

The summer sea ice melt has just begun, so ice conditions affected route and work. "Despite the seasonally difficult ice conditions, we were able to obtain large amounts of physical, geochemical and biological data that will expand the data set of our long-term investigations and help us to better understand the effects of global climate change on the Arctic ecosystem," reports the expedition's chief scientist, AWI deep-sea researcher Dr Thomas Soltwedel. The team also successfully recovered the two autonomous seafloor vehicles TRAMPER and NOMAD, which the AWI is using, among other things, to better understand the carbon cycle in the Arctic. Both vehicles were underway for a full two years in the deep sea off Greenland and Spitsbergen and are now receiving a comprehensive overhaul before they are sent to the seabed for months next year.

Just like the measuring instruments, Polarstern itself is now receiving a thorough maintenance: in the coming months, the ship's electrical cables will be renewed at the Lloyd Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven, the stern thruster will be serviced, as will the A-frame, which can lower measuring instruments over the stern of the ship into the water. The crane on the helideck, which is also being renewed, can be used more flexibly, for example to stow containers when supplying the Neumayer Station. This extensive maintenance work will enable the safe operation of the research icebreaker in the polar regions in the years to come. Polarstern is then scheduled to set off for Antarctica at the beginning of December.

Further information on the expediton can be found in the weekly reports.