RV Aurora Australis — 2007/08

Recent video

Beam trawl catch from 560 metres deep being sorted.

Commentary: Bertrand Richer de Forges, Crustacean biologist in New Caledonia.

Footage: Sophie Mouge

The sea floor, 800m below the surface of the Southern Ocean.

Sound of the stabilizer on Aurora Australis.

News

Voyage tracks
Sitreps (situation reports)

Daily ship logs

Margot Foster, contributes as part of the IPY Pole-to-Pole project.

Week 1 — 16-22 December 2007
Week 2 — 23-29 December 2007
Week 3 — 30 Dec 2007-5 Jan 2008
Week 4 — 6-12 January 2008
Week 5 — 13-19 January 2008
Week 6 — 20-26 January 2008 — THE END!

Science daily

Education & Outreach officer, Sophie Mouge, writes daily.

Week 1 — 16-22 December 2007
Week 2 — 23-29 December 2007
Week 3 — 30 Dec 2007-5 Jan 2008
Week 4 — 6-12 January 2008
Week 5 — 13-19 January 2008
Week 6 — 20-26 January 2008

Other news

17 December 2007 — Exposing the secret life of the Antarctic sea floor
Melbourne Aquarium aquarist, Jules Biggart onboard
CAML Education and Outreach officer onboard

Countries involved

Australia, France, Japan

Dates

16 December 2007 — 30 January 2008

Location

Terre Adélie, George V Land Coast

Project description

This project is part of the Collaborative East Antarctic Marine Census (CEAMARC). CEAMARC is the Australian, French and Japanese contribution to CAML. CEAMARC will contribute a highly coordinated and comprehensive survey of plankton, fish, benthos and oceanography of selected areas of Antarctic waters. This project will focus on demersal fish. This is a Climate of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean (CASO) interdisciplinary exploration of the global water cycle in Antarctica and the Southern Oceans; global climate connections and biogeochemical processes in Antarctica; and the Antarctic climate change.

Aurora Australis travelling easily through light sea ice near Casey

Aurora Australis travels through light sea ice.

Photo: M. Boydell

There are 3 dedicated CEAMARC voyages

Voyage 1 — Aurora Australis
Voyage 2 — L’Astrolabe
Voyage 3 — Umitaka Maru

Gear description

Requires ice-breakers and ice strengthened ships with satellites, autonomous vehicles, drifters, profiling floats, ice-tethered platforms, moorings, meteorological observations and ice/sediment core capability, gliders and aircraft.