After driving for two days with our equipment from the University of Edinburgh we arrived in Southampton ready to join a team of scientists and engineers on a research expedition led by the National Oceanography Centre (CLASS Project) and University of Southampton (BioCam project). Packed with chocolate snacks and positivity, we said our farewells to land for one month and set-off for the Darwin Mounds!
On the 5th of July, the CCGS Amundsen arrived in Iqaluit bay, following its very successful expedition in the Davis Strait. Graham Tulloch (BGS) and Johanne Vad (University of Edinburgh), led by the amazing Amundsen crew as well as the ArcticNet and Amundsen Science members, recovered 2 benthic landers which had been gathering data from the sea floor since summer 2018.
Johanne writes:
ATLAS researchers Johanne Vad (UEDIN), Graham Tulloch (BGS) and photographer and videographer Alex Ingle have just set foot on dry land following their research expedition on board the CCGS Amundsen in the Davis Strait. We are excited to report that they have successfully recovered both the benthic landers deployed there a year ago.
In May 2017 we deployed some new biochemical sensors to measure pH and the amount of oxygen in the water, along with an automated sampler which collects and stores water samples for later shore-based analysis. The instruments were deployed on a physics mooring in 1800 m of water in the Rockall Trough west of the UK.
While Graham Tulloch was on deck tackling the challenges associated with programming and attaching the equipment for the landers, I was preparing for my ATLAS role in the expedition.
July 2018 saw two ATLAS researchers, Graham Tulloch (me) of the British Geological Survey and Sabena Blackbird of the University of Liverpool, join almost 40 ArcticNet scientists on board the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Amundsen, to lower equipment for sampling the sea bed and to take samples and measure the sea water in the Canadian Arctic.
In April 2018, ATLAS researchers from NIOZ boarded the RV Pelagia for a two-week expedition to Rockall Bank as part of the Netherlands Initiative Changing Oceans (NICO). Freelance journalist Edda Heinsman joined the expedition, and shares her experience.
After some initial frustration, two landers have been successfully deployed from the CCGS Amundsen in the Labrador Sea.
ATLAS partners Dick van Oevelen and Evert de Froe were recently on board the NV Pelagia, part of the Netherlands Initiative Changing Oceans (NICO) expedition. You can read more about their activities at their cruise blog https://nico-expeditie.nl/blogs/how-do-organisms-living-bottom-get-their-food.
A Dutch newspaper, Omroep Zeeland, also featured an article on the cruise. Read the English version here.
ATLAS colleague Telmo Morato is on the 'Blue Azores' expedition. Below you can see the crew preparing to explore deep sea walls south of São Jorge Island, Azores.
Getting ready to explore deep sea walls south of São Jorge Island, Azores. © Telmo Morato, 2018