The ocean has always been one of Earth’s best defences in the fight against anthropogenic climate change. It absorbs about 25% of the carbon dioxide (CO₂) we emit, acting as a giant sponge for greenhouse gases. This carbon sink comes at a cost—this extra CO2 is making the ocean more acidic, and ocean acidification limits […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
“Peppy! Did you know…?” Oh, crinkly candy, here we go again. We were hours into Christmas night on our way back north, somewhere over the African Atlantic Coast and the Boss kept talking about geology. Listening to Santa Claus rambling was one of the many perks not mentioned in the job description of the prestigious […]
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 […]
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 […]
Carbon’s journey to the deep Just like their larger cousins, the terrestrial plants, phytoplankton convert atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) into organic carbon. If their tiny carbon-based bodies sink from the surface ocean to the deep sea and sediments, the CO2 is then removed from the atmosphere for hundreds to thousands of years. The remains of […]
For many people, radium brings to mind Marie Curie and her historic discoveries and the dangers they posed. But radium is found all around—in rocks, sediments, and water— in such small amounts it cannot harm us. Several isotopes of radium exist naturally in the environment. They decay at different rates, and scientists like Cátia Ehlert […]