Eirini and Eva from our group are currently on board the German research vessel Maria S. Merian in the North Atlantic close to Svalbard to sample fluids from the Jøtul hydrothermal vent field. With the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) from MARUM, we can sample the fluids discharging out of the vent structures at a depth of 3000 meters. The ROV usually gets deployed at 8 am and after a descent of 2 hours to reach the ocean floor, we have 8 hours to explore the structures of the Jøtul hydrothermal vent field. As soon as the ROV is back on deck, the scientists are already waiting to receive the precious samples collected by the ROV. Our team is operating the KIPS (Kiel Pumping System), which can pump the fluids via a nozzle with a temperature sensor into 4 bottles, each having a volume of 750 ml. As soon as the bottles are back in the lab, the pervasive smell of H2S gives us already a first hint if the sampling has worked out. Afterwards, all the samples get filtered, separated into different aliquots, and preserved for further analysis on land.
The weather is always a challenge for the deployment of the ROV, but we are currently preparing for our next ROV dive.
