RV Tangaroa carried out a six-week voyage to Antarctica and the Southern Ocean between 9 February and 21 March 2018 with scientists from NIWA and the University of Auckland.
Scientists did a range of surveys to better understand the processes governing this environment and its relevance to New Zealand. These included oceanographic observations, atmospheric observations, whale and benthic habitat studies, along with studies of plankton communities. The whale studies were carried out by the University of Auckland.
Voyage map
The map below shows the course of RV Tangaroa taken during the voyage, points of interest with red markers and blog posts with an orange "i" marker. Dates and times detailed are UTC, 13 hours behind NZ daylight time.
Voyage blogs
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Blog: Team photo, quadcopter and helikite - 2 - 4 March
4 March 2018On Friday the sun shone for the first time in a while, and we sailed close to our second proper iceberg of the voyage. -
Blog: humpback whales on the Iselin Bank - 1 March
1 March 2018The University of Auckland Cetacean Ecology Team (aka the Whale Team) has been waiting patiently for the last few weeks for an opportunity to get close to some whales. -
Blog: Krill swarms on the Iselin Bank - 28 February
28 February 2018We are slowly zigzagging our way north up Iselin Bank as the mesopelagic team have been running their giant fish finder, the EK60. -
Blog: Ross Sea phytoplankton - 26 February 2018
26 February 2018In the last few days our microbial team has been doing intensive sampling of the water column using the CTD, which is deployed every day around noon. -
Blog: no sea ice - 25 February
25 February 2018We have been told by people who have previously visited the Ross Sea that you could count on seeing three things: icebergs, penguins on icebergs and seals hauled out icebergs. -
Blog: Ross Sea Marine Protected Area - 22 - 24 February
24 February 2018Scientists and crew have been busy assembling an active acoustic mooring for deployment, working on the Iselin Bank and have been visited by an Adelie penguin. -
Blog: atmospheric gas measurements - 21 February
21 February 2018John McGregor from NIWA checks on the instruments that measure atmospheric gases throughout our voyage. -
Blog: hospital tour - 20 February
20 February 2018On trips that take us away to isolated places we need to take a Medical Doctor, just in case anyone requires emergency medical or surgical treatment. -
Blog: mooring deployments in the Ross Sea - 19 February
19 February 2018It is -4 degrees outside and our third day of intensive oceanographic work continues. -
Blog: Spectacular view of Antarctica - 18 February
18 February 2018The fog has cleared and we have a spectacular view of the continent of Antarctica today, from Cape McCormick to Cape Adare. -
Blog: The Toolbox meeting - 17 February
17 February 2018 Every day at noon everyone on the ship gathers on the bridge for a toolbox meeting to discuss the work ahead of us for the day. -
Blog: approaching the Ross Sea - 16 February
16 February 2018We are getting to the end of our transit south, which means today was the last of our daily emergency drills.