News
PS119 - Weekly Report No. 6 | 13 - 19 May 2019
To the smoking volcano of Saunders Island
Like last week, we spent the sixth week in the southernmost area of the South Sandwich Plate, from the back-arc spreading ridge of the segments 8 and 9 in the west to the Kemp Caldera. The volcano of Kemp Caldera is part of the collision zone with the South American plate to the East. A look to our expedition logo shows symbolically the spreading ridge on the left and flowing to the right the volcanoes, fore-arc area and subduction zone.
PS119 - Weekly Report No. 5 | 6 - 12 May 2019
White smoker and yellow sulphur of the Kemp Caldera
On Sunday, 5th May, we arrived at the Kemp Caldera, a prominent crater of volcanic origin at the southern end of the South Sandwich volcanic arc.
PS119 - Weekly Report No. 4 | 29 April - 5 May 2019
Active volcanoes of the South Sandwich Island Arc
We started the new week on Monday, 29th April, with a long dive to sample smoking chimneys and vent animals in the known hydrothermal field of the segment E2-South. Here we concentrated our efforts on the active vent systems around Dog’s Head, a complex structure consisting of 4 chimneys, which are lined up nicely one after the other, fused on their bases and characterised by single black smoking orifices in 12-15m height.
Blog
Polarstern-Blog
Measuring ice and snow thickness : Poke it with a stick
By Damien Ringeisen | (Last blogpost from PS115.2 expedition to the Arctic after Polarstern’s arrival in Bremerhaven) Is there a more iconic picture than a polar bear stranded on a piece of ice to illustrate climate change? As everybody surely knows, the artic sea ice is melting away. Recent studies show that an ice-free summer in […]
Author: Polarstern Fahrtleiter
Polarstern-Blog
Some words about geology and the Polarstern…
By Myriam Caron | 81°N 128°E. As an ArcTrain PhD Student studying geology in the polar regions, it is with great excitement that I came on board the R/V Polarstern, with the Arctic Ocean as a destination. After several years spent studying the Arctic, what a joy to finally be able to go there! The first […]
Author: Polarstern Fahrtleiter
Polarstern-Blog
A visit to the crow’s nest
By Charles Bruntte | 82N, 143E. We wake up to a radiant Sun and a calm sea. This is a very pleasant surprise after a few days of high waves that challenged everyone’s tolerance to motion sickness. Today the wind is low and the air is not too cold. Samira and I take this opportunity […]
Author: Polarstern Fahrtleiter
Where is polarstern?
Figures and facts
| Port of registry | Bremerhaven |
|---|---|
| Length | 118 metres |
| Width | 25 metres |
| Max. draught | 11.20 metres |
| Max. displacement | 17,277 tons |
| Empty weight | 12,012 tons |
| Commissioning AWI | 1982 |
| Engine | 4 x KHD RBV 8M540 |
| Engine power | 19,198 PS (four engines) |
| Range | 19,000 nautical miles / 80 days |
| Max. speed | 16 knots |
| Operation area | Everywhere including pack ice zone |
| Crew | 44 |
| Days on sea per year (2013) | 310 |
| Shipyard | Nobiskrug, Rendsburg and Howaldswerke - Deutsche Werft Kiel AG, Germany |
| Scientists per day / long term sailing | none / 53 |
More Information
Polarstern is not only a research vessel but also a gigantic measuring instrument. Data are constantly collected aboard, some of them are also sent consecutively to different receivers. Further information about Polarstern can be found on the following pages:
AWI
Cruise Reports (data overview)
Extern