On April 17, the RSV Aurora Australis docked in Hobart, Australia, with what the chief scientist aboard called “a remarkable data set of observations from the Southern Ocean, covering a wide range of physical, chemical and biological variables.”

A team of scientists had spent the past four weeks on the research and supply vessel measuring ocean currents between Australia and Antarctica. They were looking for signs that the ocean currents are changing.

Steve Rintoul, with the Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACECRC), says the Southern Ocean is the only place on earth where water is exchanged among all the major oceans. The largest current in the world circles Antarctica and has been referred to as the “flywheel of global ocean circulation.” By connecting the ocean basins, this current influences climate and ocean circulation patterns over much of the globe.

The Southern Ocean has also been called “a brake on climate change” because it absorbs a large amount of the carbon dioxide emitted by industry, power stations, and vehicles. The brake may be losing its power if the ocean becomes less efficient at soaking up carbon dioxide.

Now back on land, the scientists will be sorting out what the data tells them about the current state of the currents around Antarctica. From this they may be able to make some predictions about the impact on climate change.