UK research ship Sir David Attenborough sails on 30-day Southern Ocean expedition

A team of scientists are embarking on an ambitious 30-day scientific expedition on board the UK Antarctic research ship Sir David Attenborough to investigate how carbon dioxide moves and transforms in the Southern Ocean.

The ship will head to the Weddell Sea from Punta Arenas in Chile to begin the PICCOLO cruise, during which the scientists on board are hoping to learn more about the biological and chemical processes that draw carbon deep into the Southern Ocean.

As the carbon in the seawater rises to the surface near Antarctica, it interacts with the atmosphere, ice, and microscopic plants and animals, called phytoplankton and zooplankton, near the ocean surface, before descending to the ocean depths. By understanding more about this process, the researchers hope to improve models that make predictions about the earth’s future climate.

Researchers will make use of technologies such as autonomous submarines, gliders, and floats to observe these processes in places that, until now, have been inaccessible and unstudied, like underneath the sea ice.

The team will also drill holes in the sea ice to collect samples below it, as well as tag seals with instruments that will continuously collect data about the ocean as they dive up and down through the water, sending data back to scientists in real-time via satellite communication.

Four researchers from British Antarctic Survey are on board. They will be investigating the key biological processes, such as how zooplankton transport carbon as they migrate between the ocean surface and its depths.

The team will collect samples by using floating and moored platforms to catch tiny sinking particles – known as marine snow. They will also use nets to catch zooplankton at different depths to learn more about their movement through the water.