In 2023, RV Tangaroa undertook a 45-day voyage to the Southern Ocean and Ross Sea (TAN2301) between January 11 and February 24, 2023. There were 38 people on board: 20 science staff, 1 medical specialist and 17 crew.
Scientists carried out 15 separate objectives to better understand the processes governing this region and the role of the Marine Protected Area (established in December 2017) in protecting this environment. These included surveys of fish species and coastal habitats, ecosystem studies of plankton, oceanographic and atmospheric measurements to improve understanding of climate-related processes, and making observations of whales. Click here for the voyage report.
Science Protecting the Ross Sea : a short film about the voyage and wider work
Map of the course of RV Tangaroa taken during the TAN2302 voyage starting on ~11 Jan 2023
Select anywhere on the red track to see position details and time as well as other vessel information. N.B. Dates and times are in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). New Zealand Standard Time (NZST) is 12 hours ahead of UTC. Click on the ship icons for points of interest during the voyage.
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Record low sea ice levels mixed bag for Antarctic voyage
Media release23 February 2023Scientists from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) have returned from a six-week voyage to Antarctica. -
TAN2302 voyage update - 20 February 2023
We are happily heading back from a highly successful trip to the frozen continent knowing that the data from this voyage will contribute to a broad body of science critically important to understanding the Ross Sea ecosystem and the impacts of climate change. -
TAN2302 voyage update - 10 February 2023
We have now visited 23 separate sites in these coastal areas, albeit some of them very close together. Every time we visit a new site, we first need to map the seafloor as we are working in unchartered coastal waters. -
TAN2302 voyage update - 2 February 2023
We are now halfway through our Antarctic mission and the past two and a half weeks have been marked by feelings of excitement, anticipation, and trepidation. -
TAN2302 voyage update - 26 January 2023
We are two weeks into the voyage and while we have yet to enter the Ross Sea we have already seen so much! We are onboard RV Tangaroa with a team of 20 scientists and 18 crew, including a ship doctor and ice pilot, heading for the Ross Sea to study ocean physics, food web dynamics, subseafloor fluid systems and benthic ecology. -
Researchers to unveil Antarctic secrets
Media release11 January 2023As New Zealanders search for the summer sun, 38 researchers and crew will board RV Tangaroa tomorrow for a six-week science voyage deep into the waters of Antarctica.