In the Antarctic on a research ship

NIWA's research vessel Tangaroa is back home after successfully completing research that covered all areas of Ross Sea Marine Protected Area ecosystem - from whales to bacteria.

From the Sunday Star Times, New Zealand

New Zealand's research vessel, Tangaroa (named for the Polynesian god of the sea) traveled more than 11,800 kilometers since leaving Wellington on January 8 -- a voyage that took the ship almost as far south as the Tangaroa has been before. 

Twenty-one scientists made the trip to the icy continent – their focus: gathering baseline information to monitor the year-old Ross Sea Marine Protected Area (MPA).In total, 4,700 samples were preserved while almost 33 hours of video and 8,000 still images were collected to look at animals living on the sea-bed.

DAVID BOWDEN/NIWA

The crew of Tangaroa preparing the mesopelagic trawl net, which is used to sample mid-water fish, krill, and other larger zooplankton. There were 41 fish trawls during the voyage. The total trawl catch of 1946 kilograms was made up of 110 species, including 56 types of fish.

It wasn't all work for the scientists as they also got to witness the local wildlife in action such as Adelie penguins and the 36 whale sightings that were logged and included more than 190 individual whales from various species.

Dr. Richard O'Driscoll says favorable conditions and a lack of sea ice meant work was uninterrupted. And this work will, in turn, benefit the New Zealand science communities, he adds.

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Adelie penguins take a swim during Tangaroa's latest Antarctic voyage.

The Tangaroa had 227 gear deployments during the trip, and this included 78 plankton tows where a bongo net was towed in water at depths down to 1000 meters.

A mesopelagic trawl net was also deployed to sample mid-water fish and krill. O'Driscoll's team made 41 fish trawls and collected a combined catch of 1,946 kilograms that was made up of 110 different species.This was the second of three voyages planned for the crew of the Tangaroa.

O'Driscoll says New Zealand plays a leading role in monitoring the MPA, adding that the latest voyage was a "key contribution".

DAVID BOWD

"By increasing our understanding of Antarctic and Southern Ocean responses to past climate conditions, it will allow improved modelling of future changes," he says.

He says New Zealand scientists are working alongside other nations within the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) to establish a long-term monitoring program inside the MPA.

Bongo net, used to sample plankton

DAVID BOWDEN/NIWA

"It's the largest MPA in the world ... and represents a major contribution to global marine protection."

Temperatures were unusually warm and sea-ice scarce during the expedition 

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