Marine snow observation was conducted on the R/V Shinsei-maru voyage (KS-21-4)

During the R/V Shinsei-maru voyage (KS-21-4) conducted from March 11 to 21, 2021, marine snow observations were carried out using OSIL’s Marine Snow Catcher (MSC).

The observation area is the western North Pacific Ocean area to the south of Hokkaido.

The MSC is a device that collects a large amount of seawater, places it on the deck, and collects the settled marine snow in a non-destructive manner (Photo 1). The collected samples are used for microscopic analysis, particle analysis, gene analysis, chemical analysis, etc. Microscopic observations on board revealed that “spring bloom” consisting mainly of diatoms was captured (Photo 2). The voyage is scheduled to take place in the same area in May.

This voyage was carried out as part of the ongoing KAKENHI project “Aggregate Biosphere: Elucidation of Unknown Control Mechanism of Ocean Carbon Cycle” (JSPS Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research S. Project code: 19H05667).