2a Kiel-KOSMOS,  IFM-GEOMAR, GERMANY

Transnational Access in 2012

Description of the infrastructure The Kiel Off-Shore Mesocosms for future Ocean Simulations - KOSMOS - at IFM-GEOMAR in Kiel is a newly established ocean observatory and experimentation system for deployment in open waters. A first prototype designed in 2005 was progressively improved based on numerous tests in wave simulation tanks and in the field. With its first full-scale field applications in the Gotland Sea, Proper Baltic in the summer of 2007 and 2008 KOSMOS is the first mesocosm system worldwide successfully operated in off-shore waters. The mesocosm system can be deployed from any mid-sized research vessel. It presently comprises 6 free-floating units, each consisting of a floatation frame (5.8 m high, 2.8 m diameter, made of fiber-glass and stainless steel) and a 2 m diameter, 20 meter long flexible bag. After deployment of the mesocosm unit, the bag unfolds by weights pulling down its lower end to depth, thereby enclosing a water column 65 m2 in volume. The bag is then closed at the bottom by acrylic plastic shutters. At this stage, manipulation of the enclosed water body can start according to the experimental requirements. Experimental perturbations include nutrient additions, CO2 enrichment, and additions of invading species.

Click on the picture to download a presentation about the EPOCA campaign at Ny Ålesund in 2010

Following tests in 2007 and 2008, the mesocosms were upgraded with new extremely strong bottom-plates (in polycarbonate plastic). The length of the floatation frames was also increased to 6.3 m. The complete system will undergo several test deployments during spring and summer 2009 in the Baltic, where after it was deployed in the Arctic in late spring/early summer 2010.

In a cooperative mesocosm experiment, MESOAQUA joined forces with the FP7 project EPOCA (European Project on OCean Acidification) to conduct a full-scale mesocosm CO2 enrichment experiment in the Kongsfjord, Svalbard, in late spring/early summer 2010. The experiment was coordinated by IFM-GEOMAR and allowed MESOAQUA partners and external users to team up with EPOCA scientists to study the impacts of CO₂-induced ocean acidification on a high Arctic plankton community. The comprehensive data set generated by this joint activity, made available through open access to all involved partners, will allow an integrative approach study of the complex responses of pelagic communities to climate change.

Services offered by the infrastructure:
Users had the unique opportunity to participate in multidisciplinary mesocosm experiments carried out in the open seas under close to natural conditions and users
• Were able to carry out their specific measurements during coordinated mesocosm experiments
• Have had unrestricted access to the large data sets generated by all participants of the experiment
• Contributed to obtaining an integrated view of the responses of a complex biological system, the pelagic ecosystem.
• Were part of a high-profile, high-visibility research project and be able to interact with leading scientists from a wide range of disciplines, ranging from marine and atmospheric chemists, cell and molecular biologists, marine ecologists, to biogeochemists and physical oceanographers.

 Transnational Access in 2012

 Effects of ocean acidification on a plankton community dominated by diazotrophic cyanobacteria in the eastern Baltic Sea

see Calendar 2012

 

In the framework of the German collaborative research project SOPRAN (Surface Ocean Processes in the ANthropocene; http://sopran.pangaea.de/front_content.php?idcat=253 ) we are preparing for a large-scale mesocosm experiment in June/July 2012 to investigate the effects of CO2-induced seawater acidification on plankton communities. This study, which is intended to focus on nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterial communities in the Baltic Sea, will involve about 25 scientists from several universities and research institutes.

The study will be carried out in nine mobile mesocosms which will be deployed in the eastern Baltic Sea off the coast of Finland and will be sampled daily from zodiacs. Scientists involved in this project will be stationed at the Tvärminne Zoological station of the University of Helsinki (http://luoto.tvarminne.helsinki.fi/english/). To get an idea of the overall approach, you can find a short movie describing a KOSMOS mesocosm experiment off Svalbard at the following website: http://www.ifm-geomar.de/index.php?id=6109&L=1.

The study will be carried out in nine mobile mesocosms which will be deployed in the eastern Baltic Sea off the coast of Finland and will be sampled daily from zodiacs. Scientists involved in this project will be stationed at the Tvärminne Zoological station of the University of Helsinki (http://luoto.tvarminne.helsinki.fi/english/). To get an idea of the overall approach, you can find a short movie describing a KOSMOS mesocosm experiment off Svalbard at the following website: http://www.ifm-geomar.de/index.php?id=6109&L=1.

Approximate dates: June 15 to July 24, 2012
Location: Tvärminne Zoological Station, Finland
Coordinating institute: IFM-GEOMAR, Kiel, Germany
Contact person: Michael Meyerhöfer (mmeyerhoefer@ifm-geomar.de)

The application deadline for MESOAQUA Transnational Access was 30 September 2011, 12:00 CET. The applications are currently in review process by the independent SAB. 

Contact:

Modality of access under MESOAQUA:  MESOAQUA offers 100-150 person-days for Transnational Access between June and July 2012.
 
Support offered to users includes:
• The full operation of the KOSMOS facility during mesocosm experiments
• Logistical and technical coordination of the research activity
• Access to work at the research station
• Coordinated data exchange and data workshops

KOSMOS mesocosms deployed in Raunefjord off Bergen, Norway in 2011-07-12

KOSMOS – Mesocosm-Experiment in Svalbard 2010: From 1 June to 15 July 2010 (see Calendar 2010) the new developed and successfully tested KOSMOS (Kiel-Off-Shore-Mesocosms for future Ocean Simulation) was deployed in the Arctic waters around Svalbard. Nine of the 8 m high and 2 t heavy floating bodies with their 17 m long bags allowed scientists to simulate ocean acidification in approximately 40 m³ water, each. After the addition of gaseous CO₂ in nine different concentrations the experiment will run approximately 6 weeks. During this time chemists, biogeochemists, ecologist and physicists analysed the phytoplankton blooms, growing under different conditions. Among variations in the biogeochemical processes and the air/sea gas exchanges especially the arctic pteropods and calcifying larvae are of interest. Results gathered in mono-culture lab experiments suggest that the calcification rates of these organisms seem to be affected by ocean acidification.

Read more information on the Ocean Acidification experiment using KOSMOS on the EPOCA website.