Ecosystem Survey Scientists Venture Further in the Barents Sea

According to WorldFishing.com, during this year’s Ecosystem Survey the ocean scientists will be studying further north and eastward in the Barents Sea.

The cruise coordinator Lis Lindal Jørgensen says: “We take grab samples of the ocean floor to find out what lives in bottom sediments. We use a beam trawl to sample what lives in the water column. We also use pelagic trawls to sample organisms that live farther up in the surface waters”.

Using a sonar the scientists will estimate the population of different fish species. They will also collect water samples and pay attention to pollution.

Onboard the Norwegian research vessel Helmer Hanssen, the scientists will travel further north of Svalbard than during previous expeditions. Also the Russian vessel Vilnjus will venture further north and eastward of Franz Josef Land.

A total of four research vessels are participating in the Ecosystem Survey, the three Norwegian will cover the Norwegian part of the Barents Sea and the Russian one will cover the Russian part of the Barents Sea.

[mappress]

Subsea World News Staff, September 20, 2012