There are many creatures suspended in the ocean that build elaborative feeding houses that have a special mission in carbon pump. One spectacular example are Appendicularians – pelagic tunicates known also as Larvaceans. As mucus net feeders, they build huge and really beautiful ‘houses’ around their bodies that comprise two layers of filters. By beating […]
Making the most of good (and bad) weather
As scientists onboard we all have a schedule for what we would like to achieve at sea. Much of this work has been planned for years with months of preparation and training. Arctic field work in this region is challenging due to poor weather and ice conditions for much of the year, so there are […]
A Mayday mission
An unexpected Escort mission Every once in a while, as exciting as it is, research needs to give way to more pressing matters. After having gotten to the vicinity of our third study area, Sermilik, in the afternoon of 23 July, we were all ready to establish our mammal observation shifts and to dive into […]
Fantastic (Polar) Beasts and Where to find them
Usually, when cruising on the ocean, the landscape doesn´t differ much: waves upon waves, that might vary in their hues of blue, accompanied by skies that either grey or also blue. And even though this view might be fascinating on the first few days, when spending several weeks aboard a research vessel, seeing nothing else […]
Into the unknown – how I found myself in Elsa´s home
Imagine you are living in a city where it typically rains a lot, the skies tend to be grey, and a dry heaven combined with a single sunbeam breaking through is considered “good weather”. That´s Kiel for you. The city where I, Lisa, have been living since September, with the perfect timing to get a glimpse of how nice […]
Muddy work with a view :)
Hello again from the Geomar-Coring Team, or as we like to call ourselves, the Mud Team. We have good news: The sampling went well, and we collected many sediments in the first fjords! Now, we are on our way to the third fjord, and as we get slowly used to the waves, we want to […]
Refining our sample plan in real time
A key reason why we are in this remote region is that the coastal ocean here is very dynamic. Currents from the north bring sea ice and freezing cold polar water southwards along the coastline, a broad and productive shelf region hosts large mammal populations, and fjords cutting into the land from the ocean act […]
Measuring tiny amounts of metal in seawater… not so easy on a metal ship
Collecting seawater samples for trace metal analysis is different than sampling for other ocean parameters such as temperature, salinity, carbon and so on. Why? The concentration of metals in seawater is naturally very low (hence ‘trace’ metals) and it is important to avoid sample contamination from the ships environment which is full of possible contamination […]
There are many cameras onboard, but only one goes underwater every day
Hi, I am Emilia, marine ecologist. For me ocean is home. First of all, it is home for marine creatures, but temporarily also it is a home for us – visitors living on a ship for several weeks. We all feel that we are lucky ones to explore the realm of marine life in a […]
On a mission for mud
Aluu (Greenlandic for “Hello”) from the other coring team! We are three researchers from the Geological Survey of Denmark & Greenland and our work is all about mud. Not any mud though, only the finest and oldest from the seafloor of East Greenland’s fjords. You may wonder: why should one look at mud if we […]