Support the Arctic Sea Ice Forum and Blog

Author Topic: Research Icebreaker Polarstern  (Read 15524 times)

Andreas T

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1149
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 18
  • Likes Given: 4
Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« on: June 09, 2017, 09:31:09 PM »
As suggested on another thread I'm starting this to have a dedicated place for information on the activities of this German research vessel which visits both arctic and antarctic waters.

There is the Polarstern blog: some entries are only available in german it seems.
https://blogs.helmholtz.de/polarstern/
worth looking at photos nevertheless

position can be found here
http://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/shipposition.phtml?call=DBLK

Jim Hunt

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6268
  • Don't Vote NatC or PopCon, Save Lives!
    • View Profile
    • The Arctic sea ice Great White Con
  • Liked: 893
  • Likes Given: 87
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #1 on: June 09, 2017, 10:12:35 PM »
A bit more English language info is available at:

https://www.awi.de/en/expedition/ships/polarstern.html

together with the AWI's own Polarstern position map. The University of Bremen provide yet another map:

http://www.iup.uni-bremen.de:8084/amsr2/Polarstern_AMSR2_visual.png

 
"The most revolutionary thing one can do always is to proclaim loudly what is happening" - Rosa Luxemburg

Tor Bejnar

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 4606
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 879
  • Likes Given: 826
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #2 on: June 09, 2017, 11:18:21 PM »
Wikipedia article on RV Polarstern includes:
Quote
... It is planned that she will be replaced by Polarstern II around the year 2017, after it was decided that the European Research Icebreaker Aurora Borealis will not be built in her original form.
and
Quote
History
On 7 September 1991, Polarstern, assisted by the Swedish arctic icebreaker Oden reached the North Pole as the first conventional powered vessels.[3] Both scientific parties and crew took oceanographic and geological samples and had a common tug of war and a football game on an ice floe. Polarstern again reached the pole exactly 10 years later[4] together with the USCGC Healy. She returned for a third time on 22 August 22 2011 at exactly 9.42 a.m. This time she reported the most frequently recurring ice thickness at 0.9 m compared with 2 m in 2001, which corresponds to the long-term average.[5]

On March 2, 2008, one of the vessel's helicopters crashed on a routine flight to the Antarctic Neumayer II base. The German pilot and a Dutch researcher were killed, three other passengers were injured.[6][7]

On October 17, 2008, Polarstern was the first research ship to ever travel through both the Northeast Passage and the Northwest Passage in one cruise, thus circumnavigating the North Pole.[8]
Arctic ice is healthy for children and other living things because "we cannot negotiate with the melting point of ice"

Neven

  • Administrator
  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 9470
    • View Profile
    • Arctic Sea Ice Blog
  • Liked: 1333
  • Likes Given: 617
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #3 on: June 10, 2017, 12:25:07 AM »
Good thread. I'm surprised it didn't exist yet.
The enemy is within
Don't confuse me with him

E. Smith

Michael

  • New ice
  • Posts: 49
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 0
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #4 on: June 14, 2017, 04:58:59 PM »
Current Meteorological Data from the Polarstern's meteorological observatory, including Ice Information, is available at:
https://www.awi.de/fileadmin/user_upload/MET/PolarsternCoursePlot/psobsedat.html

Andreas T

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1149
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 18
  • Likes Given: 4
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #5 on: June 17, 2017, 05:28:49 PM »
A new post is up on (in german) on the polarstern blog.
https://blogs.helmholtz.de/polarstern/2017/06/wir-fegen-das-meereis-von-unten/
I'll try to give a summary in english
A ROV is operating under the ice, focussed on water depths of up to 20m to take samples of flora and fauna. A net is fixed to the ROV and a broom is used to brush algae and small animals from the underside of the ice.
To investigate how distribution of the various organisms varies over daily cycles and longer periods (i.e. as ice properties change) Polarstern will stay alongside the same floe for two weeks.

Andreas T

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1149
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 18
  • Likes Given: 4
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #6 on: June 29, 2017, 08:00:20 AM »
The latest weekly report (in english) from Polarstern descibes its activities east of Svalbard with a focus on wildlife and the role of arctic cod in it;
https://www.awi.de/nc/en/expedition/ships/polarstern/weekly-reports/single-view/presse/woche-2-an-der-eisstation.html

Andreas T

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1149
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 18
  • Likes Given: 4
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #7 on: July 03, 2017, 08:25:01 PM »
have a look where Polarstern is now, I wish we could get more information from there. A webcam like the one on the Healy would be great but maybe they want to use their data transmission bandwidth for other stuff. I have no clue about this I have to admit.

shendric

  • New ice
  • Posts: 16
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 12
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #8 on: July 03, 2017, 11:48:38 PM »
have a look where Polarstern is now, I wish we could get more information from there. A webcam like the one on the Healy would be great but maybe they want to use their data transmission bandwidth for other stuff. I have no clue about this I have to admit.


There is some near real time data on http://expedition.awi.de/. But Polarstern does not have a webcam and bandwidth limitations is indeed one reason.

Andreas T

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1149
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 18
  • Likes Given: 4
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #9 on: July 05, 2017, 07:32:46 AM »
Thank you, for the link
Another post is up on the blog (in english) containing pictures of the ice (as a suggestion: a location, or time to help locate the image roughly, would give more context for us icewatchers)
https://blogs.helmholtz.de/polarstern/en/2017/07/whalewatching/
« Last Edit: July 05, 2017, 07:40:46 AM by Andreas T »

Andreas T

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1149
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 18
  • Likes Given: 4
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #10 on: July 11, 2017, 09:40:13 AM »
a new weekly report in english is out https://www.awi.de/nc/en/about-us/service/press/press-release/woche-7-tief-im-arktischen-ozean.html
polarstern seems to move around the area north of Svalbard which according to PIOMAS has thicker, more compacted ice than usual.

Andreas T

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1149
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 18
  • Likes Given: 4
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #11 on: July 15, 2017, 01:02:32 PM »
A previous weekly report explains why the ship track shows repeated north- south movement around the 2. July, measurements were taken over the edge of the shelf where water depth drops into the arctic basin.

https://www.awi.de/nc/en/about-us/service/press/press-release/week-6-from-east-svalbard-towards-the-deep-arctic-ocean.html

polarstern is now on the way home it seems or at least to a change of personel in port.

Andreas T

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1149
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 18
  • Likes Given: 4
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #12 on: August 04, 2017, 10:35:48 PM »
the weekly reports describing the activities north of Spitsbergen are here: https://www.awi.de/nc/en/expedition/ships/polarstern/weekly-reports-rv-polarstern.html
noteworthy is the absence of meltponds in the northern part of the track, in contrast with the area nearer the island where meltponds were in advanced stages.

Polarstern is now in Framstrait working on long term observations.

Andreas T

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1149
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 18
  • Likes Given: 4
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #13 on: August 12, 2017, 12:58:37 PM »
An interesting new report by polarstern on some opportunistic measurements of small scale features in the ocean.
https://www.awi.de/nc/en/expedition/ships/polarstern/weekly-reports-rv-polarstern/single-view/presse/woche-2-wie-man-einen-wirbel-findet.html it is in english despite the title in the link. One glitch in the translation: Bug is the german word for bow (as in front end of the ship), probably clear from the context.
« Last Edit: August 12, 2017, 01:10:10 PM by Andreas T »

fschmidt

  • New ice
  • Posts: 2
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2
  • Likes Given: 1
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #14 on: October 20, 2017, 09:25:02 PM »
It's in German and it is more about how the last expedition of Polarstern felt than about results, but you might still find it interesting to view the photos and film snippets of the reportage published at http://multimedia.sz-online.de/eiszeit

Neven

  • Administrator
  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 9470
    • View Profile
    • Arctic Sea Ice Blog
  • Liked: 1333
  • Likes Given: 617
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #15 on: October 20, 2017, 10:36:16 PM »
Thanks, fschmidt. It's nice to know how things feel sometimes!  :)
The enemy is within
Don't confuse me with him

E. Smith

Andreas T

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1149
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 18
  • Likes Given: 4
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #16 on: August 24, 2018, 05:30:34 PM »
reports from polarstern indicate that they were just in the right place at the right time to benefit from the opening water north of Greenland. https://www.awi.de/nc/en/expedition/ships/polarstern/weekly-reports-rv-polarstern/single-view/presse/geophysics-in-the-fog-and-an-exciting-sediment-core.html
Having been as far as nearly 37 deg west  https://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/shipposition.phtml?call=DBLK, which probably counts as the Lincoln sea they are making their way back out east it seems. It would be great to see what ice conditions are like as they make it through some of the stuff which now seems to drift south again towards Morris Jessup.

Jim Hunt

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6268
  • Don't Vote NatC or PopCon, Save Lives!
    • View Profile
    • The Arctic sea ice Great White Con
  • Liked: 893
  • Likes Given: 87
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #17 on: August 25, 2018, 05:35:11 PM »
Despite the pessimistic predictions of certain “skeptics” in the Twittosphere the good ship Polarstern has somehow managed to escape the vice like grip of all that thick, old sea ice north of Greenland:

http://GreatWhiteCon.info/2018/08/could-northabout-circumnavigate-greenland-in-2018/#comment-245291

P.S.  ;)
« Last Edit: August 25, 2018, 07:45:33 PM by Jim Hunt »
"The most revolutionary thing one can do always is to proclaim loudly what is happening" - Rosa Luxemburg

gerontocrat

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 20370
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 5289
  • Likes Given: 69
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #18 on: August 25, 2018, 05:59:54 PM »
Despite the pessimistic predictions of certain “skeptics” in the Twittosphere the good ship Polarstern has somehow managed to escape the vice like grip of all that thick, old sea ice north of Greenland:
By the look of that route there was no ice?
"Para a Causa do Povo a Luta Continua!"
"And that's all I'm going to say about that". Forrest Gump
"Damn, I wanted to see what happened next" (Epitaph)

Jim Hunt

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6268
  • Don't Vote NatC or PopCon, Save Lives!
    • View Profile
    • The Arctic sea ice Great White Con
  • Liked: 893
  • Likes Given: 87
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #19 on: August 25, 2018, 07:45:08 PM »
By the look of that route there was no ice?

Not very much no. If there was a "tongue in cheek" smiley I'd have used one. How about a "wink" instead?
"The most revolutionary thing one can do always is to proclaim loudly what is happening" - Rosa Luxemburg

Andreas T

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1149
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 18
  • Likes Given: 4
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #20 on: August 26, 2018, 03:39:18 PM »
the most recent entry (in german) has only vague information and undated photos.
https://blogs.helmholtz.de/polarstern/2018/08/luftpulser-und-eiserkundung-woche-3-auf-polarstern/

Tor Bejnar

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 4606
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 879
  • Likes Given: 826
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #21 on: June 20, 2019, 08:36:18 PM »
For the biggest Arctic expedition ever, scientists will trap themselves in sea ice

Quote
Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) will begin on Sept. 20 - when the icebreaker RV Polarstern sets out in search of an ice floe to which it can pin its fate.

The ship will spend the next 12 months following that single floe through the central Arctic and across the North Pole - a 387-foot drifting research station inhabited by a rotating cast of some 300 meteorologists, biologists, oceanographers and ice experts.

About 60 people will be living and working on the Polarstern at any given moment; most have signed up for two-month stints, though a few may be onboard for half the year or more. Virtually their only link to the rest of the world will be the ships and aircraft scheduled to arrive every 60 days - winter blizzards and stormy seas permitting - to switch out passengers and restock food and fuel.

Simply getting to the Polarstern can take as long as a month; participants joke that it's easier to reach the International Space Station, 250 miles above the surface of the Earth.


But the drift strategy has perils. Choose the wrong ice floe, and the scientists could end up in Russian waters, where outsiders can't collect data without special permits. Or the ice could carry them far to the west, beyond the reach of rescue missions should anything go awry.

Analyses of ice paths from previous years suggest that the ideal floe lies about 335 miles east of the North Pole. By the end of a year, it should deliver the Polarstern to open water somewhere between Greenland and the Svalbard archipelago.

A successful transpolar drift - one that didn’t kill nearly everyone onboard - has been achieved just twice before in history: first by the Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen, in 1893, and a decade ago by the small crew of a privately owned sailing ship called the Tara. The Polarstern will be the first modern research vessel to spend an entire year at the northernmost place on the planet.
and much more …
Arctic ice is healthy for children and other living things because "we cannot negotiate with the melting point of ice"

b_lumenkraft

  • Guest
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #22 on: June 20, 2019, 08:38:14 PM »
Awesome Tor! Thanks for sharing. Big Polarstern fan here. :)

gerontocrat

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 20370
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 5289
  • Likes Given: 69
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #23 on: June 20, 2019, 09:16:36 PM »
For the biggest Arctic expedition ever, scientists will trap themselves in sea ice
I thought they were going to stay on the boat.
"Para a Causa do Povo a Luta Continua!"
"And that's all I'm going to say about that". Forrest Gump
"Damn, I wanted to see what happened next" (Epitaph)

interstitial

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 2867
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 567
  • Likes Given: 96
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #24 on: June 20, 2019, 11:56:44 PM »
For the biggest Arctic expedition ever, scientists will trap themselves in sea ice
Quote
Analyses of ice paths from previous years suggest that the ideal floe lies about 335 miles east of the North Pole. 
I am trying to figure out where east of the north pole is. It is my understanding the only compass direction at the north pole is south.

Tor Bejnar

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 4606
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 879
  • Likes Given: 826
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #25 on: June 21, 2019, 01:17:51 AM »
I'm embarrassed that I didn't read with comprehension that "335 miles" sentence when I selected it for posting. :-[   My guess: "335 miles south of the pole along longitude 90˚E".  We will probably find out in September.
Arctic ice is healthy for children and other living things because "we cannot negotiate with the melting point of ice"

Rod

  • Guest
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #26 on: June 21, 2019, 02:25:17 AM »
My guess: "335 miles south of the pole along longitude 90˚E".  We will probably find out in September.

If there is any ice left for them to attach to 😝. They better hope the winds change too.  Otherwise they might just get swept right out into the Atlantic. 

Before the hate comments start, I’m joking (or am I 🤔). 

bligh8

  • Frazil ice
  • Posts: 313
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 56
  • Likes Given: 4
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #27 on: June 21, 2019, 05:43:25 AM »
For the biggest Arctic expedition ever, scientists will trap themselves in sea ice
"Simply getting to the Polarstern can take as long as a month; participants joke that it's easier to reach the International Space Station, 250 miles above the surface of the Earth."

Interesting stuff




Indeed...more folks have been in space than have circumnavigated sailing single handed, a great many more...

bligh





Jim Hunt

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6268
  • Don't Vote NatC or PopCon, Save Lives!
    • View Profile
    • The Arctic sea ice Great White Con
  • Liked: 893
  • Likes Given: 87
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #28 on: June 21, 2019, 07:31:42 AM »
There is an existing thread devoted to the MOSAiC project:

https://forum.arctic-sea-ice.net/index.php/topic,1497.msg71935.html#msg71935
"The most revolutionary thing one can do always is to proclaim loudly what is happening" - Rosa Luxemburg

Archimid

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3511
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 899
  • Likes Given: 206
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #29 on: June 25, 2019, 05:01:35 AM »
You know that movie Armageddon? Well, like that, but the heroes are real.

MOSAiC-Expedition Trailer



MOSAiC Expedition Countdown Series (1)

The countdown begins - only 4 months to go...

I am an energy reservoir seemingly intent on lowering entropy for self preservation.

Archimid

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3511
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 899
  • Likes Given: 206
Re: Research Icebreaker Polarstern
« Reply #30 on: July 04, 2019, 03:06:06 AM »
MOSAiC Expedition Countdown Series (2)

I am an energy reservoir seemingly intent on lowering entropy for self preservation.