Leaving for Antarctic

We arrived in Punta Arenas in Chile on the 22^nd of October after leaving Dunedin. Since we crossed the International Date Line, we arrived about the same date and time we left which felt slightly strange. Our home for the next month, the US Research Vessel Nathaniel B Palmer was already waiting for us at the pier. 

This large ice breaker will take us to the Western Antarctic Peninsula where we will take samples to measure the concentration of iron and many other metals. The concentrations of metals are incredibly low, comparable to 1 paper clip dissolved in 15 Olympic swimming pools. This means you have to be extremely careful to not contaminate the samples, which is not easy on a metal ship. Additionally, there is plenty iron in the human body, including in skin particles or hairs. 

To keep our samples clean, we had to build our own clean air laboratory on board, called a ‘bubble’. This is made from PVC tubes, plastic and lots of tape. Filtered air that contains no dust or other particles is blown into this, making the plastic walls bulge out which made people call it the bubble. Inside we have ‘flow benches’ that blow clean air in and keep all contamination out of our samples. 

 
Building the bubble with PVC tubes, plastic sheets and lots of tape! On the right you can see the filter through which the clean air is blown in and on the bottom left one of the flow benches.

In the next blog we will show some pictures of how we dress up in suits inside the bubble and of the (hopefully by then) working set up for the iron measurements.  

Introduction to the project.

Introducing Rob and Ella, lecturer and Honours student from the University of Otago’s Chemistry department. We will be investigating the amount of dissolved iron in the oceans and seas around Antarctica. On this blog we will share some photo’s and experiences.

Dr Rob Middag (left) and Ella Patterson from the University of Otago

Why dissolved iron?

Metals are not usually regarded as food, yet metals are essential nutrients for all organisms. They form the reactive centres of enzymes, enabling these to perform biochemical functions, such as oxygen-transport or photosynthesis. As such, trace metals are central to the health of individual organisms as well as entire ecosystems. In the open ocean, the base of the food web is formed by unicellular algae, known as phytoplankton. For certain ocean regions such as around Antarctica, it is known that trace metals, notably iron, can limit the amount of phytoplankton that can grow, and thus the amount of life that can be sustained. Since phytoplankton take up CO₂ from the atmosphere, iron influences atmospheric CO₂ levels and global climate. Coastal Antarctica harbours large phytoplankton blooms that sustain Antarctica's key higher organisms such as penguins and whales. This region is experiencing dramatic change as the glaciers are melting rapidly. This project will reveal what role trace metals play in the Antarctic ecosystem and give us the ability to predict how its role in global climate will change under future climate scenarios.