Do you know, what happens to a styrofoam tea cup diving over
3000 metres deep into the south polar sea? An experiment to explain school kids the impacts of the water pressure on an object.
Water Sampler (2019/2019)Federal Ministry of Education and Research
For our little experiment, we use the water sampler.
Water-Sampler back on bord (2019/2019)Federal Ministry of Education and Research
We use this scientific device several times during our expedition, to take water samples from different depths of the ocean.
Cup-Experiment: Painted Cups before their trip to the seafloor (2019/2019)Federal Ministry of Education and Research
Our cups . . .
Preparation of the Cup-Experiemnt (2017/2017)Federal Ministry of Education and Research
. . . . were painted by the children of the 3 a class in the Wilhelmsburg district school, before our expedition.
Cup-Experiment during the Polarstern-Expedition PS 119 (2019/2019)Federal Ministry of Education and Research
Victoria Kürzinger, masters student studying geosciences, helps with the preparations.
A CTD probe is attached to the device, which measures important parameters of the ocean for our research questions.
We have tied the painted cups to the device in a laundry net.
Cup-Experiment during the Polarstern-Expedition PS 119 (2019/2019)Federal Ministry of Education and Research
Excitement: Will the cups survive the journey to the seafloor? In the ocean the water pressure works from all sides. Pressure increases by 1 bar per 10 metres.
Water-Sampler shortly before deploying (2019/2019)Federal Ministry of Education and Research
Shortly before launching at position 56° 08,3' South 31° 028,6' West. Water depth: 3,339 meters.
About 3 hours later . . .
Timelapse Water Sampler (2019/2019)Federal Ministry of Education and Research
. . . . the water sampler is safely back on deck and at its position. Now we can recover the water samples, measuring probes, and also our laundry net.
What do you think happened to our cups?
Cup-Experiment: Painted Cups after their trip to the seafloor (2019/2019)Federal Ministry of Education and Research
They've shrunk! With this experiment we can show the children in the district school how the enormous water pressure in the depth of the ocean affects an object. It's a bit like an elephant stepping on your little toe.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Holger von Neuhoff
TIMELAPSE VIDEO: YiTing Tseng, MARUM University of Bremen
TEXT: Stephanie von Neuhoff
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