South African National Antarctic Expedition (SANAE) on the SA Agulhas II Voyage 061, December 2023

The South African National Antarctic Expedition (SANAE) is an annual voyage undertaken by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) to change the overwintering teams in Antarctica and to replenish the supplies at the SANAE IV Research base. This voyage was to deliver the SANAE 63 over wintering team to the research base and return with the SANAE 62 team. The cruise was undertaken between 26 December 2023 and 20 February 2024 with full scientific complement. For this voyage, the cruise track was adjusted to accommodate stop-overs at the Prince Edward Islands (PEI) on both the south bound transect and north bound transect to and from Antarctica. The main ship-based research objectives was to undertake underway sampling along the transects, which include XBT sampling between PEI and Antarctica; Underway PCO2; nutrient and chlorophyll sampling and the deployment of ARGO floats.