A cruise from Gdynia to Cadiz with a vessel equipped with the latest measurement and research equipment opens up plenty of opportunities for biologists, chemists and physicists interested in the sea and the ocean. The team coordinator Dr Hab. Adam Sokolowski, prof. UG.
– The sea is deep and wide, and the ocean is even bigger, under what aspects do you explore these huge reservoirs during the Oceanograf cruise?
– There are plans to implement three scientific projects, each of which focuses on a different thematic scope. The first concerns the study of gas emissions from the seabed and the impact of these emissions on the marine environment. Geochemical processes, physical phenomena and reactions of marine organisms inhabiting bottom sediments will be analysed. The second project will analyze aerosols, i.e. various types of particles present in the atmospheric air. Samples will be taken on a wide geographical scale from the Baltic Sea through the North Sea and the English Channel to the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic Ocean. The subject of research interests of the third project is the presence of microplastics in marine sediments, the water column and the microlayer at the water-air interface. We want to identify their main sources in the marine environment and verify the hypothesis that its greatest concentration occurs at the mouths of large rivers and in the vicinity of urban agglomerations.
– You are the coordinator of the scientific committee of the SEA-EU voyage. How did you choose these projects?
– The selection of research projects to be carried out during the cruise was carried out through the selection of proposals submitted by employees and students of all six SEA-EU partner universities. We have collected several such ideas. When choosing, we focused on innovative nature of research, interdisciplinarity and international composition of the team. We decided on three proposals that bring together representatives of all universities.
– Were there only representatives of our university in the scientific committee of the voyage? Or representatives of other SEA-EU universities?
– The scientific committee included representatives from all six universities. On behalf of the University of Gdańsk, apart from me, these were Dr. Aleksandra Brodecka-Goluch and Dr. Jakub Idczak. The main coordinator of the SEA-EU project, prof. Fidel Echevarria and additionally prof. dr hab. Krzysztof Bielawski – Vice-Rector for Innovation and Cooperation with the Social and Economic Environment and Dr. Mirosław Czapiewski – UG Rector’s Plenipotentiary for Maritime Infrastructure of the University of Gdańsk and Admiral Jędrzej Czajkowski – Head of the Shipowner’s Office.
– How was it working in such a diverse team?
– Very good. I didn’t know the people who were on the committee before, but we quickly established a good rapport. Everyone in the team was interested in collaborating at an international level and doing interdisciplinary research, so we got along easily.
– The ship is almost halfway through the second. Some work has already been done. At what stage of this process are we? Is the Oceanographer’s expedition the culmination of these months of work, or is there still a lot ahead of us?
– We are really at the beginning of this road. All the work so far has focused on the preparation of the research plan and the schedule of on-board work, verification of the efficiency of the measuring devices and the collection of laboratory materials and reagents needed during the voyage. Before the cruise, we were 100% prepared. Now we are waiting with some excitement for the first data and first results.
– Will you use the full research potential of r/v Oceanograf during this cruise?
– Definitely yes. The projects are interdisciplinary, each of them combines various aspects of marine research, so virtually all scientific equipment available on the ship will be used. We also brought some equipment from our laboratories. Some materials were submitted by other SEA-EU universities.
– How large a team of scientists is working on these projects?
– On board at any one time, the scientific team consists of a maximum of a dozen or so people. Some of the researchers will take part in the entire cruise from Gdynia to Cadiz itself, and some will change in subsequent ports.
– Are there only marine biologists among the specialists? Are there also scientists from other fields?
– The scientific team consists of geochemists, chemists, physicists and biologists. Thus, the range of research interests is very wide.
– What happens to these materials afterwards? Who will analyze them?
– Some of the measurements are carried out directly on the ship, so we will receive the first result data before the end of the voyage. Other parts of the research require the collection of environmental samples and these materials will be analyzed after the cruise by all SEA-EU partner universities.
– What can result from comparisons on such a wide geographical scale?
– Carrying out marine research in the profile from the Baltic Sea to the eastern coast of the Atlantic Ocean opens up the possibility of comparative analyzes on a European scale. This type of research has not yet been conducted in such a large geographical area, so our results will be unique and somewhat pioneering. The aim of the project is to analyze the differences and similarities in the pollution of the marine environment, e.g. for aerosols and microplastics. It is worth noting that all tests in the territorial waters of different European countries will be conducted using the same methodology and even by the same laboratory, which guarantees that the data obtained will be comparable and repeatable.
– Thank you for the conversation
Marcel Jakubowski/Zespół Prasowy UG