Floating ice, freezing temperatures: Four facts about the I08S GO-SHIP cruise to Antarctica

Crew aboard the R/V Thomas G. Thompson dealt with roiling waves and frigid temperatures. Credit: Jenn Magnusson, NOAA

Traversing from Fremantle, Australia to Antarctica’s Prydz Bay and back again, the crew aboard the R/V Thomas G. Thompson successfully concluded the I08S GO-SHIP cruise on April 1, 2024.

Scientists at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) and the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (CIMAS) co-led and participated in the nearly six-week cruise from Antarctica to the Indian Ocean led by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). 

With towering waves and days sequestered inside the galley playing cards, the crew proved resilient against incredible conditions to collect crucial oceanographic data from one of the most critical, yet difficult-to-reach regions of the world – the Antarctic. Keep reading to learn more about the cruise, the science, the people who made it possible, and what they saw – in 4, 3, 2, 1…