The 2020 maintenance operations on the ALBATROSS oceanographic mooring line were successfully carried out by the EMSO team in western Liguria; usually scheduled for spring, this year's activities were exceptionally postponed until September, as a direct result of the covid-19 pandemic.
The campaign consisted of two phases: a recovery of the line, carried out from 14 to 16 September, and a complete redeployment carried out ten days later, from 24 to 26, after the sensors had been carefully cleaned and checked and returned to service at the Mediterranean Oceanographic Institute (MIO) and the INSU technical division (Marseille, La Seyne, France). These procedures are essential for maintaining real-time data acquisition at the site, between 500 and 2400 m depth.
The ALBATROSS mooring, along with the DYFAMED, LION and Nice nodes, is part of the EMSO ERIC regional facility for the Ligurian Sea. The complete infrastructure is used to study hydrogeological changes and biogeochemical properties in the Mediterranean in relation to climate forcing and anthropogenic impacts.
MIO contact: Dominique Lefévre