Expedition ANT-XXIV/3

On February 6, Polarstern will leave for the next Antarctic expedition under the leadership of Dr Eberhard Fahrbach of the Alfred Wegener Institute. The main expedition programm is motivated by the International Polar Year 2007/08. The two projects, CASO (Climate of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean) and GEOTRACES are focused on recording current physical and biogeochemical conditions in the Southern Ocean. Recording equipment aboard Polarstern, as well as ocean-deployed buoys and drift units designed to sink to deep water will be measuring ocean currents in the Southern Ocean, distribution of trace substances, transport of water bodies, and interactions between sea and ice as well as ocean and atmosphere. This expedition is scheduled to end on April 16 in Punta Arenas, Chile.

Gaining insights into the global climate system is not the only objective of the International Polar Year. Involving the public, specifically the young generation, in ongoing research and provision of extensive information are central goals. For this reason, two teachers will also be aboard Polarstern. Charlotte Lohse from Hamburg and Stefan Theisen from Kiel will be actively involved in the expedition research, allowing them not only to refresh their knowledge about current climate research, but also to communicate their insights via telephone and internet to their students. “I hope that I can personally bring home many impressions from this research voyage, so that I can provide the students with a more accurate representation of the Polar Regions. During preparations for the trip and in conversations with my students, I have experienced great enthusiasm in these young people when it comes to the subject Antarctic”, says Charlotte Lohse, teacher at Heisenberg Gymnasium in Hamburg.

Press release...

Course plot of Polarstern...

Expedition reports...

Weekly reports of the expedition...