Notes from the Field

NAAMES-II Expedition: May 21, 2016

May 22nd, 2016 by Kristina Mojica

We are on our way to the 3rd station of the expedition, the sea is relatively calm and cloud are freeing the sky to let the sun shine. Sleep schedules are adjusted: many of us sleep between 4pm and 22pm, whereas others have their night between 3am and 9am, naps are more than welcome when science allows it. Deploying instruments is now a child’s game, teams are trained and it’s going smoother and smoother.

Along the cruise, our group (University of Maine) study the optical properties of the ocean: how light is attenuated, absorbed or backscattered by the particles in water. These properties tell us about the phytoplankton abundance, as well as its physiological status or the species composition. Instruments measure water flowing under the R/V Atlantis continuously. The water pumped at the prow of the vessel goes through a complex network of tubing and is distributed to a spectrophotometer, (better known as the ACs) an ECO-BB3 measuring backscattering, a fluorometer sensing the concentration of colored dissolved organic matter, a chlorophyll fluorometer and temperature and salinity loggers. All the data is recorded along the NAAMES expedition and allows us to characterize the water masses crossed and the organisms living in them. The IFCB (Imaging Flow CytoBot) helps us in this task by taking pictures of any element fluorescing in the water between 5 um and 150 um. Since the beginning of the cruise, 10 days from now, we’ve collected more than 800,000 images of phytoplankton that will help to characterize the drifting community living in North Atlantic.

Picture of a ceratium taken by the IFCB

Picture of a ceratium taken by the IFCB

Picture of a ciliate taken by the IFCB

Picture of a ciliate taken by the IFCB

In order to keep track of the planktonic community we study during this expedition, we deploy floats, which are autonomous platforms that profile the ocean between the surface and 1000 m depth (3000 ft). These are deployed every 3 days and take a series of measurements. They collect very precious information that will be sent back to laboratories during the two to three years of their lifetime. Looking forward to sample at station 3 tonight, and deploy more floats along our track.

Deployment of a biogeochemical float from the back deck of the R/V Atlantis. Photo: Lee Karp-Boss

Deployment of a Bbiogeochemical float from the back deck of the R/V Atlantis. Photo: Lee Karp-Boss

Written by Nils Haëntjens

One Response to “NAAMES-II Expedition: May 21, 2016”

  1. Janey Dustin says:

    Great to see actual pictures of the phytoplankton! Also happy to hear that the seas are calm and you are getting some sunshine!