Geschrieben von Dr. Carsten Lüter, Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin. Die Tiefsee ist voll mit seltsam anmutenden Wesen, die sich im Laufe der Evolution an die unwirtlichen Bedingungen dieses Lebensraums angepasst haben: ewige Dunkelheit, tiefe Temperaturen, hoher Druck und sporadische Verfügbarkeit von Nahrung. Wir Biologen an Bord der SONNE sind sehr daran interessiert, diese Diversität der […]
Written by Dr. Carsten Lüter, Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin. The deep sea is full of weird looking creatures which through the course of evolution have adapted to the inhospitable conditions of their environment such as eternal darkness, low temperatures, high pressure and the erratic availability of food. We biologists onboard the SONNE are particularly interested […]
What do geoscientists do on a ship and how do they get their precious rocks after all? What is a dredge and how are the rocks processed on board? A short introduction into seafloor sampling.
After a month at sea, we finished our last set of observations along a transect that took us back to the shelf-break. It’s been quite the journey, and the final leg marked a special turning point as the last 2 days of the cruise were heading towards Iceland and the way home. It’s been quite […]
This week we have been busy surveying the waters of Sermilik, a large glacier fjord on the east coastline and one of the few sites hereabouts that has been surveyed before. Why are we re-visiting this fjord when our other fieldsites were previously un-surveyed? Well, visiting new areas is exciting and we can perhaps find […]
There are many creatures suspended in the ocean that build elaborative feeding houses that have a special mission in carbon pump. One spectacular example are Appendicularians – pelagic tunicates known also as Larvaceans. As mucus net feeders, they build huge and really beautiful ‘houses’ around their bodies that comprise two layers of filters. By beating […]
As scientists onboard we all have a schedule for what we would like to achieve at sea. Much of this work has been planned for years with months of preparation and training. Arctic field work in this region is challenging due to poor weather and ice conditions for much of the year, so there are […]
An unexpected Escort mission Every once in a while, as exciting as it is, research needs to give way to more pressing matters. After having gotten to the vicinity of our third study area, Sermilik, in the afternoon of 23 July, we were all ready to establish our mammal observation shifts and to dive into […]
Usually, when cruising on the ocean, the landscape doesn´t differ much: waves upon waves, that might vary in their hues of blue, accompanied by skies that either grey or also blue. And even though this view might be fascinating on the first few days, when spending several weeks aboard a research vessel, seeing nothing else […]
Imagine you are living in a city where it typically rains a lot, the skies tend to be grey, and a dry heaven combined with a single sunbeam breaking through is considered “good weather”. That´s Kiel for you. The city where I, Lisa, have been living since September, with the perfect timing to get a glimpse of how nice […]