Plattform Platform	Reise-Nr. Cruise-No.	Zeitraum Period	Projekt Project	Arbeitsgebiet Working area
Maria S. Merian	MSM20-3	19.02.2012 - 11.03.2012		South Atlantic Ocean North Atlantic Ocean

Fahrtleiter Chief Scientist	Institut Institute	Auslaufhafen Port of departure	Einlaufhafen Port of return	Stationskarte Station map	Schiffsroute Trackchart
Mulitza Stefan	Universitat Bremen, Zentrum fur Marine Umweltwissenschaften	Recife	Bridgetown

Ziel der Reise / Objectives of Cruise:

The Amazon rainforest plays a vital role for global climate through its influence on the water cycle and the atmospheric circulation. The primary goal of expedition MSm²0/3 was to explore the Holocene and Pleistocene climate history of the Amazon River basin in relation to changes in ocean circulation on millennial to decadal time scales as well as the Holocene development and architecture of the Amazon submarine delta. Specifically the retrieved samples shall allow to -relate changes in the composition of sediments deposited over the Anthropocene to changes in Amazon deforestation and discharge -assess the relative magnitude of historical changes in Amazon outflow and sedimentation against the background climate variability over the Holocene -reconstruct the decadal-scale variability of Amazon outflow and surface water hydrography over the last ~3000 years -understand the architecture and Holocene development of the Amazon submarine delta/mudbelt in relation to the precipitation history of the Amazon basin -analyse the internal clinoform build-up in time and space in high resolution with special emphasis on the foreset and bottomset beds where most of the accretion occur -image the surface structures (i.e., terraces, sand waves) on the Amazon shelf as well as possible mudflows/suspension flows -reconstruct millennial-scale variations in the position of the Brazilian rainbelt during the last ~50,000 years in relation to changes in ocean circulation -reconstruct millennial-scale variations in surface water hydrography during the last ~50,000 years in relation to changes in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation -complement existing core profiles to reconstruct changes in vertical water mass stratification in the western equatorial Atlantic. These goals required to sample sediments and the water column on the continental slope and shelf off northern Brazil (working areas A and B) and French Guiana (working area C) with gravity corer, multicorer, rosette/CTD, in-situ and shipboard pump systems. Since information on sediment structures were sparse in the working areas an intense site survey with PARASOUND and EM120/1002 was done prior to geological sampling. Furthermore high-resolution multichannel seismic system was used in working area B in order to understand the Holocene architecture and development of the Amazon submarine delta. All investigations have been carried out in the framework of the research areas 'Ocean and Climate' and 'Sediment Dynamics' of the DFG Research Center and Cluster of Excellence MARUM in close collaboration with the University of S?o Paulo.

Messungen / Measurements