AL592 now posting from the Baltic Sea!

Research vessel Alkor leaving Roenne, Bornholm to head out to Bornholm Basin. Photo: Jan Dierking

Hello from Bornholm Basin in the central Baltic Sea! With a team of 12 scientists and 11 permanent crew, we are currently operating in Baltic waters with research vessel Alkor to improve understanding of this beautiful but also heavily impacted and rapidly changing system.

For this purpose, we measure physical and chemical parameters (temperature, salinity and oxygen) from the surface to the sea floor, sample microbial, plankton and fish communities, and conduct experiments for projects in our Research Unit Marine Evolutionary Ecology at GEOMAR and for collaborations with other groups and institutes.

In doing so, we also add yet another puzzle piece to our 36-year Baltic Sea Integrative Long-Term Data Series, a sample and data treasure that represents “a finger on the pulse” of the Baltic and helps us to better understand long-term changes under global change and regional pressures.

In the coming days, we want to show you more about work and life on board, and introduce you to the diversity of our study objects, ranging in size from viruses via copepods, fish larvae and jellyfish to marine fish, and of our research questions and scientific approaches. Hopefully, we can also share some of the wonder of the beauty and complexity of (Baltic) marine life along the way.

Greetings from on board Alkor,
The scientific crew of AL592

PS: Want to find out where we are, and learn more about our cruise? See the GEOMAR expeditions page

More background?
Read our past blogs from previous Alkor time series cruises on this page! And check out this overview of changes in the Baltic Sea that we published in the journal Science Advances.

Sunsets at sea, always different, never boring. Photo: Jan Dierking

One thought on “AL592 now posting from the Baltic Sea!

  1. Jan,
    Interesting reports and beautiful pictures, thanks for that.
    Wish you a safe journey back home.
    Greetings from Holtenau,
    Sandra

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