Researchers blog from the "sun"

Within 34 days across the Pacific - from Auckland (New Zealand) to Dutch Harbour on the Aleutian Islands (Alaska). There are currently 40 scientists on this spectacular journey. They are not only researching, but also blogging: about the extraordinary and the everyday on board a state-of-the-art ship.
In search of the smallest creatures in the world's largest ocean: under the leadership of Oldenburg marine researcher Prof. Dr Meinhard Simon, 40 scientists from the University of Oldenburg have been on the high seas since 1 May. They are travelling across the Pacific in 34 days on the research vessel "Sonne". It is the first voyage of the research vessel, which was commissioned in 2014, under Oldenburg's leadership. Most of the scientists on board work at the Institute of Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM) at the University of Oldenburg, the ship's home institute. The marine researchers' common goal is to find out more about the bacterial communities in the various regions of the Pacific, the so-called biogeographical provinces. These provinces differ - just like provinces on land. In the sea, the focus is on differences in water temperature, salinity and the content of dissolved nutrients. The distribution of plant and animal microbes also differs from province to province. But are biogeographical provinces also reflected in bacterial communities? Which communities characterise which province? And what role do they play, for example, in metabolism? In addition to the big questions, there are also the small questions of day-to-day research on the high seas: What happens on the first day on board? How big are the provisions for the crew? And how do you actually determine the colour of the sea? Answers to these questions can be found in the coming weeks under: ICBM at sea