“From the scientific point of view, I have to assume that there once was or still is life in Mars,” says microbiologist Dirk Wagner, researcher at the AWI research centre in Potsdam. Because of statements like this, he is often labelled as a “sci-fi fanatic”, but he really isn’t, for the question of life on Mars has long been an intriguing possibility. Wagner and his team of seven have analysed the conditions in Mars. The most important finding to consider is that evidence of water has been found on Mars, and water is a basic building block of life. Another factor is the occurrence of carbon dioxide and hydrogen, which are nutritional bases for some life forms, just as bread is to humans. Fundamentals for life are also optimal if there are no huge temperature fluc...

There is always something happening on the work deck; trip leader Hans-W. Hubberten of the Alfred Wegener Institute Potsdam and Captain Schwarze are continuously planning the Polarstern's course and the next stopping point. One tool for doing research is the ship's helicopter. For Australian geologist Duanne White and Swiss Minerologist Roland Oberhänsli (from the University of Potsdam), it is their first helicopter trip in the region. They head towards the southeast, in the direction of Casey Bay to the Rayner Glacier in Enderby Land. The researchers have maps with specific locations they would like to investigate and take samples from. The aim of the research is to investigate the retreating ice in this region, and the speed and impact it has had on climate change in th...

The course of the Polarstern has led the participants of the Alfred Wegener Institutes research expedition ANT-XXIII/9 from the Neumayer station further towards an easterly direction. Calm seas and mild winds resulted in a comfortable journey. The last days have been a continuous oscillation between deep blue waters and a sea of white, both with their own special characteristics. On the open sea, we are already seeing many more whales, sometimes we see whole pods on their journeys. They don't seem to be disturbed by the presence of the large blue research ship, and just continue to follow their own internal navigation systems. Sometimes, you can just see their backs with their fins poking out of the water, impressive sea mammals from the deep sea, coming to the surface and...

The German research vessel Polarstern, on the Alfred Wegener Institute's ANTXXIII/9 expedition, arrived at the edge of the ice shelf near the Neumayer station on February 12, 2007. It used the two days of good weather to remove waste and re-supply the research station. The fuel tanks were filled and food supplies were unloaded. The rubbish that could not be disposed of onsite needed to be loaded onto the Polarstern and taken away from the Antarctic. During this time the researchers on board were able to take a look at the working environment of their colleagues on the ice. It was an opportunity to learn more about the different research projects carried out at the station. During the summer, the Antarctic station offers living and working quarters to researchers from around...

Here is a selection of short video clips taken on board of RV Polarstern on its actual expedition to East Antarctica. The video material is kindly made available by the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research. They are in .flv format and can be viewed using VLC software. AW...

Mabel's recovery from the ocean floor off Antarctica. [Update 2007-02-20: The recovery attempt was not successful, reports Polarstern. Mabel will stay on the ocean floor for another year.] The joint German-Italian project "Mabel" (Multidisciplinary Antarctic BEntic Laboratory) is the first scientific project to be conducted during the current Antarctic Polarstern Expedition ANT-XXIII/9. Mabel is...

After a short period in the harbor of Punta Arenas, the German research icebreaker Polarstern will start for its next Antarctic Expedition. More than 40 scientists, students and technicians will be working on board until the middle of April. The two days stay in Punta Arenas were used to get all preparations done for the upcoming 12 weeks on sea. Containers were put on board or taken off, provisions were topped up and the fuel tanks were filled with 2,800 tonnes of diesel at the bunker pier "Cabo Negro" — rnough to keep the "Polarstern" running for 12 weeks and more. On February 1st all scientists and technicians finally arrived in Punta Arenas, and all were on board Polarstern by the next day. Passports were checked and collected by the first mate S...

For the participants of the Polarstern ANTXXIII/8 Antarctic Expedition, Punta Arenas means the end of an exciting journey through the everlasting ice. However, for the scientists, explorers and technicians of the upcoming Polarstern ANTXXIII/9 Expedition, this place stands for the beginning of their travel in the very eastern part of Antarctica — a place Polarstern has never been before and which only few scientists have ever put foot on. In addition to the various scientific programs, the ship and its crew will supply the German scientific station Neumayer, and a huge measuring program will be undertaken, in cooperation with the Russian Research Icebreaker Akademik Alexander Karpinsky. ...

A few years ago thousands of icebergs calved from the Larsen A/B area. The fauna inhabiting the seafloor in this region was probably not disturbed on a large scale, but further north, where the icebergs ran aground with a higher frequency, iceberg scouring is now apparent. We reported earlier that the seafloor in the region where the collapse of the Larsen A and B ice shelves happened shows very little damage. However, in order to evaluate the specific conditions beneath the ice shelf we had to i...

Cetacean surveys by helicopter turned out to be a particularly efficient technique to identify the poorly known beaked whales and thus extend our knowledge of their geographical distribution in Antarctica. Have you ever heard of “Ziphiids”? This term refers to the cousins of dolphins which belong to the most mysterious family of all cetaceans. This family, also known as beaked whales, is one of the biggest among cetaceans. In the Southern Ocean, their size varies from five meters for the smallest to twice as long for the Arnoux’s Beaked Whale. Despite their enormous size, these 20 species are still very poorly known. Some of them have never been seen alive, and most of the information about their biology has been gained by investigating stranded specimens. Beaked whale...