A mesocosm, in our case, is a huge translucent plastic bag anchored in the sea, with the only opening being well above sea level. In these bags, we can simulate, in this experiment, ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) and study its efficiency and possible impacts it would have on a plankton community under natural conditions; but […]
The cruise M176/2 is part of the International GEOTRACES Programme as a process study. The overall aim of cruise M176/2 is to conduct a detailed geochemical sampling of the hydrothermal plume at the Rainbow vent field located at 36°13.80 N, 33°54.14 W on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR). The deep ocean work will be complimented by […]
The mesocosms are filled! The boat PLOCAN uno set anchor outside the harbour of Taliarte. A long tube connects the boat to the mesocosms. Via this tube, sea water gets pumped by a peristaltic pump on the boat to the pier. Here, it is split equally to the nine mesocosms. This year a new equipment was developed […]
After many months of preparation, uncountable hours of organization, and successfully mastered challenges, finally all researchers and technicians have arrived on the island. During the past weeks, many helpers set up the laboratories and the mesocosms at the pier. Boxes full of equipment from petri dishes to flow cytometers were carried around and unpacked, lots […]
A KOSMOS study is not meaningful without brain-racking scientists, and not feasible without focused and skilled technicians, but some work can only be done by brave scientific divers. Okay, it’s not super brave to jump into 24°C crystal-clear water surrounded by a bouquet of colorful fish, crabs and nudibranchs – but it´s still hard work […]
Working in ocean science sometimes resembles tip-toeing through a mine field. On the one hand one is supposed to be a good teamplayer, work together with others and share data to achieve progress. On the other hand one is supposed to be competitive and achieve a high number of scientific publications. Publish or perish.The competitive […]
Back in October of 2020, deciding to move to a new country where I didn’t speak or understand the language at the height of a worldwide pandemic to pursue MSc. Biological Oceanography was a challenge I never thought I could overcome, but here we are in September 2021! Truth be told, two semesters of just […]
A few months ago, we didn’t know either that our team would exist nor that we would be participants in this year’s GAME project in Finland. We are a team consisting of two marine biology students from Germany: Helen Lichtenstein & Sarah-Vanessa van Dahl. Helen is studying at the Christian Albrechts University in Kiel and […]
A workplace presents challenges – always, in fact. These can consist of shift times, changing work locations or character requirements. What the challenges are depends on the workplace. In some workplaces, the situation is particularly complex. A good example of this is science. A characteristic feature of scientific work is to constantly network and cooperate […]
Ein Arbeitsplatz birgt Herausforderungen – immer, eigentlich. Diese können aus Schichtzeiten, sich ändernden Arbeitsorten oder charakterlichen Anforderungen bestehen. Worin genau die Herausforderungen bestehen, hängt vom jeweiligen Arbeitsplatz ab. An manchen Arbeitsplätzen ist die Situation besonders komplex. Ein gutes Beispiel dafür ist die Wissenschaft. Ein kennzeichnendes Merkmal wissenschaftlicher Arbeit ist es, sich laufend mit anderen Wissenschaftler*innen […]