The research vessel “Polarstern” is on its way to Antarctica. On board this time: some young researchers who are completing part of their student training on the ship.
The “Polarstern” is leaving its home port of Bremerhaven and will serve as a workplace not only for nautical-technical personnel, but also once again for participants from the field of marine research. In addition to the crew, there are 33 scientific expedition participants on board – mainly young researchers who are training in the use of echo sounders to measure the seabed.
The transit route to Antarctica is regularly used for student training. Students and doctoral candidates learn how to use the echo sounders at sea, which are part of the research vessel’s permanent equipment. They measure the seabed and thus provide an important basis for determining sampling points and also support the navigators on the bridge in navigating through unknown areas.
On the transit voyage, however, the focus is on another aspect: the route is known and the students can therefore compare the data sets they have collected with those from previous years. From Bremerhaven, the route takes them via Rotterdam through the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay to Las Palmas. The training participants will then disembark on the Canary Islands, after which the Polarstern will sail on to Walvis Bay (Namibia), where it is expected to arrive shortly before Christmas.
“Polarstern” starts expedition on Christmas Eve
Following a crew change and the provisioning of provisions and fuel, a two-and-a-half-month expedition to the Antarctic Weddell Sea is scheduled to start on Christmas Eve.
In mid-January, “Polarstern” will call at Neumayer Station III in Atka Bay to supply the German Antarctic station. The research focus of the expedition is the continuation of the long-term observations of the Hybrid Antarctic Float Observation System (HAFOS). Within this framework, the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research has been collecting data on hydrography, nutrients, oxygen and carbon system parameters in the Weddell Sea region since the 1980s in order to analyse changes in climate change.
The Antarctic expedition will end in Port Stanley, Falklands, in mid-March 2025, from where the “Polarstern” will return to Bremerhaven after another crew change.
