After sampling the waters and seafloor in the entrance to the Bothnian Sea, we are now at our most eastern point in the Gulf of Finland. The seawater at the surface is much fresher than what we have seen before and has a brown-green colour. We’re still bringing loads and loads of sediments on board and are performing all sorts of measurements and incubations with it.
The weather is still great although it is now a lot colder outside. But it’s even colder in the lab containers where the sediment team work at temperatures below 5 degrees Celsius – this is to keep the samples at the temperature of the seafloor when we do our measurements.
At one of our stations this week, we found manganese nodules! These are big brown lumps that can form in surface sediments at locations where the rate of burial of the sediment is slow. They are quite common in this part of the Baltic Sea, but it’s the first time that we’ve found them ourselves. manganese nodules also form in deep sea sediments – there are lots of them in the Pacific Ocean. Because they contain trace elements they are considered a treasure by some.
At one of our stations this week, we found manganese nodules! These are big brown lumps that can form in surface sediments at locations where the rate of burial of the sediment is slow. They are quite common in this part of the Baltic Sea, but it’s the first time that we’ve found them ourselves. manganese nodules also form in deep sea sediments – there are lots of them in the Pacific Ocean. Because they contain trace elements they are considered a treasure by some.
We’re also looking at the animals that live in the sediment by sieving it. It’s rather depressing that most of the animals we find are dead because there is so little oxygen in the water near the seafloor – they just can’t breathe.