Welcome to this blog on our expedition to the Baltic Sea! In this blog we will keep you up to date on the work that we do in the 2.5 weeks that we will be on board, from May 28 until June 15, 2016.
Just as the Black Sea 2015 cruise, this cruise takes place on the Dutch research vessel Pelagia and will mostly focus on the chemical element iron (Fe). We are interested in iron as it is an essential nutrient for marine life. Its chemical form, and therefore its availability for marine life, depends on the amount of oxygen in the seawater. The Baltic Sea is well known to suffer from low-oxygen conditions in the deeper basins, but the shallower areas are oxygenated. This gradient in oxygen conditions greatly affects the release of iron from sediment to the overlying water, but to which extent is up to now unknown. Therefore, we specifically aim at gaining insight into the mechanisms and rates of iron release from Baltic Sea sediments, as well as the lateral transport of iron from sediments in shallower areas to the adjacent oxygen-depleted deep basin. To do so, we will perform a variety of measurements and experiments, of which you will read much more about in the upcoming weeks.
Besides 7 scientists from Utrecht University, there will be participants from the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ Texel and Yerseke), as well as from the United States and from Sweden. At the moment the Utrecht team is very busy packing their materials. Currently we packed 22 boxes and this number will still increase substantially until the materials will be picked up by truck and transported to Texel early next week.
Just as the Black Sea 2015 cruise, this cruise takes place on the Dutch research vessel Pelagia and will mostly focus on the chemical element iron (Fe). We are interested in iron as it is an essential nutrient for marine life. Its chemical form, and therefore its availability for marine life, depends on the amount of oxygen in the seawater. The Baltic Sea is well known to suffer from low-oxygen conditions in the deeper basins, but the shallower areas are oxygenated. This gradient in oxygen conditions greatly affects the release of iron from sediment to the overlying water, but to which extent is up to now unknown. Therefore, we specifically aim at gaining insight into the mechanisms and rates of iron release from Baltic Sea sediments, as well as the lateral transport of iron from sediments in shallower areas to the adjacent oxygen-depleted deep basin. To do so, we will perform a variety of measurements and experiments, of which you will read much more about in the upcoming weeks.
Besides 7 scientists from Utrecht University, there will be participants from the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ Texel and Yerseke), as well as from the United States and from Sweden. At the moment the Utrecht team is very busy packing their materials. Currently we packed 22 boxes and this number will still increase substantially until the materials will be picked up by truck and transported to Texel early next week.
Aside from packing, we also prepare for the cruise in other ways. Those of us who didn’t join the 2015 Black Sea cruise got a medical check, and last week I (Mathilde) went on a training course in Kiel (Germany) to learn more about the instrument I will be working with during the expedition. This so-called VINDTA is used to measure dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and titration alkalinity (TA) in the water column. Both of these parameters make up part of the carbonate system and can be used to calculate Baltic Sea pH. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, around 1850, mankind has increased atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) due to fossil fuel combustion and deforestation. Part of this CO2 is taken up by the oceans, leading to a decrease in seawater pH, as well as some other chemical changes in the carbonate system, that are collectively termed ocean acidification. However, the low-oxygen conditions in the Baltic Sea deep basins also have an effect on pH. The VINDTA measurements will help us to gain insight in the variations in pH over the Baltic Sea. During the course I learned all the ins and outs of the VINDTA, and got tips and tricks for troubleshooting, which can come in very handy on board.
We are excited to start sailing! Please visit us regularly for updates or subscribe to the RSS feed (right column) to receive updates. Also, if you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to post them here.
On behalf of all participants,
Mathilde
NB: credits for blog cover photo: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Space Systems, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team. Credits for photos in this blog post: Mathilde Hagens.
On behalf of all participants,
Mathilde
NB: credits for blog cover photo: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Space Systems, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team. Credits for photos in this blog post: Mathilde Hagens.