The three masted bark Europa will sail to Antarctica where it will collect data from air and seawater in the Drake Passage and around the Antarctic Peninsula. The data will enrich the international databases on ocean water details used by scientists all over the world for research on climate change.
Special equipment was brought on board by OceanoScientific research group. The voyages of Bark Europa make it very interesting to rig the ship with measure devices: The ship sails in areas that are only occasionally visited by other ships.
Bark Europa
The three-masted bark Europa has roamed the seas of the world since 1994 and has built up the reputation of a ship that really sails. A professional crew of fourteen and a complement of 48 voyage crewmembers of all ages and nationalities sail on it. Tall Ships enthusiasts, some with no sailing experience, take the wheel, hoist the yards, take in the sails, navigate, etc. Bark Europa is a platform to implement research equipment. It sails at routes that are scarcely explored. Its crew is very concerned about the protection of environment and oceans and to consequences of climate change. Therefore, the collaboration with the OceanoScientific Programme came naturally.
OceanoScientific
The OceanoScientific Programme was established in 2005. The first aim was to provide the international scientific community with scientific data collected on ocean racing yachts free of charge. In collaboration with International Meteo and Oceanographic institutes a set of activities is designed to enable the global scientific community to enrich its knowledge about the causes and consequences of climate change, through the repeated collection of quality data at the ocean atmosphere interface (oceanographic and atmospheric), especially on sea routes subject to little or no scientific exploration.
Rigging the Ship
In January 2013 two crew members of the OceanoScientific Programme came to the bark in Ushuaia, Argentina, to rig the ship with the right equipment: the OSC System. Together with the permanent crew they managed to get the installation ready and working just in time for departure. While sailing to Antarctica, both data in the atmosphere and surface water is collected. All these parameters are measured every six seconds and the data is send to the shore stations of Ifremer (oceanographic data) and Météo-France (weather data). Crossing the Drake Passage, the hostile passage between Cape Horn and the Antarctic Peninsula (800 km), is always an adventure as the elements can rage exceptionally. It is also a strategic place to collect scientific data: The famous circumpolar current is running through the Drake passage. With a 180 million cubic meter output per second you can compare it to 180 times the output of all rivers gathered in the world.
Future Furious Fifties
The research facilities will stay on board during the rest of the Antarctica season. The next stage in this project is research in the Indian Ocean. As the Europa will travel from South Africa to Australia, this is the perfect opportunity to research this part of the world’s oceans. Sailing down to 50 degrees South the ship follows the ancient trade routes ideal for square-riggers. Especially on this latitude on this ocean there is not much traffic to be seen.
Picture: Bark Europa sailing in Antarctica (by Hajo Olij)
