Plattform Platform	Reise-Nr. Cruise-No.	Zeitraum Period	Projekt Project	Arbeitsgebiet Working area
Polarstern	ANT-XXVIII/4	13.03.2012 - 09.04.2012		South Atlantic Ocean

Fahrtleiter Chief Scientist	Institut Institute	Auslaufhafen Port of departure	Einlaufhafen Port of return	Stationskarte Station map	Schiffsroute Trackchart
Lucassen Marcus	Alfred-Wegener-Institut fur Polar- und Meeresforschung	Punta Arenas	Punta Arenas

Ziel der Reise / Objectives of Cruise:

The Antarctic marine ecosystem is quite productive despite the frigid temperatures, and supports large populations of mammals and birds that feed extensively on fish and krill. Within this environment a unique fish fauna developed on the shelves of the Antarctic continent and adjacent islands showing low species diversity and high levels of endemism. Adaptations to this environment appear to be evolved at the expense of high thermal sensitivity. The ongoing release of the greenhouse gas CO2 into the atmosphere is believed to cause both, global warming and ocean acidification. The changes largely differ between regions, and the Antarctic Peninsula is one area of the globe that is currently experiencing rapid warming. Increasing contamination with persistent bio accumulating compounds is reported for the aquatic ecosystems of Antarctica. Together, the sum of changing environmental factors is thought to cumulatively threaten individual species, ultimately affecting the community and ecosystem levels. Human activities have already threatened the Antarctic ecosystem even more obviously. The finfish stocks in the area of Elephant Island - South Shetland Islands - Antarctic Peninsula have been commercially exploited from the late seventies until 1989/90. Fishery was only profitable in the very beginning, and fishing was closed in 1990 by the "Commission of Antarctic Marine Living Resources" (CCAMLR), until the recovery of the fish stocks from overexploitation had been demonstrated. The present cruise ANT-XXVIII/4 aims to investigate the state of the fish stocks and the benthic heterotrophic community by means of bottom trawls on behalf of CCAMLR at Elephant Island, the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula in continuation of earlier surveys. The samples from all bottom trawls will be further processed by a number of projects focusing on population structure, growth and reproduction parameters in several fish groups, fish parasites, the use of fish as bioindicators, and the investigation of common molecular mechanisms defining physiological responsiveness and climate adaptability. Invertebrate indicator taxa will be assessed during the cruise to detect vulnerable marine ecosystems (VME), and the abundance and trophic ecology of cephalopods will be investigated. Another focus of the cruise leg will be the comprehensive assessment of the Roseobacter clade, a prominent component of the Antarctic bacterioplankton, in the Drake Passage and the Antarctic Peninsula region. The programme will be completed by whale and bird observation projects.

Messungen / Measurements

Verankerungen / Moorings