METEOR M81/1

The first leg of the 81st expedition of the German reserach vessel METEOR (M81/1, Feb. 4th - March 8th, 2010) ist at the same time one of the first expeditions of the international GEOTRACES-program. The aim of this program is to better understand the origin and distribution of trace metals like cadmium, copper, iron or zinc in the oceans, in particular in the deep sea. During the 9000 km cruise along the West-African coast, across the Atlantic and back north along the Brazilian coast the scientists will measure trace metal concentrations up to a water depth of 5000 metres. Chief Scientist is Prof. Martin Frank of the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences (IFM-GEOMAR)