• Setting sail to a region in rapid transition

    With the departure of the research vessel Polarstern from Punta Arenas (Chile) scheduled for this weekend, the "Summer Weddell Sea Outflow Study" (SWOS) international expedition will commence. Up to early [...] and ocean system, but one that can only be explored on site by research icebreakers such as the Polarstern due to challenging sea ice conditions.

  • Unique Insights into the Antarctic Ice Shelf System

    Polarstern Expedition
    The world’s second-largest ice shelf was the destination for a Polarstern expedition that ended in Punta Arenas, Chile on 14 th March 2018. Oceanographers from the Alfred Wegener

  • How unstable is the East Antarctic Ice Sheet?

    Expedition start
    On the 6th of January, the research vessel Polarstern set off from Cape Town in South Africa for an expedition of around eight weeks to the Antarctic. Extensive preventative measures [...] further planned expeditions in the coming years. Interested parties can follow this and subsequent Polarstern expeditions live in a new app.

  • Passive Acoustic Monitoring - AWI OZA

    for diver safety in the vicinity of Polarstern, and PAM recordings at a separate site 60nm from Polarstern for 12h at 192 kHz. 2005 Polarstern expedition ANT-XXII/3 doi.org/10.2312/BzPM_0533_2006 [...] monitoring. 2014/15 Acoustic mensuration of RV Polarstern during expedition PS89 doi.org/10.2312/BzPM_0689_2015 To capture the sound field of RV Polarstern as experienced by a marine mammal close to [...] this species' behavioural activity. 2010/11 Polarstern expedition ANT-XXVII/2 doi.org/10.2312/BzPM_0634_2011 Field Recordings at Rothera 2009 Polarstern expedition ANT-XXV/2 doi.org/10.2

  • New equipment for the AWI - "Gardener"

    RV Polarstern starts the Arctic season
    Scientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) are setting out with the research vessel Polarstern towards

  • The changing Arctic Ocean

    After eventful and busy months, the Arctic season ends this weekend with the Polarstern expedition called ArcWatch-1. The team of almost 100 crew and scientists measured sea ice thickness and properties [...] sea. Their data show significant changes compared to previous expeditions. On 7 September 2023, Polarstern reached the North Pole, and on 20 September there was the world's first livestream of an ROV under-ice

  • Back Again: First deployed buoy from the MOSAiC expedition

    the Polarstern to the Central Arctic. It was the first buoy to be sent off during the MOSAiC expedition. It was part of the "Distributed Network," a large buoy network that drifted around Polarstern at

  • Journey through space and time

    On Wednesday, 2 July 2025, the Polarstern will set sail from Tromsø, Norway, embarking on an expedition to the Arctic Ocean. Over the next two months, an international research team will analyse the feedback [...] parallel airborne campaign will complement the measurements and, at the outset of the expedition, the Polarstern will support the first ice testing of the new French Tara Polar Station research platform.

  • Submission of proposals

    guidelines how to issue a proposal. You represent a small team who wants to jointly conduct research on POLARSTERN? In this case, you can submit a proposal for secondary use. The number of team members should not [...] may submit a proposal for main use. You should though, bear in mind that the planning period for POLARSTERN corresponds to 3 years. Since autumn 2017, a review panel, ”Gutachterpanel Forschungsschiffe” (GPF) [...] (GPF), organizes the review and evaluation of the proposals for ship time on RV POLARSTERN and HEINCKE. The GPF has the mandate to evaluate the proposals for German research vessels and to make recommendations

  • How is the ecosystem around the Antarctic Peninsula changing?

    Polarstern expedition draws to a close in Bremerhaven
    In the autumn, the waters surrounding the Antarctic Peninsula were still home to large quantities of krill and salps, ready to spawn. Thanks to [...] such changes was a central topic during this year’s Antarctic season on board the research vessel Polarstern, which will end when, on Monday 11 June 2018, the ship returns to its homeport, Bremerhaven, after