German GEOTRACES section cruise GN06 in the Arctic Ocean successfully completed

After more than two months spent at sea, the research ice-breaker FS Polarstern (Germany) has returned to Bremerhaven on 13 October 2024 after completing the GEOTRACES section cruise GN06 (PS144-Arcwatch-2). The cruise track led to the Central Arctic Ocean, where two sections already studied in 2015 during the GEOTRACES section cruise GN05 (cruise PS94) could be successfully revisited and partly extended. The station plan also included the GEOTRACES crossover station near the North Pole, which had also been sampled in 2015 by the icebreakers Healy (US) and Polarstern. Due to a medical evacuation early in the expedition, the sampling time was shortened by several days and the third section at 30°E was therefore sampled in lower resolution. Still, all major aims of the cruise could be achieved.

This was the first use of the new trace metal clean system of the Alfred Wegener Institute for a GEOTRACES section, and scientists from AWI, GEOMAR, TU Braunschweig, ETH Zurich, Uni Oldenburg, MIO Marseille and others will be working with the precious samples. The cruise also comprised an extensive sampling program for physical oceanography, and broad overview of biological parameters, and aerosol sampling. The cruise was led by Benjamin Rabe (AWI, chief scientist) and Walter Geibert (AWI, co-chief scientist). The new data will serve as a thorough assessment of changes in the Arctic Ocean that happened during the last nine years.

For further information on this cruise please check the Polastern web page: https://follow-polarstern.awi.de/?lang=en

GEOTRACES PI: Walter Geibert, AWI-Bremerhaven
Funding by research programme of the AWI Helmholtz-Centre for Polar and Marine Research and the German Ministery for Education and Research (BMBF).