Polar Research and Supply Vessel POLARSTERN operated by the Alfred-Wegener-Institute

• Published in: Journal of large-scale research facilities JLSRF
• Main Author: Rainer Knust
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Forschungszentrum Jülich 2017
• Subjects: Technology; T; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Neumayer; Neumayer Station; Kohnen; Kohnen Station; Alfred Wegener Institute; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.17815/jlsrf-3-163; https://doaj.org/article/50d0b96cd8b246a89c2550a9c9f299f5

POLARSTERN, operated by the Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, is an ice going research and supply vessel. The main operation areas are the ice-covered seas of the northern and southern polar regions. The ship provides ideal working conditions for almost all compartments of marine sciences, atmospheric and glaciological research. It can break ice up to 2m continuously and can operate up to 90 days at sea. POLARSTERN is therefore ideally suited for often long expeditions to remote Polar Regions. POLARSTERN regularly supplies the Antarctic research stations, especially the Neumayer Station III and the Kohnen Station (Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, 2016a). In the last 30 years POLARSTERN was in average 310 days per year at sea, she is the major research tool of the German polar research programme.