Coastal retreat at the northern Baltic Sea between Flensburg and Travemünde

Long-term surveys of the coast bordering the western Baltic Sea in Schleswig-Holstein yielded extensive information over the retreat and condition of active cliffs. 181 cliffs with a total length of 148 km are present along the 55 km coastline including Fehmarn lsland and the Schlei Fjord. Depending on their temporal and spatial evolution, and geomorphological stability, the cliffs are subdivided in three separate classes - actively retreating escarpments, cliff Segments with potential for retreat and stable cliffs. 85 sections of the coastline with a total length of 59 km are classified as ,,active cliffs" that are undergoing retreat through natural erosion, collapse, and disintegration.

Swath sonar bathymetry during POLARSTERN cruise ANT-XXVI/3 (PS75) with links to multibeam raw data files

Multibeam data were collected during R/V Polarstern cruise ANT-XXVI/3 along track lines of about 10,400 NM total length along transits, survey profiles and during stationary work. Departing in New Zealand the ship passed Pacific Antarctic Ridge heading to Ross Sea. Main working area was the Amundsen Sea and Bellingshausen Sea. Recorded bathymetry is supplementing existing tracks e.g. of R.V. James Clark Ross and R.V. Nathaniel B. Palmer. The refraction correction was achieved utilizing CTD profiles or by the system's own cross fan calibration. The quality of data might be reduced during bad weather periods or adverse sea ice conditions. The dataset contains raw data that are not processed and thus may contain errors and blunders in depth and position.

Body sizes and dive characteristics of narwhals (Monodon monoceros) from Kakiak Point and Melville Bay (2005-2007)

We report on wintertime data collected from Baffin Bay and northern Davis Strait, a major gateway linking the Arctic with the subpolar North Atlantic, using narwhals (Monodon monoceros) as an oceanographic sampling platform. Fourteen narwhals were instrumented with satellite-linked time-depth-temperature recorders between 2005 and 2007. Transmitters collected and transmitted water column temperature profiles from each dive between December and April, where >90% of maximum daily dive depths reached the bottom. Temperature measurements were combined with 15 helicopter-based conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) casts taken in April 2007 across central Baffin Bay and compared with hydrographic climatology values used for the region in Arctic climate models. Winter temperature maxima for whale and CTD data were in good agreement, ranging between 4.0°C and 4.6°C in inshore and offshore Baffin Bay and in Davis Strait. The warm Irminger Water was identified between 57°W and 59°W (at 68°N) between 200 and 400 m depths. Whale data correlated well with climatological temperature maxima; however, they were on average 0.9°C warmer ±0.6°C (P < 0.001). Furthermore, climatology data overestimated the winter surface isothermal layer thickness by 50-80 m. Our results suggest the previously documented warming in Baffin Bay has continued through 2007 and is associated with a warmer West Greenland Current in both of its constituent water masses. This research demonstrates the feasibility of using narwhals as ocean observation platforms in inaccessible Arctic areas where dense sea ice prevents regular oceanographic measurements and where innate site fidelity, affinity for winter pack ice, and multiple daily dives to >1700 m offer a useful opportunity to sample the area.

Swath sonar bathymetry during POLARSTERN cruise ANT-XVI/4 (PS53) with links to multibeam raw data files

Multibeam data were collected without operator supervision on R/V Polarstern cruise ANT-XVI/4 along track lines of 6385 NM total length. Data were achieved during transits and stationary work on the route from Cape Town to Bremerhaven via the Cape Verde Islands and the Canary Islands. The multibeam sonar system Hydrosweep DS-2 was operated using 59 beams and 90° aperture angle. The quality of data might be reduced during bad weather periods or adverse sea ice conditions. The dataset contains raw data that are not processed and thus may contain errors and blunders in depth and position.

Swath sonar bathymetry during POLARSTERN cruise ANT-XV/4 (PS49) with links to multibeam raw data files

Multibeam data were collected without operator supervision on R/V Polarstern cruise ANT-XV/4 along track lines of about 7000 NM total length. Data were achieved during transits and stationary work in the western Weddell Sea, at the Weddell-Scotia Confluence, and on a transect along the Prime Meridian of about 1300 NM length, between 69°S and 47°S. The multibeam sonar system Hydrosweep DS-2 was operated using 59 beams and 90° aperture angle. The quality of data might be reduced during bad weather periods or adverse sea ice conditions. The dataset contains raw data that are not processed and thus may contain errors and blunders in depth and position.