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R/V Skagerak expeditions
From Iceland, Greenland and Svalbard to the Baltic Sea – the research conducted on board R/V Skagerak contributes to a deeper understanding of our oceans. Here you will find information about scientific expeditions carried out since the vessel’s inauguration in the summer of 2021. For the current year, both completed and planned expeditions are included. Please note that commercial missions and educational activities are not included in this overview.
2025
Project name: Marine environmental monitoring of soft seabeds (PMK)
Principal investigator: Arne Nygren
Project summary:
We will collect samples from Strömstad to Öresund from soft sediments using a grab. The main objective is to collect data in order to monitor changes in the soft bottom macrofaunal communities.
Project name: REDRESS@Bratten
Principal investigator: Laurenz Thomsen
Project summary:
The funded EU project REDRESS (2024-2028, 27 partners, 11 M€) aims at reversing habitat degradation and biodiversity loss by actively restoring damaged deep-sea habitats and promoting passive recovery, developing an EU scalable plan, based on innovative or existing and tested solutions, and a process of commitments for deep-sea restoration within governance, financing systems and the public. One ambition of REDRESS is to identify priority areas for deep-sea restoration.
It will develop and use innovative approaches and demonstrate their technological readiness for deep-sea restoration and for future upscale interventions. The monitoring and maintenance of the restoration activities are key components to ensure the restoration success over time. REDRESS dedicates an entire WP to implement the use of technologies already available but never deployed in an integrated manner to support the active restoration and the (semi-automatic) monitoring of measuring the success of the interventions.
This WP couples the most advanced (and cost-efficient) technologies to support active and passive restoration success in deep-sea habitats. One priority area is the Swedish MPA Bratten. where soft-bottom habitats were heavily impacted by bottom trawling. The monitoring and restoration site at Bratten is located within the in the “Sjöpennebottnar” no-take zone in the “Bratten MPA” covering 2000 ha, an offshore area largely within the Swedish EEZ in the Skagerrak, at a depth of 200-560m. The restoration will focus on the reintroduction of i) the pennatulacean F. quadrangularis, ii) sponges of the genus Suberites, iii) N. norvergicus, and iv) holothurians of the genus Stichopus. The working group of Laurenz Thomsen from GU will monitor the sediment topography and plume dispersal within the restoration site and test new robotic interventions in collaboration with NIOZ and GEOMAR. The partner institutions will deploy heavy oceanographic equipment including landers and robots to monitor the ecosystem. One week of shiptime is proposed for summer 2025.
Project name: Pathways and Mixing of dense waters across the Faroe-Shetland channel
Principal investigator: Fabien Roquet
Project summary:
The Faroe Bank Channel is the deepest passage across the Greenland-Scotland Ridge, allowing dense waters from the Nordic Seas to flow into the North Atlantic, forming the lower North Atlantic Deep Water, a crucial element of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). This project aims to enhance the understanding of the pathways and mechanisms by which these waters progress from their ventilation sources to the Faroe Bank Channel, a process critical for predicting how climate change may impact the AMOC. Recent research suggests two main pathways for water reaching the Faroe Bank Channel, one along the northern flank of the Faroe Plateau and another, deeper route retroflecting from the Norwegian slope. Both paths converge in the Faroe-Shetland Channel (FSC), a key conduit for dense overflow waters, before reaching the Faroe Bank Channel. The mechanisms by which waters from these two different paths merge within the FSC remain unclear, with mesoscale eddies likely playing a significant role.
This expedition will collect hydrographic and current meter data to analyze water transport across the Faroe-Shetland Channel and map out the recently discovered retroflection of waters originating from the Norwegian slope. Measurements of mixing using a microstructure sensor will help estimate the location and rate of transformation of water masses across the FSC. Surveys from a glider during the same period will bring an unprecedented sampling of this critical region. The study aims to improve our understanding of eddy dynamics and flow-bottom interaction in the channel, and how these processes contribute to the FBC overflow, supporting more accurate predictions of AMOC behavior in a warming climate.
Project name: NCPOR - East Greenland shelf expedition
Principal investigator: Nuncio Murukesh
Project summary:
Cruise proposed in the Greenland shelf and Denmark Strait to study the Transport across the Denmark strait and the phytoplankton/microbiological and geochemical characteristics. 37 sampling stations are proposed with CTD and nutrient and chlorophyll in all the stations, while other microbiological and biological sampling will be carried out after every two stations. We also plan to deploy underway CTD as well as zooplankton sampling using vertical plankton nets at selected stations. We will also require ADCP
Project name: SPRS, BAS, GU Greenland Skagerak expedition August 2025, ECR program
Principal investigator: Julia Christin Muchowski
Project summary:
ECR program (ECR= Early Career Researcher).
Project name: Exploration of Bratton Cold Coral Area
Principal investigator: Rhian Waller
Project summary:
These cruises are part of Naturvårdsverket and Formas submitted proposals, so will not go without those proposals being funded. The research will be to do ROV surveys for biodiversity in three regions within the Bratten Marine Protected Area. One area will be within a totally closed zone, one on the edge of this zone and one within an open fisheries area.
The plan is for two cruises, 18 months apart (so sampling two seasons). All areas will need surveying with multibeam before ROV deployment (TML ROV is provisionally included in the proposal, though the hope is to find a more suitable system to be able to use - cofunding with other proposals would be welcomed). We will deploy a 12 month rotating sediment trap and 3 ARMS panels at each location. We will also subsample three species of cold water coral at each location during each cruise.
Project name: SkaMix@UGOT
Principal investigator: Göran Broström
Project summary:
This project will be carried out in collaboration with German, Swedish, and Norwegian partners. Germany partners have applied for ship-time for two medium sized research vessels (RV Elisabeth Mann Borghese and RV Heinke). We aim to take part in this international experiment with RV Skagerak.
SkaMix is an international effort to investigate water mass transformation in Skagerak. In 2025, two German Ships and RV Skagerak will do synchronized detailed investigation of mixing dynamics and drift patterns. The GU team will focus on southern Skagerrak and the Kattegat-Skagerrak front. In addition, we want to combine the 2025 expedition with a follow up expedition in 2026 that focuses on mixing conditions and transport pathways in Kattegat. We will make use of other GU infrastructure where available, such as gliders, autonomous surface vehicles (USVs) to supplement the ship-based observations. Ship funding is secured for 2025 and 2026, and we will submit a proposal to FORMAS to support these expeditions.
The central objective of SkaMix is to obtain a quantitative understanding of water mass transformation processes in a complex ocean mixing hotspot region, the Skagerrak that connects the Baltic Sea and the Kattegat with the North Sea. The processes in the Skagerrak as a prototype water mass transformation region determine the fate of at least three inflowing water masses (Baltic outflow, Jutland current, Atlantic water) that create two outflowing water masses (Norwegian Coastal Current, Baltic inflow). Those outflowing water masses with their hydrographic signature (temperature, salinity) and biogeochemical constituents (e.g., oxygen, nutrients, organisms) are source waters for large water bodies such as the Baltic Sea and the Norwegian Sea that determine their dynamics and ecosystem processes.
The key research questions of SkaMix are:
1. What are the inflowing and outflowing currents in the Skagerrak and what is the T-S signature and their strength? How does this vary spatially and temporally? , as function of time and space?
2. What are the major drivers for the variability and trends of the transports of these currents?
3. What are the major processes that drive the water mass transformation inside the Skagerrak?
4. What are the pathways of water masses inside the Skagerrak and what are the residence times of these water masses?
5. How can the results from the Skagerrak expedition be generalized for other oceanic water mass transformation hotspots?
6. How can the numerical framework of this region be transferred to other mixing hotspots?
Project name: High resolution trace gas dynamics in fjords
Principal investigator: Stefano Bonaglia
Project summary:
Emissions of the potent greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) are far from being resolved, especially in remote marine areas such as fjords. Eutrophic and anoxic fjords can be emission hotspots, but budgets remain undeveloped. Here I aim to test whether deoxygenation, the loss of oxygen due to excessive nutrients, enhances greenhouse gas emissions by investigating gas fluxes at high spatial resolution along fjords with clear oxygen gradients. The work is organized in two work packages to: (1) resolve spatial patterns of CO2, N2O and CH4 air-sea exchange; (2) create fjord budgets to extrapolate the obtained fluxes globally. Underway laser detectors and stable isotope analyses will be used to resolve emissions and geochemical pathways driving greenhouse gas fluxes. This will make it possible to construct the first global assessment of the importance of fjords in oceanic trace gas budgets. By crossing the boundaries between biogeochemistry and oceanography, this project will close significant gaps in our understanding of coastal trace gas dynamics and resolve imbalances in current budgets. It will reveal whether expansion of anoxia represents positive feedback for climate change, and ultimately build arguments for managing nutrient enrichment.
Project name: Identification and distribution of harmful organic substances in connection to un-exploded ordinance (UXO)
Principal investigator: Katarina Abrahamsson
Project summary:
Here, we propose to study the occurrence and distribution of these compounds in an area outside Måseskär on the Swedish west coast, where several warships with ammunition where sunken after WW2. The methodology to be used is a universal sensor based on Raman spectroscopy with subsequent processing with machine learning. A number of compounds identified as chemical warfare agents ahave distinct Raman spectrum which enables us to identify these compounds in single measurements. The sediments will be investigated, if possible, with the sensor mounted on a crawler. In addition water samples will be collected. The sampling sites will be identified utilizing the hydro acoustic equipment on Skagerak.
2024
Project title: Microplastics in the Hakefjord
Principal investigators: Irina Polovodova Asteman and Karin Mattsson
About the project:
Plastic debris in a large variety of sizes can be found in all ecosystems around the world and microplastics have been reported as highly abundant in the marine debris. Microplastics are present in marine environments as primary particles or as secondary particles. Primary particles are those manufactured in the micrometer size range, such as virgin plastic pellets or powders, whereas secondary particles are fragments derived from larger items. Primary particles can further be divided into microplastic particles that are intentionally added to products or those that are unintentionally released into the environment e.g. tires and synthetic fibers. The particles in the environment will degrade due to physical, chemical, mechanical and biological processes.
The plastic particles in the water will sooner or later sink and end up on the seafloor. Hence, from a monitoring perspective, marine sediment is a vital reservoir accumulating microplastics. Water samples dominate presently published studies but only capture floating and lighter particles, and is highly influenced by spatiotemporal variability and patchiness. Ocean sediments, which accumulate MP over time, thus build up natural archives, which can tell about temporal changes in the microplastics accumulation back to preindustrial times.
Specific objectives of this research cruise:
- Tracking historical microplastic pollution from two large industries in Stenungsund producing PE, PP and PVC pre-production pellets.
- Identifying other sources of plastic pollution over time and investigate their trends by using sediment cores from Hakefjorden.
- Identifying degradation levels in the marine environment for pre-production plastic pellets.
Project title: Developing methods for studying the ice-ocean boundary layer
Principal investigator: Anna Wåhlin
About the project:
Reliable representation of mixing processes is needed for a correct estimation of ocean budgets and global flows of energy, freshwater, salt, nutrients and carbon, and better knowledge in this area will lead to more reliable models for prediction of climate and sea-level rise.
An inherent uncertainty is that the nonlinear processes that lead to the energy cascade from large to small scales are not possible to solve analytically even in simplified forms, and that they are prone to numerical instability. Numerous laboratory experiments have been performed for example in pipes and channels to quantify the energy cascade. Much fewer experiments have been conducted in the ocean, where fundamental knowledge gaps still exist. In this project we will examine the interaction of the buoyancy-driven (forced by glacial meltwater) and the shelf-driven circulation in the waters around Svalbard including Storfjorden fast ice, and the dynamics in the near-ice zone.
The mixing processes will be investigated using ship-based instrumentation (CTD, MSS) as well as similar instruments carried by our ROV. In each area we will perform transects and process studies one underneath and near the base of the ice in the inner part of Storfjorden, as well as near the seabed. From this we will get information about the mixing properties of the ice-water mixture and any buoyant meltwater plumes.
Project title: GreenFeedBack
Principal investigator: Thanos Gkritzalis
About the project:
The research proposed is based on observations on CO2, CH4 and carbonate system parameters using the vessels underway (UW) system and also by collecting samples from the UW system and CTD rosette. The data collected will be used within a wider time series analysis of similar data collected over the past years in the area, in order to identify trends and variability of concentrations and air-sea fluxes of CO2 and CH4. Emphasis will also be given to the carbonate system parameters (pH, Alkalinity, Dissolved carbon) that can contribute to the previous analysis but also provide insights of Ocean Acidification and capacity of waters to absorb CO2. The final (quality controlled) data will be submitted to the Surface Ocean Carbon Atlas (SOCAT, ) .
Project title: Hornsund grooves
Principal investigator: Michele Rebesco
About the project:
We aim at collecting a pilot test Topas profile on the outer continental shelf offshore the Hornsund Fjord (west of Spitsbergen) to image the geometry of the shallow sediments (upper tens of meters) in correspondence of tens of km long grooves sub-parallel to the shelf edge. The surface morphology and cross-section geometry of these sediments are inferred to allow the reconstruction of remarkable glacio-tectonic processes occurred in consequence of the retreat of grounded ice following the Last Glacial Maximum.
Project title: Raman sensor test - a comparison of two types of spectrometers
Principal investigator: Katarina Abrahamsson
About the project:
This project compares two different Raman spectrometers through the measurements of surface water. The project is part of the SSF funded project SMaRC and the ultimate goal is to develop a universal Raman sensor for organic compounds in lower nM concentrations.
We will make use of the transit cruise from Svalbard to Gothenburg 24 August to 31 of August. No shiptime is required since sampling will be made from the surface water intake of the ship.
Project title: Radionuclides in the Norwegial Coastal Current
Principal investigator: Habacuc Perez Tribouillier
About the project:
This project aims to measure iodine-129 and uranium-236 in surface waters sampled along the Norwegian coast. These data will be used to better constrain the mechanisms of surface transport of radionuclides into the Arctic Ocean.
Project title: 36-hour activity in Norwegian fjords
Principal investigator: Tobia Politi
About the project:
The 36-hour activity will be conducted as an independent underway cruise in Norway, takin advantage of Anna Wåhlin's voyage to Svalbard. This research study focuses on investigating benthic greenhouse gas fluxes and organic carbon burial rates in a Norwegian fjord system. Activities include sediment sampling, sediment cores collection, and water column sampling over a 36-hour window activity. Sediment will be collected using both box cores and a Gemini corer, while water column samples will be obtained via CTD-rosette at two different fjords: Fensfjorden and Masfjorden, located in the vicinity of Bergen, Norway. A team of 5-6 researchers will participate, affiliated with the University 91̽ (1-3), University of Bergen (1-2), and the University of St Andrews (2).
Project title: Marin miljöövervakning mjukbottnar (PMK)
Principal investigator: Arne Nygren
About the project:
Insamling av prover från Strömstad till Öresund från mjuka sediment med hjälp av en gripskopa. Huvudsyftet att samla in data för att kunna övervaka förändringar i makrofauna-samhällen på mjukbotten.
Project title: C2B2 Offshore Test Day #1
Principal investigator: Torsten Linders
About the project:
Mistra Co-Create Better Blue, C2B2, test day on board R/V Skagerak.
2023
Project title: Baltic Sea 2023
Principal investigator: Isaac Santos
About the project:
Perform tracer measurements to estimate submarine groundwater discharge to the Baltic Sea and related fluxes of pollutants.
Project title: Identifying glacial melt processes in Greenland fjords
Principal investigator: Anna Wåhlin
About the project:
Reliable representation of mixing processes is needed for a correct estimation of ocean budgets and global flows of energy, freshwater, salt, nutrients and carbon, and better knowledge in this area will lead to more reliable models for prediction of climate and sea-level rise.
An inherent uncertainty is that the nonlinear processes that lead to the energy cascade from large to small scales are not possible to solve analytically even in simplified forms, and that they are prone to numerical instability.
Numerous laboratory experiments have been performed for example in pipes and channels to quantify the energy cascade. Much fewer experiments have been conducted in the ocean, where fundamental knowledge gaps still exist. In this project we will examine the interaction of the buoyancy-driven (forced by glacial meltwater) and the shelf-driven circulation in three Greenland fjords, and the dynamics in the near-ice zone.
Rapid mass loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet has sparked interest in its glacial fjords since the anomalous freshwater thus discharged from Greenland is transformed by fjord processes before being released into the large-scale ocean. Knowledge of the fjords’ dynamics is thus key to understanding global ocean circulation and climate. The deep sills and grounded glaciers of Greenland’s fjords make them unique systems that deviate from present understanding of fjord circulation.
The mixing processes in the fjords will be investigated using ship-based instrumentation (CTD, MSS) as well as similar instruments carried by our AUV Ran. In each fjord we will perform two AUV missions - one underneath and near the base of the ice melange in the inner fjord, and one near the seabed in the inner fjord. From the mission near the ice melange we will get information about the mixing properties of the ice-water mixture and any buoyant meltwater plumes. From the mission near the seabed we will get information about historical changes of the ice conditions in the fjord. During the course of the AUV missions we will occupy three transects across the fjord and one along-fjord transect with the ship, stopping at regularly-spaced CTD stations where we will also get MSS microstructure data.
Project name: Iceland shelf 2023
Principal investigator: Isaac Santos
About the project:
Estimate terrestrial carbon fluxes from Eastern Iceland glaciers to the surrounding ocean.
Investigate submarine groundwater discharge from Eastern Iceland glaciers to the surrounding ocean.
Investigate sediment properties and biogeochemical processes in sediments.
Water column sampling using Rosette with water bottles or pumps.
- Seawater (surface and bottom) and shallow sediment samples (up to 50 cm penetration into sediments).
- Water samples also for natural geochemical tracers, nutrients, carbon, and heavy metals.
Multibeam echosounder and sonars.
Sediment sampling using multiple corer, box-corer and/or GEMAX corer.
Project name: Young chemists' fjord expedition 2023
Principal investigator: Stefano Bonaglia
About the project:
This project will investigate how environmental gradients in oxygen and contaminant concentrations affect the marine carbon cycle in boreal fjords. We will use R/V Skagerak to sample inside two fjords on the West Coast of Sweden to test how anthropogenic pollution affects biogeochemical and microbial processes in seawater and sediments. Each fjord will be sampled along transects from head to mouth (see voyage maps) to be able to catch the gradients in oxygen and pollutants. The cruise is fully sponsored by surplus funds by Prof. emer. David Turner. His main wish is to see this as an opportunity for young marine chemists at the department to try out new ideas, instruments, and to explore opportunities for collaboration while working together on new R/V Skagerak.
Project title: Marin miljöövervakning mjukbottnar (PMK)
Principal investigator: Arne Nygren
About the project:
Collecting samples (0,1 m2 grab) from Öresund to Strömstad from soft sediments.
Project title: SEEPS II
Principal investigator: Katarina Abrahamsson
About project:
The suggested cruise has multiple aims all related to gas seepage and/or gas deposits and pockmarks in sediments with the aim to study the effect and source of possible methane seeps in the Skagerak. One aim is to verify and test a newly developed sensor based on Raman spectroscopy and machine learning. Secondly, a novel technique for the determination of biomarkers in sediments will be applied in order to evaluate formation and degradation rates of methane and to attribute methanes origin through the isotopic composition. Thirdly, image analysis and machine learning will be used to develop a method to automate morphological species identification for key microfossil species.
Project title: Baltic Sea ice dynamics
Principal investigator: Anna Wåhlin
About the project:
Ice covers 14 percent of the world's oceans, and primarily in the polar regions that are presently experiencing more rapid climate change than the rest of the world. The presence of sea ice removes or reduces surface waves and the direct action of the wind on the ocean surface is removed. Therefor the processes that normally mediates the transfer of momentum, heat, and gas between the atmosphere and ocean are inhibited or changed. However, the properties and processes in the under-ice boundary layer are not sufficiently constrained by observations. Measuring turbulence near ice boundary is challenging and only a few direct measurements exist. The challenges are posed by logistical problems in reaching the ice-covered areas, and to access the underside of the ice itself to place sensors in the boundary layer sufficiently close to the ice. Remote sensing of turbulence is a way of accessing the boundary layer without disturbing the medium itself, and by equipping an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) with an upward-looking remote (acoustic) turbulence sensor it is possible to scan the underside to get detailed spatial information of the turbulence and mixing. Since the AUV swims in underneath the ice the environment will be undisturbed. In order to understand the processes causing the turbulence it is also necessary to get information about the ice structure and thickness distribution, as well as the movement of the ice.
In this project we will test equipment for surveying of the ice-ocean boundary layer that we will later bring to Greenland fjords and to Antarctica under the great floating glaciers in the Antarctic coast. We will also ground truth remote sensing data, and retrieve a unique data set that allows new calculation of internal ice stress.
Project title: Nord Stream explosion - where will the methane go?
Principal investigator: Katarina Abrahamsson
About the project:
The explosion of the gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and 2 on the 26th of September was one of the largest unnatural releases of methane. Methane is one of the strongest greenhouse gases therefore focus was put on the magnitude of the release of methane to the atmosphere. The applied project is for a follow up cruise that was performed one week after the event. The aim is to determine the fate of methane released into sea water in relation to the estimated amount of release to the atmosphere. The studies include determination of methane, the planktonic community as well as other more conservative climate active gases.
2022
2021
Project title: Sedimentsampling Skagerrak
Principal investigator: Don Canfield
About the project:
We will be collecting sediment from stations S9, S6 and S4 from Canfield et al (1993) in the Skagerrak. Lab work on board will include sediment slicing, pore water extraction, oxygen penetration depth measurements and sediment incubations.
Principal investigator: Per Hall
About the project:
Sediment sampling and lander deployments in the three fjords Hakefjorden, Byfjorden and Gullmarsfjorden.
About the project:
Water column and sediment sampling, and benthic lander deployments at seven stations in the WGB.
Probably a number of glider deployments in the WGB.
Water column sampling on a number of stations during transit Gothenburg – WGB and back, and in the WGB.