By Kira Lange, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel

Bzzz bzzz. The alarm rings at 3.45 am. Still half asleep, we check the ship’s position and status of the Conductivity-Temperature-Depth-device, in short, CTD. At which depth is the CTD? Thank God, there is still 400 m to go. This means there is still enough time left to label sampling flasks, get some gloves, and greet the other zombie-like-looking early birds. First, we go outside. Together with Thorge and Frank – the crew member night owls- we look overboard and observe how the CTD slowly rises in mystical blue waters. From time to time, the CTD is accompanied by various sea creatures such as sepias, fish, and rays, which causes an extra amount of excitement.

As soon as Thorge and Frank guide the CTD back onboard and all preparations are finished, the CTD team Rena and Qingwen call out to start sampling. As only a few people are sampling at night, we don’t have to hurry, and we have plenty of water. Everything is a little more chilled this early in the morning. Part of the sampling team are, as always, Dennis for isoprene, Julia for halocarbons and/or pigments as well as Leon and Kira for oxygen and nutrients. The music box plays Udo Lindenberg, a famous German singer. While the “Sonderzug is on its way to Pankow”, we are adjusting the sampling order of each Niskin bottle to the different volatilities of the gases we sample. While Leon and Kira take samples of the most volatile gas, oxygen, Dennis is already impatiently and excitingly waiting for his turn – as usual, wearing his yellow rubber boots. After Julia finished sampling halocarbons, Leon and Kira start their nutrient sampling competition. Adrenaline is rising and the leftover tiredness is gone. Slowly, a red fireball appears at the horizon, and everyone starts relaxing. The last pigment samples are taken while the sky turns from apricot to bright blue. The last drops of water announce the finishing line. The Go-Flo team takes over the hangar while our samples are transferred to the lab, and everyone happily starts filtering and measuring. Now, there is only one hour left we can eat breakfast. Luckily today is Thursday, basically Sunday at sea. This means we can enjoy croissants with our most desired raspberry jam.