MARIA S. MERIAN MSM61

The expedition MSMS61 will operate at the CVOO time series station as well as on the Senghor Seamount, northeast of Cape Verde islands. At the CVOO time series station a CTD rosette sampler survey including a biogeochemical sampling will be done – further extending the time series data set. Moreover, horizontal camera transects will be acquired at different depth to estimate the macrozooplankton distribution at the site. At the Senghor Seamount, mobile and moored observatories will be installed that will acquire physical, biogeochemical and ecosystem relevant data. The data will be used for investigations on basic physical, biogeochemical, and ecosystem processes at tropical seamounts and in particular their role in shaping the local biodiversity.
The observatory will consist of a novel winch mooring and stationary bottom landers to be installed at preselected regions for long term recordings. Furthermore, a coordinated swarm of two Wave Gliders (surface incl. acoustic profiling, 0 – 150 m) and an electric glider (water column, 0 - 1000 m) will be deployed.
Full depth CTD rosette measurements and ship-ADCP surveys will be conducted in order to resolve hydrography and circulation around the seamount. Besides surveying with CTD and ADCP we will do video transect to record the macrozooplankton distribution at different areas of the seamount.