Just a few weeks after the coast guard cruise we started to itch for some more field work. We were granted two days on the research vessel “Hans Brattstrøm” on June 20-21, and decided to visit the remarkable Lurefjorden, about an hour north of Bergen. This threshold fjord has very little water exchange with the ocean and is so dark that fish have been out-competed by jellyfish.
We measured water column profiles with the LISST instruments as well as with a CTD to a depth of 50m. Water samples were collected at the surface, near 50m and at chlorophyll max. The water temperature was 12-13 degrees Celcius, but that didn’t stop a few of the cruise-participants in going for a swim!
The delegation was quite large this time, counting 9 people. In order to use a research vessel in Norway, the cruise leader must have a cruise leader course. Arne was supposed to take it in April, but was in Sri Lanka at the time. The next chance was in May, but mis-communication ruled that one out as well. In the end we needed to find a replacement cruise leader at short notice, and microbiologist Stefan Thiele volunteered. A big thanks to him! In addition to Arne and Stefan, Elinor Tessin, Børge Hamre, Håkon Sandven, Yi-Chun Chen, Daniel Koestner and Hongbo Liu participated from UiB. We were also joined by Mexican guest student Ximena A. Vega from University of Stirling in Scotland.
The cruise started on the monday with perfect weather. Sunny and warm, and almost no wind. By the end of the day we noticed a special optical phenomenon around the sun – a halo. This is caused by ice crystals, and weather folklore has for hundreds of years interpreted halos as a precursor for rainfall. Unfortunately we could not find evidence against this, as the tuesday was dominated by heavy rain from morning to afternoon. At least we did not bring the Regatta-suits in vain!
Since “Hans Brattstrøm” only has two cabins, we rented an old house on the island of Lygra. This island is covered in heathland, and is home to plenty of sheep, cows and numerous species of birds. Beautiful surroundings for a great field trip!
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