We first blogged and tweeted (#EAFNansen) from aboard the research vessel, the R/V Dr. Fridtjof Nansen in January-February 2015 about a Nansen voyage in the deep seas off South Africa and Namibia. If you missed that voyage, see the posts here.
Now we’re asking you to climb back on board to join us for an exciting demonstration survey in preparation for the 50th anniversary of the International Indian Ocean Expedition . This survey trip runs 28 June – 10 August 2015, and will take place in two voyages.
The first journey begins on 26 June 2015 in Jakarta, Indonesia, travelling across the southern Indian Ocean until the Nansen docks in Port Louis, Mauritius on 16 July 2015. The second leg of the journey will depart from Mauritius, to carry out research around the waters of Madagascar and the southern plateau of the Mascarene before continuing on to Cape Town, South Africa.
On-board we have a high-resolution Videograb, allowing us to register images up to 2500 meters deep. As we did during our last survey trip, we’ll be identifying marine species, and exploring the seamounts, bottom habitats and vulnerable marine ecosystems of the deep seas.
On this journey, we will also be studying the southern Indian Ocean Gyre. Gyres are large systems of circular ocean currents, formed by global wind patterns and forces related to the Earth’s rotation. Since the gyres circulate areas of relatively calm waters, these areas tend to accumulate much of the marine debris and plastics accumulating in our oceans. Researchers aboard will be studying this phenomena in the southern Indian Ocean Gyre.
As during our last survey trip, we’re lucky enough to have gathered a team of international scientists on board the Nansen during this voyage, and they are available to answer your questions. We’re hoping to hear from all you future marine biologists and marine researchers out there.
So join us once again on board the R/V Dr. Fridtjof Nansen for this exciting Indian Ocean survey trip. Read our blog posts and view our images right here during the duration of our journey, and follow us on the Twitter hashtag #EAFNansen – and please help spread the word yourself.
We’re excited to have you along on this journey! Anchors away …
26/006/2015