BICOSE3 cruise on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
The Bicose3 cruise is actually happening! The research vessel Pourquoi pas? with the manned Nautile submersible on board left the port of Las Palmas October 22nd for a 47 day cruise.
Led by Marie-Anne Cambon (Ifremer), thirty scientists boarded the ship to study five hydrothermal fields spread over 800 kilometers along the Mid-Atlantic, to depths of over 3 700 meters. With 30 dives with the Nautile submarine, we aim to establish a precise map of the hydrothermal fields, from the most active to the fossil sites, and of associated faunal communities, in order to gain a global understanding of the functioning of these environments. This campaign is in line with Ifremer's ongoing research to unravel the mystery of the formation of these deep-sea ecosystems and understand the life cycles of the species inhabiting them.