WELLINGTON, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Tangaroa, the flagship research vessel of New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), will leave port on Feb. 8 as part of its 12th Antarctic voyage to travel about 7,800 km on a six-week voyage, NIWA said in a statement on Wednesday.
It will take about seven days to reach the Ross Sea shelf break east of Cape Adare, about 3,400 km south of Wellington, for the first large-scale experiment of the voyage, it said.
Voyage leader and NIWA marine ecologist David Bowden said that the science research program involves several disciplines and fitting in all the work that needs to be done will require both careful planning and luck.
"Voyage planning is a juggling act that needs a very efficient crystal ball. We want to squeeze in as much science as possible but we know before we even get to Antarctica that the weather, ice conditions, and sea state will affect us at some point," Bowden said.
The research aims of the voyage are to better understand climate change effects on oceanographic processes, marine microbial community structure and function, influence of marine aerosols on cloud formation and properties of Antarctic clouds, seabed habitats and fauna inside and outside of the Ross Sea Marine Protected Area, the role of whales in the Antarctic ecosystem, among others, according to NIWA.
The ship will carry 23 scientists and 17 crew. Together their work ranges from taking atmospheric and oceanographic observations and samples, to whale spotting, maintaining the vessel, and cooking meals around the clock to service the 24-hour operation of the ship, Bowden said.
The 70m-long ship, which is ice-strengthened but is not an ice breaker, is currently undertaking a fisheries survey on the Chatham Rise and is not due back in port until Monday, leaving just a couple of days to load specialist equipment and provisions needed for the voyage, he said.
