NO-REGRETS aboard RV Thalassa

Department

Themes

Woman seen from the back, watching the sea and holding the railing of a ship

Eleonora Puccinelli waiting for temperature measuring at the incubator

The second research cruise from the project NO-REGRETS aboard R/V Thalassa will survey the Dutch North Sea through an intensive multidisciplinary programme combining water column observations, seafloor habitat mapping, fisheries acoustics, and biodiversity sampling to better understand ecosystem functioning around off-shore wind-farm areas. All blogs and photos are by Nuria Borafull.

21 June Weekend at the Thalassa

We are on board of the Thalassa, sailing across the waters of the Dutch North Sea, around those areas that surround off-shore windfarms or where future construction is planned. It seems that good weather has decided to accompany us during our journey.
The scientific team on board describes their work as a holistic approach to marine ecosystems. Indeed, the team is highly multidisciplinary and diverse, which adds an additional layer of richness to the research process that will unfold on the vessel. From bird observations to plankton, fish communities to seafloor scanning, they will explore the diverse effects and impacts of off-shore windfarms on the Dutch North Sea. This expedition is part of the NWO Project NO-REGRETS: North Sea Renewable Energy – Getting the Required Ecological Knowledge for the Transition, which has just entered its first year.
The cruises we engage now seems like the starting point of a research journey that is only starting. 

Woman with helmet walking on deck between cranes and fishing gear

Jenny on deck during the fish deployment (Photo: Nuria Bofarull)

22 June The week begins on board

The early light of the day was covering the horizon of the North Sea when we arrived to our sampling super station at the Terschelling Transect, the largest in Dutch waters. Super stations are those moments in which the ship anchors at a specific location that holds a meaningful interests for the diverse scientists on board and large samples of data are collected from the teams, specially a significant amount of water samples. There is an orchestrated choreography around the CTD in which all scientists take their positions to refill waters. There is some charm in the teamwork spirit that is created in such moments.
It takes a team effort to collect data. That sense of collaboration is more visible on expeditions and fieldwork at sea, and it reminds us that scientific knowledge is produced collectively rather than individually.

 

A group of young scientist are posing for a photo

Our early career scientists on board (Photo: Nuria Bofarull)

A frame with research equipment disappears into very blue water

CTD being deployed during the super station (Photo: Nuria Bofarull)