by Dr. Friederike Weith (PostDoc, AWI)

During the second leg of the ANT-Land-SIGMA-II 2024/2025 expedition, our team explored the fascinating and rapidly changing coastal environments of King George Island, Antarctica. The mission focused on understanding how glacier meltwater discharge affects local ecosystems, particularly in Admiralty Bay and Potter Cove.

Led by Dr. Kerstin Jerosch (chief scientist, AWI), with Dr. Friederike Weith (PostDoc, AWI) and Clarissa Vock (PhD candidate, AWI), the team deployed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to capture multispectral imagery of glacial meltwater plumes. These plumes, rich in suspended particulate material (SPM), are a key indicator of changes driven by glacial retreat and melting. Over seven UAV missions in front of three glaciers in Admiralty Bay, we collected over 13,000 images and measured critical water parameters such as salinity, temperature, turbidity, and chlorophyll-a using advanced sensors.

The expedition also included water sampling at multiple depths, sediment coring, and the analysis of meltwater streams. This comprehensive dataset will help us assess how SPM and organic carbon influence planktonic and benthic communities, and how these changes ripple through the fragile Antarctic coastal ecosystem.

Stay tuned for more updates on the expedition in Potter Cove and Collins Harbour.

Photo 1: Kerstin Jerosch (SIGMA-II chief scientist) and Friederike Weith (secondee) preparing the UWITech corer for sediment sampling in the Admiralty Bay (taken by: A. Miranda).
Photo 3: Friederike Weith and Kerstin Jerosch slicing sediment cores for geochemical analysis (taken by A. Sandoval).
Photo 2: Kerstin Jerosch operating the drone in front of the Znosko Glacier at the Keller Peninsula, Admiralty Bay (taken by: F. Weith).