Image

A Long Journey Begins

March 27, 2013

On Tuesday, a tugboat nudged the research vessel Knorr out of Montevideo, Uruguay, to start a 45-day expedition. WHOI marine chemist Liz Kujawinski and colleagues will study the role of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and biological processes on the sea surface and deep in the ocean. Oceanographers are interested in understanding the role DOM and microbial life play in the global carbon cycle. This expedition’s course, expected to cover more than 4,000 miles, “Will take us from temperate latitudes through the tropics,” the researchers wrote in their first blog post.(Photo by Zoe Sandwith, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution )