Josephine Bank, 36 ° 18´´ N, 14 °22´´ W

On September 11^th, around 6h PM, the survey, BIOMETORE 8, departed from Funchal with a new technical team on board of the RV Noruega. After a few days anchored in the port of Funchal, to solve a technical problem related to the Rosette (the equipment that will allow us to sample the water, to accomplish several goals like the molecular identification of bacteria and the phytoplanktonic communities of the study area - particularly coccolithophores and obtain data on several physical seawater parameters, we departed towards the second transect on the Seine seamount. The Rosette was operational due to the precious help of Cadiz University colleagues (http://www.uca.es/es/) that lend us the module that broke down during the BIOMETORE 7 survey. The survey has been going very well, and today, 14^th of September, we are already cruising towards Josephine seamount. The technical team has been in good spirits and life on board has been vibrant. The meal moments are always one of the high points of the day, and even when sea sickness intensifies, the kitchen's crew kindly prepares a comforting chicken soup!

We expect to begin working on the first Josephine seamount station by 6h AM. The work conducted in each station follows a protocol, being the first equipment to be placed in the water the microprofiler, already affectionately baptized as Josefina. This oceanographic equipment allows the detection of micro variations on the currents and water masses of seawater column where plankton aggregations might possibly happen.

We will continue to share news from this campaign. See You soon!

Ficheiro anexado 331220160923_IPMA - Detalhe noticia.pdf