Expedition with RV Maria S. Merain to the AWI Hausgarten

The aim of the expedition is to identify and quantify ecosystem shifts in the water column (the pelagial) and at the deep seafloor (the benthal) associated with ocean warming and the decline in sea ice, as well as to investigate feedback processes on temporal and spatial variability. They use autonomous underwater vehicles and exchange anchored seafloor systems among other things to achieve these goals and hence, continue the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) at HAUSGARTEN observatorium between Spitsbergen and Greenland, which started almost 20 yeras ago. The expedition runs from 15 September to 13 October, further information on the expedition can be found in the weekly reports on the website of the German Research Fleet Coordination Centre.