Press Release from RV Polarstern 04.01.2008

Antarctic biodiversity research hits Time magazine’s “Top 10” scientific discoveries for 2007

Time Magazine has recognised Antarctic biodiversity research in its Top 10 scientific discoveries for 2007. The discovery was reported in the journal Nature in May 2007. The researchers found over 700 new species of organisms, including isopod crustaceans, carnivorous sponges and giant sea spiders on the seafloor of the Weddell Sea off Antarctica, at bottom depths from 700 m to 6,000 m.

The Nature paper on biodiversity and biogeography of the Southern Ocean deep sea was published by a team of 21 biologists. Right now, four of them are at sea off Antarctica on the German icebreaker RV Polarstern, continuing their ground-breaking research. Today they completed seafloor trawling and sediment coring at 2,200 m on a seamount in the Weddell Sea.

Lead author Angelika Brandt on Polarstern said “This is an exciting recognition of our biodiversity research in this diverse and beautiful ecosystem. The marine life of Antarctica, cradled in deep bottom water formed by melting ice, is connected to all the other oceans by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. What happens in Antarctica is of fundamental importance to the health of the oceans on our planet.”

The Polarstern is part of the German polar research program, with headquarters at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven (Member of the Helmholtz Association). After supplying materials for the Neumayer station on the Antarctic continent, Polarstern’s 10-week voyage is exploring the potential impact of climate change on the vital biological and physical processes that connect the surface waters to the deep seafloor. Scientists on board represent many institutes, including the Alfred Wegener Institute, the University of Hamburg and the Senckenberg Museum. In partnership with these institutes, the Census of Marine Life projects CeDAMar (abyssal plains), CAML (Antarctic biodiversity) and MARCOPOLI (Marine Coastal and Polar Systems and Infrastructure) coordinate the research.

Brigitte Ebbe, also on the Polarstern voyage, was responsible for the research on polychaetes (marine worms) for the Nature report. She said “We are discovering new species faster than we can write the scientific papers. Species are the fundamental building blocks. Taxonomic research is essential to understanding the structure and function of ecosystems.”

Research to investigate marine life in this vast and unexplored region will be continued during the International Polar Year 2007-08.

Contact:

Alfred Wegener Institute, Angelika Dummermuth This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Further information:

www.cedamar.org

www.caml.aq

www.deepsea-research.org

www.awi.de

ftp://ftp.awi.de/pub/ANT24-2 with “anonymous” and “your own e-mail address”