Archive of past Polarstern missions
The Polarstern spends almost 310 days a year at sea. Between November and March it usually sails to and around the waters of the Antarctic, while the northern summer months are spent in Arctic waters. Since the ship was first commissioned on December 9th 1982 Polarstern has completed a total of more than fifty expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic.
The Polarstern Archive lists the expeditions of the research vessel since April 2012, showing the position of the ship with corresponding satellite images and NWP data. If you click on the position of Polarstern, you will see more archive data: the webcam image, a forecast of this day, the SYNOP weather report and the radio sounding. The present schedule for Polarstern cruises lasts until summer 2014.
Polarstern missions are numbered consecutively in Roman numerals preceeded by "ANT" for Antarctica and "ARK" for the Arctic region. Further information on the mission content are available at the Alfred Wegener Institut.
Please note the current rare event, that Polarstern is sailing Antarctic waters during winter time. Here you will find interesting pictures beginning at June 2013.
Expedition |
Duration |
Description |
Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| ANT-XXVIII/5 | 10 April 2012 - 15 May 2012 | Punta Arenas - Bremerhaven | Atlantic |
| ARK-XXVII/1 | 14 June 2012 - 15 July 2012 | Bremerhaven - Longyearbyen | Nordic Sea, Greenland Sea |
| ARK-XXVII/2 | 15 July 2012 - 30 July 2012 | Longyearbyen - Tromso | Greenland Sea, Nordic Sea |
| ARK-XXVII/3 | 2 August 2012 - 8 October 2012 | Tromso - Bremerhaven | Nordic Sea |
| ANT-XXIX/1 | 27 October 2012 - 27 November 2012 | Bremerhaven - Cape Town | Atlantic |
| ANT-XXIX/2 | 30 November 2012 - 18 January 2013 | Cape Town - Punta Arenas | South Atlantic |
| ANT-XXIX/3 | 20 January 2013 - 19 March 2013 | Punta Arenas - Punta Arenas | Weddell Sea |
| ANT-XXIX/4 | 22 March 2013 - 17 April 2013 | Punta Arenas - Port Stanley | Scotia Sea |
| ANT-XXIX/5 | 18 April 2013 - 29 May 2013 | Port Stanley - Cape Town | South Atlantic |
| ANT-XXIX/6 | 8 June 2013 - 12 August 2013 | Cape Town - Punta Arenas | South Atlantic, Weddell Sea |
| ANT-XXIX/7 | 14 August 2013 - 16 October 2013 | Punta Arenas - Cape Town | South Atlantic |
| ANT-XXIX/8 | 09 November 2013 - 16 December 2013 | Cape Town - Cape Town | South Atlantic |
| ANT-XXIX/9 | 19 December 2013 - 05 March 2014 | Cape Town - Cape Town | South Atlantic |
| ANT-XXIX/10 | 08 March 2014 - 13 April 2014 | Cape Town - Bremerhaven | Atlantic |
| ARK-XXVIII/1 | CANCELED | ||
| ARK-XXVIII/2 | 01 June 2013 - 03 July 2014 | Bremerhaven – Tromsoe | Nordic Sea, Greenland Sea |
| ARK-XXVIII/3 | 05 July – 3 August 2014 | Tromsoe - Tromsoe | Greenland Sea |
| ARK-XXVIII/4 | 05 August – 10 October 2014 | Tromsoe - Bremerhaven | Greenland Sea |
| ANT-XXX/1 | 27 October – 30 November 2014 | Bremerhaven - Cape Town | Atlantic |
| ANT-XXX/2 | 1 December – 31 January 2015 | Cape Town - Punta Arenas | Atlantic |
Additional material (Videos and Blogs)
ARK-XXVII/3: Polarstern impressions during the cruise to the central Arctic: YouTube video
ANT-XXIX/3: A team from the German TV-channel ZDF was onboard Polarstern: Video and Blog in German.
ANT_XXIX/6: Prof. Dr. Peter Lemke (AWI) about the expedition in wintery Antarctic (in German) YouTube video.
ANT_XXIX/6: Polarstern impressions during the cruise from Cape Town to Neumayer-Station in Antarctic: YouTube video