Sediment coring in Masfjorden

The landscape between Lurefjorden and Masfjorden transitioned from open, exposed waters to glassy fjords surrounded by high mountain walls. En route, there were a number of fish farms which represent a common industry for the area, and also an oil refinery plant at Statoil Mongstad (pictured).  

Masfjorden is an area abundant in fish, with no mass aggregations of Periphylla. Shallow water species, however, including Cyanea capillata, were sighted. Masfjorden has a maximum depth of approx.. 480 m, and is composed of a series of basins, which is unlike the gradually sloped trough of Lurefjorden.)

Today marks the first day of sampling in Masfjorden, a fjord with a similar maximum depth to Lurefjorden (approx.. 480 m), but with no mass aggregations of Periphylla jellyfish. As such, a comparison can be made between the fjords to determine the effects of the jellies on the two systems.

Sediment coring to determine foraminifera composition was performed by Silvia Hess, Elisabeth Alve and Magnhild Torper from the University of Oslo. The cores will be dated to determine the rate of sediment deposition in the area, which as of yet has not been established. 

Magnhild Torper, Elisabeth Alve and Silvia Hess from the University of Oslo.

Elisabeth Alve extracting a Masfjorden sample from the Gemini corer.

Making initial assessments of the samples.

Magnhild Torper with 1 cm sliced sediment samples. These will be frozen for analysis post-cruise.