The Research Vessel Polarstern was in the Arctic for the past seven weeks. There, the summertime sea-ice extent declined by ca. 40 percent over the past 40 years – making it one of the most visible impacts [...] Polarstern investigated Atlantic Water Recirculation in Fram Strait and in the marginal ice zone north of Svalbard, as well as ocean/glacier interactions off the coast of Greenland. Central research questions [...] questions included how the ice conditions, ocean heat fluxes and ocean stratification determine sea-ice melt in the marginal ice zone (between the ice free waters and the dense pack ice) and how the melt

port 17. August 2022 After 51 days at sea, we arrived back in Bremerhaven today in the morning hours. These have been eventful weeks; our work has taken us north along the eastern Fram Strait, back repeatedly [...] program in the Greenlandic Scoresby Sund. Since difficult ice and weather conditions around the 79 North Glacier didn’t allow us to conduct our planned work there, we used the opportunity and recovered three [...] spreading ridge, where new seafloor is continuously being formed. For once we weren’t interested in the sea ice surrounding us but in the seafloor about 4000 m below the ship. There we deployed eight ocean bottom

everyone. © Angelika Dummermuth Not just a bucket of sea water: a bucket full of life 06. September 2022 A simple bucket tied to a rope, when tossed into the sea and filled with seawater, can provide a wealth [...] per millilitre! © Maité Guignard Shamrock Canyon 05. September 2022 After three days we left the North Sea, rolled up our sleeves, prepared our instruments, and were ready to get started with practical work [...] An oceanographer peering through a microscope and counting bacteria? An ecologist mapping the deep-sea floor? A marine biologist collecting and studying aerosols? A chemist identifying different species

much faster than the rest of the world. With consequences for its sea ice. In order to gauge the thickness of ice masses in the North Pole region, scientists chiefly rely on satellites. But this method [...] now developed a method that, for the first time, makes it possible to identify changes in the Arctic sea-ice thickness for the years 2011 to 2021 – even during the summer months. The resultant data is especially

salinity differs in the ocean: While the Baltic Sea is characterized by high precipitation and low evaporation resulting in low salinity, the Mediterranean Sea is characterized by high evaporation and low [...] September 2022 What does salinity tell us about the ocean, and why do we measure it in our water samples? Sea salts enter streams and eventually the ocean through weathering of rocks with rainwater, and from vents [...] sinks, despite its high temperature, due to the high salinity. We see this water mass in our profiles north and south of Gibraltar at depths of 750 to 1000 metres. © Angelika Dummermuth Dolphin sighting 22

A., Wiegmann S. (2022) Phytoplankton pigment concentrations during POLARSTERN cruise PS121 from North Sea to Fram in August to September 2019. PANGAEA, doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.941011 3. Bracher [...] Wiegmann, Sonja (2022): Phytoplankton pigment concentrations during POLARSTERN cruise PS121 from North Sea to Fram in August to September 2019. PANGAEA, doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.941011 3.3 [...] phytoplankton functional types with detailed uncertainty assessment using multi- sensor ocean color and sea surface temperature satellite products. Journal Geoph. Res.-Oceans 126: e2020JC017127, doi: 10.102

Guignard Microscopic splendors 27. September 2022 Some of the sea’s most incredible organisms can only be seen with a microscope. Drifting in the sea’s upper layer are phytoplankton- unique, diverse and often [...] The end of our trip 29. September 2022 After 30 days at sea, and having traveled 6790 nautical miles, we are arriving in Cape Town. Our last CTD station, just two days before our arrival, was quite special [...] diatoms, distinguished by their silicate cell walls; and dinoflagellates, with two flagella. Along our North- South Atlantic transect, we sample phytoplankton using a fine meshed net and observe species, some

most urgently needed to improve our understanding, our models, and our predictions of atmosphere, sea ice, and ocean? Answers to these and many more questions can be found in the following, diverse co [...] forecast" for the Arctic No-one can say for sure whether the next few days will be snowy or sunny at the North Pole: the weather forecast for the Arctic is far less reliable than for other parts of the world, [...] Prediction officially began in May. Through mid 2019, there will be increased measurements of the weather, sea ice and oceans in order to improve environmental forecasts in the Arctic and Antarctic. Climate scientist

To what extent does polymetallic nodule mining impact the ecosystem in the deep sea? This is what the MiningImpact expedition SO295 with the research vessel SONNE is investigating for the next two months [...] months in the exploration contract areas of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the North Pacific. During the collection of polymetallic nodules, the bio-active layer of the seabed is removed and the sediments

Oceanography of Polar Seas at the Alfred Wegener Institute and Professor at the University of Bremen. Ocean currents Ocean topography of polar regions Ocean-ice sheet interaction Sea level Ocean currents [...] ecosystems in the polar seas. On the one hand they transport large amounts of heat from the mid-latitudes to the Arctic and Antarctic. Once there, this heat can delay the formation of sea ice or cause the floes [...] covering the Arctic Ocean, as well as to the sea ice in the Southern Ocean, surrounding the continent of Antarctica. On the other hand, ocean currents also transport sea ice and summer meltwater away from the