ONE-BLUE launches its sampling campaign in the Spanish coast

ONE-BLUE launches its sampling campaign in the Spanish coast

ONE-BLUE officially launched its Mediterranean sampling campaign in the Spanish coast on Friday, 25 July, departing from Barcelona and heading to Málaga aboard the research vessel Sarmiento de Gamboa. The expedition, which runs until 4 August, brings together a team of 15 researchers from the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM), leading the mission, and the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), both part of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).

Over the course of 11 days, the team will collect samples of seawater, microplastics, air, and sediments from 26 strategically selected stations, covering both coastal areas (up to 100m deep) and the open sea (up to 2000m deep).

Water samples will be collected with a CTD (conductivity, temperature, and depth) connected to a rosette (CTD SeaBird SBE911 plus). In deep stations, water samples will be taken at 5m, 100m, 1000m and bottom; meanwhile in the coastal stations, samples will be taken at 5m, 50m and 100m deep.

Regarding the sediment samples, they will be collected in all stations with a multicorer KC Denmark, 6 x ø100 x 600 mm sampler. The microplastic samples will be collected in the transit between stations with a Manta trawl. Additionally, two high volume air samplers (HVS) will be installed in the deck of the ship to collect air samples for particulate contaminants and airborne microorganisms.

The analysis of these samples will enhance current knowledge about the concentrations, profiles, fate, behaviour, and effects of Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) along the Mediterranean Spanish coast. This will also provide essential information on broader environmental trends across the Mediterranean Sea.