Research vessel Polarstern embarks on expedition to Antarctica
An international research trip for gathering data about biodiversity in connection with the possibility of setting up a marine reserve is to begin in the Antarctic Weddell Sea.
Bremerhaven (dd.de) – An international project dedicated to long-term observation of Antarctic biodiversity is starting in mid-December with a several weeks long research trip to the Weddell Sea. The project aims to create scientific foundations for possible protection measures in one of the earth’s last few largely untouched marine ecosystems.
The expedition is taking place between 15 December 2025 and 2 February 2026 and marks the start of the fieldwork of the Weddell Sea Observatory of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Change (WOBEC) EU project. The project is part of the European Biodiversity Partnership Biodiversa+ and is sponsored by eleven partner institutions and funding providers from Europe and the USA. The Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) is in charge of project coordination.
The marine ecologist Heike Link from the University of Rostock is the leader of the 46-member team on board the research vessel Polarstern. Planning provides for investigations to be conducted along the Prime Meridian as well as in the eastern Weddell Sea, for example at the Maud Rise seamount with its extraordinary flow conditions. Previous work carried out in the shelf area off Cape Norvegia near the German Antarctic research station Neumayer III will also be continued.
A combination of autonomous measuring systems and traditional oceanographic methods will be used during the expedition. The matters to be explored include the question, how the loss of Antarctic sea ice impacts biodiversity and ecosystems. The expedition also takes care of supplying the Neumayer III research station that is operated by AWI.
The Weddell Sea is considered a hotspot of Antarctic biodiversity, featuring sponge and coral gardens, large krill swarms and numerous animal species that depend on ice. In the context of WOBEC, new biological, chemical and physical data is to be gathered and existing datasets are to be made publicly available. Another aim is for the results to promote international protection efforts.
