Day 4

After the usual sampling of the bulk water we had a meeting all together to discuss about how the experiment is going on. Manolis showed the graphs with the latest concentration of the nutrients and it was clear that the numbers weren’t so high, even if we could see a normal, but low, distribution of the nutrients… We decided to go on with the values we had, without adding anything.  We wanted to see natural conditions. Anastasia showed us the graphs for the growth of bacteria: there’s a peak of  bacteria in day 3 and then, probably a drop of heterotrophic ones as the nutrients decrease. Being in a meeting with so many researchers seems like a film scene where everyone says his opinion and adds something to the discussion according to their knowledge and studies. It’s very challenging!

The twilight in Gournes, after the whole day working

Day 3

It’s Monday today and at the institute there are many researchers working. And for us, sea surface microlayer (SML) sampling again! The SML team consists of Luisa, Eleni, Ioanna, Chiara (myself) and Arturo and we are pretty good by now! Only 60 dips are enough to fill the bottle up to the correct volume! After the sampling we share the volume collected: Ioanna and Eleni need 100 ml for the

filtration of the metals, about 30 ml for the filtration of the CDOM by myself, 10 ml for the analysis by flow cytometry by Anastasia and Anastasia II (the same name, the same beginning of the surname… and the same passion!). The last milliliters are for Luisa who collects the filters painted by the stains in blue to check them at the microscope. For the bulk, today it’s up to Manolis and Anastasia and as soon as the water is collected, Santi takes about 2,5 liters for the filtration of the chlorophyll and particulate organic carbon. It’s very hot today, the rain has gone and also the summer is coming! But we start organizing and taking confidence with the roles in the experiment, so everything seems easier and the team gets on very well!

Day 2

It is Sunday today, but mesocosms and plankton don’t go on holiday and we arrived as usual at the HCMR early in the morning! But no surface water sampling, only bulk! We started in the morning with the usual analysis, but with less hurry… Luisa had the time to analyze the filters she had prepared the previous day colored by Alcian Blue for carbohydrates and Coomassie Blue for proteins… We managed to already see  a difference between the substances in the sea surface water and the bulk. The surface is full of molecules and even some strange organisms! Eleni and Ioanna are involved in the filtration of the metals, almost 300 ml and all the falcons collected will be analyzed in the HCMR of Athens by Eleni.

After the day of sampling, we went to the bus station to pick up Steven! He comes from Siena and we were looking forward to have him here as well!

Day 1

We arrived very early in the morning to check the temperature and the oxygen in each mesocosm and to sample enough water for the analysis of the CO2… We’ll send the bottle to Germany, to the GEOMAR in Kiel, for the analysis!

Eleni- after nutrients analysis

After the sampling for the nutrient analysis by Eleni and Hionati , we started with the sampling of the sea surface microlayer again, but after the first time everything seems definitely easier, and even funny! We tried to sample fast, because the weather didn’t help us… it sounds impossible for Greek people in Crete to see rain in May, but after our sampling a storm started! However, we did it! And it already seems that the glass plates of the mesocosms treated with microplastics have more sticky substances, because we collect them easier…we’ll see! For the bulk water sampling was easier. We collected 5 litres as usual  with a tube for chlorpphyll, POC (particulate organic carbon), and for microplastics abundance and metals. In the evening Arturo has arrived from Edinburgh to help us with the sampling! Welcome Arturo, definitely a hand is needed!

Day 0

The experiment just started! Day 0, we started sampling the water for the analysis of the nutrients and after that, at 8.00 am with the sampling of the sea surface microlayer… I thought we would have made a simple sampling with a syringe or something similar but… we used a glass plate and a scrubber! How does it work? We have to dip the glass plate in the water up to a line ( 30 cm below the surface) and remove it slowly, so that a film of organic material sticks to the plate. Then we have to wait for a moment to let the biggest drops fall down and try to collect as many drops of water attached to the glass plate as possible and transfer it to a bottle! It is not so easy as it could seem, because we had to collect almost 300 ml and we did 70 dips of the glass plate for each mesocosm! The first sampling was very exhausting… But it was just the beginning! Then we collected the bulk water from each mesocosm, almost 5 liters, enough for all the analysis… and what about the microplastics? In the afternoon, we started the real treatment: Luisa added the same amount of polystyrene microplastic particles in 3 of the 6 mesocosms!! Almost 1 300 000 pieces of 30 µm for each one! We’ll see their effects in the mesocosms in the next days.

For the nutrients, P04 and NH4 values aren’t very high, but they’re enough for a real situation and we decided we won’t add nutrients and see the natural development of the phytoplankton bloom…Let’s get the experiment started!