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SU Earth Scientists joined the South African Winter Expedition #SCALE22 into the Southern Ocean in July-August 2022 on board South Africa's flagship SA Agulhs II. The team studied bioactive trace metals and mercury in the Antarctic seawater and in the sea ice. Trace metals can act as fertilizers (such as iron, for example), but some can be toxic (such as mercury). How these metals are distributed in the Antarctic waters and how they reach the Antarctic waters is not entirely ascertained. Our team helped understanding where the trace metals and mercury come from, how they are distributed and what their impact on the sensitive Antarctic ecosystem may be.

Follow some more stories and photos through Antarctic Legacy @antarcticlegacy_sa, the projetc's website https://www.sanap.ac.za/scale-win22-science-team-mercury-and-trace-metal, and via our team members Kayla, Lide, Sonja, Jared, Liam, Susanne and Casper (SAWS) IG: @thisislide, @sonja.gin, @_jaredtanner, @quinlanlb, @stelliessf or on Twitter: @susanne_fietz, @SGindorf, or Contact Dr Susanne Fietz sfietz@sun.ac.za for more information. ​​