RV Maria S. Merian MSM68-2
Cruise summary report
| Cruise Info. | |
| Ship name (ship code) | RV Maria S. Merian (06M2) |
| Cruise identifier | MSM68-2 |
| Cruise period | 2017-11-03 — 2017-11-13 |
| Status | Completed |
| Port of departure | Emden, Germany |
| Port of return | Mindelo, Cape Verde |
| Purpose | Research |
| Objectives | Objectives
1. Sample in detail atmospheric properties of aerosol and clouds (in addition to those already permitted under WMO agreements). 2. Test a novel measurement system for seawater alkalinity. These measurements will be carried out along the cruise track from Emden/Germany via North Sea and the English Channel to Mindelo/Cape Verde. The cruise track will strictly follow the Traffic Separation Scheme in this region and therefore be constrained to the main shipping route for outbound traffic. Atmospheric remote sensing will be used for measuring: - cloud fraction and base height for collecting data for a first ship-based cloud type statistic along the ship track, using vertically oriented cameras and a ceilometer - OceanRAIN ODM470 optical disdrometer for precipiration rate and droplet size spectrum - a hand-held sun photometer MICROTOPS for aerosol and water vapour (only during sunshine) - and a MAX-DOAS for gases. The following sea measurements will be carried out: - temperature, salinity and total alkalinity of continuously pumped near-surface water from a submersible pump, using a thermosalinograph and a novel automated spectrophotometric filtration system. - an echo sounding system (swath sonar multibeam) maps the sea-floor topography - cetaceans will be observed and recorded with photos and GPS location. - at the Cape Verde Ocean Observatory site (17.6°N 24.3°W) one full-depth CTD-rosette hydrocast with profiling measurements (temperature, salinity, pressyre) and seawater sampling (O2, nutrients, and CO2 content) will be carried out to measure the vertical profile of these ocean characteristics, and a hydrophone will be deploited to listen to cetaceans. |
| Chief scientist | Stephanie Fiedler (Max Planck Institute for Meteorology) |
| Cruise report |  (0.21 MB) |
| NPRC | (0.63 MB) |
| Ocean/sea areas | |
| General | North Atlantic Ocean |
| Specific | Cape Verde Ocean Observatory site (17.6°N 24.3°W). Portuguese Argo station (37°N 18°W) |
