Plattform Platform	Reise-Nr. Cruise-No.	Zeitraum Period	Projekt Project	Arbeitsgebiet Working area
Maria S. Merian	MSM13-04	21.11.2009 - 14.12.2009	HERMIONE	Mediterranean Sea, Eastern Basin

Fahrtleiter Chief Scientist	Institut Institute	Auslaufhafen Port of departure	Einlaufhafen Port of return	Stationskarte Station map	Schiffsroute Trackchart
Wenzhofer Frank	Max-Planck-Institut, Marine Mikrobiologie, Biogeochemie	Limassol	Limassol

Ziel der Reise / Objectives of Cruise:

The cruise leg MSM13/4 (21.11. - 14.12.2009) investigated chemosynthetic ecosystems of the deep Eastern Mediterranean. At fluid escape structures in water depths of 1000 - 2000 m energy rich chemical substances such as sulfur and hydrocarbon compounds are available to fuel rich and abundant microbial life and diverse chemosynthetic ecosystems. The main objectives of leg MSM13/4 were 1) to obtain a quantitative insight in element cycling and export at different types of fluid seeps in the Eastern Mediterranean and 2) to understand the relation and interaction between fluid seepage and seep biodiversity and community distribution. Another special type of chemosynthetic ecosystem investigated was large wood falls. Experiments have been deployed 3 and 2 years ago but also during the previous leg MSM13/3 and have been re-sampled and recovered to get a better understanding of temporal succession of wood degrading communities. The main technologies to study these chemosynthetic ecosystems were the ROV QUEST4000 (MARUM) equipped with a variety of payloads for in situ measurements (MPI Bremen) and sampling and the AUV B-SEAL (MARUM) for detailed near-field mapping of selected habitats with Multibeam and side scan sonar. Additionally an online heat flux corer (Ifm-Geomar) was used for in situ measurements of sediment temperature and thermal conductivity.

Messungen / Measurements