METEOR M182

This cruise is the third and final cruise in a series of three for a dedicated multi- and interdisciplinary study of ocean eddies using the Helmholtz Association's Modular Observation Solutions for Earth Systems (MOSES) infrastructure. The study is part of the project "Role of eddies in the carbon pump of eastern upwelling systems - Demonstration Case Canary Current System" (REEBUS), which started in 2019 and focuses on multidisciplinary studies of the influence of eddies on the lateral transport of biogeochemical properties and on the carbon pump in the deep ocean.
The goal of the cruise to the Mauritanian upwelling region off West Africa is to quantitatively understand the dynamics of ocean eddies, with a focus on CO2 source/sink mechanisms and the biological carbon pump. To this end, the effects of ocean eddies on the nutrient composition of the marine environment, including the deep sea, will be investigated. Eddies play an important role in lateral mixing and transport of physical and biogeochemical properties. As a result, they influence biological productivity and solute flux to the seafloor.
To achieve these goals, the MOSES Eddy Study III cruise will benefit greatly from knowledge gained on two previous cruises in 2019 (M156 & M160). What is special about the work during M182 is that in particular the transport around turnover of organic matter onto and into the sediment will be studied. This compliments the very detailed work done during M156 and M160 in the water column and at the water/atmosphere interface.