idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Nachrichten, Termine, Experten

Grafik: idw-Logo
Science Video Project
idw-Abo

idw-News App:

AppStore

Google Play Store



Instance:
Share on: 
08/08/2023 14:00

Expedition investigates hydrothermal systems in different water depths for the first time

Ulrike Prange Pressestelle
MARUM - Zentrum für Marine Umweltwissenschaften an der Universität Bremen

    MARUM Expedition with research vessel METEOR starts

    Deep-sea hydrothermal vents, also often called black smokers because of their characteristic appearance, are a hotspot of life. The vents are often the only source of food, which is why symbioses between animals and microorganisms form here. Hydrothermal systems also exist in shallower waters. Food scarcity is not prevalent because of the availability of light and the associated possibility of photosynthesis, and yet here, too, there are microorganisms that are specialized in using energy from the earth's interior.

    How such hydrothermal systems function in shallow water is the focus of a MARUM expedition that will start in Piraeus (Greece) in August and whose destination is the Mediterranean island of Milos. During the expedition M192 with the research vessel METEOR, the researchers on board will search the area around Milos for hydrothermal systems and subsequently sample their geology, geochemistry, and (micro)biology, both in the shallow, coastal light-flooded zone and in deep, offshore dark waters.

    Dr. Solveig Bühring from MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen is leading the cruise, following up on work in her DFG-funded Emmy Noether group "Hydrothermal Geomicrobiology". "Until now, shallow water and deep-sea hydrothermal systems have been treated as independent, seemingly unrelated entities; this expedition is a first attempt to remove this arbitrary boundary and study hydrothermal systems as a continuum," says Solveig Bühring.

    The expedition begins on August 8 and is divided into two legs. On the first part of the expedition, the team will map hydrothermal vents on board using the multibeam echo sounder on board and the autonomous diving robot MARUM-SEAL 5000. On the second part of the cruise, the researchers will sample hydrothermal vents at different water depths. For this purpose, they will use the diving robot MARUM-SQUID.


    Contact for scientific information:

    Dr. Solveig Bühring [https://www.marum.de/en/Dr.-solveig-bhring.html]
    MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen
    Petrology of the ocean crust
    Email: sbuehring@marum.de


    More information:

    https://www.marum.de/en/Dr.-solveig-bhring/M-192.html - Expedition page
    https://www.marum.de/Entdecken/Logbuch-M192.html - Expedition logbook (in German)


    Images

    Die Wissenschaftler sind mit dem Forschungsschiff METEOR unterwegs. Hier liegt es im Hafen von Piräus vor Anker. Foto: MARUM; S. Bühring
    Die Wissenschaftler sind mit dem Forschungsschiff METEOR unterwegs. Hier liegt es im Hafen von Piräu ...
    Solveig Bühring
    MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen


    Criteria of this press release:
    Journalists, all interested persons
    Biology, Chemistry, Environment / ecology, Geosciences, Oceanology / climate
    transregional, national
    Cooperation agreements, Research projects
    English


     

    Die Wissenschaftler sind mit dem Forschungsschiff METEOR unterwegs. Hier liegt es im Hafen von Piräus vor Anker. Foto: MARUM; S. Bühring


    For download

    x

    Help

    Search / advanced search of the idw archives
    Combination of search terms

    You can combine search terms with and, or and/or not, e.g. Philo not logy.

    Brackets

    You can use brackets to separate combinations from each other, e.g. (Philo not logy) or (Psycho and logy).

    Phrases

    Coherent groups of words will be located as complete phrases if you put them into quotation marks, e.g. “Federal Republic of Germany”.

    Selection criteria

    You can also use the advanced search without entering search terms. It will then follow the criteria you have selected (e.g. country or subject area).

    If you have not selected any criteria in a given category, the entire category will be searched (e.g. all subject areas or all countries).