Ready for sailing - Blogpost 1 from RV SONNE, March 5, 2018

by Manfred Schlösser

San Antonio, Chile

Friday, March 2nd, 2018

Research vessel SONNE is still moored in the port of San Antonio at Pier 6. At the beginning of March on the Pacific coast of Chile, summer temperatures around 25 degrees prevail. Captain Lutz Mallon and his crew await a total of 40 scientists from 17 different parts of the world, including Denmark, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Scotland, England, Ireland, Nigeria, USA, Japan, Canada, China and Taiwan. Ten researchers come from Chile's Universidad de Concepcion and two more from Peru.

Before we leave port, there is a lot more to do. Boxes are being unpacked, equipment assembled and instruments checked. There is still time for final adjustments and repairs. For the newcomers on board, another challenge is finding their way on the 116-meter-long ship. The research vessel SONNE with ten decks and many laboratories can seem like a labyrinth. To make sure that no one gets lost, second officer Lars Hoffsommer gives a detailed security briefing. He also explains what special rules apply for human interaction during the cruise. Where many people get together in a relatively small space, it is important to take care of each other. For the next weeks, scientists and crew will work together to make this expedition a success.

Chief Scientist Frank Wenzhöfer from the Max Planck Institute in Bremen, Germany, coordinates between the ship's command and the researchers. He sums up the goal of this expedition: "We will sail to the Atacama Trench, a deep-sea trench that stretches over hundreds of nautical miles west off the shores of Chile and Peru to a depth of 8000 meters. Our goal is to find out which biological processes take place in the water column and in the sediment. For this, we have many specialists on board who brought along an array of scientific equipment to take measurements and samples. It is important to examine the extent to which deep-sea trenches act as a sink for carbon, and which processes influence the carbon footprint." The research will be coordinated with Ronnie Glud from the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, head of the HADES-ERC project.

Greetings from from the crew and the scientific party of So261,

Manfred Schlösser

Read the corresponding press release.

More details about the project from the University of Southern Denmark.

More pictures related to the project.

Ronnie N Glud at Danmarks Radio (in Danish)