In July 2020, the MEESO project sampled mesopelagic organisms in the Irminger Sea and Iceland Basin. Video and report from the cruise are now published.
The identification of 130 species, including 50 fish species and about 40 species of crustaceans. These are some of the results of the sampling of mesopelagic organisms during a cruise with the Icelandic research vessel Arni Fridriksson in July 2020.
The work was conducted in the deep basins south and southwest of Iceland, the Iceland Basin and the Irminger Sea, using CTD, plankton nets, fine meshed pelagic trawls, video plankton recorder and acoustics.
The main aim of the sampling was to study the abundance, distribution, and composition of mesopelagic organisms in relation to hydrography and phytoplankton productivity. The work is part of the MEESO project’s work package 4, Mapping of mesopelagic resources, and is led by Marine and Freshwater Research Institute, Iceland.
The sampling took place over two days as part of an international summer expedition lasting 30 days in total.
Video
The video at the top of this page describes the work on board Arni Fridriksson during the mesopelagic sampling. The video also displays some of the rare creatures caught in trawls and nets.
Report
A report describing the methods and results of the sampling can be found on the website of Marine and Freshwater Research Institute
Find the report on www.hafogvatn.is
Contact
Leaders of MEESO work package 4, Astthor Gislason, astthor.gislason@hafogvatn.is and Klara Jakobsdóttir, klara.jakobsdottir@hafogvatn.is