Description: The drift of 52 icebergs tagged with GPS buoys in the Weddell Sea since 1999 has been investigated with respect to prevalent drift tracks, sea ice/iceberg interaction, and freshwater fluxes. Buoys were deployed on small- to medium-sized icebergs (edge lengths 〈= 5 km) in the southwestern and eastern Weddell Sea. The basin-scale iceberg drift of this size class was established. In the western Weddell Sea, icebergs followed a northward course with little deviation and mean daily drift rates up to 9.5 ± 7.3 km/d. To the west of 40°W the drift of iceberg and sea ice was coherent. In the highly consolidated perennial sea ice cover of 95% the sea ice exerted a steering influence on the icebergs and was thus responsible for the coherence of the drift tracks. The northward drift of buoys to the east of 40°W was interrupted by large deviations due to the passage of low-pressure systems. Mean daily drift rates in this area were 11.5 ± 7.2 km/d. A lower threshold of 86% sea ice concentration for coherent sea ice/iceberg movement was determined by examining the sea ice concentration derived from Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) and Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E) satellite data. The length scale of coherent movement was estimated to be at least 200 km, about half the value found for the Arctic Ocean but twice as large as previously suggested. The freshwater fluxes estimated from three iceberg export scenarios deduced from the iceberg drift pattern were highly variable. Assuming a transit time in the Weddell Sea of 1 year, the iceberg meltwater input of 31 Gt which is about a third of the basal meltwater input from the Filchner Ronne Ice Shelf but spreads across the entire Weddell Sea. Iceberg meltwater export of 14.2 × 103 m3 s-1, if all icebergs are exported, is in the lower range of freshwater export by sea ice.

Description: Data obtained by a thermosalinograph (SBE21, SeaBird GmbH) and an external temperature sensor (SBE38, Sea-Bird GmbH) were processed to receive a validated data set of temperature and salinity on board RV Heincke during cruise HE563. Unvalidated data of conductivity sensor, internal and external temperature are extracted from the DAVIS SHIP data base (https://dship.awi.de) in a 1-second interval. The salinity was calculated using conductivity and internal temperature by applying the Practical Salinity Scale 1978 (PSS-78). After applying different filters, processed data are provided as 5min means of salinity and water temperature aligned with position data taken from master track of the respective cruise. For further details see the processing reports of each cruise.

Description: Data obtained by a thermosalinograph (SBE21, SeaBird GmbH) and an external temperature sensor (SBE38, Sea-Bird GmbH) were processed to receive a validated data set of temperature and salinity on board RV Heincke during cruise HE547. Unvalidated data of conductivity sensor, internal and external temperature are extracted from the DAVIS SHIP data base (https://dship.awi.de) in a 1-second interval. The salinity was calculated using conductivity and internal temperature by applying the Practical Salinity Scale 1978 (PSS-78). After applying different filters, processed data are provided as 5min means of salinity and water temperature aligned with position data taken from master track of the respective cruise. For further details see the processing reports of each cruise.

Description: Data obtained by a thermosalinograph (SBE21, SeaBird GmbH) and an external temperature sensor (SBE38, Sea-Bird GmbH) were processed to receive a validated data set of temperature and salinity on board RV Heincke during cruise HE548. Unvalidated data of conductivity sensor, internal and external temperature are extracted from the DAVIS SHIP data base (https://dship.awi.de) in a 1-second interval. The salinity was calculated using conductivity and internal temperature by applying the Practical Salinity Scale 1978 (PSS-78). After applying different filters, processed data are provided as 5min means of salinity and water temperature aligned with position data taken from master track of the respective cruise. For further details see the processing reports of each cruise.

Description: Conductivity-temperature-depth profiles were measured using a Seabird SBE 911plus CTD during RV Heincke cruise HE574 between 12.04.2021 and 17.04.2021. Additional sensors included a WET Labs C-Star transmissometer and a WET Labs ECO-AFL fluorometer. Data were connected to the station book of the specific cruise as available in the DSHIP database. Processing of the data including removal of obvious outliers followed the procedures described in CTD Processing Logbook of RV Heincke (hdl:10013/epic.47427). A detailed report on the CTD data of HE574 is available at https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.7e2aff22-0a3b-4945-a6b4-4796811bb77e.