Southern Sasquatch

Happy Australia Day

2012-01-26T01:18:00.003+01:00

Hopefully, you are all doing well, guys!
For a story and some pictures of our last week's hike, click here!
T

Almost drowned at Sydney Festival

2012-01-15T02:29:00.001+01:00

Mike Patton's Mondo Cane was going to play at the Sydney Festival yesterday (Saturay, 14th, February 2012) open air in The Domain and for free. We were surely willing to see the front man of Faith No More. Unfortunately, the weather was not promising and luckily we got prepared at least a bit. Already on our way to the event we got caught in pouring rain. Equipped with a tiny umbrella and one poncho we caught up with friends, grabbed a beer and waited for the band.

Well prepared for an open-air concert in Sydney's summer. No, it is not sun protection. It is rain protection.

For a while, the weather got better. This was before the band started.

When Mike Patton and band entered the stage it was pouring rain. For a couple of minutes it was still fun.

After playing a couple of songs, Mike Patton's Mondo Cane disappeared from the stage again. They go soaking wet as well. Being on stage with all the electronic devices in a strong rain shower is probably not too good. Anyway. When they returned about 30 min later, many people had left already. We were still eager to see the show. But as it started to rain again and we got more and more wet, we decided to leave as well. What a shame!

Sydney's good sense of fashion

2012-01-15T00:45:00.000+01:00

This is what I ran into yesterday. Isn't that fashion! Looking great, isn't it? I love it. A bit similar to Tim's nerd sleeve. Only, she can undo this mistake..

2012-01-14T01:38:00.000+01:00

Hey there! Another week has passed and I don't like to remember that in one week from now on, I will already stay at another place. The dog Emo, the cat Smudge, the chicken, the pool, .. I love it all! Especially Emo I will miss a lot. This dog is wonderful!

Happy New Year - Best wishes from Down Under

2012-01-01T22:06:00.005+01:00

G'day there!

I've safely arrived in Sydney facing a tantalising 2012!

The trip was okay despite its length. I have to say that Emirates was not meeting my expectations in terms of comfort and service. There is not much to complain about, but the seat space felt smaller (especially the width) compared to my last flight with Quantas. And the interior of the Boing 777-300 from Hamburg to Dubai was looking used and old fashioned and was in a bad condition (e.g. stow-away screens of the seats at the emergency exits were falling down at slightest turbulence). During the flight from Dubai to Sydney, there was not more service than absolutely necessary. You had to ask for water yourself and they always seemed a bit reluctant to provide it. Compared to that, on a Quantas A380 I was regularly offered drinks and for those who drink cubic meters of water during long flights (like me) you have a bar for self serviceat the rear of the plain offering cookies, crackers, soft drinks and drinking water from the tab.

Even though it takes some hours longer, next time I would prefer the connection via London and Singapur with Quantas and the Airbus A380 which is by the way often much cheaper that flying Emirates.

We are staying at a wonderful place. For the moment, we have a power-packed dog called 'Emo' and a touching cat called 'Smutge' next to two chicken (we call them Hanni & Nanni). We are sitting those creatures and their home, a house with pool in suburbia, Sydney.

Emo loves catching, chewing and returning whatever you throw!

Smudge

Traveling Iceland: The Snæfellsnes peninsula

2011-08-22T21:20:00.007+02:00

For four days I went out of the lab and on the road to explore Iceland's fabulous scenery.

The Snæfellsnes peninsula lies a 2 hours drive north of Reykjavík. Its popularity for tourists is growing. That is not surprising. It is close to the country's capitol and simply beautiful. Still, it is a quiet place and at most of the many beautiful places the number of tourists is still low. The country side is dominated by volcanic mountains and farm land.

Swamps and marsh lands along the coast and the numerous lakes are speckled with cotton grass this time of the year. While most of the birds have already left their breeding grounds by mid-August, the vegetation remains colorful for a while. However, the first trees start to change into red and yellow.

The weather was beautiful, the scenery colorful, often dramatic. Abandoned farms and barn ruins accentuate the roughness of Iceland's environment.

A special view on Snæfellsjökull - the glacier at the tip of the peninsula. It is a small and rather young glacier which can be seen from Reykjavík when the air is clear.

Parts of a wrecked trawler and naturally polished pebbles at the Djupalon beach (south-western tip of the Snæfellsnes peninsula).

A lava field between Grundafjördur and Stykkisholmur (northern coast of the Snæfellsnes peninsula). Often the cover of moss and lichen appears like cushion. Protruding black rocks of bizarre shapes add a strong contrast. This kind of scenery can be found all over Iceland.

A small lighthouse on a small skerry called Klofningur, in the west of Flatey. The sea was full of puffins who have recently left their breeding cliffs.

Flatey, a small inhabited island between the Snæfellsnes peninsula and the Westfjords.

On this ferry I went from Stykkisholmur on the Snæfellsnes peninsula to the Westfjords.

Iceland facts 01

2011-08-17T19:25:00.002+02:00

Iceland is recognized as a fairly clean country. And it is true that you won't find much rubbish in the country side. On the other hand, there are only few waste-water treatment plants! Almost every drop is pumped in the ocean as it is..

On the streets with the queer.. for equal rights, against discrimination

2011-08-17T19:15:00.002+02:00

Two weeks ago Reykjavík was celebrating the Gay Pride Festival 2011. Reykjavík is a place pretty liberal and open minded. The annual Gay Pride has become a fairly big event which is internationally recognized. It was fun to see all the colorful people at the parade and to feel the good mood.

The start of the parade at the bus terminal, Perlan, the hot water reservoir, in the background.

Yes, that is what everybody was looking for this day. Jesus, save me (before I become infected by the 'gay disease')!!!

...

The parade on its way through the city center.

Spending time in Reykjavík

2011-08-16T21:13:00.002+02:00

Yes - I am still alive. Even though I am struggling.. The time since my arrival more than two weeks ago has been very productive. Besides the work, however, I try to suck in as much of this country's beauty as I can. Let me give show you some impressions..

Tjörnin - the city's lake at the town hall. In the background you can see Askja, the Biology Department of the University of Iceland.

This building at Aragata 9 is where I am working. It belongs to the University, too.

Reykjavík at night (with some color changes). But yes: It is not really getting dark at the moment. However, the days are quickly getting shorter already.

This Building is the Hússtjórnarskólinn of Reykjavík. Instead of a social or ecological year, in Iceland the women can learn cooking and knitting etc. in the year after finishing school. That is the place I was staying at for the first 2 weeks. Now the school has started again after the summer break and I had to move out. Until the second world war this has been the German embassy in Iceland.

See: I am getting perfectly adapted. In the background you see some of the drawings I am stuffing this lab full with.

Another week, another place: Reykjavík, Island

2011-08-02T20:48:00.002+02:00

Only a week ago, I was in Sydney. My location changed dramatically in many ways. Now, I am in the small capitol Reykjavík of the tiny country of Iceland, or 'Island' in the local language. Not only is this place as far away from Sydney as it could be on this planet and somewhat different in its dimensions. Iceland is a strong contrast. For one thing, it is 7pm now and still day light (while in Sydney right it would be pitch black) and the traffic uses the right side of the road but that is not, what I mean by contrast. Everything seems so different here. Is it the colors? The colors are more pale. Everything seems to be somewhere between green and grey. There are so many shades I never realized before. Is it the shadows? Because of the low solar altitude there seems to be a very intense contrast. Is it because of the wide visual range? Only volcanoes in the distance limit your sight. Human buildings and plants alike are usually little in grows as if they are awaiting the next storm. Golden plovers sitting on elevated rocks, watching.

Well, I am stunned by this place!

At Daisy Hill Coservation Park

2011-07-22T09:39:00.009+02:00

In the conservation park in Daisy Hill we did some bush walking and tried to see a Koala in the wild. We weren't successful but they had some in an outdoor enclosure. Wildlife was plenty, though, and we spotted Wallabies, Parrots and other birds.

Torben 'hunting' animals at Daisy Hill. Pic: (c) J.Ruch

The Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen) is one of the most common birds in the parks and backyards in the city. We also saw them at Daisy Hill.

A Red-necked Wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus) mother with a baby in the pouch.

Somebody definetely wanted one of those Wallabies for herself..

A Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) in the Daisy Hill Koala Center outdoor enclosure. Pretty active this one - for a Koala: Scratching itself while keeping the eyes shut.

Finally, youngster got out of the pouch.. Here we see it drinking..

Bananas

2011-07-22T09:12:00.002+02:00

Just to show you that it is reality: Since the Queensland floods last summer the prize for a kilogram of Banana is ridiculously high. 13.98 $ is nothing uncommon at the moment. I haven't had a banana since more than 2 months.

Final impressions from Brissie

2011-07-22T08:48:00.004+02:00

Our two weeks of holidays in Brisbane are over now. We had a really good time in and around Brisbane and with Harry (thank you so much, Harry!!!). Unfortunately, Sydney has really bad weather right now.. However, enjoy some nice impressions of Brisbane:

The skyline of Brisbane as seen from South Bank.

Sunset at Kurilpa Bridge

Australian job creation schemes

2011-07-22T08:36:00.004+02:00

These signs are very common in Australia and for themselves they are no reason to get excited or to wonder.

Associated with these signs, however, are usually one or more people in bright orange safety dress holding signs that say ' STOP' or 'SLOW'. Those poor people seem to be replacements for the old fashioned stands on which signs are commonly attached in other parts of the world. A reason to wonder for me.. or maybe just a desperate job creation scheme?

Camping on Moreton Island (part 2)

2011-07-22T08:01:00.008+02:00

Most of Moreton Island is National Park. Only one resort and a few villages are located on the island with altogether 45-50 people constantly living there. There is an old history of aboriginal culture on the island, too. And some aboriginal people are still living on the island as we got to know.

The north-eastern cape with the light house. A good spot for whale watching. The ca. 20 km long eastern beach seems inviting for surfers. It is crowded with sharks, though and people have died from shark attacks.

Our tour guide Helge.

A small crustacean on the beach: the soldier crab Mictryris platycheles (Thanks to Shane Ahyong for Identification!).

Native Grass Tree.

A flowering Banksia.

Scribbely Gum bark. In several eucalyptus tree species insect larvae living under the bark create beautiful artwork on the trunks and branches.

Our base camp at the Blue Lagoon. Here we had our meals, enjoyed a bonfire with the wonderful smell of the burning Australian bush and started our trips across the island.

The bush at Mt. Tempest, dominated by Native Grasstrees (Black Boys), Gum Trees (Eucalyptus) and Banksia.

Camping on Moreton Island (part 1)

2011-07-22T07:34:00.006+02:00

18°C water temperature and clear blue water. Swimming and free diving with rays, box and many more fish was a nice experience - a little cold, though!

Two days on Moreton Island: A beautiful experience! With the 'MICAT' from Brisbane Port to the western beach. The second largest sand island in the world. No roads, only sand paths and beaches. Heath land and forests, ginormous dunes. Blue sea and red fresh-water lakes. Amazing wildlife. Whales, sharks, sea eagles and snakes..

Right after sunrise: A Coastal Carpet Python (Morelia spilota mcdowelii) of about 2 m length is looking for a shelter. In this picture, Jasmin has not yet realized that the snake is approaching her in order to grab a nice breakfast.

The Carpet Snake again. I risked my life to keep it away from Jasmin.

Dolphins (probably Bottlenose Dolphins) as seen from the coast. Plenty of Humpbacks were also around but not close enough to get a good shot with my small Nikon P7000.

Old wrecks off the beach. A nice place for snorkeling.

Tracks in the sand at the 'Blue Lagoon'. What was it? Maybe a small Wallaby?

Signs: A way of expression for humoristic Australian bureaucrats

2011-07-22T07:02:00.004+02:00

The good sense of humor of Australian bureaucrats displayed in a loo door in South Bank, Brisbane (QLD). Pic: (c) J.Ruch

What does this sign tell us? 'Don't shoot the Wallabies in the face with a hand gun!'?

Your baby is not meeting your demands? Trade it here for another one - hopefully a better one! Pic: (c) J.Ruch

Possum emergency!

2011-07-22T06:38:00.003+02:00

On our way to Harry's place Jasmin and I found a baby Common Ringtail Possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus). It was lying on the grass between a super-market car park and a main road. It was shivering and calling his mother. Also, as can be seen on one of the pics, it was injured a bit on the left eye. Because the mother was nowhere to be seen and as the street and car park were pretty busy, we decided to take it with us.

The cute little thing was freezing in the wind chill. Its cuteness was stunning somehow..

Mother for an hour. The guy at the emergency hotline insisted we should give the possum to a woman, not to a man. She should put the possum on her bra to make it comfortable. Not only the warmth, also the heartbeat and maybe the smell help to calm the baby down. Jasmin was lucky to be the only women around. We all wanted to hold it!!!

Harry got hold of an emergency hotline for injured wildlife and we brought the possum to a carer. Poor little thing!

Moreton Bay Diving

2011-07-19T03:00:00.004+02:00

Western beach of Moreton Island, Queensland.

No big sharks, relaxed and safe dives: Everything alright!

We had an awesome day diving in Moreton Bay off Moreton Island. We saw dolphins, various rays, wobbegong sharks, Groupers and green turtles besides many other things. Three dives in one day: 2 x drift at 'The Pines' + 'Curtain Artificial Reef'. Amazing!

Bush walking in Brisbane State Forest Park

2011-07-15T04:45:00.003+02:00

Scarlet Honeyeater (Myzomela sanguinolenta). A fantastically colored bird which is quite common in Brisbane Forest Park.

Australian Brush Turkey (Alectura lathami). Also very commong and sometimes anoying - especially if you try to have a snack. They'll come and try to get their share!

Harry and Jasmin.

Spotted Partdalote (Pardalotus punctatus). It is one of the smalles and for my feeling one of the most beautiful of Australia's birds. We watched them collecting bark and carrying it into their little holes in the ground which they tend to use for nesting.

G'day mates! We did some nice bush walking in Brisbane Forest Park and spotted great wild life: Hardhead Ducks, Kingfishers, Red-bellied Black Snake, Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Bell Miners and many more. This park has a single round track of about 5 km length. A great place for a day trip of bird watching!!!

Arrived in Brissie

2011-07-15T04:32:00.003+02:00

Brissie at night. Shot taken at Mt Coot-Tha look out.

Relaxing at the botanical gardens.

Hey there! We are on holiday! Last Monday we arrived in Brisbane where we are staying at Harry's place. We are really trying not to think too much of work and to relax as much as we can. Brissie's botanical gardens and South Bank Parkland are nice places for that purpose. Our plans for the next days: Diving, bush walking and camping on Moreton Island. Let's see how that goes..

Kitty toupee

2011-07-10T04:39:00.001+02:00

A blog you should definitely check out: Kitty toupee!!! Truely entertaining, isn't it?!

Good bye Australian Museum!!!

2011-07-07T14:26:00.003+02:00

Hey there! Tomorrow is my last day at the Australian Museum! It was a good time, I met a lot of wonderful people and got a lot of work done! Thanks everybody! Hopefully, see you soon!

The Research and Collection Building of the Australian Museum. In the 2nd floor was my office.

Torben, Buz and Sue (f.l.t.r.) in the SEM lab. Scanning Electron Microscopy is a powerful technique to get images of the smallest structures of any object, be it crystals or deep-sea isopods. Magnification of several thousand times is no problem. Unfortunately, my isopods are often very dirty and beautiful pictures are then not quite possible.

The old part of the Australian Museum. It is the first Museum in Sydney and located directly in the center of the city.

Lord Nelson

2011-07-07T14:09:00.003+02:00

It was already last Friday after our small sailing cruise that we had a small gathering in an old brewery, called Lord Nelson. It is a pub and hotel as well. As Mariella had promised, it was the original pub experience. The beer was good. The names of the beers are better: Victory Bitter, Old Admiral and Nelson's Blood. Tomorrow, Gerald will come for a visit. Nelson: beware!

Diving with whales

2011-07-03T07:19:00.007+02:00

Saturday was amazing! The boat ride alone was great, which took us through the heads out of Port Jackson and into the Tasman Sea. Some miles off Dee Why we were diving at a small reef with nice kelp beds, fields of sponges and ascidians, caves and crevices. We saw Port-Jackson Sharks, Wobbegong Sharks, Giant Cuttlefish, a ginormous Octopus and loads of other animals. But what was even better: In about 25 m depth, Jasmin could hear the songs of Humpback Whales migrating north where they will give birth to the next generation. After the second dive, a goup of four whales was approaching. As we were still in our suits, we tried to see them under water. Unfortunately, the visibility was less than the ~20 m distance in which the Humpbacks passed by. Still, it was the best experience ever!!!!
Further sightings of that day: Shy Albatross, Little Shearwater, div. Petrels and Gannets. What a day already. Coming home, Mariella, Lucille and Maja were already preparing some Barbie and Lucille got some nice wines out of her cellar. Puhh.. couldn't wish for more!

Sailing Port Jackson: 01st July, 2011

2011-07-03T07:11:00.003+02:00

We took the Friday off because Rohan, a fish taxonomist at the Australian Museum, invited us to a cruise on his yacht! I simply couldn't resist! And though the day was rainy, it was great! To go off sailing is really a dream of mine and so I think that I was smiling all the day. Rohan taught me some basics about to handle the sails, about the rules of traffic in Port Jackson. Can't wait to go again!

Heute ist Geburtstag: June 30th, 2011

2011-07-03T06:30:00.006+02:00

Heute ist Geburtstag! Heute ist Geburtstag! Heute ist Geburtstag! Heute ist Geburtstag! Heute ist Geburtstag! Heute ist Geburtstag! Heute ist Geburtstag! On the occasion of my birthday, Jasmin and I went SCUBA diving in Chowder Bay Port Jackson.

Größere Kartenansicht

A dive shop is located right at the bay so a car isn't needed to transport the heavy gear. The bay has some nice wrecks and heavy chains that are overgrown with diverse flora and fauna and provide good orientation amidst the wide sand plain. When we went into the water, a Little Penguin rushed through the place, right behind my back. Jasmin was happy enough to see it but I didn't. We also saw sea horses, Anglerfish, small cuttlefish, beautiful nudibranchs and lots more. The bay is a nice place for relaxed diving and fauna observations. Orientation is easy and maximum dive depth is about 20 m. A cool place to go! We enjoyed it a lot!

Isopod group 2011 at full strength

2011-07-03T06:24:00.003+02:00

Only some weeks before I have to leave again, Tae-yoon arrived to complete the AustMus Isopod Group 2011. Welcome Tae-yoon! He will work on fossil isopods from Korea, which is where he is from.

Isopod Crustacean Researchers at the Australian Museum: Tim Lee (Hons, Univ. Sydney; Oniscidea; Armadillidae); Torben Riehl (Ph.D. Hamburg University, Germany; Asellota, Macrostylidae), Buz Wilson (Scientist, Australian Museum; Isopoda, deep-sea biodiversity); Luana Lins (Ph.D. Univ. Sydney; Asellota, Desmosomatidae); Tae-yoon Park (Endeavour Scholar, Australian Museum; Trilobita & Sphaeromatidea, Archaeoniscidae).

Ku-ring-gai chase - part 2

2011-06-18T12:29:00.005+02:00

A spider of the genus Argiope.

A Glossy Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami). This is a threatened species of parrot that can be distinguisched from other species by its large and uniquely-shaped bill.

A Red-bellied Black Snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus) on which I almost stepped. It was lying curled in the sun right behind a small rock on the track. I must say that I was a bit excited if not nervous.. even though Sutherland writes about this snake in his book 'Venomous Creatures of Australia' that no adult human has ever been reported dead from a bite of this snake and usually it avoids contact with human beings, it is an encounter of the special kind. It has a very potent venom and is known for being terretorial during mating season and it appeared that specimens have chased people off for tens of meters.

Ku-ring-gai chase National Park

2011-06-18T12:00:00.005+02:00

What a wonderful day! As promised by the meteorologists (yes, they can sometimes be right - sorry, Gerald, I don't want to offend anybody - not even you), today was sunny and relatively warm. We took that chance and a train of the CityRail to go to Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. We got off the train in Berowra and did a 9 km walk to Mt Ku-ring-gai. That took about 4.5 hours and we saw plenty and amazing wildlife. Some of it you can see here:

Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) female. We saw also two males which are much smaller.

We had to cross some small creeks and it was a bit of rock climbing but very easy. Over all, the track was nicely wild, we didn't meet other people until very close to Mt Ku-ring-gai and there was lots of diversity on the type of habitat we went through: Bushland, heath, open forest, mangroves, and more..

Cicada exuviae on a burned bark of a living Eucalyptus tree. The area is shaped a lot by bush fires and many trees wear 'scars' like this you see here. Often you find hollow trees that have burned inside but still survived!

Some Aboriginal art: Kurt was here maybe even before the first European settlers arrived!?

The rain didn't stop us..

2011-06-17T08:21:00.002+02:00

The weather hasn't been good for a while now. Frustrating that is! However, we reminded our northern German ancestry (hoping evolution made our skin waterproof) and went out anyway. A day trip to the Olympic Park up Paramatta River turned out very nice as we had some one or two moments of sunshine and heaps of interesting birds, mangroves (incl. crabs), spiders and the biggest (though unfortunately very small) population of the Green and Golden Bell Frog in New South Wales which we did not see but the calls were everywhere and reminded me a bit of Gunung Mulu on Borneo.

Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) A breeding male. Wonderful, isn't it?

A young but not unimpressive Huntsman spider (Sparassidae) hiding behind Eucalyptus bark.

Australian Pelicans (Pelecanus conspicillatus) landing.

This small bank was full of birds: Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus), Black Swan (Cygnus atratus), Chestnut Teal (Anas castanea), Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax varius) and an escaped House Goose.

Red-rumped Parrot (Psephotus haematonotus) male at the corner of the street.

Back we went with the ferry and even though we got a bit wet, our skin did its job and we are hoping for some good weather to come the next weekend!

Cheers!

Eek A Mouse!!!

2011-06-17T08:05:00.003+02:00

Don't know if I already told that story.. The other day Jasmin and I were already lying in bed reading when this strange noise led to some confusion. It was a jangling sound as if somebody was throwing dice on a wooden floor. First we thought it came from outside in the corridor but when I got up to check, it first stopped and then started again but from inside our room. So we thought it would probably be our house mates in the room above ours playing dice on the floor. It seemed very unlikely, though, at this time of the day. Suddenly, we realized that the sound had its origin under our bed. So I lifted the mattress and got what I found was a chocolate frog (that Jasmin has given me as present some weeks earlier and that should have been lying in the wardrobe) which had suffered some nibbling and gnawing! There must have been a mouse or something just a second ago! First I thought it must be inside this wrinkle in the carpet in front of me. But the I saw it. A tiny mouse was running alongside the room's wall and hiding behind a box in the corner. Applying all our experience trained during intense field exercise, Jasmin and I beseiged the mouse in it's hide until it surrendered. We caught it alive and put it (together with the remnants of the frog) into an iron pot to proudly present it to our house mates next day. What an exciting evening! ;)
Cheers! T.

Long weekend

2011-06-12T12:32:00.003+02:00

Huhu! Another week has passed and time is running - as usual. I have accomplished a lot already, although I sometimes feel, I could do better. However, Buz seems to be satisfied and I think that I have made a big jump forward in my PhD project. Buz and I have often times discussions about those tiny creatures I am working on and so he helps me a lot to learn about their morphology and, what it can tell us about the lives they live down in the deep ocean. That makes me happy and gives me some comfort. Without him, I have to say, I don't know when I would have reached this stage. I think I can foresee the results of this visit already: Two new species will be described completely with a ready-to-submit manuscript. And this will include some discussion on new insights in the development of macrostylid isopods. If I can manage, I will prepare a first phylogenetic analysis on this group as well.
But now it is weekend - a long one. We don't have 'Pfingstmontag' but Monday the 13th will be Queens Birthday - a national holiday. The weather is relatively bad - about what we expect Hamburg to be like in autumn. It rains most of the day, is cold (~15°C) and windy. Yesterday (Saturday) we went to the Sydney Aquarium. There we saw Platypus and Dugongs, sharks and many fantastic animals native to Australia. We liked it a lot. After having had a nice malay Laksa we went on to the Australian Museum. Its exhibitions are a nice combination of old dioramas and modern displays and multi media. And for the first time in a museum like this I even liked the anthropological and cultural history part of the exhibit. Right now there is a special exhibit about the birds of paradise, both about the animals and their importance for the native people in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. Interesting - very interesting! On Queen's Birthday we'll probably check out a bird sanctuary near Olympic Park. We'll probably decide spontaneously, depending on the weather.
Well, folks, have a nice weekend and catch ya soon!
T.

Laughing Kookaburra

2011-06-07T14:04:00.004+02:00

This bird species (Dacelo novaeguineae) is a gigantic kingfisher and very charismatic. Laughing Kookaburras hunt all sorts of prey, such as sausages and burgers freshly cooked from the barbie or a slice of ham from a sandwich on its way to a persons mouth. Jasmin and I have seen them hunting! And they make me think about my grand dad who has fed a Kookaburra here in Sydney years ago with cheese from his hand. The Kookaburra took the cheese, tasted it and then decided it wouldn't like it. He dropped the cheese. Beautiful, isn't it?

Me at "work"

2011-06-07T13:45:00.003+02:00

Just to give you an impression of how "my" office at AustMus looks like.. This is the place where I sort specimens and do my computer work and the digital illustrations. It is an office with 7 benches in compartments. People are nice, it is quiet.. only, a window is missing. For the real microscopy I am working in Buz's office/lab.

A salad for dinner

2011-06-07T13:33:00.004+02:00

We just had dinner. And when I looked at the salad I just had prepared I realized that it was pretty much solely made of vegetables that are suspects in Germany at the moment for carrying EHEC. Don't you people in Germany eat tomato and cucumber and sprouts anymore? What a shame! It was so tasty..
Don't panic!
T.

Another weekend to come...

2011-06-03T02:26:00.002+02:00

Hey there! Despite having omitted to write on my blog I am still there and I am good. My knee is much better. And even though I certainly shouldn't drive it too far yet, I will go out and have a nice weekend again. Finally! The last weekend I stayed at home or went to the museum working. That is over now ;) and tomorrow we'll head towards the Hunter Valley again. This time we'll do an organized wine-tasting tour with Macquarie students. That'll be fun! catch ya later!
T.

Something to think about..

2011-05-26T06:42:00.004+02:00

..before you come to Sydney: It is one of the most expensive cities on this planet. Young people, such as students, often have no other possibility than to share their room in order to afford the rent of their room! So do I. Gosh.. am I happy that my room mate is sociable, pretty and does not smell!

Isopod group 2011

2011-05-25T03:54:00.003+02:00

The Isopod group at the Australian Museum 2011: From left to right: Luana Lins (PhD student, Brasil, systematics of Chelator [Desmosomatidae], Buz Wilson (USA, principle investigator), Tim Lee (Honours student, Australia, revision and population studies on terrestrial isopods), Torben Riehl (systematics of Macrostylidae). Picture (c) Luana Lins.

Hey ya! No Buz decided to have weekly lab meetings to discuss the state of our work, new relevant papers and other issues. That is one hour full of information, nice smalltalk, strong coffee and lovely cake every Wednesday morning! Good, isn't it?
Cheers! T.

A weekend in Kurri Kurri, NSW

2011-05-23T08:29:00.005+02:00

G'day dear mates! Jasmin and I have just returned from a family visit to the country metropolis of Kurri Kurri! Surrounded by the coal industry this beautiful place is situated in the center of virtually loads of entertainment, cultural heritage and wildlife as well as recreational areas. Not to forget, the Hunter Valley, one of Australia's most famous wine areas, has to be considered when thinking about why this place is so much at ease.

My first alive Grey Kangaroo!!!! Most of the time you can approach and watch them sleeping very close by the streets (vom vierrädrigen Schicksal an den Fahrbahnrand gespühlt).

No comment.

My smackaroo and a pavlova - a typical Australian dessert. Even the lightest desert may cause health issues..

Summed up: The weekend was cheerful and we had plenty of physical rest, food and drinks. (Probably no more food this week, otherwise I have to buy larger Jeans.) I was able to give my knee a break, which is probably not too bad. Many places were beautiful to see, e.g. the cliffs in Newcastle, the Mountains (hills for Europeans) in the Upper Hunter or Lake Macquarie. Only, the time was too short to enjoy the wildlife much this time. We probably know places to come back to some day. The Hunter Valley is a must for every person who likes a good wine or two.
If there is something that Australians can do almost as good as Germans then it is a barbecuing. (If there is something, Australians cannot, it is making good sausages.)
Catch ya later!
T.

When I woke up this morning..

2011-05-19T12:40:00.003+02:00

..these guys were out in the backyard producing lots of noise: Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus). I f....ing love this country!

Moved again

2011-05-16T09:38:00.003+02:00

After having a bit of problems with sleeping in our room (because of the noise of planes, cars and trains) we moved again. Now we are back in Lewisham. That is an inner west sub of Sydney. The place is beautiful, quiet and the people in this house are just great!

A new place setting standards for a good accommodation: My own serviette ring with imprinted initials!

Our huge backyard. Here I find some time to rest and get rid of the stress. We've also got scarecrows.

Back from the Blue Mountains

2011-05-15T14:02:00.012+02:00

Hey ya! We are back from a gorgeous weekend in the Blue Mountains - a mountainous area bordering the metropolitan area of Sydney in the west. There are a lot of things that you are not supposed to do!

The Greater Blue Mountains Area, however, was unanimously listed as a World Heritage Area by UNESCO and it features thousands of landscape attractions, steep cliffs, wonderful panorama, rare plant communities. Therefore, the Blue Mountains are a perfect place for bush walking and wildlife observation.

With a rental car it took us about 1,5 hours down the Great Western Highway until we reached the foot of the mountains. Our first stop on Saturday was Wentworth Falls were we did some walking down to the falls, despite my bad knee which disables me since a week.

That was a good start with nice sunshine, loads of birds and spectacular views over the valleys of the Blue Mountains National Park. Later we went to Leura and Katoomba simply to find even more spectacular sites. Except from Katoomba, not too many other tourists were around so we could really enjoy it.

Over night we stayed in the Sky Rider Motor Inn, a budget accommodation which was really nice for its prize.

It was freezing in the morning, so when we hit the road on Sunday again, there was still frost in the car's windows. Yes yes, winter really arrived. It was in 900 m above sea level, though!

I really think that what followed was one of the most beautiful and in the same time impressive breakfasts I ever had. We went to Blackheath, bought some croissant and coffee to take with us and went straight to the Govett's Leap Lookout. We arrived there before everyone else and enjoyed our breakkie, the sun and an outstanding view besides ourselves.

After another half-day walk down and up the cliffs, several new bird and plant species, we drove back to Sydney. Yes, I drove on the left-hand side myself and I was not involved in any kind of traffic crime or crash! Cool, isn't it?

Redbrowed Finch

Passeridae

Neochmia

temporalis

Eastern Yellow Robin

Petroicidae

Eopsaltria

australis

White-browed Scrubwren

Pardalitidae

Sericornis

frontalis

Our first Koala ever!

Australian King Parrot

Psittacidae

Alisterus

scapularis

Eastern Spinebill

Meliphagidae

Acanthorynchus

tenuirostris

And here is our bird list for the last 1.5 days Blue Mountains:

Australian Name	Family	Genus	Species
Australian King Parrot	Psittacidae	Alisterus	scapularis
Australian Magpie	Australian Magpie	Gymnorhona	tibicen
Australian Raven	Corvidae	Corvus	coronoides
Australian White Ibis	Threskiornitidae	Threskiornis	molucca
Common Myna	Sturnidae	Acridotheres	tristis
Crested Pigeon	Columbidae	Ocyphaps	lophotes
Crimson Rosella	Psittacidae	Platycercus	elegans
Eastern Spinebill	Meliphagidae	Acanthorynchus	tenuirostris
Eastern Yellow Robin	Petroicidae	Eopsaltria	australis
Laughing Kookaburra	Halcyonidae	Dacelo	noviguinae
Magpie Lark	Dicruridae	Grallina	cyanoleuca
New Holland Honeyeater	Meliphagidae	Phylidonyris	novaehollandiae
Noisy Miner	Meliphagidae	Manorina	melanocephala
Peregrine Falcon	Falconidae	Falco	peregrinus
Pied Currawong	Artamidae	Strepera	graculina
Red Wattlebird	Meliphagidae	Anthochaera	carunculata
Redbrowed Finch	Passeridae	Neochmia	temporalis
Restless Flycatcher	Dicruridae	Myiagra	inquieta
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo	Cacatuidae	Cacatua	galerita
Tree Martin	Hirundinidae	Petrochelidon	nigricans
White-browed Scrubwren	Pardalitidae	Sericornis	frontalis
White-necked Heron	Ardeidae	Ardea	pacifica
Yellow Thornbill	Pardalotidae	Acanthiza	nana
Yellow-faced Honeyeater	Meliphagidae	Lichenostomus	chrysops

Studies at the Australian Museum, Sydney

2011-05-10T02:23:00.002+02:00

Reading Bob Hesslers original notebook from early 1963 I am so much impressed how this guy already back then set the standards of today for isopod taxonomy. Further more, he did not focus on one family, as many people (including myself) would do today. He did them all! He sorted all isopods collected from the Gay-Head-Bermuda Transect by himself, across all families and went to the Zoologisk Museet Copenhagen to check the types of G.O. Sars and Hansen. He shows me the way to go. Let's see, what I can do to keep up with him.
Whatsoever: It is an honor to work on his material and unfinished manuscript!

Winter approaching

2011-05-07T14:19:00.008+02:00

Hey you there! A first and very busy week at the Australian Museum is over. I've set up my office bench and accomplished a lot already. Buz seems to be highly motivated about our cooperation and is a very friendly host. He has his part in keeping me busy!
While time runs quickly, winter takes its toll. Here in the southwestern part of Australia, winters tend to start early and people here know that well. So everybody gets prepared and thongs and shorts are being replaced by warm clothes.

Winter time in New South Wales: People enjoy ice skating and ski to work.

With leaves off the trees the city of Sydney looks a bit desperate. People are awaiting the seasons first snow falls.

The Sydney Opera House. In winter it is bloody cold in there, they say.

An Aldi market makes me feel like at home. This week's special offer: Electric blankets and snow boots.

A hedgehog is quickly ingesting some ants before he will back down to have his torpor.

Better hurry, little feller!

The Opera House by night.

No honestly - don't bother too much about my bullshit writing: It is getting a bit colder but still often it has more than 20° centigrade. The water is warm as well and today we went snorkeling at Shelly Beach, Manly. It was impressive with a lot of fishes and even two different shark species (a Wobbegong - Family Orectolobidae and a Dusky Whaler Carcharhinus obscurus) and a ray (or probably an Angel Shark - I have ti check that) that we saw. And then there was this Echidna. Isn't that awesome!?
We had a barbie and met with some other people from Macquarie University. That was cool. We went there by ferry which was neat as well. I like being here a lot and I even have to confess: Though Hamburg is a nice and beautiful city with a lot of green and maritime feeling -which both I like a lot- Sydney has more of that and somehow thrills me. Bluey knew what she ment, when she wrote the other day to me: 'Expect not to want to go home!' Could be, Bluey, could be...
T.

First day doing science

2011-05-02T13:49:00.002+02:00

Well.. I did not actually do much. But it was my first complete day at the Australian Museum and Buz was there and it was pretty nice and very interesting. All was about learning to know each other, setting things up, meeting people and arranging the next couple of days. Around 3 pm my maximum brain capacity was not enough anymore. I feel welcome and I reckon the upcoming weeks of work will be very productive!
Cheers!
T.

The Royal Botanic Garden

2011-05-02T12:23:00.009+02:00

On Sunday (yesterday) it was nice weather and so we went to have a walk through the Royal Botanic Garden. This neat place is located downtown Sydney at the southern shore, very close to the city center, the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. It was beautiful and relaxing and we saw lots of cool animals, which tend to be - I must admit - very common down here, but are new to me, of course. Have an impression:

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo: Cacatua galerita Latham, 1790

Masked Lapwing: Vanellus miles Boddaert, 1783

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo: Cacatua galerita Latham, 1790

This cutie is - I think - the Rainbow Lorikeet: Trichoglossus haematodus Linnaeus, 1771

The same bird from another perspective.

An impressive web of a Edible Golden Silk Spider: Nephila edulis Labillardière, 1799

Another Sulphur-crested Cockatoo: Cacatua galerita Latham, 1790

Grey-headed Flying-foxes: Pteropus poliocephalus Temminck, 1825

More of them.. I also got some nice shots of the male copulatory organs - if anyone is eager to see!

Ahh.. what I completely missed to tell: The white building I called the Sydney Opera House the other day actually wasn't the Opera House! It was another, much more unimportant building. Sorry for that confusion (if anyone recognised). The Opera House was right next to it and I must have overseen it. Well, here it is (the big spiny building filling the upper left corner of the picture; behind Jasmin)!

Some more Fruit Bats.

A semi-domesticated and sometimes furious dingo.

Preliminary solutions

2011-05-02T12:10:00.004+02:00

Hey! How could I forget about these masterpieces of engineering: Ear plugs, earplugs, earplugs!!!!! Yes we got ear plugs - providing 24 db, 32 db and 110 db noise reduction!!!! Yes, we can (e.g. sleep well)!

Ear plugs: Possibly the solution to all our problems!

Ein Griff ins Klo (no translation possible)

2011-04-30T09:53:00.009+02:00

Hello! Ugh.. what a short and unpleasant night. We both didn't know what to expect when we came to this place. Our flatmate is such a lovely person and the house is really comfortable. Unfortunately, it is located right next to a street which is, despite its small width, immensely used 24/7. Further more, there is the CityLine rail and some inter-city rail traffic going right by 24/7. At the same time, the house is pretty clairaudient. Closing the windows hardly has any effect. As if that was not enough, the entry lane of the international airport is pretty close to the house. It is the hell on earth when those A380s fly by, I can tell you! We did not get much sleep, the constant high level of noise is nerve-wracking - freaking us out and we seriously think about moving again. The problem is only: Where to?! I am hitting the keys since hours to find a new place to stay ASAP. But this is not so easy.
Ein Griff ins Klo also..

Still, we tried to have some fun today and it worked quite well thanks to Michelle and Lucille. We went to two different markets, enjoyed ourselves having tried all sorts of bakery products, fruit and stuff. The weather was okay, sometimes it rained a bit but it is warm and humid.

Mishelle, Lucille and Jasmin at the market having yummy things..

Judged on this photograph I cannot promise that there won't remain any damage from the noise.

Now it is Saturday night, we are both wrecked because of last night and we will try to eat left-overs from the feast, to get some rest now and to ignore the background noise.
See ya..
T.

On the move

2011-04-30T09:34:00.004+02:00

G'day mates! Yesterday (Friday) night we moved to another place. We share a house with a colleague of Jasmin's from Macquarie University now. She is also a friend of our previous hosts. At this occasion, we celebrated a bit of a feast having our first barbie downunder.

This 16 year-old Australian Shiraz is called The Dead Arm because it was made solely of the grapes of very ancient vine. It was one of three different Shiraz we had and it was umwerfend!

Some Angus beef.. before it was kissed by the flames..

We had all sorts of vegies, salad, pasta salad, really good beef and an amazing wine tasting. One of our former house mates is a passionate wine collector. She introduced us a bit to what is going on in a bottle during the aging and all sorts of things. The wines were incredibly delicious (and so financially way-out). That was a good start to be here in this place.
Catch ya later!
T.

Australian Museum - the first impressions

2011-04-30T09:21:00.003+02:00

Hello there! Just a few sentences about my first day at Australian Museum. My host is still on the road and will not return before Monday. So I went in only for a few hours on Thursday (now it is Saturday) and met Luana (another isopod PhD student) and some other people. It is an amazing Building with loads of collections and labs and offices. Very impressive - not only the building itself. I will post some pictures another day.
I also quickly went through the exhibition and liked it very much. I will certainly enjoy being there!
Cheers!
T.

First sight seeing and wildlife encounter

2011-04-27T12:25:00.004+02:00

Wow Sydney is great! It offers a great number of interesting bird species, beautiful places and intermediate weather. Just good enough for us people from the north! Here you can see my girl and myself in front of the famous Sydney opera house. Great, isn't it?

Here you can see some of the nice little cuties which are so typically Australia's wildlife: different marsupials (in this case: models and stuffed specimens handcrafted by Chinese artists of unknown age).
As shown here, it is hard to resists the massive impression overload of Sydney's great souvenir shopping area China Town.

Some people have more, some have less problems to resist. It was a fight, I can tell ya, to keep Sheila out of that shop!

Larus novaehollandiae: This otherwise (e.g. in Europe) rare species is relatively common in Sydney. Great isn't it? I am still thrilled to have approached it so close.

Also a rare one: The Australian White Ibis Threskiornis molucca has never before come into my sight. Awesome!
You'll get more from me soon!
Catch ya later..
T.

G'Day mates!

2011-04-27T11:43:00.004+02:00

Hello everybody! I have safely arrived in Sydney. The flight was very pleasant and comfortable.

The A380 is an impressive bird and Quantas offered a lot of comfort and convenience. I am impressed and have nothing to complain about - a fact that I as a German traveler can hardly handle. The trip was rather long - more than 36 hours altogether. I am jet-lagged but arriving late in the evening was perfect to get some (almost) immediate rest. Read more soon..

Cheers!

2011-04-24T19:03:00.003+02:00

Hey ya!
Here I am again - after quite a while! Tomorrow early morning I will start a trip to Sydney. Downunder, here I come!
Cheers!
T.

Some outcome..

2008-08-26T12:03:00.002+02:00

Hey all! I don't even know if anybody is continuing to look on this site. But here is somethin new.. finally!
The first thing:
On the cruise I prepared a poster. For those who are not into life-science habits:
Posters are one of at least three different way to publish results of the research you do. It is a very short and superficial way and it takes relativly long to make it. Posters are exposed on conferences and if you are lucky and included some eye-catching graphy or pictures, you can provoke diskussions and it is a productive thing in the name of science. This poster was prepared by me and some coworkers for an international meeting on Antarctic research with the german federal minister for education and research, Dr. Anette Schavan, on board FS “POLARSTERN” in Cape Town, South Africa. But it was also exposed on the SCAR/IASC IPY Open Science Conference in St. Petersburg, Russia. It is not the typical poster you can expect from a scientist, as it free of any text. Why? Yopu can see the poster and read the short introduction here.

And there is some more new stuff: I started a second blog. It has not much to do with Antarctica but with crustaceans and invertebrates in general. I'd like to encourage some people to chat and discuss about taxonomic and phylogenetic riddles and enigmas of today. So I started a blog telling about my adventures of reading a book called "Spezielle Zoologie". I don't know where it will end up.. but I hope to find some people that are not bored to death.
Cheers..

Back home

2008-02-17T16:11:00.002+01:00

Hi!
I am back in Germany. And it is good to be back, though this cruise was a big adventure and I would go again, if I had the chance.
It is very nice, to see some friends again, to smell the humid soil, the trees, to listen to the first calling birds of the coming breeding season, to see the first flowers. My cockroaches have got offspring, my daphniids, copepods and isopods are still alive - thanks to my mother who took care of all that. I have already prepared some chilli and other seeds for my little hot and spicy garden. The next time i will spend sorting out my pictures, having a course at the university and arriving mentally.
Some more pictures of "Polarstern", the ocean and antarctic wildlife will be posted on my picasa webalbum. So have a look, if you like!
Cheers.. Torben

Heading towards Cape Town

2008-02-03T09:33:00.000+01:00

The cruise ANTXXIV-2 is almost over. From January 27th to January 31st we were facing a quite strong low-pressure system and "Polarstern" fought against wind-speed peaks up to 10bft. Waves increased to a mean of 8m, meaning that every now and then it was quite rolling on board.

Unfortunately, this was the time for our last station work. On Sunday, 27th, we deployed the EBS for the last time on this cruise and we had to hurry. While we retrieved it, storm was increasing dramatically and the final heaving and bringing META on deck was dangerous and hard work for the deck crew. Unfortunately, samples contained almost nothing and we do not know if this reflects reality on the sea floor or if it was a consequence of the storm. Due to the storm all groups had to cut down their station plan to a minimum and we had no time left for deploying the trawl. This was done two days later, on the 29th. Again, it took some hours to deploy and retrieve the gear and when it came on deck – still in a quite stormy situation – the net was completely empty. There is a theory, that the fine meshed inner net was sucked out to the opening during the heaving th rough 4000m water column by the ship's up and down
movement. But nobody knows really. Everything was washed out. No single feather star or sponge was attached to the nets. Nothing! In the little "Rauschert Dredge", which was attached to the trawl, at least a spoon full of sediment with foraminiferans and some amphipods was found. It was frustrating.
At the same time we already had to begin packing our boxes and the container. Meta was dismantled immediately after the last station. Tools and screws had to be cleaned from salt water, laboratories and cooling containers had to be cleaned and also the public rooms, like "Zillertal", the gym and sauna and the computer room.

Due to the immense ice cover of the Weddell Sea and especially the Atka Bay this summer and the logistics support for the German polar research stations, a lot of time got lost for science on board. Therefore the scientific value of this cruise is not as high as hoped for some groups.
But nevertheless, we got data to work with and some results. For me and most others it was amazing! I learned a lot due to practical work, the daily seminar and lots of fruitful discussions. The ship is a "hotspot" of knowledge about the marine environment and it is very valuable to know some new people, everyone an expert in his science.
This cruise also was "over the top" regarding to tourist attractions. I am referring to the time spent for supplying "Neumayer II" and the icebreaking for "Neumayer III" and "Naja Arctica" on the one hand, but also icebergs, storms and some numbers of whales we saw during the cruise.
Now we left the Greenwich Meridian and head to the north-east, back to Cape Town. Air and water temperature is above +16°C and like summer in Germany. We will reach South Africa the day after tomorrow and I will spend only one additional night there. As apples are the only fresh fruit and cabbage is the only fresh vegetable left on board I am really looking forward to green salad and such things.
We are writing cruise reports, create data backup. The last days we were also busy preparing scientific presentations and posters comprising results of our science and this particular cruise. The day when I am flying back to Frankfurt, there will be a big event on the ship with a
reception for the German minister for science and education A. Schavan. This is due to the 25th anniversary of "Polarstern". Tonight there will be a farewell barbecue on the working deck with
scientists, officers and crew. Wind speed and wave height have decreased. Perfect weather for some recreation! I am really looking forward to see you all again! Soon!
Yours, Torben

Auf Wiedersehen "Neumayer II"!

2008-01-18T16:46:00.000+01:00

Mittwoch, 16. Januar
Auf Wiedersehen, "Neumayer II"!
Seit ca. zwei Wochen war die "Polarstern" dabei, gegen eine unnahbare Festung aus Eis zu kämpfen, und wenig Fortschritt zeigte sich Tag für Tag. Die Wissenschaftler an Bord dieses Forschungseisbrechers entwickelten langsam Unmut. Einige Stationen waren sowieso schon verloren gegangen, als wir zum zweiten Mal in die Atka-Bucht gerufen wurden. Nun schien es noch am Montagnachmittag, als ob das Ziel in weiter Ferne läge. Mitten in der Nacht zum Dienstag, gegen 02:00 Uhr näherte sich die Geburtstagsfeier zweier Mitglieder der Wissenschaft und eines Helikoptertechnikers langsam dem Ende. Unverhofft wurde auf einmal die erfreuliche Nachricht in das „Zillertal", die Bord-Bar der "Polarstern" getragen, die Polarstern habe die Schelfeiskante erreicht. Ich konnte es nicht glauben! Nach einigem Zögern bin ich in meinen Polaranzug geschlüpft und an Deck gegangen.
Tatsächlich, wir hatten es geschafft. Ein Anleger war geschaffen, so groß, dass, unserem Kapitän Uwe Pahl nach, die "Queen Mary" dort anlegen könnte. Mir, wie vielen anderen an Bord, fiel an diesem Sonntag ein riesiger Stein vom Herzen. Nicht nur das Millionenprojekt "Neumayer III", sondern auch unsere Forschung ist, zumindest zum Teil, gerettet.
Mir blieben nur wenige Stunden Schlaf, bis mich der Fahrtleiter Uli Bathmann per Telefon auf das Helikopterdeck bat. Der Helikopter war bereits in der Luft, als ich auf dem Landedeck eintraf. An Bord: unser Kapitän und der Kapitän der "Naja Arctica". Sie waren unterwegs, um die Eignung der Eiskante zum Entladen der neuen Forschungsstation von dem dänischen Frachtschiff zu überprüfen.
Zum zweiten Mal durfte ich Uli bei der fotografischen Dokumentation der Situation vom Helikopter aus unterstützen. Beim ersten Mal vor zwei Wochen ging es darum, die besonders schwere Eissituation vor Beginn der ganzen Aktion zu erkunden und festzuhalten. Dieses Mal ging es darum, den Erfolg der mühsamen und akribisch geplanten Operation zu dokumentieren. Die Polarstern hat einen 3,6 km langen und mehrere 100 m breiten Kanal in die Atka-Bucht gerammt, genug Platz für die „Naja Arctica" zum Manövrieren.
Gegen Mittag haben wir Abschied genommen. Ein bisschen Wehmut ist schon dabei – wer weiß, ob ich diesen Ort jemals wieder sehen kann? Aber allgemein herrscht Aufbruchstimmung. Der letzte Abschnitt der Reise beginnt und wir wollen alles rausholen, was uns die kommenden Stationen bieten.
Der Torben

We did it! Good bye "Neumayer"!

2008-01-18T15:36:00.001+01:00

Ramming towards the shelf ice

2008-01-18T15:35:00.000+01:00

This night to Sunday, the two Belgian participants of the cruise, Katja and Henri, organised the "Belgian Night 2008" and had brought a whole box of different types of Belgian Beer to taste. They also served French fries of fresh potatoes. This was a very nice event and the bar was crowded. On Sunday, 13th of January we were caught between the fast ice and heavy pack ice and the storm was up to 9 bft. We had no chance except from drifting westward. This day was the first day for me to recognise that I was counting the coming days on "Polarstern" backwards. We did not have stations to do for many days, some scientists on board became afraid of loosing all planned stations and this also was topic in most of the chatting going on.
For getting some alternatives in the daily program, I decided to organise a small and private "The Blues Brothers" night. The plan was, to sit on the cosy sofas in the Blue Salon ant watch the movie on the laptop. Dress code: Sunglasses! But soon, a lot more friends were aware of that and I decided to relocate that event to the seminar room. The scenery of men with sunglasses, with faces like stone, sitting together in a dark room was very funny. Somehow the word was spread all over the ship and some people just went by and heard the movie and suddenly the room was full.
And most of the people realised quickly, what was going on and went out again to fetch their sunglasses. This was a nice evening. Until Tuesday, 15th of January, I could not believe that we would have another scientific station. Daily progress seemed so small. And the storm had filled up the canal with pack ice again. But after the storm last weekend a huge ice flow was broken off the canal's eastern side.
"Polarstern" broke that flow to pieces and pushed them out of the canal carefully. Once this was accomplished, the icebreaker could turn easily within the double sized canal. The strategy of ramming was changed by captain Pahl: From now on, ice was scraped off the fast ice edge by 45°
ramming, interrupted by straight ramming every now and then. As three people had birthday this and the coming day, some celebration took place and almost no one noticed that within some hours we reached the shelf ice edge and even a large landing site was prepared. Only some hours of sleep remained, until chief scientist Uli woke me up by phone call: "I'd like you to be on the heli deck in 30 to 45 minutes. Better 30!" "Ok!" The message was clear. I got my equipment together, erased data from my camera's memory, changes batteries and was ready for take off. I was and still am overwhelmed by this opportunity Uli gave me again and I am very thankful for that. This time we used the helicopter to show the success of this two-week operation. Big relief could be felt on board as most scientists could hope for stations. And the AWI also is very happy now, as the unloading of "Naja Arctica" and the construction of "Neumayer III" can finally start now. A lot of pressure fell off the shoulders of the captain and Uli, I think. `"Polarstern" in the canal, close to the "Nordanler" ice edge´. That was the message, our pictures were supposed to give to the AWI and to the press. Around midday we left Atka Bay and headed for the first station of the final transect of this cruise. Saying goodbye to "Neumayer", Atka Bay and the shelf ice made me feel a little bit sad. Who knows if I will ever see this panorama again? But looking forward, there is hopefully another deep-sea station. And last but not least, I am getting excited coming home again.
Today is Friday, 18th. We are in Minke Whale country. Angelika was lucky to help with the helicopter counting today as we passed an ice free area with many Minke Whales. We passed that area before and Bram and Victoria saw those whales jumping and playing. I still got lots of work to do. Many samples wait to be sorted and many isopod legs wait to be dissected. Hopefully see you soon!
Yours, Torben

Another trawl

2008-01-18T15:33:00.000+01:00

On Saturday, 12th of January "Polarstern" had to abort the operation for a while as a storm with winds from the east and northeast was approaching. The risk of getting caught in the canal by heavy pack ice was too high. While waiting for the storm, we got the chance to deploy another bottom trawl in 600m depth. The catches were very rich and impressing. There was "Icefish", giant isopods, millions of crinoids and much more. There was no chance to get lunch or coffee break that day as we had to process and fix most of the samples immediately. Other animals, especially isopods and amphipods could be kept alive in sea water aquaria in cooling containers.
I had the chance to intensively use my mini aquaria to take pictures of a lot of crustaceans. This day Saskia and me had to present a talk about isopod phylogeny. Saskia did the main part and I presented some thoughts about my upcoming diploma thesis. Indeed, compared to both previous talks on board I felt very uncomfortable before and during this talk. On the one hand I was exhausted due to the all day's hard work, on the other hand there are a lot of uncertainties concerning my thesis. Well, there is still some time to think about all that.

Helicopter ice dokumentation

2008-01-18T15:32:00.000+01:00

Hello again!

2008-01-18T15:30:00.000+01:00

As I did not write anything for a while, I will summarize, what has happened during the last two weeks. And a lot of things have happened. On Sunday, 06th of January the second transect of scientific stations has been interrupted. It had been decided that "Polarstern" had to steam back
to Atka Bay to break the ice for the Danish freighter "Naja Arctica". This ship had arrived at the same position in the fast ice of Atka Bay at which we had accomplished the unloading of supply for "Neumayer II" around 17th of December. Since then it was waiting.
"Naja Arctica" carried all the parts, equipment and cranes for the construction of the new German Antarctic research station "Neumayer III" and time was running due to the upcoming winter.
On our way to the southwest, at 7th of January, 25 members of the construction team for "Neumayer III" were brought to "Polarstern" by helicopter. They had come through a lot of trouble as originally it was planned to bring them directly to their camp at "Neumayer". But until then their camp was still on "Naja Arctica" and unloading was impossible for most parts, as those were too heavy. They were brought to the Russian station "Novo" then to the South African station "Sanae IV". There they had a good time until the supply vessel "SA Agulhas" reached the station with supply and lots of researchers. Construction team was exchanged for researchers as space was scarce and from then on until we took them, they stayed at the South African ship. For one day they lived in the equipment room and the Blue Salon of "Polarstern" and then were brought to "Neumayer".
At this day Bram made an announcement to all via intercom. "There are Killerwhales in front of the ship. Orcas!" 30 seconds later about 50 people were standing on the upper decks of "Polarstern" and a huge family of about 30 orcas passed by.
In the morning of Wednesday, 9th of January we reached "Naja Arctica" to supply them with fresh water. At this day the scientific leader of this cruise, Uli Bathmann, asked me to help with photographic documentation of the ice situation. I felt very honoured. Equipped with two dSLR cameras with different lenses I entered the helicopter and an impressive flight began at the early afternoon. Aim was, to get overview images from Atka Bay, from the ice cover at the "Nordanleger" and to take pictures of the construction site and the camp of the construction camp. Before that, the "Nordanleger", a shelf ice area on the western flank of Atka Bay had been
chosen as the best opportunity to reach the shelf ice edge. This was a very nice opportunity for me and I could feel a big pressure to produce good pictures. As Uli did not comment that much about the quality later on, I suppose I did my job ok.
The same day, "Polarstern" started to penetrate the ice. Direction: "Nordanleger". And it was a very hard work. Ice cover was variable and also the snow cover on top. Mean ice cover was maybe 40cm at the beginning and increased towards the shelf ice to 1.9m. But at ridges the thickness was up to several meters. At these rough structures and also towards the shelf ice, snow cover got more and more and reached a mean of 75cm. Snow was sticking to the ship's hull and was like a strong break. It consumed a lot of the speed and power while ramming.
The plan was, to ram two discrete canals more than 100m apart from each other. The ice in between was supposed to break away in big flows. At the end the canal should have been as big as to allow the ice be driven out by winds and to allow the "Naja Arctica" to manoeuvre. This plan worked well at the beginning. But as we penetrated the fast ice more and more, all the
ice and snow made up a dense stew and acceleration to necessary ramming speed got impossible. We could have used winds from the south but except from some help from the tide, nature did not give any help. At some days we did not make more than 90m progress and the distance was about two miles at the beginning.

Frohes Neues Jahr!

2008-01-02T13:49:00.000+01:00

Willkommen in 2008!
Montag, 31.12.2007: Es war der letzte Tag des Jahres, in den wir uns hineingearbeitet haben. Wir befanden uns auf der ersten wirklich tiefen Station, auf der auch die Geräte eingesetzt wurden, die der Tiefsee wirklich bis auf den Grund gingen, um einen Einblick in die absolute
Dunkelheit zu ermöglichen. Zwischen dem Schiffsrumpf der "Polarstern" und dem Meeresboden lagen etwa 5300m!
Seit dem Vorabend war der Epibenthosschlitten "Meta" auf dem Weg nach ganz unten. Die Prozedur dauerte etwa acht Stunden. Bis er wieder an Deck kam, mussten die Proben des zuvor geschleppten Gerätes fixiert werden. Das Trawl brachte etwa zwei Tonnen Sediment, oder einfach gesagt Schlamm, an Bord. Dann hieß es warten. Die von den Zoologen eingesetzten Fanggeräte sind robust. Bei einigen anderen, wie etwa der Tiefseekamera oder sensiblen Messinstrumenten, haben die Wissenschaftler den Kampf gegen die über 500bar Überdruck verloren. Defekte Geräte und unvollständige Daten trübten die Stimmung.
Als "Meta" die Wasseroberfläche durchstieß wurde klar: Auch sie hat hauptsächlich Schlamm mit hoch gebracht. Bis der Fang gesiebt, das Deck geschrubbt war und die Proben sortiert und fixiert waren, dauerte es Stunden. Es schneite. Ein Bild von dieser Arbeit habe ich mitgeschickt.
Das Frühstück und ein Saunagang tauten die Körper wieder auf. Wir waren müde, doch zum Schlafen blieb wenig Zeit, schließlich wollte die Silvesterfeier vorbereitet sein. Ab 16Uhr war die Stationsarbeit abgeschlossen. Das Schiff machte sich auf den Weg zum Transekt auf 3°Ost, damit pünktlich Neujahr-Morgen die Arbeit auf der nächsten Station beginnen konnte.
Im festlich geschmückten Geräteraum wurde abends zum Spanferkel geladen. Auch "Dinner for One" fehlte im abendlichen Programm selbstverständlich nicht. Dieses Jahr fand die erste "Polarstern-Olympiade" statt. In 17 Teams traten 34 Wissenschaftler und Crewmitglieder, zufällig zusammengelost, gegeneinander in fünf lustigen Disziplinen an. Die Stimmung stieg schnell und die kurzen Nächte der letzten Tage waren bald vergessen. Zur Begrüßung des Jahres 2008 stießen wir alle auf der Brücke an. Ein imposanter Ausblick auf das Meer, vorbeiziehende Eisberge und das geblasene Horn entschädigten für das südlich von 60°S verbotene Feuerwerk. Bei Tanz und Musik im Geräteraum wurde das neue Jahr willkommen geheißen und 2007 verabschiedet. Soviel ersteinmal.
Bis bald.. der Torben

Happy New Year!!

2008-01-02T13:47:00.000+01:00

Happy new year to all of you! As I did not write anything since before Christmas, I will try to recall the most important things for me that happened on board RV "Polarstern" during the last week or so. Christmas Eve was a great day for me. I had the chance to assist the Dutch group of Top-Predator researchers with their helicopter counting. We started in the morning and the flight, which consisted of two transects, took about two hours. At this time huge and fast ice flows covered the sea, and a network of open water in between caused a lot of zigzagging for "Polarstern". But it is a very strong icebreaker and no ice flow was thick enough to withstand it. There was no more ramming at this time. This was not true for the RV "S.A. Agulhas", the South African research and supply vessel. During our flight we met them and they were stuck in the ice. We came quite close to the ship and waved to the people on board. We greeted them and flew on. They were also heading for "Neumayer II" where the unloading and logistics for the supply of the South African Station "Sanae IV" will be accomplished.
Just about 30 minutes later I became a very happy person, if I wasn't already because of the flight: we spotted the rarest seal species in Antarctic waters, the "Ross Seal"!!! We came very close and I could take some very nice pictures. Jan - head of the top-predator team- said, I was
a "very lucky bastard" as people like him spend many hours of counting and never see such a seal. One of the pictures shows this seal. At the end of the second transect "Polarstern" was deploying a net and because of the crane in the air, the helicopter was not allowed to land. The pilot used the time to fly around some Icebergs and to slowly fly around "Polarstern". As it took some more time, we landed on an ice flow close to the ship. On one of the pictures you can see "Polarstern" from above and the ice flow we landed on. What an adventure!
December 24th and the two following days of Christmas were celebrated in a very nice way, probably the nicest way possible, when you are separated from your families and beloved. On Monday at 4pm the crew stopped working and everything was prepared for Christmas celebration. There was a German standard Christmas dinner (potato salad and sausages) and afterwards an official celebration in the blue saloon, the library and reception room of the ship. Both, Captain and chief scientists spoke to all the crew and scientists, encouraged everybody and reminded of poor people living on earth under harsh conditions. A choir sang Christmas songs and the Christmas story was read. This celebration was very unusual for me. I felt impressed and for the first time I really missed being at home. Afterwards, we celebrated on through the night with self made theatre, singing, and music and dancing. On first day of Christmas, December 25th, work started early. Not only cleaning up but also science started again. No ship time was wasted and the sense of Christmas only remained in the special meals we had during
this day and the next. Goose, lobster and buffet are examples for the perfectly cooked and served lunches and dinners we had only for this days, even served with red and white wines or beer. The amount of data for my diploma thesis has immensely increased. After difficulties with the extraction of DNA at the beginning, we have now finished sorting the material from the first and second station and already got more than 100 successful extractions. I spend most time of the days since Christmas in the Lab, doing extractions, and I also had to prepare another talk. I hardly had the chance to go outside and have a look at the ocean. Even though, I finally managed to see my first "Minke Whales" on second day of Christmas. And just some minutes after the first whale there were three more! Again lucky! It was wonderful to see these them swimming gracefully through the ice covered ocean surfacing every now and then.
In the daily seminar almost every group has presented their topics and scientific interests. Therefore, now different topics, even non-marine talks can be presented. And finally, about nine months after my expedition to Borneo I managed to prepare a talk. I really enjoyed remembering all those impressions and adventures. I gave this talk on Saturday, 29th of
December, at the very beginning of the third big station.
During this last week we headed northward on 3°W. Every day the nights got darker (today we have about four dark hours per night), the ice cover declined to small thawed ice flows and even oceanic waves were back about December 29th. New Year 's Eve was approaching and we were at station. Since almost two days "Polarstern" stayed at special coordinates and about 50 scientists did not get much sleep. It was a deep-sea station we were at. Underneath the ship's hull more than 5000m of water separated us from the sea floor. For gear that had to work down there, like our "Epibenthic Sledge" (EBS), it took about eight hours, from the time of deployment until it was back on board. During the night to Monday 31st, we deployed a bottom-trawl and
the EBS. Both were completely filled with fine soft sediment: mud as non-scientists would call it. To find the animals in there, we had to sieve it all. It was, both gears together, at least two tonnes of sediment to sieve and it took many hours. It was fun and we felt like children
playing in the mud, but it was exhausting and cold. I sent a picture, shot by Brigitte Ebbe that shows us working with the mud from the trawl. I went to bed for three hours after breakfast of December 31st, but before that, I enjoyed revitalising my fingers and feet in the ship's sauna. I love this ship! Today I have pain in my hands from the million fold repetition of shaking the sieves against the floor and carrying the heavy buckets.
Hopefully we'll find a lot of animals in there! While the gear for catching animals is robust, other gear like the deep-sea camera and sensitive sensors did not make it. Yes, some scientists have lost the fight against more than 500bar pressure. Everybody tries to do his best, to repair instruments and get as much data as possible. We are lucky to be on "Polarstern", as we all can completely count on the crew and their professions. They are the best!In time for the celebration of New Year's Eve, work finished 4pm and we sailed to our next position at 3°E. Again we had lots of funny activities,

arranged mostly by the scientists. Especially the first "OlympiPolarstern Games" raised the mood. 34 crew members and scientists were assembled to 17 teams and competed in five funny disciplines. The crowd applauded laughing. After an official celebration of the beginning of 2008
on the bridge, we had a birthday party as one scientist and one helicopter pilot had birthday on January 1st. The view on the ocean and icebergs as well as the blowing horn of "Polarstern" made up for the missing fireworks, which is forbidden southern to 60°S for environmental reasons. During the rest of the night we danced 2007 away and welcomed 2008.

Frohe Weihnachten!

2007-12-21T16:41:00.000+01:00

Liebe Familie, Freunde, Zechkumpanen, Tauchers, Rocker, Vorgesetzte, alt Bekannte!
Aus der fernen Antarktis sende ich euch allen herzlichste Grüße und liebe Weihnachtswünsche dahin, wo immer ihr seid. Mir ist klar, dass das vielleicht etwas früh ist, da e-mails in der Regel schneller zugestellt werden als Briefpost, aber ich bin nicht sicher, on ich in den nächsten Tagen zum Schreiben komme.
Nach einem außerordentlich schönen Besuch bei der Forschungsstation "Neumayer II", die von der Polarstern mit Nahrung und Sprit versorgt wurde, hingen wir nun seit zwei Tagen im Packeis fest. Letzte Nacht konnten wir uns befreien und haben den Weg zu unserer zweiten
Toefsee-Station angetreten, bei der wir in wenigen Stunden eintreffen werden. Dann geht es an die Arbeit. Bisher lief die Arbeit mittelprächtig, aber ich bin zuversichtlich. Der Spass- und Überwältigungsfaktor der Expedition war bisher sehr sehr hoch.
Frohe Weihnachten und einen guten Rutsch!
Der Torben

15.12.2007: Visiting Neumayer

2007-12-18T22:17:00.000+01:00

Saturday, 15 December 2007: We all got up early to see the Pistenbullys of Neumayer-Station approaching. It was some minutes after 8am, when they arrived to manage all these containers.
All scientists were invited to Neumayer for today and therefore I waited for my helicopter-shuttle to the station. I never went in a helicopter so far and it was a great and thrilling experience. The view on icebergs and the Polarstern from above and also on the big colony of breading emperors was overwhelming. Neumayer Station was build as an under-ice construction and consists basically of two tubes. In these tubes are living- and laboratory containers. During winter eight people live there to keep long time studies in geophysics, air-chemistry and meteorology running. During summer, several more people from different countries live there to do research. They have additional over-ice camps. At the moment, the
"overwinterers" from the last season is still there, while some of the new team already have arrived. Mentally it is a very hard struggle, I think, to live in Antarctica for one year, especially as the winter is so long, cold and lonesome. Because of this we had to keep quiet and not to disturb the privacy of the people there. But we got an insight into people's life in the station and got a guided tour. We also saw, why there is the need for a new station: in some places, the tubes are already heavily deformed because of the heavy load of snow. At the beginning, 15 years ago, the station was close to the surface, but every year 80-100cm of new snow buries the station and it is by now about 10-12 m under the surface.
Outside Neumayer it is very beautiful. Despite of the windmills and antennae coming out of the surface, the glacier seems to be endless and totally flat. The sun was shining and we c ould see Polarstern in the Bay. And there was absolute silence, when you went off for just some hundred
meters.
Later on, when I was already back at the Ship's place, I had a meeting with two Adelie Penguins. I was lying on the ice when they came closer and closer. Finally one of them was even closer than 1.5m when the helicopters arrived and scared away the penguins.

We, of course, also invited the station's people to Polarstern. They came and got some tours through all the facilities and labs of the ship. Today is Judith's birthday. Therefore I will have some fun tonight. It was a really beautiful day!

Landed at the Shelf Ice Edge

2007-12-18T22:11:00.000+01:00

Tuesday, 18thDecember 2007: Since we left Atka Bay two days ago, Polarstern tried to find a way to a special spot at the shelf-ice edge. This spot was localized by helicopter and is the only area in reach where there is water reaching the edge. We are here now but it was not easy.
Polarstern followed a track an iceberg had cut through heavy pack ice.
This track was covered by dense "porridge" ice and we had to ram using all four engines. We crossed an iceberg cemetery and the number if icebergs and the various forms were amazing!
Finally we reached the polynia we had looked for and were able to do some station work using the "Rauschert"-Dredge yesterday while waiting for people from Neumayer. Today we landed at the edge and pumping of the fuel to tank containers started.

Antarctic Diary 14.12.2007 Finally: Neumayer

2007-12-18T21:59:00.000+01:00

Freitag, 14. Dezember 2007: Seit der ersten Tiefsee-Station hat das Systco-Team fleißig gearbeitet, Tiere aus den außerordentlich schlammigen Sediment gepickt, fotografiert, DNA extrahiert und sich einen ersten Überblick über das Leben an diesem Punkt der Tiefsee verschafft. Das gilt besonders für die EBS- und Dretschen-Sortiererer. Die letzten Tage waren
dominiert vom Kampf der Polarstern gegen das Packeis, welches teilweise locker, teilweise sehr fest gepackt war, sodass das Schiff oft feststeckte und zum Rammen zurücksetzen musste. Wir kamen dem entsprechend nur langsam voran.
Heute um ca. 15Uhr stoppte die Polarstern im Festeis der Atkabucht, nachdem sie sich ca. 500m des Weges in die Bucht gerammt hatte. Hier ist das Eis nicht zerbrochen, zusammen geschoben oder von Eisbergen zerpflügt worden, weshalb die Eisdecke bis auf Schneeverwehungen und Pinguinspuren absolut glatt ist. Von hier aus sind es noch etwa 20km bis zur Neumayer-Station, doch um näher an die Schelfeiskante zu kommen, müsste unverhältnismäßig viel Diesel verdampft werden. Da macht es mehr Sinn, auf dem Meereis zu entladen und die Container mit den Pistenbullys der Station abzuholen. Es wurde eine Brücke zum Eis herabgelassen und wir durften von Bord gehen. Zuvor wurde das Eis vom 1O geprüft und ein sicherer Bereich abgesteckt.
Wir sind natürlich sofort fast alle auf das Eis gegangen und es war komisch. Die letzten Tage ist alles an einem vorbei gezogen, wie in einem Film. Jetzt fühlte es sich einerseits erschreckend normal an, hier zu sein, so, als ob ich nie woanders war. Aber andererseits sind die Eindrücke, die Bilder, die Geräusche und das Wissen, hier zu sein unglaublich überwältigend. Man, ich halte das kaum aus! Vor Begeisterung könnte ich glatt platzen! Es ist schwer, das zu realisieren. Ich sehe
endlose Eiswüsten, riesengroße Tafeleisberge, Kaiserpinguine, die in Kolonnen von der Jagd zu ihren Küken über die flache Ebene rutschen, Adélie-Pinguine, die ständig aufgeregt wirken und sich voller Neugier bis auf weniger als 1 m dem liegenden Menschen nähern, die Polarstern liegt
wie ein schlafender Koloss mitten drin. Und ich bin auf diesem Schiff. Ein
Traum!

Es hat einige Zeit gedauert, bis ich auf die Idee kam, auch mal meine Handschuhe auszuziehen und den Schnee wirklich zu berühren. Das hat im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes geholfen, die Situation zu begreifen. Natürlich haben wir eine ganze Weile auf dem Eis verbracht und Bilder
geknipst, was das Zeug hält. Wir hatten viel Spass und ich fand es besonders lustig, die anderen dabei zu beobachten, wie sie beim Beobachten und Fotografieren genau das gleiche Verhalten an den Tag legten, wie die Pinguine, mich nicht ausgeschlossen. Die Kaiserpinguine wirken so
menschlich, wenn sie aus einen zu rutschen, sich dann mit Hilfe des Schnabels und der Flügel aufrichten und sich umsehen und umher stolzieren, wie steife dicke Männchen mit zu kurzen Beinen.
Wenig später kamen der Doc und der Leiter der Neumayer-Station auf Skidoos an, um uns willkommen zu heißen. Wegen der Versorgung der Station waren zu diesem Zeitpunkt bereits intensive Vorbereitungen im Gange. Das Ausladen sollte bald beginnen. Allerdings ist da noch das Problem der Betankung der Station. Die Diesel-Container können aus Sicherheitsgründen nicht auf dem Meereis betankt werden. Sie sind schlicht zu schwer und das Risiko einer
ökologischen Katastrophe ist zu groß. Wir müssen einen Platz zum Anlegen an der Schelfeiskante, also am Gletscherrand finden. Allerdings ist dieser hier in der Atka-Bucht zu weit weg.

Since the first station the SYSCO-Group has first preliminary results. Especially the people working with the EBS and the dredge continuously sorted the samples. As Angelika, Laura, Lydia and I concentrate on Isopods, we also took pictures of the several hundred specimens and Saskia and I started to do DNA-extractions for molecular phylogeny studies. The last days were dominated by a hard struggle of Polarstern against the dense ice-girdle around the continent. The ship had to stop very often, to retry to break the ice.
Today at about 3pm Polarstern stopped ramming the strong ice cover in Atka Bay. It is still about one hour and 15 minutes to go to Neumayer Station by Skidoo, 8 minutes by helicopter or about 20 kilometres, but ramming is much too expensive. The cargo for the german research-station will be unloaded tomorrow on the sea-ice and the Pistenbullys will come from
Neumayer to carry the cargo-containers.
A stairway was installed and we were allowed to go onto the ice after the Chief-Mate and crewmembers had checked the ice for risks and dangers. We went on the ice and it was great.
We spend quite some time to take pictures and pictures of emperors, of the ship, of each other. It was a try to make this an everlasting moment. We had fun. Jumping around, lying in the snow, enjoying the warm light, the calm but cold wind, and these birds, sliding towards us in curiosity and looking at us the same way we were looking at them. Wonderful!
During our first steps on the ice, the stations chief and the doctor arrived to welcome us. A lot of logistics had already started to unload the ship and bring all the supply to the station. Still during the next days, we will have to look for another place at the shelf-ice edge to unload the fuel for the station, as it is much to dangerous for the environment to unload it on the sea ice.

Antarctic Diary 12.12.2007

2007-12-18T21:55:00.000+01:00

Wednesday, 12.12.2007: Finally we come very close to the continent of Antarctica and the ice-cover is almost complete. It is that much light outside, that you can barely have a look out of the window without using sun glasses with high UV-protection, otherwise you would risk "snow
blindness" and sun-blocker to avoid heavy sun-burn within minutes. At the moment we are even stuck in the ice and Polarstern slowly goes backwards to accelerate again and ram the ice. It is still about 200 nautical miles to go to Neumayer-Station. I really look forward to have a walk on the ice and to visit this station, which, during next year, will be deconstructed completely to be substituted by a new one.
I am fine so far. Unfortunately I have a little cold and a throat-ache, but that is nothing. We started lab-work and I am preparing to give a talk in the daily seminar. There are also already ongoing Christmas-preparations but I avoid being involved. I don't like these things too much.

Yesterday Matilda organised a Party in the "Zillertal" in honour of "Lucia", the saint of the blind and the light. This tradition is celebrated in Scandinavian countries every year on the shortest day to welcome the light. Also yesterday, the doctor gave a lecture on secure behaviour in the
Antarctic and in the ice. Really nasty things can happen because of high radiation levels, magnetic storms, extreme changes in weather or e.g. cracks in the ice.

Antarctic Diary 10.12.2007

2007-12-18T21:51:00.000+01:00

Monday, 10.12.2007: We've reached the ice!!! Yesterday was marvellous! The first thing I saw, when I looked out of my window, was lots of "Antarctic Petrels" and "Black-browed Albtrosses" accompanying Polarstern. We did not see these species so far and especially the Albatrosses are so beautiful! They were very close to the ship and I took lots of pictures.
Also yesterday the ship's weight-watchers club started. This is a weekly event, which to me seems necessary, as the food on Polarstern is excellent. It must be that good, as food helps to create a good mood for crew and scientists as a contrast to harsh conditions and hard work. For
the weight-watchers you have to bet 0.5 how your weight will develop during one week and you The money collected will be given to an organisation caring about children suffering from cancer.
During lunchtime we were passing huge icebergs outside with Penguins. It was really amazing: Polarstern was passing by between two quite huge and blue icebergs. And there were hundreds of penguins sitting on these. The icebergs were closer than 500m each and when we were right between them, it was 12:00 and Polarstern's daily horn was blown. This was an incredible
feeling! It is hard to realize where I am and in this moment I really got overwhelmed!
Today we also started to sort our first samples that were now fixed in cool and pure ethanol for 48 hours. Not many animals could be found so far, but there are some in it. Tomorrow we will start extracting DNA. As it is the 2. Advent today, we had some festivities and lots of fun.
After days of storm and waves hitting the ship hard the waves decreased more and more during the evening. Afterwards I went to the gym to run some half an hour and to do some workout, when suddenly I heard ice scratching on the ships hull! We have reached the sea-ice!! It looks so great and I really look forward to see the endless ice -desert tomorrow.
The ice extension is very big now and we expect to have some problems in reaching "Neumayer II" station. There is a big storm approaching and we hope, that it will blow away some of the ice.

Antarctic Diary 08.12.2007

2007-12-18T21:50:00.000+01:00

Saturday, 08.12.2007: We solved our first station and are now heading
southward to the German polar research station "Neumayer II". We will
supply the 8 overwinterers with food, fuel and equipment. It is still one
week to go, until we reach the edge of the continental shelf-ice. But we
will reach the sea-ice within the next couple of days.
Until then we will work on our samples from the first station and create
plans for Christmas. It really gets chilly outside even though we are at a
latitude similar to northern germany. We already passed the polar front
and entered the circumpolar current, which isolates Antarctica from the
world's other oceans. Water temperature sank to less than 5°C. Yesterday
there was the first iceberg I saw in my life! It was the first impression
of the ice-desert we will face the next weeks and it was beautiful! Today
I saw even six icebergs, and tried to get good shots of birds like "Sooty
Albatrosses", "Antarctic Prions", "Giant Petrels", "Cape Petrels",
"Southern Fulmars", "Blue Petrels" or "Antarctic Storm-Petrels". So far I
did not see any whales.
Last night my professor Angelika and a ship-mate called Ekki celebrated
their Birthdays in the ship's equipment-store. At the beginning it was a
very strange athmosphere, as there seemed to be still quite an inner
distance between scientists and crew. This wall broke and it became a
fest! There was dancing and loughing and "the ice" between scientists and
crew melted.
The increasing waves and the rum made the dancing a pogo soon and as food
and glasses were flying through the room and it became too dangerous Ekki
made an end.

On the one picture Lydia (right), Saskia (center) and me stand on the
aft-deck of RV Polarstern next to our gear, the epibenthic sledge called
"Meta" and on the other picture you see a Sooty Albatross.

Diary 02.12.2007

2007-12-18T21:49:00.000+01:00

Sunday, 02.12.2007: It is Sunday and after some day of building up laboratories and preparing first station, most of the scientists aboard RV "Polarstern" relax a little bit. We all by now became quite used to customs and rules on board.
If you want to know exactly where I am at the moment, visit the webpage http://www.awi-bremerhaven.de and look for the Polarstern. There you can find a cruise plot with our current position.
It is still four to five days to go, maybe more, as we are inside a high pressure system and have to steam against storm and waves. By now, just some groups have started their work. The plankton group has deployed the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR). This gear is towed behind the ship and needs no additional ship-time, except for the deployment and the heaving.
It will always be used between the stations as long as we are out of ice-covered areas and stays in the water all the time. Depending on speed and cable length, the depth to sample at can be adjusted. This gear was used since many years worldwide and catches zooplankton. It gives an
overview on species composition, abundance and distribution. On the "Peildeck" the Top- Predator-Group counts birds and whales. Unless the storm is too strong they stay there outside from dawn till dusk. Every day! This group also uses a towed gear, the „Surface and Under ice Trawl" (SUIT) which can also be used in ice-covered areas and consists of a very
impressing steel frame with car-wheels to roll underneath the ice and heavy weights. They try to investigate Top-Predators and their food from the surface of the water column.
Once we reach the first deep station, the ship will stay approximately at the same coordinates until all the work is done. During the stations a lot of different instruments will be deployed. There is gear that will just be lowered down to the deep-sea floor for example to measure physical parameters like currents, oxygen-content, CO2-content, salinity and temperature, but also to get water samples from different depths, or graps and corers to sample the sediment. We also have a Free-Fall-Lander and a Bait-Trap on board. Both throw off weights triggered by acoustical signals and float back to the surface. With the lander, e.g. oxygen-gradients can be measured in the bottom-surface layer. The traps are used to catch scavengers. When all this gear is done, trawled gear, like our EBS for benthic organisms or the "Rectangular Midwater Trawl" (RMT) for pelagic organisms like Krill is deployed. All together a station may last more than 36 hours.

Diary 28.11.2007

2007-12-18T21:48:00.000+01:00

Mittwoch, 28.11.2007: Es ist wahr geworden. Irgendwie hatte ich mich nie
gewagt, davon auch nur zu träumen, aber nun bin ich auf der
FS-Polarstern!! Am 28.11. um 20 Uhr sind wir pünktlich in Kapstadt
abgelegt.
Da das Schiff wird genutzt ist mit Wissenschaftlern, Hubschrauber-Crew und
Wetterfröschen vom Deutschen Wetterdienst. Ich muss ich mit der
Isolierstation des Bordhospitals Vorlieb nehmen. Ich teile das Zimmer mit
zwei netten Kerlen in meinem Alter, Falk und Jens. Beide machen ganz was
anderes als ich, aber wir verstehen uns sehr gut. Gleich beim Auslaufen
hatten wir Windstärke 7. Das ist nicht sehr viel, gerade bei der Größe
dieses Dampfers, aber für den Anfang war das schon ganz ordentlich, sodass
ich die erste Nacht nicht besonders gut schlafen konnte.
Diese Fahrt bedient unter anderem das SYSTCO-Projekt, welches das
ehrgeizige Ziel verfolgt, Fachgebiete übergreifend Zusammenhänge zwischen
den Verschiedenen Lebensräumen von der Wasseroberfläche (oder sogar
darüber) bis zum Meeresboden zu finden. Besonders geht es darum, wo der
vom Phytoplankton gebildete organische Kohlenstoff durch das Nahrungsnetz
fließt.
Meine Aufgabe im Speziellen liegt im Probensortieren und heraussuchen von
Isopoden, mit denen ich in meiner Diplomarbeit arbeiten möchte und
Bivalven und Scaphopoden für eine Dame aus England. Ich arbeite
hauptsächlich mit dem EBS (Epibenthos-Schlitten). Das ist ein Gerät, mit
dem man den ersten Meter über dem Meeresboden in so gut wie jeder Tiefe
beproben kann und vor allem Tiere zwischen 0,5 und 10mm fangen kann.

Wednesday, 28.11.2007: It became true. Even though I never believed in
that, I am now a participant in a Polarstern-Cruise! Today we left Cape
Town in time and were at once confronted with harsh weather. 7 Bft. is not
that much, especially as we are on a huge ship, but it was enough to
disturb my sleep quite a lot.
A significant project of this cruise is allocated to SYSTCO- (System
Coupling in the Deep Antarctic Ocean). Its aim is, to simplify it a bit,
to find out about where organic carbon and other nutrients go, whom eats
whom and how different habitats from the surface of the ocean down to the
fauna living in the deep-sea's sediment are connected to each other.
I am on board to help sorting samples, especially from the Epibenthic
Sledge (EBS). This gear can be towed in almost every depth and catches
small macrofauna basically consisting of crustacean, polychaetes, molluscs
and more. I am also here to pick out Bivalves for a professor from the
British Antarctic Survey and to pick out isopods for Laura's PhD-studies
and my Diploma-thesis.

picturethread_four

2007-12-10T01:11:00.000+01:00

The picture with me on it, sorting in the lab, was taken by Nils Brenke,
the picture of the sea-ice was taken by Jens Edinger and the "Penguins on
the iceberg" picture was taken by me.
Tschöö.. Torben

picturethread_three

2007-12-08T22:56:00.000+01:00

picturethread_two

2007-12-03T18:04:00.000+01:00

picturethread_one

2007-12-01T09:37:00.000+01:00

This picture shows Nils and me...
Cheers.. Torben

Some animals of the Cape..

2007-11-26T22:06:00.000+01:00

Assel in der Brandungszone
Sea-shore isopod

Hagedasch
Bostrychia hadedasch
Hadada Ibis

Jersey-Rind
Bos taurus
Jersey Cow

Klippschliefer
Procavia capensis
Cape Hyrax / Dassie

Nilgans
Alopochen aegyptiacus
Egyptian Goose

Afrikanischer Brillenpinguin (ausgewachsen)
Spheniscus demersus
African Penguin (adult)

Afrikanischer Brillenpinguin (Jungtier)
Spheniscus demersus
African Penguin (juvenile)

Rotschwingenstar
Onychognatus morio
Redwinged Starling

Kap-Frankolin
Francolinus capensis
Cape francolin

Waffenkiebitz
Vanellus armatus
Blacksmith Lapwing

The first time I saw RV "Polarstern"

2007-11-26T21:16:00.001+01:00

Moin!
Today, again, was a really really wonderful day! But I start getting tired of those ass-kissers that always show a faked smile and give crooked compliments and slag you in your back.
We did a wine tour today. We had a german speaking driver and guide. She was born in Namibia and speaks perfect English, Afrikaans and German without any accent. We visited three wine farms and tried dozens of white, rosé and red wines as well as port wines. We saw wine cellars and the very old farms and farmlands around the old colony Stellenbosch.
When we drove back to Cape Town on the highway we had a nice view on the Waterfront and the harbor and I saw Polarstern the first time in my life. Maybe it sounds overstated but as I really look forward to the day after tomorrow and the coming three months, I was quite impressed, seeing this ship, the old lady, for the first time.
Lutz, a guy we met before, had contact to Polarstern and told us, that they are not allowed to land as it was plnned. A crane is broken in the harbor and it will take several hours, until this is fixed.. Poor crew, poor scientists on board!

2007/11/26: RV Polarstern waiting for landing permission; Tablebay

Simon's Bay and The Cape of Good Hope

2007-11-25T23:41:00.001+01:00

Today we rented a car and drove to Simon's Bay and to the Cape of Good Hope. Driving on the left hand side was done by Saskia. She has had experience with that before and she did it very well. Roads in this area are very good and traffic is not stressful.
In Simon's Bay we visited the Pinguins Colony. Those birds are really good photo-models and cute, too.

At the cape we saw some big animals like ostrychs, baboons and kudus. In the morning we had about 28°C and no wind, but in the afternoon, clouds came and it got very stormy. At the cape we also met some scientists from the Netherlands, which will be on Polarstern, too.

The Burger Experience

2007-11-25T01:16:00.000+01:00

This post is to all people that appreciate good food, especially those, that are non-vegetarian. This post is dedicated to Tim and Harry. I have often had Barbie or Burger together with you, mates, and I always liked it and appreciated it very much! During this dinner Tim and Harry were with me in a spiritual way:

Today I had the biggest and the best burger ever in my life!!!!!! On the menu there was written: "Only for the hungry!" That was a provocation. This burger was made of a burger roll, 250 gram minced beef burger, tomatoe, 200 gram minced ostrych burger, bacon, fried egg, onion and salat! This came along with fried western potatoes, trimmings and with fried onion, cream spinach and with ginger pumpkin. It was unbelievable! And it was a challange. I barely made it through, but I did! And afterwards I was really happ y. This burger I will never forget.
And I feel sorry for all people, like Tim and Harry, that do not have a chance right now, to share this experience with me.. I am with you, guys!
Now I'm really done.. Torben

Welcome to Cape Town

2007-11-24T00:45:00.000+01:00

Hi All!
We have arrived in Cape Town and it is great! I am on vacation in South Afrca's most beautiful city together with Saskia, Laura and Lydia. But I have to start from the beginning: Yesterday we departed from Hamburg and the flight to Frankfurt was ok. We originally should have had to wait for something like 1.5 hours but our flight was resceduled to 00:55am next day. Two more hours to wait. Shit! The Lufthansa-People told us, that the plane had been hit by a lightning during the last flight and they - of course - had to check it. That did not bring more confidence
into our minds - so to say.
But the plane was checked and it was ok and we started. It may be due to my last experiences with Singapore Airlines, but for me Lufthansa is crap! Service is not good, food is bad, no screens in front of every passanger no choice of tv-chanels, little space and little comfort at all. And by the way: Lufthansa is quite expensive in relation to better Airlines.
But finally we arrived. At the Airport we passed through immigration and customs quickly to meet with our transfer-guy. At first we could not find him until we saw him - identified by a sign in his hand with Saskias name on it - discussing with somebody who had arrived with our flight too and his name was Dr. Blix. That is very funny, as Saskia's surname is Brix and she is a Dr., too. And this man argued, that he was the only Dr. Blix in the world, therefore this "r" must be a mistake and he needs a transfer now and wanted to take our driver.. But we intervened early enough.
Our Hotel in Camps Bay is amazing. This suburb of Cape Town is were the rich people live and i tmakes me feel uncomfortable staying between those snobbish people. But at least we can walk on the streets here feeling safe. It is very comfortable and much like nothing I've ever stayed at. And today it was 25°C, though strong wind and we can see the South Atlantic, Table Mountain, the Twelfe Apostels as well as Lion's Head from our Room!!!!
We already planned and booked a lot of things for the next days. Tomorrow we will rent a car and drive to the "Cape of Good Hope" and to Simon's Town where the pinguins dwell. On Monday we will do the wine-tour and on Tuesday we want to climb Table Mountain and have a look at Cape Town's Waterfront. O Wednesday we will finally go aboard "Polarstern".
Today we walked down to the beach of Camps Bay and looked for ATMs, Restaurants and SuperMarkets. On our way we saw Sea Lions and Dassies. Dassies are not the cutest mammals. They more look like awkward, fat rats without a tail and clumbsy feet (Picture). They are the closest related species to elephants alive, though quite small!!
We found a very very nice SeaFood Restaurant close to the beach and Saskia and I shared a big SeaFood plate. This plate I will never forget! It was unbelievable delicious. We had a bottle of white wine from the cape (very low-priced) and really enjoyed being in South Africa.
Afterwards we took a cap and drove to Alfred&Victoria Waterfront. There we walked through the streets and had another beer.
That is the news for today. All the best to you.. Torben

Time runs short now!

2007-11-22T12:48:00.001+01:00

Hi mates!
Tomorrow I will leave! And so far I did not pack my bag at all.. so many other things remain to be done.. but I'm starting to get nervous.
In Cape Town I will stay in Camps Bay (Accomodation: http://www.bateleurshouse.co.za/rontree/index.php)and will hopefully meet with Caro. She also studies in Hamburg and will arrive there on November, 26th for a Cetacean Conference. So far..
Cheers.. Torben

Rönne - A sheer cosmopolitan village ( Ein reines Weltdorf)

2007-10-28T21:55:00.000+01:00

Rönne is where I come from. It is but a small village in northern Lower Saxony, southeast of Hamburg. And Rönne stands for a glorious history through ages. Napoleon himself marched through my Rönne on his way to Russia, the famous but hated nuklear powerplant "Krümmel" can be seen from my house, and surely many more important things happened and still continue to happen in, around or because of Rönne. Thus, it is once and for all famous all over the world and not only gave name to Rønne, the capitol of the danish island of Bornholm but also to the Rönne Ice Shelf (see figure!), being part of the second largest ice sheets in the Antarctic. Isn't that amazing? This is, where the famous "calving" of the A-38 iceberg took place (remember "Tagesschau"?). Wow.. I am proud to be a true Rönnesian! And soon I will come close to the Rönne Ice Shelf myself, when I'm on "Polarstern" visiting and supplying the german Polar Station "Neumayer II" (see arrow on figure). The red line is approximately the heading of our cruise.
So far.. cheers..
Torben

Food - what's more important?

2007-10-27T12:15:00.000+02:00

Lonely Planet's travel survival kit for South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland (2nd edition, 1996) says:

"Despite the fact that South Africa produces some of the best meat, fresh produce and seafood in the world, the food is often disappointing. [...] The British can take most of the blame. Large steaks (admittedly, usually excellent), overboiled vegetables and fried chips seem to be the stable diet for whites. Vegetarians will find the country a nightmare. [...] Basically, if a dish can have spices removed and sugar or animal fat added in large amounts, it will." That doesn't sound too good to me.. I hope, things have changed a little in eleven years since.
But what gives me confidence is the fact, that "Polarstern" will refill it's stocks in Cape Town. That means, we'll have Crocodile, Oryx, Ostrich, Zebra and probably more exotic meat during the first weeks on board. And I'm quite sure, with this delicious things in his store the chef knows how to satisfy his guests!!

Getting hungry..

Testicals.. one, two..

2007-10-16T21:06:00.000+02:00

This is some kind of test.. for how the e-mail blogging works..

But I will use it to give some news anyway. Today I had lunch with Lydia, Laura and my boss Saskia. Together we will fly to Cape Town November 23rd and have a three days vacation. We planned. And it became gooooooood!
We'll stay at some kind of lodge outside Cape Town City, close to the beach (100m) in a relative secure area. It is quite cheap , though a ****Hotel. As far as this is possible, we want to visit some wine cellars, a colony of pinguins and of course Cape Town itself within this three days. On November 27th we will bord "Polarstern" and the cruise will start one day later.
Besides: Saskia told me, that unfortunately some of the scientists had to reject from the cruise. But for me this is relaxing, as I feared, I would probably have to sleep at the quarantine ward of the medical station. Originally the shipping company had agreed in letting three more scientists take part in the cruise than "Polarstern" has beds for. So they planned to give the two beds in hospital and the one in quarantine ward to scientists also - at least as long as there is no case of emergency.. and as I wrote before, I still do not know with whom I will share my cabin.

Huhu..

2007-10-14T14:03:00.000+02:00

Halli hallo..
it is more than four weeks to go, until I will leave Germany for South Afrika to enter the most powerful ship in the german scientific fleet: the ice breaker, supply and research vessel "FS Polarstern".
I really look forward to it!!!
It is an honour to me that I was chosen to take part in expedition ANT XXIV-2 to Antarctica. I was integrated into the team of SYSTCO, which is a project to analyse the oceans' biological system coupling from the deep sea up to the surface. I will help sorting and fixing sampled material and extracting DNA from Isopods (Crustacea: Peracarida) on bord.
At the moment I am stuck in planning, buying, packing and mostly thinking.. I still don't know, with whom I'm going to share my cabin.. one of my biggest fears is that I may have to live three months on bord sharing my privacy with a fat old unfriendly guy who is smoking, snoring and farting all the time and a professor in physics.. well.. I'll be aware of it soon enough..

Cheers.. Sasquatch