64PE376 - Dagboek 1 (in het Engels)

NIOZ North Sea monitoring 2013 Leg 1, aka The Methane Seep 2013 cruise

02-09-2013
It's early September and after a wonderful summer the meteorological autumn starts with: wind. Nothing like a decent autumn storm yet, but nevertheless our day of departure was not the easiest for some of us… The moral support however was great.

03-09-2013
After 24h full-time boating to the desired location and thus a full day of 'inslingeren', fortunately everyone was feeling better and on their marks for the start of the joint sampling effort. The collective interest of the scientific crew is an area just south-east of the Doggerbank, where curious bubbles are being released from the ocean floor; 'our' methane seep. A very versatile team of researchers has occupied the Pelagia this time, focusing on physical, chemical, and biological process that are going on, controlling and influencing this methane seep ecosystem.

At the start of the day, hydro-acoustic measurements nicely confirmed that "Yes! We are at the seep and they still bubble", by showing streams of bubbles rising up from the sediment (see photo below on the left). After that the ROV (see photo on the left) was set out to explore the area, resulting in nice video footage. Continuous methane concentration measurement at 3m water depths were impressive. We are exactly where we want to be!

Speaking of video footage, we have the privilege to have a professional film maker on board; Dan Brinkhuis. He is filming our science in action and gathering the perfect promotion material for our research and the unique value of the Pelagia.

After the first measurements in the morning, lunch was well deserved. Unlike yesterday when serious seasickness had control over some of us, today everyone could enjoy a nice meal provided by Iwan, a great pleasure.

After lunch an intense series of CTD sampling followed for the remainder of the day, from right on top of the seep to out of its reach and back. A major effort, made possible thanks to the great support from the technical crew! Altogether the today should give us a first overview of the main chemical and physical conditions in- and outside the seep area to provide a good basis for the following days. Seeing the pile of impressive equipment on board, much more interesting work has yet to come!