Setting sail for the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt with the new REV Ocean research vessel

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a photo of the RV REV Ocean against a black sky backdrop

The brand-new REV Ocean research vessel. Photo: Guillaume Plisson

In 2027, the Norwegian initiative REV Ocean will send its new vessel on its first expedition. For it’s maiden voyage it will sail for one year, during which ten international research projects will be carried out. One of these missions is co-lead by NIOZ-researcher Linda Amaral-Zettler. Together with Mar Fernández-Méndez from the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) she will investigate the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt between Fortaleza (Brazil) and Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago).

Sargassum has caught global attention since 2011 as large influxes have been reaching the coasts of the Caribbean and causing both environmental and socio-economic damage. “The brown seaweed pelagic Sargassum grows on the sea surface across the subtropical Atlantic and absorbs large quantities of carbon during its growth thanks to photosynthesis,” explains Mar Fernández. When it sinks it can sequester part of the carbon permanently and contribute to climate mitigation. “however, no one has properly quantified the contribution of these wild mats of Sargassum to the global carbon cycle and there are many unknows regarding its fate in the deep sea.” 

Sargassum Belt

The expedition lead by Amaral-Zettler and Fernandez will take place in August 2027, during which they will visit the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt north of Brazil. “With our project, we aim to investigate the Sargassum belt and gain insights into its associated biodiversity, its role in the carbon cycle from the surface to the seafloor and the accumulation of microplastics,” explains Fernández. The mission, as the projects aboard the REV Ocean are called, are all designed and executed in collaboration with local partners. For the Sargassum mission, they chose an educational angle for this. “We are using this REV Ocean mission as a training opportunity for early-career ocean professionals from island nations affected by the Sargassum influxes.

About REV Oceans Maiden Voyage

The new research vessel from REV Ocean will sail off from Rio de Janeiro in April 2027,  alongside the UN Ocean Decade Conference. Across the ten ‘missions’, teams will explore amongst other things, the seamount ecosystems, biodiversity on coral reefs, the migration routes of sharks and whales, and unexplored deep-sea ecosystems. All data from the research program will be made available via the Ocean Data Platform (ODP) and other relevant platforms, ensuring that the results remain accessible even after each mission has concluded. The REV Ocean initiative was founded in Oslo, Norway, in 2017 and focuses on marine protected areas, plastic pollution and marine education.