Even in winter, the sun still has power here in the Aegean Sea. The sky is blue and the mood is good, even though we have a lot to do in these first few days. Underwater, invisible to the human eye, there are many interesting things happening in the region where we are travelling. This […]
Über uns der Himmel, unter uns der Kolumbo
Auch im Winter hat die Sonne hier in der Ägäis noch Kraft. Der Himmel ist blau und die Stimmung gut, auch wenn wir in diesen ersten Tagen viel zu tun haben. Unter Wasser, für menschliche Augen unsichtbar, passiert in der Region, in der wir uns bewegen, sehr viel Interessantes. Denn um Santorini herum verläuft eine […]
M215 (MMC-3): MULTI-MAREX kehrt zurück nach Santorini
Die dritte Fahrt des Verbundprojekts MULTI-MAREX der dritten Forschungsmission mareXtreme der Deutschen Allianz für Meeresforschung (DAM) hat offiziell begonnen. Am 17. Dezember 2025 hat die FS METEOR in Heraklion auf Kreta, Griechenland, abgelegt und wird in den kommenden vier Wochen wissenschaftliche Messungen vor Santorini und bei dem in der Nähe gelegenen Unterwasservulkan Kolumbo durchführen. Zudem […]
Christmas Preparations in the Caldera: Research and Festive Spirit in the Aegean
The Maria S. Merian glides through the caldera of Santorini, framed by the island’s iconic volcanic landscape, steep cliffs, and whitewashed houses. While this breathtaking scenery captures the imagination, it also serves as a central area of research for the MULTI-MAREX project. In the caldera, the new MOLA Landers (MOLA stands for Modular Ocean Lander […]
from SO308-Geotraces G107 Blog
Catching some rays
On a summer day in the south Indian Ocean, it can seem like the sunlight supply is endless. But even on the brightest day, most of the ocean stays dark. Only the upper layer of the ocean receives enough light for phytoplankton to perform photosynthesis, a process that uses light energy to convert the inorganic […]
Geology in motion: Research in the Aegean’s Columbo volcanic field
The sun rises over the Aegean and bathes the sea in a warm light. A new day begins on the Maria S. Merian, the research vessel that navigates through this geologically active region. Researchers and crew are preparing for the next stage of an expedition that will provide insights into the dynamic processes beneath the […]
MULTI-MAREX sets sail: research data and advent calendar
The majestic Mount Etna rises on the horizon as the Maria S. Merian leaves the port of Catania on 3 December. The coastline of Sicily slowly disappears from view and the research vessel sets course for the Aegean Sea. On board: an international team of 22 scientists and 24 crew members, determined to uncover the […]
from SO308-Geotraces G107 Blog
Announcing some turbulence
In addition to their CTD duties described in the previous post, Kiel University-GEOMAR Climate Physics masters students Hannah Melzer and Paula Damke are always busy with something, from reading physics books for fun to creating beautiful artwork. Another task under their purview is measuring upper ocean turbulence using a microstructure profiler. The microstructure profiler is […]
from SO308-Geotraces G107 Blog
The mighty CTD
Behold the mighty conductivity temperature depth (CTD) rosette! This is one of the workhorses of ocean research. Sensors measure conductivity (a proxy for salinity), temperature, light level, and other environmental parameters as they change with depth. These sensors are attached to a circular frame called a rosette that holds an array of sampling bottles that […]
from SO308-Geotraces G107 Blog
Photographing particles and plankton
Tobias Strickmann, PhD student at GEOMAR, is a jack-of-all-trades here on the Sonne. He collects environmental DNA samples for Véronique Merten, a postdoc at GEOMAR, and he also works with Anita Butterley, PhD student at the University of Tasmania, to filter water for proteomics samples. In addition to being a great team player, he also […]