French Deep-Sea Robot on German Research Ice-breaker

Marine Scientists go to ground in the deep-sea
On the 22nd of May, Polarstern, the research ice-breaker of the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), departs Bremerhaven on a twelve week deep-sea expedition in the northern North Atlantic and Arctic. A team of altogether 150 scientists, engineers and technicians will study geological, biological, chemical and oceanographic processes during three separate cruise legs. The research cruise is being organised by the Alfred Wegener Institute and the French Ifremer (Institut Francais de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer).
Researchers from various German research institutes will also join the ship, hailing from the International University of Bremen, Max-Planck-Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, University of Bremen, German Weather Service, Hamburg, GEOMAR Research Centre for Geosciences, Kiel, the Institute for Polar Ecology of the University of Kiel, the Institute for Geosciences of the Friedrich-Schiller University, Jena, the Institute for Paelaeontology of the University of Erlangen and the Academy of Sciences and Literature, Mainz. Still more researchers will join the Polarstern from Institutes in Ireland, England, Belgium, Russia and Poland.

The Deep-Sea Robot Victor 6000
At the centre of the coming expedition is the remotely operated, unmanned submersible Victor 6000, developed by Ifremer and weighing in at four tonnes and capable of diving to 6000 metres. With the help of many remotely operated cameras, scientists can use manipulators to work with various instrumentation or gather organisms, sediment and water samples, as well as examining the ocean floor.

AWI and Ifremer: Partnership in marine research, expression of German-French goodwill
In order to install the submersible, Polarstern will make an extra stop at the French harbour town of Brest from the 25th of May until June 1st. During the technical installation of Victor 6000, scientists and politicians from France and Germany will have an anniversary to celebrate on board: 40 years ago the new German-French friendship was established with the Elysee Agreement. Since then, intensive relations have resumed over and above the political level. Since 1991, AWI and Ifremer have collaborated closely in marine research and geosciences, further encouraged by a memorandum of understanding which was signed in July 2001. AWI and Ifremer will hold a science open day on board Polarstern on June 1st.

Deep-sea corals in the Porcupine Bight
With Prof. Jorn Thiede, Director of AWI, as principal scientist, the Polarstern will depart from Brest following the installation of Victor 6000 at the beginning of June, and set a course for the Porcupine Bight, a region south west of Ireland. Marine scientists will try to discover which species of deep-sea coral can be found here, and establish their role in the ecosystem. The possible impact of fishing activities on the deep-sea coral communities will also be analysed and, with the help of Victor 6000 and a special depth sounder - Hydrosweep DS2, the structure and sediment composition of the sea floor will be examined. This cruise leg ends on June 20th in Galway, Ireland, and the leadership of the remaining legs will pass on to Dr Michael Klages, head of the deep-sea research group at AWI.

Studies of a mud-spewing volcano
The second leg will take Polarstern from the 20th June to the of 19th July north west of Norway to the Barents Sea, to the Hakon Mosby mud volcano. This underwater volcano was discovered in 1996, at a depth of 1250 metres, and instead of errupting lava it brings mud and the important greenhouse gas methane to the top of the sea floor. Hakon Mosby was studied intensively, using Victor 6000, by AWI and Ifremer in 2001. Since the volcano releases methane, it serves as a natural laboratory for studying the processes involved in the discharge and uptake of this gas.

A deep-sea observatory in the Arctic
The destination for the final leg of the cruise, from July 19th to 7th August, will be the AWI “Hausgarten”, a long-term deep-sea observatory established four years ago in the Fram Strait, west of Svalbard. Every year, one central experimental field in 2500m water depth as well as many other fixed stations are sampled. “The repeated sampling of the AWI “Hausgarten” allows the natural variations of deep-sea communities to be monitored, in a region of the ocean which is extremely sensitive to climate change, as they develop from season to season and from year to year”, explained Dr Klages.

Bremerhaven, 20.5.03