Activities of the training vessel Umitaka-maru (KARE-15; UM-11-07) of the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology during the 53rd Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition in 2011/2012

Abstract

The training vessel Umitaka-maru of the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology (TUMSAT) undertook a marine science cruise in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean during the 2011/2012 austral summer. During the cruise, TUMSAT conducted five different collaborative research projects. These included two phase-VIII Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE-52 to -57) projects: "Responses of Antarctic Marine Ecosystems to Global Environmental Changes with Carbonate Systems", which is the sub-theme of the prioritized research project "Exploring Global Warming from Antarctica"; and the ordinary research project "Studies on Plankton Community Structure and Environment Parameters in the Southern Ocean". The other three collaborative research projects were those undertaken in conjunction with (1) the National Institute of Polar Research, entitled "Environment and Ecosystem Changes in the Southern Ocean"; (2) the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), entitled "Deployment of the Southern Ocean Buoy" ; and (3) with Hokkaido University, entitled ＂Studies on Dynamics of Antarctic Bottom Water＂. The Umitaka-maru departed from Fremantle, Australia, on 27 December 2011, sailed to the study area around the marginal sea ice zone (mainly along 110°E and 140°E), and returned to Hobart, Australia, on 1 February 2012. The participants performed various net castings to qualitatively evaluate the vertical distribution of plankton communities, made physical observations, and measured chemical parameters. They also retrieved a year-round mooring that had been deployed the previous year, retrieved two surface drifting buoys that had been released by the ice breaker Shirase, and deployed a JAMSTEC buoy (m-TRITON). In addition, several acidified culture experiments using pteropods were conducted on board.