ONE-BLUE officially launched its final Atlantic Ocean campaign on Tuesday, 24 February, departing from Vigo (Spain) towards the Cantabrian Sea and continuing to Málaga aboard the Spanish research vessel Sarmiento de Gamboa. The expedition is conducting extensive sampling at both coastal and open-ocean stations.
The expedition, which runs until 13 March, is scientifically led by Montse Sala from the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC). It includes Marinella Farré and Marta Llorca, project coordinators from the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), and brings together a team of 15 researchers from both institutes, as well as a scientist from the National Institute of Fisheries Research (INRH) in Morocco, participating within the framework of this campaign.
Over the course of 18 days, the team will collect samples of seawater, microplastics, air, and sediments from 27 strategically selected stations, covering both coastal areas (down to 100 m depth) and the open sea (down to 2,000 m depth).
Water samples will be collected using a CTD (conductivity, temperature, and depth) system connected to a rosette sampler (Sea-Bird SBE 911plus). At deep stations, samples will be taken at 5 m, 100 m, 1,000 m, and near the seabed; at coastal stations, samples will be collected at 5 m, 50 m, and 100 m depth.
Sediment samples will be collected at all stations using a KC Denmark multicorer (6 × Ø100 × 600 mm). Microplastic samples will be collected during transit between stations using a manta trawl. Additionally, two high-volume air samplers (HVS) will be installed on the ship’s deck to collect air samples for particulate contaminants and airborne microorganisms.
The objective is to characterise contamination patterns in deep-sea ecosystems, identify pollutant distribution pathways, and analyse their interactions with microbial communities that form the foundation of marine ecosystems.
This Atlantic campaign builds on sampling efforts carried out in the Mediterranean Sea last summer and in the Arctic the previous year under the same project framework, enabling comparative analysis across marine regions exposed to different environmental pressures.
With the launch of this Atlantic expedition, ONE-BLUE reinforces Europe’s commitment to addressing one of the most complex environmental challenges of our time: the combined impact of emerging chemical pollution and climate change on aquatic ecosystems and human well-being.