This adventure has broadened not just my scientific knowledge but also radically changed my perception of research, cooperation, and my role as a scientist. Before this expedition, my learning was shaped primarily by textbooks and lectures, with the occasional practical thrown in. Deploying instruments in the deep ocean, receiving live data, and discussing real-time results […]

I’m a dreamer. One of those who believe that life makes sense when lived with intensity, emotion and a touch of adrenaline. Ever since I was a child, I’ve always wanted to discover the world, travel to unknown places and, above all, do science that could transform realities. When the opportunity arose to embark on […]

Flap! Flap! Coo…. These pigeon noises, perfectly normal in any congested city, are entirely unexpected here. We are sailing through the eastern tropical North Atlantic on the German icebreaker POLARSTERN that is our home for two weeks. Water to the horizon in all directions and then… a pigeon! A quick look to portside solves the […]

Things got serious for us on the morning of 1 April. It was slowly getting light on the Cabo Verdean island of Sao Vicente, the local trade wind from the north-east was pushing waves into the bay of Mindelo as a research vessel turned around the corner after many months of its expedition in the […]