Life aboard the RV Polarstern, one of the world’s most renowned research vessels, is like nothing else. The smell of the ocean, the hum of the engines, and the endless horizon stretching out in every direction—it’s a thrilling and awe-inspiring experience. But beyond the romance and adventure lies a critical mission: to understand the ocean […]
„I found an Alien!”
Svenja burst into the red lounge, where a group of scientists were having a post-prandial chat. The alien announcement was irresistible, and we trooped down to the lab where Svenja’s fresh multinet haul was awaiting earthly attention. Under the microscope we saw live zooplankton hopping, spiralling, leapfrogging and swimming through the sample. Then, carefully teased […]
Imagine drifting in the North Atlantic for a year…
You dive down to a thousand meters depth and cruise around, letting the currents take you where they want. Every now and then a fish may curiously appear, then swim into the deep blue, leaving you alone in your cold, dark wet world. The only times you see light are when you rise to the […]
WASCAL students have been thrown in the deep end!
On a rolling ship, fighting seasickness, even finding their way around the cavernous Polarstern can seem a challenge. The first two days have been spent learning the rules on board – and here are many of them! “There’s a strict hierarchy on board, with all the crew having their own tasks. There’s even a correct […]
When an icebreaker comes to West Africa,…
… something special must be happening. And it is – the next “WASCAL Floating University” is about to start. After we had our premiere last year with the research vessel Maria S. Merian (MSM106), we have another premiere this year with the next cohort of students: This year our Floating University will take place on […]
Bemvindo GEOMAR – five intense days in Cabo Verde
Team Cabo Verde meets Team GEOMAR in Mindelo. From 20 to 24 January 2023, a delegation from GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel visited Cabo Verde to discuss further research cooperations with regional partners and to strengthen the role of the Ocean Science Centre Mindelo (OSCM). This plattform for support and exchange was put […]
#MSM106 Floating University – Our time in Germany
After the cruise MSM106 some of the WASCAL students spent some time in Germany at different institutes to work on their Master thesis. Here are some impressions from the students. Nach der Expedition MSM106 verbrachten einige der WASCAL-Studierenden einige Zeit in Deutschland an verschiedenen Instituten, um an ihrer Masterarbeit zu arbeiten. Hier sind einige Eindrücke […]
#M182 How to measure fragile organisms without catching them?
Quantifying the biomass of gelatinous organisms, especially those from the deep sea, is a big challenge. Since gelatinous organisms are so fragile, they get destroyed easily by nets and thus we only find unidentifiable remains in net catches. This is something we also see in our multinet samples, which we collected during day and night […]
#M182 That was the Eddy!
As part of the Helmholtz Earth system observation program MOSES, researchers from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel departed on the third expedition to investigate oceanic eddies between Cape Verde and Mauritania. The second week of M182 marked the start of the eddy hunting phase. After identifying the eddy’s size of 70 x […]
#M182 The MOSES Eddy Hunt Begins
As part of the Helmholtz Earth system observation program MOSES, researchers from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel departed on the third expedition to investigate oceanic eddies between Cape Verde and Mauritania. The second week of M182 marks the start of the eddy hunting phase. “Eddies are circular currents that can either upwell […]