From 18 November until 15 December our “dusty partner in crime” Prof. Dr. Jan-Berend Stuut from the Royal NIOZ has joined research expedition MSM104 "SIPA - Sinking Particles, their production, transfer and transformation" onboard Research Vessel Maria S. Merian. The goal was to chase and collect Saharan dust around the upwelling region off Cape Blanc (Mauritania), located in the Canary Current Eastern Boundary Upwelling System (EBUS). This is a region where we have been doing research together over the last years to investigate the link between fluxes of dust and coccolithophore species, and associated coccolith-carbonate production.
RV Maria S. Merian dragging a dust buoy behind her. Photo: MARUM.
As expected, the eastern Trades Winds eventually brought large amounts of Saharan dust, which was duly sampled using the high-volume dust collectors that had been properly installed on top of the bridge! Apparently, there was so much dust around that visibility was temporarily (and drastically!) hampered. They also had the opportunity to see the volcanic eruptions from Cumbre Vieja volcano when sailing west of the island of La Palma, and to taste fabulously improvised snacks made of gooseneck barnacles which had overgrown around the buoys surface!
Check more of their adventures on the NIOZ Dust Blog!
A dusty sunset over the tropical NE Atlantic Ocean, offshore NW Africa. Photo: NIOZ.
Gooseneck barnacles (Portuguese: “percebes”) freshly harvested from the buoy Laura, moored offshore of Cape Blanc, Mauritania. Photo: NIOZ