4th Weekly report SO289 (deutsche Version unten) Progress: We have had a successful week, and until Friday night (March 18), we were able to conduct daily station occupations with CTD casts and in situ pump deployments. We have made steady progress west towards Noumea along our 31.5°S latitude cruise track. Surface waters from the tow-fish […]
Biological nitrogen fixation across the subtropical South Pacific Ocean
(deutsche Version unten) This is the second scientific cruise that I joined since my arrival at GEOMAR in 2021. This time we flew to Valparaiso, Chile and boarded the German research vessel RV SONNE, and started our journey across the entire South Pacific to New Caledonia. On this cruise, SO289, which is part of the […]
Tracing water mass mixing and continental inputs in the south Pacific Ocean with dissolved neodymium isotopes
(deutsche Version unten) Neodymium (Nd) is one of the Rare Earth Elements (REE) and consists of seven isotopes. One of the isotopes, 143Nd, is a decay product of the samarium isotope 147Sm that also belongs to the REE with a half-life of 1.06×1011 years. Since the Sm/Nd ratio in rocks and minerals varies, there are […]
New data on plastics in the South Pacific
(deutsche Version unten) I came on board research vessel SONNE as a national observer from Chile. As we are sampling on national Chilean waters, I was inspecting that everything was done according to the permits, and I also have the responsibility to send a daily report to Chilean authorities. Besides that, the chief scientist offered […]
Shedding more light on the effects of light pollution: GAME 2022 has started
The preparations for a new GAME project have started. On March 2nd, the GAME teams of 2022 began with a series of daily online meetings, which, as it already was the case in 2021, replace the preparatory course that usually takes place at GEOMAR in Kiel. Waiving the face-to-face event was the consequence of the […]
Sampling the hydrothermal plume on the East Pacific Rise and first results of our on-board analysis
Weekly Report / Wochenbericht SO289 (Deutsche Version unten) Progress: We have had a successful week, with daily station occupations with smooth CTD casts and in-situ pump deployments. We have made steady progress west towards Noumea along our 31.5°S latitude cruise track. We have speeded up progress by combining our CTD casst with in situ pump […]
Sailing on RV SONNE – a dream came true
(Deutsche Version unten) It all started in the hallway of the ICBM in Oldenburg. I studied environmental sciences in my bachelors and spent large amounts of my time in the building of the ICBM (Institute for Marine Chemistry and Biology). And there, in the hallway, I saw it. A small replica of the RV SONNE. […]
#MSM106 Floating University #IAmScience
German version below Tales of A Marine Scientist Growing up, I have always been fascinated by the sea- this endless beautiful body of water. People loved to go to the beach for recreation, but I always wanted to see what the sea brought to land-shells, plants, shoes. It was a different kind of love. So, […]
#MSM106 Floating University -Come Along – My First Research Cruise Experience
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be part of a research cruise? Ever since I joined the WASCAL master’s program in Climate Change and Marine Sciences, I have earnestly been waiting for the program’s shipboard training component. My expectations prior to the cruise were quite high as I could not wait to immerse […]
Towards the East Pacific Rise and assessing the efficiency of the biological carbon pump
2nd Weekly Report from the SONNE expedition SO289 (deutsche Version weiter unten) Progress: After a delay of nearly five days, we were able to leave the port of Talcahuano on February 22 and start the cruise SO289. We are now in international waters and will keep sailing west towards New Zealand and New Caledonia. We […]