A University of Aberdeen academic is to embark on the trip of a lifetime later this month when he joins a research cruise which will take him to the deep oceans south of Australia.
Dr Mads Huuse, a Lecturer in Geophysics at Aberdeen, has secured almost £30k funding for the project, as part of the Danish Galathea-3 Expedition.
During the worldwide expedition the science researchers are going to focus on geological and biological processes, ocean currents and climatic changes. In addition, a number of classical biology projects will contribute to provide an insight into marine animal and plant life, and also the very small organisms, such as bacteria, plankton and algae, will also be studied.
A very modest share of such organisms are known to science today, but it is hoped that the research which will be undertaken as part of the cruise will shed new light on natural science, encompassing both sea and land-based research projects.
The aim of Galathea 3 is to strengthen natural science research and at the same time improve the public perception of science, and providing a boost for the recruitment of new scientists in the future.
Research scientists from several Danish as well as some foreign universities (including Aberdeen) and sector research institutions are involved in the Galathea 3 projects. Dr Huuse will be the project leader for 16 scientists, technicians and students from Denmark, UK, Australia, and Poland. One of Aberdeen’s PhD students, Ewa Szarawarska will also be involved in the trip. The team onboard the ship will examine what happens in the Southern Ocean, including seabed mapping, coring, seismic profiling, water column sampling, and mapping of ocean currents.
Dr Huuse is extremely excited about joining the expedition later this month and said: “This international expedition dispels the notion that the world of science is dusty, dull and populated by nerds. With a direct satellite link from the expedition ship to the classrooms, it will be possible to include the research carried out on Galathea 3 actively in classroom teaching, and show the flesh and blood realities of being a research scientist at sea.
“I hope that through the high profile of the expedition we will inspire the younger generation, our students of tomorrow, to want to study science at university.”
The promotional aspect of the expedition includes ‘live’ recordings of the seabed flora and fauna associated with some remarkable carbonate mounds located in some 2-400m of water depth in the cool waters of the continental shelf and slope of the Great Australian Bight. The results will be used to compare and contrast the cool-water carbonate mounds with fossil structures in the North Sea Basin, and with better known tropical carbonate environments. On a larger scale, the project will reflect the northward drift of the Australian continent, holding clues to regional oceanographic and global climatic changes affecting both oceanic and land areas.
Galathea 3 departed from Copenhagen in August this year and will return in April 2007. Dr Huuse and his team will join the expedition in Perth, Australia, on November 23 and will be involved until it reaches Hobart on December 7, 2006.
Further details about the Galathea 3 expedition are available by visiting: www.galathea3.dk/uk