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FS Polarstern ANTXXVIII/1

Cruise plan

Cruise Info. 
Ship name (ship code)FS Polarstern (06AQ)
Cruise identifierANTXXVIII/1
Cruise period2011-10-28 — 2011-12-01
StatusCompleted
Port of departureBremerhaven, Germany
Port of returnCape Town, South Africa
PurposeResearch
ObjectivesContinuous measurements of atmospheric and marine properties as well as of energy and material fluxes between ocean and atmosphere. The cruise will be end in Cape Town on 01 December 2011. The following projects will be carried out:

Autonomous measurement platforms for energy and material exchange between ocean and atmosphere (OCEANET - Atmosphere & Ocean). In order to provide a solid basis for the observational monitoring of energy and material exchange between ocean and atmosphere it is planned to develop an autonomous observation system for operational use onboard cargo- and research vessels. The project is based on a network of expertise from IFM-GEOMAR (CO2-/O2-fluxes, photosynthetic status, energy budget, remote sensing), IfT (lidar measurements), the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht (HZG) (ferry box, remote sensing of marine biology with ENVISAT/MERIS) and AWI-Bremerhaven (CO2-system, marine infrastructure of RV Polarstern).

Atlantic breeding grounds of mysticetes (Baleen Whales) of the southern hemisphere. Steaming towards Cape Town, deep-sea mooring AWI 247-1, deployed at 20° 58.90' S; 05° 059.59' E off Namibia near Walvis Ridge, shall be turned around. The mooring hosts a passive
acoustic monitoring device, SonoVault, to verify the presence of large mysticetes species on their supposed, yet largely unconfirmed, breeding grounds.

Distribution of seabirds and marine mammals at sea. Visual observations of seabirds and marine mammals will be carried out during this cruise to determine the population distributions of those animals from higher to lower latitude.

Rate measurement of cosmic particles in dependence of latitude and weather conditions Continuous rate measurements of cosmic particles allow the estimation of their dependency on latitude due to the Earth's magnetic field. Simultaneous cloud observations allow investigating whether the concentration of cosmic particles influences cloudiness or vice versa.

Sea trials and calibration of the multibeam sonar "Hydrosweep DS III". Transducers of the multibeam sonar "Hydrosweep DS III" were replaced in October 2011. A recalibration of the system will be carried out between Bremerhaven and Las Palmas.

Using existing globally available CTD-data for deriving sound velocity profiles Sound velocity profiles (SVP) are important parameters for multibeam operations. Using the existing globally available CTD-data to derive SVP will provide very useful tools to operate hydro-acoustic instruments globally. The derived SVP will be compared during this cruise with the measured one to validate this method.

Sea trial and tests of the underwater navigation system "POSIDONIA 6000" after installation of a mobile protective window. The underwater navigation system "POSIDONIA 6000" was equipped with a mobile ice protective window in June 2011. The new hydro-acoustical parameters will be measured between Bremerhaven and Las Palmas during this cruise.

Deployment of Argo floats. Argo floats are vertically profiling drifters which will be deployed during this cruise for IFREMER
to measure global oceanographically and atmospherically parameters in order to maintain the worldwide Argo network.

Upgrade the central data acquisition system "D-Ship". The central data acquisition system "D-Ship" will be upgraded to operate with LINUX-software. Sea trials and tests will be carried out between Bremerhaven and Las Palmas.
Chief scientistSaad El Naggar (Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research)
Cruise programmeFS Polarstern ANTXXVIII/1 cruise programme polarstern_antxxviii.pdf  (2.69 MB) 
NPRCFS Polarstern ANTXXVIII/1 NPRC polarstern_antxxviii_1.pdf (0.42 MB) 
Ocean/sea areas 
GeneralAtlantic Ocean