On 3 June RV Oceanograf became a 'floating university', where two academic communities from the SEA-EU Alliance exchanged their knowledge. Students and scientists from Christian Albrecht University of Kiel (CAU) boarded the ship and took part in research on Eckernförde Bay. Scientific crew from RV Oceanograf conducted hydroacoustic measurements, took samples of sediment, sea water, microplastics and zooplancton.
"Our vessel is good at collecting samples from one place. It can keep a position very well, which is also quite useful in hydroacoustic transits", said dr. Aleksandra Brodecka-Goluch, scientific head of the cruise during the familiarization with a ship. Dr. Jens Schneider von Deimling from CAU talked about the research that has been already conducted in Eckernförde Bay.
This one day trip was full of different scientific procedures. First Oceanograf’s crew took some measurements with a MultiBeam EchoSounder, a device that maps the seafloor. Then they used the Rosette to take samples from the column of water above the pockmarks - funnels that contain or contained greenhouse gasses. With other scientific devices RV Oceanograf crew took samples of microplastics, sediment and zooplancton.
"I’ve never been on such a vessel. Because of the pandemic I wasn’t able to take part in any scientific cruise", said Chris Straßburger, geophysics student from CAU. "I had to analyze similar data for my bachelors degree, so it’s cool to see how this information is created."
"The ship is very advanced. We have similar equipment on German vessels, but the survey room is more modern. Usually we have to bring our own computers from university, here everything has been already set up", said Merve Jensen, geophysics student from CAU.
"The meeting between CAU students and RV Oceanograf crew might have been a beginning of future cooperation. - One of the students was very interested in my work", said dr. hab. Agata Weydmann-Zwolicka, prof. UG. She is now considering an Erasmus+ program in University of Gdańsk.
One day trip on Eckernförde Bay will no be the last initiative where students from SEA-EU universities will get to see RV Oceanograf research. During the next stops in The University of Western Brittany and University of Cadiz students from those scientific facilities will get to see how the research is conducted on the most advanced research unit in Europe.