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...

Last Saturday afternoon we passed 85 degrees north, the last circle of latitude marked on our chart before the North Pole. When plotting our position I had the impression of entering into a forbidden zone. This milestone is one that few vessels have passed before us, only ice breakers, Nansen on the Fram and the Russian vessel Sedov, and now Tara! And what a crossing of the line it was! Engulfed in the largest storm of the winter, with wind up to 60 knots from the south east, horizontal snow reducing visibility to nothing and the rigging on Tara resonating throughout the boat, we reached a speed of almost 1 knot. During the storm the barometer rose to 1040hpa with a rapid rise in temperature from -40?C to -15?C. For now our material on the ice has withstood the gale...

Matthieu, the subject of today’s log, is our resident scientist. Working for the oceanographic laboratory at Paris-Jussieu University, he is responsible for managing all of the scientific activities on board. Qualified as an engineer in computing and electronics, Matthieu has already spent one year in the polar regions, passing a winter at the French Antarctic base Dumont d’Urville. His tour in the south was as a science technician, responsible for the base computer network administration and the maintenance of various scientific experiments. When asked what led him to the polar regions Matthieu explains it was for a number of reasons. “Mainly for the scientific interest, but also the fact that the French Polar Institute was next to my engineering school when I was a s...

Navigating through the Norwegian fiords has been truly magnificent. With grand mountainous landscapes, winding channels with strong currents, a scattering of fishing villages and the midnight sun we have enjoyed every mile of it. We can see many similarities with the landscapes of Patagonia and South Georgia. At the start of the year we were sailing past the abandoned Norwegian whaling stations in South Georgia. Now the cultural links between the southern whaling grounds and this part of the world are even more evident to us as we sail past small isolated fishing villages that resemble in some ways the Norwegian settlements in the south. For those of us with biological clocks regulated to the mid latitudes we are finding it somewhat bizarre to experience 24 hour sunlight. Vi...

The yacht Tara has now sailed through Russian waters and into the Kara Sea. Grant is captain of this expedition which is part of the larger, IPY endorsed, DAMOCLES programme. We are following their journey into the ice, where they will drift across the arctic by posting some of the captain's logs: Passing through the Karskiye Vorota Strait between Novaya Zemlya and Ostrov Vaygach Islands this morning we have now entered the south Kara Sea. The weather conditions have changed little since the last log, cold and grey. With little wind to speak of we are ...

Aug 16: Our last few days at sea since Cape Chelyuskin have passed much like the rest since Murmansk, albeit with heightened excitement for our arrival in Tiksi. Little wind and calm conditions allowed us to make a test of our new sounder. Capable of measuring to a depth of 4,000m, this instrument will be important during the drift to assess the depth before making a CTD sounding. However, for now our minds are turned to the coming few days in our last port of call before two years in the high Arctic Ocean. Early this afternoon, shortly after fastening the mooring lines, we had the pleasure of receiving an official welcome from the people of the Sakha Republic. Adorned in traditional robes, singing and offering food and drinks provided an unexpected but appreciated reception...

The days are rapidly becoming shorter and shorter as the polar night approaches. Our preparation continues for winter and today we began installing our hydroponics garden in one corner of the saloon. Kindly supplied to us by General Hydroponics Europe, this system promises to provide us with fresh veggies throughout the winter months. Not only giving us a good source of vitamins, it will also create a welcome winter activity. Gamet has already shown his green fingers by nurturing a variety of plants on board, including one rose that is about to flower, giving us a welcome burst of colour and life. We have also winterized our water maker this week as the temperature in ...

As we continue to organise our life on board for the long polar night ahead, a constant preoccupation is the production, use and discharge of water. Ensuring that we have a sufficient amount of good quality water for our basic needs is a big task for at least two people each day. Like most large boats, we have a watermaker onboard that makes freshwater from seawater through the process of osmosis. In temperate climates we can produce up to 200 liters per hour. However, in our current position close to 83 degrees north the water temperature is -1.5 degrees celsius and the temperature in the forward hold (the location of the watermaker) has descended to -7 degrees, below the minimum operating temperature of 0 degrees. Therefore, we now produce our water by melting ice and sno...

As we continue to organise our life on board for the long polar night ahead, a constant preoccupation is the production, use and discharge of water. Ensuring that we have a sufficient amount of good quality water for our basic needs is a big task for at least two people each day. Like most large boats, we have a watermaker onboard that makes freshwater from seawater through the process of osmosis. In temperate climates we can produce up to 200 liters per hour. However, in our current position close to 83 degrees north the water temperature is -1.5 degrees celsius and the temperature in the forward hold (the location of the watermaker) has descended to -7 degrees, below the minimum operating temperature of 0 degrees. Therefore, we now produce our water by melting ice and sno...

As we continue to organise our life on board for the long polar night ahead, a constant preoccupation is the production, use and discharge of water. Ensuring that we have a sufficient amount of good quality water for our basic needs is a big task for at least two people each day. Like most large boats, we have a watermaker onboard that makes freshwater from seawater through the process of osmosis. In temperate climates we can produce up to 200 liters per hour. However, in our current position close to 83 degrees north the water temperature is -1.5 degrees celsius and the temperature in the forward hold (the location of the watermaker) has descended to -7 degrees, below the minimum operating temperature of 0 degrees. Therefore, we now produce our water by melting ice and sno...