14 December 2024 to 3 January 2025
#IntoSouthernOcean
Research and conservation in the Southern Ocean has never been more urgent. The region is home to some of the planet’s most bio-abundant marine ecosystems, including 10,000 endemic species. It occupies a quarter of the global ocean surface and plays an outsized role in regulating the Earth’s climate systems, absorbing 40% of anthropogenic carbon emissions and 72% of excess heat in the atmosphere yearly. The Southern Ocean’s biological systems largely enable this remarkable climate regulation. However, only 5% of the Southern Ocean is protected, and much of it remains understudied.
The Antarctic Peninsula, which borders the western edge of the Weddell Sea, has undergone some of the most rapid warming of any area on Earth, driving a massive loss of ice on land and at sea. This loss of ice coverage is reshaping the Weddell Sea’s marine communities by opening up newly ice-free areas for species to colonize and inhabit. However, scientific understanding of how Antarctic marine life is responding to this unprecedented warming is minimal.
From sea ice to seafloor
National Geographic Society Explorers, storytellers and educators are conducting a comprehensive scientific examination in the Southern Ocean’s Weddell Sea via a groundbreaking sea ice to seafloor transect. The expedition seeks to uncover, document, and reveal vital marine processes and systems change in this critical yet understudied region. The observations will deepen our understanding of this ecosystem while informing conservation efforts essential to maintaining planetary health and ensuring a planet in balance.
The expedition is led by National Geographic Society and supported by Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Initiative. Schmidt Ocean Institute is providing National Geographic Explorers the opportunity to leverage the state-of-the art tools and capabilities of the 110m global ocean-class R/V Falkor (too) during its first voyage to the Southern Ocean.
Crossing the Drake Passage
The Drake Passage is considered one of the most formidable ocean crossings in the world. It is also a rite of passage for many explorers! Three mighty water masses merge at the confluence of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Southern Oceans. Below the surface, the circumpolar current, a primary ocean current that circles the Antarctic continent, rapidly moves from west to east through the passage at an estimated rate of 150 million cubic meters per second. For context, the Amazon, Earth’s largest river, flows at 210,000 cubic meters per second.
Above the surface, westerlies blow, facilitating a turbulent ocean surface and giant waves that can reach 15 meters (50 feet) in height. The crossing in these conditions is often called “the Drake Shake.” However, these winds can settle, and the passage turns placid; sailors refer to this as “the Drake Lake.” Once the passage is crossed, the waters surrounding Antarctica are relatively calm but certainly bring a suite of challenges.
Preparing Falkor (too) for Antarctica
Ice, freezing air, limited access to communications satellites, and poor navigational maps make it impossible for most ships to operate in polar conditions. To work in high latitudes, a ship must be polar certified under the International Maritime Organization, a United Nations agency committed to the safety, security, and efficiency of global shipping.
R/V Falkor (too) is a certified Class C polar vessel, meaning that it is certified to operate in light ice. The ship’s hull is constructed from 10mm steel plating and designed to break about 0.4 meters of recently accreted or first-year sea ice. The hull can withstand interactions with multiyear ice but is not designed to operate in glacial ice or interact with icebergs. As such, the bridge team has been trained to navigate near ice and identify different ice types while working in Antarctica and will be assisted by an ice pilot, an expert in navigating polar waters.
Preventing an over-accumulation of ice is vital, as too much ice can affect the weight and stability of the ship. The ship’s deck crew has been outfitted to work in extreme climates and will ensure ice does not accumulate on the outside decks. The ship has been equipped with portable heaters for quickly thawing scientific instruments and insulating equipment, isolating systems from the outside climate, and applying chemical solutions to slow ice accretion where possible.
Artist-at-Sea
Julian Charrèire is a French-Swiss artist based in Berlin. He will join the team on this groundbreaking expedition. His work incorporates film, photography, and sculpture, exploring ideas of nature and its transformation over deep geological and human historical time. Julian’s practice is grounded in fieldwork alongside experts like scientists, philosophers, engineers, and composers, and his work aspires to provoke the viewer to consider matters of ecological concern. He has traversed ice fields, volcanoes, radioactive sites, and oil palm plantations to inspire art that invites critical reflection upon cultural traditions of perceiving, representing, and engaging with the natural world. He was recently awarded the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Art and Environment award from the LA Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) and will be working on a commissioned immersive installation that explores the fragility and resilience of planetary water systems.
Team
