Twenty-two railway wheels

Deploying yellow buoy to the mesocosm playground Photo: Ulf Riebesell

Twenty-two railway wheels, in total about 9 tons of solid iron: These are the anchor weights, which will hopefully hold our mesocosms in place against all currents and waves for the next eleven weeks. Laying out these anchor weights precisely at the locations given to us by the local authorities and with even distances to have the mesocosms line up nicely is a masterpiece of seamanship. A challenge mastered POSEIDON with ease. Our wheels, mooring lines, and buoys are now put in place in a 100 by 100 meter square in Melenara Bay off Taliarte – along with the yellow restricted area buoys marking our mesocosm playground. Bouncing in the waves the buoys of our anchoring system are now waiting for the mesocosms to join them.