In the previous blog posts, we have commented on the excellent work of the crew of the research vessel Sonne. Today I would like to devote an entire blog post to the crew, and to thank them in the name of the entire scientific party for the great atmosphere on board, for the flawless execution of our scientific program, the patient, careful, and thoughtful support of our work, and for all of the countless aspects of life on board the Sonne that they have created and supported that have made our time here so productive and comfortable. A big thank you to every crew member of the Sonne!
Posts published by “Jutta Niggemann”
Ich über mich: Jutta Niggemann. Ich arbeite als Wissenschaftlerin in der Forschungsgruppe für Marine Geochemie am ICBM in Oldenburg. Diese Forschungsgruppe ist eine Brückengruppe zum Max-Planck-Institut für Marine Mikrobiologie in Bremen.
Forschungsschwerpunkt unserer Arbeitsgruppe ist das gelöste organische Material im Meer, kurz DOM für "dissolved organic matter". Ich interessiere mich insbesondere für die Interaktionen von DOM und Mikroorganismen: Was für DOM produzieren Mikroorganismen, wie verändern sie es, wie schnell können sie es abbauen, und warum können sie es gegebenenfalls gar nicht nutzen? Hier auf SONNE leite ich das DOM-Team und kümmere mich um den Blog :-)
The focal point of our research on board are bacteria in seawater and sediment. These bacteria are so small that they can only be seen under a microscope. But we are also interested in something that can’t even be seen with a microscope: dissolved compounds that are found in amazing variety in seawater. We want to understand where these compounds come from and how they are used by bacteria.
The smallest forms of life in the ocean, bacteria, are the central focus of our research on board. Bacteria are single celled life forms; they are so small that we cannot see them without a microscope. Nevertheless, we want to know how many bacteria there are in the ocean; how are they counted?
Yesterday we passed through the Aleutian Islands. The Aleutian Islands are a chain of volcanic islands dividing the Bering Sea from the Pacific Ocean. We were lucky: the visibility was good, and it was still light outside, so that we could see one of the islands relatively clearly, and two others could be seen (using binoculars) on the horizon. South of the islands is the Aleutian trench, where the Pacific Ocean is nearly 8000 meters deep.
The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, just as the North Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean. But the Bering Sea covers four times as much area as the North Sea and is also much deeper. For our last two stations, we will deploy our instruments once more to depths of 3500 meters, in order to collect sediments and water.
…and what happens after the video?
Tonight is the time for time-travel! At midnight, the day will start over. Today is Tuesday May 24th; tomorrow is also Tuesday, May 24th. Tomorrow becomes today…
For more than three weeks, we have been underway aboard the Sonne as we transect the Pacific. While we carry out our research around the clock, others are also working night and day. The Sonne does not operate itself - the engines are continuously working. Moreover, the 70 people aboard need power, water, and heat, and we need special technical support for our equipment.
The brand-new CTD from ICBM – Germany’s largest CTD - is being used for the first time during this research cruise with the Sonne. In addition to valuable data, the CTD brings 24 large bottles of seawater from different depths on deck. Not ‘just’ water, but up to 480 liters with every cast.
There are regular safety drills on board, so that everyone knows what to do in case of an emergency. The safety drill was announced ahead of time; once the alarm bells rang, we rapidly collected our life vests and met at the assembly point on deck.
We have been on board Sonne already for 15 days; it feels like we have been here since forever. We know where everything is and we are so used to our working space. But it was not always like this...