Press Release from RV Polarstern 04.01.2008 Antarctic biodiversity research hits Time magazine’s “Top 10” scientific discoveries for 2007 Time Magazine has recognised Antarctic biodiversity research in its Top 10 scientific discoveries for 2007. The discovery was reported in the journal Nature in May 2007. The researchers found over 700 new species of organisms, including isopod crustaceans, carnivorous sponges and giant sea spiders on the seafloor of the Weddell Sea off Antarctica, at bottom depths from 700 m to 6,000 m. The Nature paper on biodiversity and biogeography of the Southern Ocean deep sea was published by a team of 21 biologists. Right now, four of them are at sea off Antarctica on the German icebreaker RV Polarstern, conti...

Written 3 Jan 2008 3730 meters above sea level Maximum & Minimum temperatures: - 26 to - 38 °C Because of the rotation of Earth, the atmosphere is thinner near the poles than near the Equator and middle latitudes. This thinner atmosphere means high latitudes also have lower atmospheric pressure and significantly less oxygen than at the same elevation at lower latitudes. For example, we are now at 3700 meters above sea level, and this corresponds to more than 4400 meters (14,400 feet) in other areas of the world. Today we calculated the amount of oxygen we have to be about 53 % of that at sea level. It is like breathing with one lung, and feels that way too! We breathe like walruses after short walks, and gasp desperately for air when we are doi...

Wednesday, 2 January Today is the second day of the year, it is cloudy and the sun isn’t shining. It’s really a grey day... But I don’t mind!! Because I’m on one of the best scientific ships, the Polarstern, making my dream reality. This is my first cruise... and for me everything is new and exciting. I meet people from different countries, discover the German customs, get used to life on the ship, and of course learn all I can about my work!! On board I’m working with the AgassizTrawl (AGT), a spectacular gear that provides samples for people that work with severa...

Wednesday 2nd January 2008 The view from the porthole is overcast and dull. The rise and fall of the horizon through the window tells me that the trawl deck is closed. This is a chance to read in bed and I am immersed in an account of Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition, “Lady spy, gentleman explorer: the double life of Herbert Dyce Murphy”, by Heather Rossiter. In 1911 in the same month as we visit these latitudes, a ship, also called 'Aurora', was on a scientific quest. With just 0.04% of the continent edge ice-free, there was jubilation when the rocks of Cape Denison in Commonwealth Bay and its...

Thursday 3rd January 2008 The sun is shining, the sea is flat and we have been back in action since 0500 working the eastern section of the CEAMARC sampling grid. From the bridge I drink in a rare pristine environment. I see two whales, some Adelie penguins and I am thrilled to glimpse the mighty Mertz one last time. Station 52 takes us to a point around about 17nm from the tip. The horizon is a distant but brilliant white scar with big tabular bergs jagging the horizon. Harvey Marchant is a marine biologist based at the ANU in Canberra. In front of us is his book ‘Antarctic Fishes’. Harvey says he’s not especially a ‘fish’ man but confirms that he is a trout fishing enthusiast and has an obvious appreciation of nature. ...

Written 6 January, 2008 3608 meters a.s.l. Maximum & Minimum temperatures: -29 to -35 °C Nearly all the way from Troll Station to the Pole of Inaccessibility we have driven along the crest of the continent. On this last leg towards the South Pole we have left the ridge and will gradually be descending to lower ground. This implies different patterns of winds and snow accumulation. We are starting to see the effects of this in the shape of rougher snow drifts and more sastrugi, so the ride is getting bumpier. However, there are positive side effects to this. One is that it is much easier for the drivers to...

Tuesday, 1 January First day of the year, welcome in 2008! This morning on the ship, the eyes were a little bit swollen, the features looked drawn, movements a were little bit slower than usually… Yes, on the Polarstern, as beautiful as the party might be (and it was!), the respite is short and the scientific work doesn’t wait very long. So, at 10 o’clock this morning precisely, the scientific activities started again. As far as I am concerned, I am lucky: the foraminifera, microscopic marine protists affectionately called “forams”, allowed me to sleep a little lo...

Written 2 Jan 2008 3730 meters above sea level Maximum & Minimum temperatures: -29 to -38 °C Now, meteorological data from the Pole of Inaccessibility is sent via the Argos satellite system and will be available on the internet soon. This is the second Automatic Weather Station that we have installed for the University of Utrecht at this traverse. Also, drilling of the third 90 meter core is well underway. The drilling team passed 40 meters depth last night. We have been communicating with at Chilean traverse team, currently at the South Pole and heading towards the Pole of Inaccessibil...

The 3rd International Conference on Polar and Alpine Microbiology will be held in Banff, Alberta, Canada from May 11 - May 15, 2008. The meeting sessions and official accommodation will be at The Banff Centre. Register for the conference will be via the Banff Centre Information on the conference program, travel and other activities are available on the conference web site Abstracts should be submitted through the conference web site. We hope you will be able...

Tuesday 1st January 2008 The day is overcast and sleety. Winds are at 40 knots, gusting to 50 and snow whips across the bridge windows. The ship is hove to, riding out the weather and the decks have been closed since 0900. Post party it’s a quiet morning. I have a lesson in marine geology. There’s a revolution going on in this field. We now have the tools to map the entire seafloor in the way that Geographic Information Systems have mapped the land. This is Dr Rob Beaman’s area. To show why this matters, he constructs a computer map of Voyage 3’s ocean section. Prior to the voyage he gathered data to construct maps of the ocean around Antarctica. Tables of geographic information, such as latitude, longitude and depths from the ...