The departure day for the AMT28 has finally arrived! On the past 22th September, our young scientists Andreia Tracana and Afonso Ferreira from MARE/Uni-Lisbon have board the RRV James Clark Ross to start this amazing cross-Atlantic adventure. For the next 5 weeks, they will participate in several activities regarding the daily monitoring of the ocean and atmosphere across the Atlantic Ocean, from approximately 60º N to 60º S. Andreia will be responsible for collecting water samples for the study of the phytoplankton communities (including coccolithophores) and for measuring pH variations in the ocean. Afonso will be part of the remote sensing team and responsible for the daily collection of aerosol particles during the cruise.
From their smiles in the pictures, they seem quite excited about what will be their first BIG oceanic expedition! We wish them good work and lots of fun, as well as regular updates on this great experience :-)
From left to right, Prof. Dr. Vanda Brotas, our scientific supervisor at MARE/Uni-Lisbon and Invited Professor at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PLM); Andreia Tracana and Afonso Ferreira, two young marine biologists from MARE/Uni-Lisbon. On the background are all the equipments and boxes containing lab material about to be transported to the ship.
Afonso Ferreira standing next to the Anderson dust collector that Prof. Dr. Alex Baker (East Anglia University) has lent us for this expedition. Later on, Dr. Baker will do the nutrient analysis of the dust samples, whereas Dr. Jan-Berend Stuut (Royal NIOZ) will analyse the dust particle-size and bulk composition.
Andreia and Afonso getting all set for the departure!
A nocturnal view of the RRV James Clark Ross before the departure.
A Google Earth view of the AMT28 sampling track grid.