News
Research during Polarstern expediton important in climate studies
The ICEFLUX team onboard the expedition PS117 of the German icebreaking research vessel Polarstern is too busy with work to send us personal blogs. In ICEFLUX, investigators of the team of Hauke Flores from the Alfred Wegener Institut (AWI) are working closely together with the Dutch team. Wageningen Marine Research mainly contributes with its special ‘under ice’ net (SUIT) and with quantitative surveys of marine birds and mammals in the area.
ICEFLUX is a long term cooperation between these groups with the aim to enhance our understanding of the role of sea ice in supporting the rich foodweb of the Southern Ocean. The current expedition first sailed from Cape Town to the German base Neumayer and next zigzags through the Weddell Sea towards the Antarctic Peninsula.
Decrease in sea ice
AWI scientists from Bremerhaven have written a newsitem about a decrease in sea ice now also becoming clearer in the Southern Ocean. Studies from the current PS117 expedition contribute important data on the situation in the little remaining summer sea ice. That work produces parts of the puzzle around questions on the impacts of climate change in the Antarctic.
