The strongest ocean current in Antarctica undergoes analysis. - "Polarstern" returns home
In Bremerhaven, the upcoming early summer temperatures will bring delight to these scientific investigators.
Sailing from the Denman Glacier in East Antarctica, the "Polarstern" navigated north for roughly 2000 kilometers. At approximately every 100 nautical miles (185 kilometers), researchers collected water samples at a total of ten locations and measured the oxygen and salt content, depth, and temperature of the ocean from the surface to the seafloor. Additionally, samples were gathered from the ocean floor.
Dr. Marcus Gutjahr, an oceanographer from GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel and leader of the EASI-2 expedition, shares, "As far as I know, no one has ever gotten such a long, high-resolution sample section through almost the entire southward part of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in this section of the Indian Ocean."
The Powerful Ocean Current
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current is known as the world's most powerful ocean current, the sole connection between the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. However, due to global warming, not only is the sea ice cover shifting but also the ocean currents, leading to changes in the environment.
Remarkably, with the sediment samples from the sea floor, scientists can trace the current's position over the last 800,000 years.
Dr. Oliver Esper, a marine geologist from the Alfred Wegener Institute, explains, "We discovered that warm water is now reaching the Denman Glacier, leading to glacier melting from below. As a result, global sea levels are expected to rise." Laboratory analyses will now supply predictions of the pace of this water level increase in the future.
Starting from Monday, the "Polarstern" will be unloaded and then undergo maintenance and repair at the Lloyd shipyard. In early June, the icebreaker will embark on a new journey, heading toward the Arctic.
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Source: symclub.org
