The EGIM (EMSO Generic Instrument Module) is a multimodal platform to which numerous sensors can be clamped on to measure diverse ocean variables like temperature, salinity, pressure, waves, oxygen, turbidity, pCO2, and so on. Such ocean observations are important for our understanding of the ocean and will improve our knowledge of e.g., fish activity assessment, hydrothermal vent fluids and particle dispersion, and environmental variation in the water column. The EGIM system has been developed in the EU project EMSO (https://emso.eu/2022/05/06/the-emso-generic-instrument-module-egim-standardized-and-interoperable-instrumentation-for-ocean-observation/), and the beauty of such a measuring system is that it is relatively easy to connect other platforms like moorings and sea bottom landers (see Lanteri et al., 2022).
One of the tasks in the EU project GEORGE (https://george-project.eu/) is to perform a test campaign of the EGIM at high latitudes. The Nordic Seas were chosen as this area represents the northernmost node in the EMSO consortium. EMSO is partner in GEORGE together with Argo (https://www.euro-argo.eu/) and ICOS (https://www.icos-cp.eu/).
After months of planning of the campaign and testing at the Ifremer facility, the equipment was shipped to Bergen for pre-cruise tests, and further to Tromsø, from where the cruise started. The EGIM was deployed from the Norwegian research vessel G. O. Sars with help from experts from Ifremer and University of Bergen.
On 27 September, the deployment started with a test at 10 m depth in the water column for a couple of hours, to compare the EGIM pCO2 data with the high precision pCO2 measurements already performed onboard the ship. Indeed, R/V G. O. Sars in one of 29 ICOS stations collecting underway pCO2 measurements, and thus, this campaign is a good example of cooperation between large infrastructure projects. The EGIM was deployed at a depth of 2000 m close to Station M in the Norwegian Sea. At Station M, NORCE and University of Bergen have been monitoring the hydrography and inorganic carbon cycle for many years. Thus, this site will ensure data for validation of the EGIM sensor performance in the future.
During a four months test period, the EGIM will monitor a variety of variables from Station M. In January 2025, the EGIM will be retrieved, and the next step is to prepare for a longer deployment at a hydrothermal vent at the Mohn Ridge between the Norwegian and Greenland Seas, which also is an EMSO site.
CTD sensor (Photo: Tor de Lange, University of Bergen)
References:
Lanteri et al. (2022), The EMSO Generic Instrument Module (EGIM): Standardized and Interoperable Instrumentation for Ocean Observation, doi: 10.3389/fmars.2022.801033
Author: Ingunn Skjelvan, NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, partner in EMSO through the Nordic Seas facility