3.4.2023 Logbook MSM116

Apr 3, 2023

The research vessel MARIA S. MERIAN in the harbor basin of Montevideo. (Photo: H. Pälike) — The research vessel MARIA S. MERIAN in the harbor basin of Montevideo. Photo: MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen; H. Pälike

The German research vessel MARIAS. MERIAN will set sail from Montevideo, Uruguay, on April 3, 2023, and begin the MSM116 expedition. The destination of the MARUM expedition is the Rio Grande Ridge, a submarine elevation between South America and Africa in the South Atlantic. Together with the crew of the MARIA S. MERIAN , PI Heiko Pälike from MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen and 21 other researchers from MARUM, Goethe University Frankfurt, the University of São Paulo and the University Federal Fluminense, Niterói, Brazil, will conduct research on climate history and ocean circulation.

The aim of the research is to obtain two continuous sediment sequences from the central Rio Grande Ridge as a geological history book. These allow a reconstruction of the climatic development of the earth's history, back to a geological epoch, the Miocene (approx. 5-23 million years ago), whose environmental conditions correspond to a future warmer earth climate. The analysis of very well preserved deposits of calcareous microfossils from these samples will then allow the study of surface and bottom water temperatures, changes in faunal composition and components of the carbon cycle.

During the five-week expedition, the MARUM-MeBo 200 sea-floor drill rig will be used for this purpose. This will allow the team to penetrate deep enough into the sediment deposits on the Rio Grande Ridge to recover the corresponding time intervals in sediment cores. In addition, water samples and information on the heat flow in the subsurface will be collected.

The cruise is part of the research program in the Cluster of Excellence of the University of Bremen "The Ocean Floor - Earth's Unexplored Interface", which is based at MARUM.

The MSM116 expedition team will report on the journey and everyday life on board in an expedition logbook.