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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
This cruise is a long time coming—the original proposal submitted by Chief Scientist Prof. Dr. Eric Achterberg estimated it would happen in 2017 or 2018! After we finally loaded the ship with equipment and 40 motivated scientists in late October 2024, we had to wait a few more days in port for repairs and inspections. […]
Interview und Text: Anja Conventz Neben Kapitän, nautischen Offizieren, Decks- und Maschinenmannschaft, Elektrikern, elektronischen Ingenieuren, Köchen und einer Schiffsärztin gehören vier Stewards zur Crew der SONNE. Eine Stewardess, die auch während unserer Fahrt SO307 mit dabei ist, ist Jessica Münch, die seit November 2021 an Bord arbeitet. Um Euch einen Einblick in die Arbeit einer […]
Written by Clara Winguth, Master’s student at GEOMAR The moment the RV Sonne left the Durban port, whales were spotted spouting in the distance. Everyone pulled out the longest camera lenses in their armory and started snapping away, but little did we know that this was just the beginning of our wildlife watching adventure. The […]
Written by Clara Winguth, Master’s student at GEOMAR. If you’ve caught a glimpse of the biological oceanography scientists on SO307, you may have noticed us rocking some fashionable polar jumpsuits, disappearing into the red-lit climate labs and thought to yourself, ‘what is going on here?’ Well, lucky for you, I’m here to give you the […]
Geschrieben von Clara Winguth, Masterstudentin am GEOMAR Übersetzung von Josefine Karnartz, Doktorandin am GEOMAR Wenn ihr schon mal einen Blick auf die biologischen Ozeanographie-Wissenschaftler*innen auf der SO307 geworfen habt, sind euch vielleicht unsere modischen Polar-Anzüge aufgefallen, während wir uns in die rot beleuchteten Klimalabore zurückziehen. Und dabei dachtet ihr euch: „Was geht hier denn ab?“ […]