Day and night, a group of scientists are gliding through a special route across the Mediterranean Sea, stopping every 25 nautical miles to measure important parameters, from the surface to the 3 km deep bottom. They undertake this journey every 5 to 8 years - not only to document the effects of climate change today, but also to witness what awaits in the near future.
When picturing a cruise through the Mediterranean Sea, most of us probably imagine a relaxed holiday filled with sunbathing, delicious dining and visits to iconic Mediterranean coastal cities.
For scientists, it doesn’t work like that. Picture an alarm clock going off at 4 am and watching the sunrise while operating sophisticated, high-precision oceanographic equipment - and there is no room for error!
This was the everyday life of the research crew on the TAIPro2022 cruise in May 2022, aboard the RV Belgica. “When I first started this job I knew I would have to sleep when I am not tired and eat when I am not hungry. Even so, after I had done my first cruise, I knew this was the job I wanted to do,” says Dr. Katrin Schroeder, chief scientist aboard the research vessel.
The group of European ocean scientists embarked on this intense journey to answer pressing questions about climate change - particularly, how carbon is being absorbed by the Mediterranean Sea and how changing climate is affecting oxygen levels in the ocean depths. They set off on what is called a repeat hydrography cruise - a route repeated approximately every 5 to 8 years to observe changes occurring through time that allows a deeper understanding of trends and the ability to better forecast the impacts of climate change.
Collecting various data from sea surface to bottom, including temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, carbon and more, the research crew worked around the clock. “The ship works 24/7, and there’s almost no distinction between what you do during the day and during the night,” says Dr. Schroeder. Such research vessels are expensive to operate, which means the crew has to make the most of all the hours in the day - science does not run on 9-to-5 shifts at sea.