Expedition POS469 took place between the 10th and 19th of May, 2014, and led to the submarine volcanic gas seeps off Panarea (Aeolian Islands) in the Tyrrhenaan Sea / southern Italy. It was conducted within the framework of the ECO2 EU-project and the Helmholtz Alliance "ROBEX - Robotic Exploration of Extreme Environments".
The main objective of the expedition was the quantitative investigation of this unique area, where different gases are simlutaneously emitted from the sediment into the water column with different and differing discharge rates (for details also see here). To meet these objectives, ROV PHOCA as well as a video-guided pump-CTD were deployed.
The main tasks of ROV PHOCA included the documentation of the working area, sampling of gases (using a gas tight sampler), taking water samples (with Niskin bottles), as well as deployment and recovery of ADCP and a Bubblebox for the quantitfication of gas discharge strength and its distribution.
During POS469, 11 scientific dives were accomplished in water depths between 40 and 75 m.
Photos (unless otherwise noted): ROV-Team GEOMAR; for enquiries on utilisation of image material please contact Public Relations Dept GEOMAR or Dr. Friedrich Abegg.
