The "Zephyr" is the new research boat of the Institute of Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM). It is small, manoeuvrable and fast - and is intended to help understand the little-researched interaction of the Wadden Sea between land and the open North Sea.
It is named after a Greek wind deity who epitomises the mild westerly wind: Zephyr, the new research boat of the Institute of Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM) at the University of Oldenburg. University President Prof. Dr Babette Simon christened it last week in Oldenburg harbour. The boat joins the ships Otzum and Navicula in the ICBM's research fleet. With a draught of just 30 centimetres, it is particularly suitable for operations in the low water of the Wadden Sea and near the coast.
"With its internationally recognised environmental and marine research, the ICBM makes an important contribution to coastal conservation," says Simon. The Zephyr offers an important research infrastructure that the ICBM relies on to answer challenging questions and conduct internationally recognised research. The availability of such a ship is also an important and valuable asset for the particularly research-oriented courses in the field of environmental and marine research, for example in the Marine Environmental Sciences or Marine Sensor Technology degree programmes at the University of Oldenburg.
The Feltz shipyard in Hamburg built the seven and a half metre long and two and a half metre wide research boat, which can accommodate five people. A 150 hp outboard engine propels the Zephyr at a top speed of up to 20 knots (37 km/h). The research boat is equipped with three measuring workstations and state-of-the-art research instruments such as an echo sounder, a weather station and DGPS navigation. At the stern of the Zephyr is an instrument frame that allows measurements to be taken with specially developed probes or sidescan sonar. A crane boom can be used to take water samples with a box or crane water grab at a depth of up to 50 metres. And a so-called "moonpool", a shaft in the hull of the ship, allows measuring probes to be deployed during the journey.
"The Zephyr is an extraordinarily manoeuvrable and fast research boat. We can use it to collect measurement data at different locations, at different tides and in different weather conditions within a very short space of time," explains Prof Dr Oliver Zielinski, Professor of Marine Sensor Systems at the university.
The Zephyr's area of operation extends from the Ems to the Elbe, but is mainly in the Wadden Sea and the Jade Bay. The boat can be used to collect measurement data that provides information about the transport of sediments and nutrients in the tidal flats - the current channels between islands. Among other things, the scientists are investigating the question of whether the Wadden Sea is drawing more nutrients from the North Sea or releasing more nutrients into it. The interaction of the Wadden Sea between land and the open North Sea is currently still poorly researched, emphasises Zielinski. "By using the Zephyr, we hope to obtain measurement data that will make it possible to analyse mass transport and thus promote coastal protection in times of climate change."