The FS ALKOR, operated by the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel, embarked on a two-week journey in the western Baltic Sea to investigate the distribution of micro- and nanoplastics. On board a team of scientists from the PlastTrack project. With new portable equipment, some of the samples could already be analyzed on the ship.
The map highlights the journey over two weeks, which took us from the northern German coast to the eastern and southern coast of Denmark and back to Kiel.
In bright sunshine at 8 o’clock, the ship sailed out in order to sample the first station in immediate vicinity to its home port – the Kiel Fjord. At all stations, a pump was used to filter large amounts of water in the search for microplastics. Additionally, seawater was enriched via advanced filtration techniques to retain even smaller micro- and nanoplastics for subsequent analysis. Moreover, two so-called ‘Marine Snow Catchers’ were deployed to sample particles from different depths. These include marine aggregates that potentially contain microplastics as well.
In between stations, a catamaran was deployed to sample larger microplastics from the sea surface. These particles were manually picked and analyzed onboard already: To identify different plastic types, scientists used a Raman spectrometer and a multispectral camera from our partner Newtec.
While the first day was hectic for the researchers and the crew, more and more routine set in over time. Samplings and analyses were repeated throughout the 11-day cruise at 14 different stations and different depths, providing us with an overview of the area. Initial results indicate the presence of microplastics in the water.
The Alkor cruise collected a substantial number of samples, and it will take time to analyze them thoroughly. We will share further details as we incorporate the lab analysis over the coming months. Please follow us on LinkedIn or Instagram for more information.
We sincerely appreciate GEOMAR’s partnership in the PlastTrack project and the opportunity to be on board the research vessel. We extend our gratitude to all our dedicated partners who joined: Anja Engel, Sebastian Primpke, Stefan Dittmar, Lisa Gaertner, Sandra Golde, Bjarke Jensen, Anders Jørgensen, Leon De Panfilis, Ayoub Laghrissi, Luisa Bösser, Simone Heilgeist, Carmen Redl, and the exceptional crew of the Alkor, whose contributions are integral to our progress! Big thanks also to the Sails of Change Racing team that cooperated and contributed their SubCTech Sampler for continuous sampling during the cruise.
