By Rafael Lazo Perez | The ship trembles while we slowly advance through the ice. A crack appears in the ice piece blocking our way. The ship cracks it into two pieces resembling the school charts that show the separation of the continents. We are approaching to Greenland and ice is becoming a ... [Read more]
By Rafael Laso Perez | Tac, tac, tac. The sound of the peristaltic pumps helps to stay awake at 4:00 AM in the lab. We just got some water samples from the deep sea and need to process them as soon as possible. After sampling a couple of stations, the procedure has become an enjoyable routine ... [Read more]
By Rafael Laso Perez | The excitement runs through my veins. In a couple of hours we will arrive to S3, my first sampling station of the PS107 cruise, which researches the Fram Strait, the gate to the Arctic Ocean. It is 20:00 o’clock and although I should get some rest for the night sampling, I ... [Read more]
By Benjamin Lange | Arctic sea ice thickness and extent have undergone significant changes over the past ~30 years. The observed changes are actually much greater than predicted by even the best global climate models for the Arctic Ocean. In addition, sea ice thickness and volume are key indicators ... [Read more]
By Ulrich Küster | Being a northern Germany native, the term “Beluga” was mostly associated with the large Airbus transport planes that would pass over my parents’ garden on their approach to the Airbus facility in Finkenwerder, Hamburg. Unbelievably large airplanes, with whom I had trouble ... [Read more]
By Fokje Schaafsma | On Friday the 23th of June, RV Polarstern left Svalbard for the SiPCA expedition to the Arctic Ocean. SiPCA stands for Survival of Polar cod in the Arctic Ocean. The main aim of the expedition is to learn more about the life of Polar cod, which is a species that is widely ... [Read more]
By Rita Melo Franco Santos | Polarstern is currently located in the vicinity of the 79oN Glacier, an area of high scientific interest especially for the geologists and physical oceanographers, as the region holds answers to many unanswered questions our researchers have in mind about the geological ... [Read more]
By Keith Soal | It is a wonderful and mysterious part of the ocean in which we sail. An area which has captivated the imaginations of explorers and scientists for many decades. We could not have chosen a more majestic vessel for this adventure to the north. The German research vessel Polarstern has ... [Read more]
By Natalie Prinz | In the name of the ’G.R.I.F.F.’ Project we have already been on our way on the expedition PS100 for three weeks, circling the Fram Strait between Spitsbergen and Greenland. We encountered the first sea ice in the second week and with the ice, many challenges, but also many ... [Read more]
