Two members of the EMSO research community participated in the RV Meteor M216 cruise, carried out in the Mediterranean Sea between 13 January and 9 February with measuring stations ranging from Cyprus to Greece, Italy and Spain to the Strait of Gibraltar, further reinforcing collaboration between EMSO and other major European research infrastructures. The expedition was led by the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and brought together an international team of scientists aboard the German research vessel Meteor to assess the current physical and biogeochemical state of the Mediterranean Sea. The M216 cruise was part of the Mediterranean Sea Ship-based Hydrographic Investigations Program (Med-SHIP) which is the regional Mediterranean spin-off of the international observation programme Global Ocean Ship-based Hydrographic Investigations Program (GO-SHIP). The aim of Med-SHIP is to conduct repeated measurements along fixed sections to understand long-term developments in the Mediterranean Sea and deduce how the Mediterranean Sea is faring under the influence of climate change. The nearly month-long mission involved researchers from five countries and seven research institutions, including Vanessa Cardin (OGS – EMSO Southern Adriatic) and Thibaut Wagener (CNRS – EMSO Ligurian Sea). Their participation highlights the strong integration of EMSO observatories within the broader Mediterranean Sea Ship-based Hydrographic Investigations Program (Med-SHIP), an initiative aimed at sustaining high-quality hydrographic observations across the basin.
During the cruise, a dedicated station was occupied in the Southern Adriatic Pit, where water samples and hydrographic measurements were collected to support the validation and calibration of long-term mooring observations from the EMSO Southern Adriatic observatory. This activity illustrates the complementary roles of ship-based surveys and fixed ocean observatories: while EMSO provides continuous time-series measurements, programs such as Med-SHIP deliver basin-scale hydrographic snapshots that are essential for cross-validation and long-term climate assessment.
The collaboration demonstrates the importance of synergies among European research infrastructures and observing programs, combining sustained observatories, ship-based expeditions, and multidisciplinary expertise to improve the understanding of Mediterranean ocean dynamics and environmental change from the surface to the deep ocean.
Photo 1: EMSO personnel Vanessa Cardin and Thibaut Wagener strengthened collaboration during the M216 cruise sampling at the EMSO–SA site in the South Adriatic Sea (credit: V. Cardin, OGS).
Photo 2: M216 Cruise track and position of the EMSO SA Regional Facility (credit: T. Wagener)
Authors: Vanessa Cardin (OGS – EMSO SA), Thibaut Wagener (CNRS MIO – EMSO Ligurian)