eNews
#03 2024
SAPRI participates in the 2024 Marion Island Relief Expedition
By Rabia Mathakutha, South African Polar Research Infrastructure
The South African Polar Research Infrastructure (SAPRI) participated in the annual relief voyage undertaken by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) to the sub-Antarctic Marion Island over a period of six weeks, between the months of April and May 2024.
The Marion Island Relief Expedition falls under the South African National Antarctic Programme (SANAP), a South African government programme for research in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic regions. The meteorological research station at Marion Island is one of three research stations managed and administered by the DFFE, under SANAP.
The Marion Island Relief Expedition is an annual voyage undertaken to service the research station, replenish supplies and exchange personnel on the island. The voyage is undertaken via the DFFE’s research and supply vessel, the S.A. Agulhas II.
The SAPRI team on the day of departure from Cape Town to Marion Island for the annual relief voyage. L–R: Rhiannon Gill (Birder), Yinhla Shihlomule (Top Predator Monitoring Coordinator), Megan Clarkson (Sealer and Killer Whaler), Dylan Mayoka (Sealer), Rabia Mathakutha (Data, Products and Society Research Coordinator), Abu Nguna (LTO Land Research Coordinator) and Peter Cunningham (Sealer).
The S.A. Agulhas II departed from East Pier, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, to Marion Island on 15 April, carrying various personnel for the expedition. These included recipients of the National Research Foundation (NRF) SANAP three-year funding cycle grants for science, research, innovation and social sciences projects; DFFE personnel, including the 2024–2025 M81 overwintering team of field researchers (birders, sealers, botanists, invertebrate biologists) and research station-based personnel (engineers and medical orderly) to relieve the current team on the island; operations and logistics support staff; and Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) personnel for the refurbishment of the research station.
Deployment of SAPRI’s first-ever overwintering team
SAPRI’s involvement included the deployment of its first-ever overwintering team on the island to conduct long-term observations (LTO) of top predators such as seals, killer whales and birds. This work continues the monitoring projects initially undertaken by South African university teams, now managed by SAPRI to ensure long-term continuity beyond the limitations of three-year funding cycles.
The SAPRI takeover team on the day of the S.A. Agulhas II departure from Cape Town to Marion Island. L–R: Tavis Dalton (former Marion Island Sealer and Killer Whaler), Yinhla Shihlomule (SAPRI Top Predator Monitoring Coordinator), Abu Nguna (SAPRI LTO Land Research Coordinator) and Prof. Nico de Bruyn (Marion Island Marine Mammal Programme Principal Investigator).
The S.A. Agulhas II arrives at Marion Island. L–R: Megan Clarkson (SAPRI M81 Sealer and Killer Whaler), Tavis Dalton (former Marion Island Sealer and Killer Whaler), Yinhla Shihlomule (SAPRI Top Predator Monitoring Coordinator), Dylan Manyoka (SAPRI M81 Sealer), Rabia Mathakutha (SAPRI Data, Products and Society Research Coordinator) and Peter Cunningham (SAPRI M81 Sealer).
SAPRI’s overwintering team comprised skilled field researchers, including Dylan Manyoka (Sealer), Peter Cunningham (Sealer), Megan Clarkson (Sealer and Killer Whaler) and Rhiannon Gill (Birder). Additionally, three SAPRI team members participated in the expedition as part of the takeover/relief team to train the new overwintering team – Abu Nguna (LTO Land Research Coordinator), Yinhla Shihlomule (Top Predator Monitoring Coordinator) and Rabia Mathakutha (Data, Products, and Society Research Coordinator).
The Top Predator Long-term Observation team at Marion Island during the 2024 Relief Voyage. L–R: Megan Clarkson, Tammy Eggeling and Tavis Dalton (M81, M80 and M76 Sealer and Killer Whaler, respectively), Prof. Nico de Bruyn (Marion Island Marine Mammal Programme Principal Investigator), Dylan Manyoka (M81 Sealer), Peter Cunningham (M81 Sealer), Dylan Seaton (M80 Sealer), Yinhla Shihlomule (SAPRI Top Predator Monitoring Coordinator) and Zafar Monier (M80 Sealer).
SAPRI also had help from Professor Nico de Bruyn, the Principal Investigator of the Marion Island Marine Mammal Programme (MIMMP) and Advisor of the Top Predator LTO Project, and Tavis Dalton, a former Marion Island Sealer and Killer Whaler, who both assisted with the training.
Abu Nguna (SAPRI LTO-Land Research Coordinator) with Yinhla Shihlomule (SAPRI Top Predator Monitoring Coordinator) and Zafar Monier (M80 Sealer) in the background.
Rhiannon Gill (SAPRI M81 Birder) at Marion Island during the 2024 Relief Voyage.
The Top Predator LTO Project of SAPRI forms part of the LTO Land Integrated Facility and is coordinated by Yinhla Shihlomule. Rabia Mathakutha’s involvement included collaboration with Prof. Michelle Greve from the University of Pretoria on an NRF–SANAP funded project to investigate the impacts of the invasive house mouse (Mus musculus) on the vegetation and invertebrates of Marion Island.
Adopt-a-Float Programme
SAPRI deployed six Argo floats en route to Marion Island with help from the DFFE ship-based Chief Scientist, Marcel van den Berg. These Argo floats are dedicated to coastal and under-resourced high schools adopted by SAEON’s Egagasini Node as part of the SAEON and SAPRI Adopt-a-Float Programme. Each school will have the opportunity to track its Argo float’s progress through the Southern Ocean.
Argo floats are oceanographic instruments that measure temperature and salinity in the top 2 000 metres of the ocean. This information provides scientists with unprecedented free and open quality-controlled datasets for climate change research and ocean monitoring.
Altimetry map demonstrating the positions of the six SAPRI Argo floats deployed aboard the S.A. Agulhas II en route to Marion Island (map by Tarron Lamont, Oceans and Coastal Researcher, DFFE).
Peter Cunningham (SAPRI M81 Sealer) aboard the S.A. Agulhas II about to deploy one of the six SAPRI Argo floats en route to Marion Island. This Argo float, specifically, is dedicated to Sophumelela Secondary School (in Cape Town) as part of the SAEON and SAPRI Adopt-a-Float Programme.
The Marion Island Relief Expedition concluded on 10 May. The S.A. Agulhas II set sail from Marion Island back to South Africa on 11 May, stopping at various stations along the way for oceanographic sampling.
The relief expedition was a resounding success, with many of the field and research station personnel receiving adequate training for the year ahead. Additionally, the expedition met the takeover/relief operation objectives of the DFFE and DPWI, achieving significant progress in backloading the dismantled materials of the old research station decommissioned in 2023 onto the ship.
Open Day
The S.A. Agulhas II successfully docked in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, on 16 May, where the DFFE hosted the S.A. Agulhas II Open Day event from 17 to 18 May. During this two-day event, various schools and the public of the Eastern Cape had the opportunity to tour the country’s only icebreaker and polar research vessel.
SAPRI presented at the Open Day, showcasing the relevance of research infrastructure for such expeditions.
Yinhla Shihlomule (SAPRI Top Predator Monitoring Coordinator) interacting with high school learners and representing SAPRI at the S.A. Agulhas II Open Day event in Gqeberha, May 2024. SAPRI shared a booth with its sister research infrastructure, the Shallow Marine and Coastal Research Infrastructure (SMCRI). Both research infrastructures are hosted by NRF-SAEON.
Rabia Mathakutha (SAPRI – Data, Products and Society Research Coordinator) interacting with the general public and representing the University of Pretoria’s SANAP project at the S.A. Agulhas II Open Day event in Gqeberha.
The S.A. Agulhas II returned to Cape Town on 21 May, safely bringing home the 2023–2024 M80 overwintering team. SAPRI looks forward to more expeditions and continued partnership with the DFFE, and to continue the sustainability of the Top Predator LTO research and datasets.
SAEON eNews is the bimonthly online newsletter of the South African Environmental Observation Network.
SAEON is a research platform funded by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) and managed by the National Research Foundation (NRF).
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