Christian Mertens, University of Bremen: Cruise leader
I am a physical oceanographer working at the University of Bremen. I am particularly interested in the variability of the ocean over a range of time scales from multi-year to short-term fluctuations. I use a wide range of methodological approaches and instrumentation to study the large scale ocean circulation as well as small-scale processes mixing. As the chief scientist on cruise M212, I am responsible for scheduling and various organizational aspects of the expedition. Scientifically, I oversee the recovery of an array of bottom-mounted instruments (inverted echo sounders) that were deployed during Expedition MSM121 aboard R/V Maria S. Merian in 2023. These instruments were installed to record transport time series within the Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC) south of the Flemish Cap. Our primary objective is to quantify the volume of water exiting the DWBC and returning north as part of the North Atlantic Current.
Eleanor Frajka-WIlliams, University of Hamburg
I am a professor at the Institute of Oceanography, Universität Hamburg and coordinator of the EPOC project. Two years ago we deployed drift-free bottom pressure recorders. These will be recovered this year and the data used to evaluate whether they are suitable for estimating the time-variability of geostrophic reference velocities in a transport calculation. In addition, we’ll be carrying out some higher resolution “to-yo” sections to better understand the processes responsible for making (or breaking) AMOC coherence. I’ll be doing the real-time data processing of these sections, along with others on the team, to adapt our sampling based on the observations.
Kaja Scheliga, University of Hamburg
I am the project manager for EPOC. I am very happy about participating in the M212 expedition and excited to experience life and work at sea. I am coordinating the blog for this expedition and responsible for outreach as well as helping out with CTD watches.
Ralf Bachmeyer, University of Bremen
Hi, I’m a professor at MARUM, the University of Bremen’s Center for Marine Environmental Sciences and in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science. I’m interested in all things to do with autonomous marine observation systems, from the deep sea to the surface. On this cruise I’m really looking forward to working with the rest of the glider group, Ria and Saliaka, on the challenges of glider operations. Since underwater gliders are pretty slow-moving underwater vehicles, moving at about 0.35 m/s through the water, I’m particularly interested in the navigation and control aspects of the gliders in areas with strong currents. The area we’re working in, around the Flemish Cap east of Newfoundland, has plenty of this to offer. So, the main question I’ve been thinking about is: How can we make sure we include these tricky and ever-changing navigational bits in our adaptive sampling plans?
Francesca Doglioni, University of Bremen
Hello everyone, this is Francesca! I am a physical oceanographer and PostDoc at the University of Bremen. I am interested in ocean current dynamics and sea level variability, how these are interconnected, and I use data from satellite altimetry and a variety of in-situ platforms. I previously studied how coherent ocean current’s variability is across the Arctic, beneath the sea-ice cover. In the EPOC project, I look at processes that might break or maintain the meridional coherence of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). I will use data from altimetry and from pressure inverted echo sounders (PIES, which we will recover during this expedition!) to study the surface limb of the AMOC, the North Atlantic Current, and how this interacts with the deep boundary current. PIES are the perfect instrument to measure sea level variability and ocean transports, so I am excited to make friends with them in the upcoming expedition!
Ilmar Leimann, University of Bremen
I’m an Estonian multitool disguised as a physical oceanographer, with a knack for oceanographic instrumentation, scientific programming, and surviving seagoing operations. Currently based at the University of Bremen, where I’m doing my doctoral research in oceanography.
Emelie Breunig, University of Hamburg
I am a second-year PhD student in observational oceanography at the Institute of Oceanography, Universität Hamburg, and the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology. During this expedition, I will be responsible for deploying the surface drifters. Observing how these surface buoys move relative to one another will help us gain a better understanding of the energy and structure of surface currents. I’m excited to be back at sea and happy to contribute to the blog!
Sariaka Ramarherison, University of Bremen
I am a first-year PhD student in Physical Oceanography at the University of Bremen, and I study storm induced internal waves, using observations from various geographical regions and measurement tools. During this cruise, I will be in charge of helping prepare and deploy the gliders. This is my first time at sea, so I am really looking forward to this experience! I am most excited about learning more about the instruments and the process of gathering data, which is a refreshing change from only seeing it on my computer.
Isabelle Schmitz, University of Hamburg
Hello there, I am a student at the University Hamburg in transition from the bachelors in Oceanography to the masters in Ocean and Climate Physics. This is my first cruise and I am excited to learn more about life and science at sea, as this is something I have always been inspired and motivated by during my bachelor’s. My role on this research cruise involves operating scientific instruments like the CTD and, of course, helping wherever I am needed. I am thrilled to meet and spend time with likeminded people who share my fascination with all things ocean.
Buu-Lik Duong, University of Bremen
I am a first-year Phd student and physical oceanographer at the University of Bremen. My research focuses on how energy dissipates at very small scales through turbulent mixing, particularly driven by breaking of internal waves. During this expedition, I am mainly responsible for collecting high-resolution hydrographic data using a vertical microstructure profiler (VMP) and for operating the shipboard Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (sADCP). The Flemish cap region is considered a hotspot for energy dissipation, making it a particularly intriguing location for my research.
Ria Oelerich, University of Bremen
I am a physical oceanographer working as part of the TRR181 research project. My research interests span a wide range of topics, from large-scale circulation and frontal systems to small-scale processes and mixing. During this cruise, I will be working with the glider team, Sariaka and Ralf, to prepare, deploy, and operate two Slocum Gliders. These gliders are equipped with adaptive sampling algorithms (one via satellite and one via backseat driver) designed to enable repeated cross-frontal tracking without human intervention. Both gliders carry a suite of instruments, including CTDs, oxygen sensors, and MicroRiders, allowing us to observe the frontal structure and variability in high resolution. From a scientific perspective, repeated high-resolution observations across the North Atlantic Current (NAC) front will help us better understand its barrier characteristics and the exchange of water mass properties across it. I’m very excited to test the algorithms and see how well they perform in the field!
Enriko Siht, Tallinn University of Technology
I am a PhD student in earth sciences at the Tallinn University of Technology. My research focuses on the circulation in the Baltic Sea and its effects on the marine environment. I have experience both in scientific computing and working at sea. I am grateful that, through a series of fortunate events, I’m able to participate in this cruise where I will be operating the CTD.
Till Moritz, University of Hamburg
I am studying ocean and climate physics at the University of Hamburg. I am currently writing my master’s thesis, in which I am investigating the contributions of different processes to the total dissipation in the surface mixed layer. For the analysis I use seaglider data, thus I am particularly interested in the deployment of gliders on this cruise. During the cruise I will be on CTD watch, which involves operating various scientific instruments such as the CTD, the rosette sampler and the LADCP.
Hagen Hegeler, University of Bremen
Studying physics at the University of Bremen, I have chosen the environmental physics course (with half atmospheric and half oceanographic physics) where I have heard about the chance for bachelor students to participate on a research cruise to experience practical side of oceanography. As part of the CTD watch, I will deploy and monitor the measurement of deep sea profiles of e.g. density, salinity and currents. And parallel I am responsible for tapping and packaging water samples with so called tracer gases that will be measured back in Bremen. In the end, I will have measured such data, which I analysed during my studies, a nice change from the more theoretical physics studies.
Lina Middendorf, University of Bremen
I am currently trained as a chemical laboratory assistant at the University of Bremen and work at the Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Technologies (UFT). I had not expected the opportunity to take part in such an expedition, but nevertheless I am now here on the cruise. I am responsible for oxygen determination using the Winkler method and can therefore be found in one of the ships wet chemistry laboratories. I am looking forward to learning a lot of new things about oceanography and the chemistry of the oceans.
Lara Aschenbeck, University of Bremen
Hey, I’m currently a PhD student in the Physical Oceanography Group at the University of Bremen. During the MSM121 expedition we deployed PIES (pressure inverted echo sounders), which are due to be recovered during this expedition. I’m looking forward to seeing the instruments back on deck again!
Kim Ripke, GEOMAR
Hi, I am a master’s student in Climate Physics at GEOMAR in Kiel, with a focus on physical oceanography. On this cruise, I am part of the CTD watch, where the main tasks are preparing the CTD rosette, collecting water samples when it comes back on deck and making sure everything runs smoothly during each cast. It is always exciting to look at the observations and try to explain them based on what I learned from my studies in university. I am also looking forward to learning more about other instruments and how data is collected!
Reiner Steinfeldt, University of Bremen
I am a physical oceanographer (originally just an ordinary physicist) at the University of Bremen. My main scientific interests are the variability of water masses like North Atlantic Deep Water, which we will encounter on this cruise, and the oceanic uptake of (anthropogenic) carbon. On M212, which is my 30th research cruise, I will be mainly responsible for operating the CTD and the evaluation and calibration of the received data. For the calibration, we take salinity and oxygen samples from the water bottles at the rosette and analyze them dirctly on board.
Joel Bracamontes, University of Hamburg
Joel is a physical oceanographer who received his PhD from the University of Bremen for his research on the effects of stratification on internal wave propagation in the Arctic Ocean. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Hamburg, working in the Experimental Oceanography group. His research focuses on the interannual variability of density anomalies originating in the Labrador Sea and propagating towards the tropics and their relation to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC).