M182 Facts

R/V METEOR 182

30.05.2022 - 07.07.2022

Mindelo, Cape Verde to Ponta Delgada, Azores

GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel

Chief scientist: Jens Greinert

 

REEBUS R/V METEOR 182 Expedition

Expedition Preview

Goal of the cruise is to quantitatively understand the dynamics of mesoscale eddy focusing effects on the biological carbon pump and the transport of carbon towards the deep sea seafloor and the consumption of organic carbon. Eddies play an important role in the lateral mixing and transport of physical-biogeochemical properties and thereby modulate biological productivity and material fluxes to the seabed. The challenge is to separate this Eddie signal from the normal heterogeneous distribution of phyto-detritus on the seafloor, modulated by seafloor morphology, bottom currents and sedimentological processes.

 

Specific Aims
i. the physical and biogeochemical characterization of one specific eddy;
ii. to quantify and examine the spatio-temporal variability of material fluxes to the seafloor and benthic turnover;
iii. to decipher the local scale variability of benthic biogeochemical processes driven by the heterogeneous deposition of detritus;
iv. investigate the temporal variability of material towards the seafloor at one location through a one year long EINSTEIN rover deployment.

 

Expedition Facts
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the originally planned MSM 104 expedition has been canceled. We are now looking forward to conducting the MOSES/REEBUS Eddy Study III expedition with the research vessel Meteor as M182 expedition from May 30th to July 07th, 2022.

 

Study area

The map shows the study area with the planned work areas of the MOSES/REEBUS Eddy Study III.

 

Geochemical proxies

The network plots visualize relative ranges of different geochemical proxies in four different sediment depths (0cm, 0.5cm, 1.5 cm and 2.5 cm). Physical-biogeochemical properties vary in between different seafloor facies. Identifying the drivers that control these distribution patterns, will be one task of the planned MOSES/REEBUS Eddy Study III expedition.