AHOI Digital Earth

From 28th of October to 21st of November we boarded RV Meteor and took part in the scientific cruise M159. The overarching goal of this expedition was to improve our current understanding of the Atlantic circulation and with it gain a better understanding of the climate and coastal protection in Western Europe. The concrete tasks undertaken during this expedition consisted in sampling two transects along 11S and 5S off the coast of Brazil and a third one along 35W from 5S to 5N as well as the retrieval and deployment of 4 sensor moorings off the coast of Brazil and one off the coast of Cape Verde.

We were part of the CTD watches that deployed a sampling rosette with a CTD system, 22 Niskin Bottles, and wide array of other sensors. Our main work was the preparation and deployment of the devices as well as the retrieval of samples. In particular were responsible for monitoring the correct functioning of the underwater vision profiler (UVP5) for which Patrick also prepared weekly data evaluations.

Taking part in this cruise allowed us to gain deep insights into the mechanisms behind data acquisition at high seas. Everardo used these insights to further develop his data visualisation tools while Patrick seized the chance to test the in-situ operation of deep learning algorithms on portable, low cost hardware and to refine the CTD processing tool. Conversely we were glad to help other participants with their data manipulation matters and lent a hand during the mooring work.