By Karin Lochte and Karen Wiltshire| Being at Sea as a scientist on the RV Polarstern is a kind of surreal experience - one works all hours. Night becomes day and day becomes night. The ocean is the horizon and time is ship time. The crew is expert in helping in all situations and makes suggestions ...[Read more]
Archives for November 2015
A voyage of plankton discovery
By Annette Wilson & Minna Hovi | Greetings from the RV Polarstern! As we approach the equator, obvious changes in the ocean colour can be seen from the deck and through remote sensing satellites. We have also seen changes on a smaller scale through the microscope in the phytoplankton species ...[Read more]
Sampling the Deep Blue….
By Karen Wiltshire & Pauhla McGrane | The Ocean out here, in this “corner” of the Atlantic at 21° 58 N 21°33 W, is of a clear deep blue at the surface. For days now we have been sampling with a Rosette of Niskin Bottles with sensors of the CTD including temperature, salinity and ...[Read more]
Seamounts
By Birgit Heim | Seamounts are isolated submarine topographic elevations in the open ocean. They often originate from submarine volcanism, created over so-called hotspots in the upper mantle of the earth or along the mid-ocean spreading ridges. However, little is known about these seamounts and ...[Read more]
Floating Summer School on Station
By the students from the Floating Summer School | Ahoy from Polarstern! We have finished our work in the Baye of Biskaye and around the Ampere Seamount. The weather conditions have been surprisingly good and we are beginning to get our sea legs. Life is buzzing on board, not only in the ...[Read more]
The Floating Summer School
By the students from the Floating Summer School | It is half past twelve on Saturday 31st of October 2015 and we are writing to you from the Red Saloon aboard the RV Polarstern. Just two days ago, we left Bremerhaven, Germany, and we are in the middle of the English Channel. Out of a total of ...[Read more]