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Scientific mission initiated in Recife led the Meteor to a decisive crossing of the tropical Atlantic, with sensors, buoys, and international teams dedicated to recording deep currents, heat transport, and oceanic processes that help explain changes monitored by climate researchers.
The German research vessel Meteor concluded its scientific journey after starting the M219 expedition in Brazil, a crossing between Recife and Emden, Germany, dedicated to the study of ocean currents, heat transport, and interactions between ocean and atmosphere in the tropical Atlantic.
According to the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, the mission officially took place from May 30 to June 28, 2026 and marked the ship’s last campaign, after about 40 years of service in international operations.
Meteor’s last mission departed from Recife
The Meteor’s farewell began at the Port of Recife and headed towards Emden, crossing areas considered strategic for observing ocean circulation in the tropical Atlantic and for monitoring systems that influence large-scale climate processes.
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Leading the M219 expedition was Professor Peter Brandt, director of the Physical Oceanography division at GEOMAR, who took on the scientific leadership of his 17th voyage aboard the ship used by generations of researchers.
During the crossing, the teams worked on measurements aimed at identifying changes in marine currents and heat transport by the ocean, processes that do not appear on the surface but participate in the redistribution of energy between different regions.
Although invisible to those observing only the open sea, these movements help connect warm and cold waters at different depths, interfering with mechanisms monitored by research centers dedicated to understanding the global climate.
Deep currents of the Atlantic were the focus of the expedition
Among the main targets of the mission was the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, known by the acronym AMOC, a system described by GEOMAR as part of a climate warming and cooling mechanism.
Through this system, warmer surface waters move northward, while cold waters return at depth in the opposite direction, forming an oceanic gear associated with energy transport and atmospheric dynamics.
In the area near Brazil, researchers monitored fluctuations of the North Brazil Undercurrent and the Deep Western Boundary Current, two important structures for understanding deep layer circulation in the tropical Atlantic.
Measurements taken at the equator also served to observe the movement of water masses and signals that propagate from the margins to the interior of the ocean, broadening the understanding of variations difficult to record by satellites.
The mission included the removal, maintenance, and reinstallation of systems anchored in deep waters, equipped with sensors capable of recording current, temperature, oxygen, and particles over extended periods.
With continuous data series, researchers can compare oceanic variations in different years, reducing the dependence on isolated observations and strengthening the monitoring of gradual changes in hard-to-access areas.
In addition to the underwater moorings, the team installed bottom echosounders with pressure sensors on the seabed, instruments used to help characterize the AMOC in the tropical Atlantic and its variation patterns.
This type of long-term observation is relevant because it allows monitoring of processes that develop slowly, often far from the surface, but with potential influence on heat transport and ocean-scale circulation.
Buoy in Cape Verde expands ocean monitoring
On the route through the Atlantic, the journey included a stop in Mindelo, Cape Verde, where a new measurement buoy developed and built in Kiel by GEOMAR was embarked.
The equipment was designed to be anchored near the Cape Verde Ocean Observatory, a station used in long-term research on the tropical ocean and exchanges between the marine surface and the atmosphere.
The buoy is expected to collect data from the ocean and the air above it, with transmission to GEOMAR and Cape Verdean institutions, allowing monitoring of heat and gas exchanges, as well as carbon-related processes.
Also associated with this observation network, the Cape Verde Ocean Observatory records how the ocean absorbs and stores carbon dioxide, important information for studies on ocean acidification and possible effects on marine organisms.
Throughout the journey, aboard the Meteor, scientists also conducted oceanographic stations to measure temperature, salinity, oxygen, nutrients, currents, and particle distribution at different depths of the water column.
This combination of instruments allows for the comparison of data collected at strategic points along the route, bringing direct field measurements closer to historical series maintained by ocean monitoring programs.
German laboratory ship concludes cycle at sea
In service since 1986, the Meteor has operated in different maritime regions, including the Atlantic, eastern Pacific, western Indian, Mediterranean, and Baltic, always as an interdisciplinary research platform of the German scientific fleet.
Over four decades, the vessel has supported work in marine meteorology, physical oceanography, marine chemistry, geology, geophysics, biology, and sedimentology, transporting laboratories, sensors, and technical teams to regions where direct measurements depend on field operations.
This structure helps explain why the last mission went beyond a crossing between two ports, as the ship did not carry commercial cargo or passengers, but scientific instruments prepared to operate offshore.
Gathered in the M219 expedition, researchers and technicians from German and foreign institutions participated in activities related to GEOMAR, the University of Miami, the Federal University of Pernambuco, the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the University of Oldenburg, and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, from France.
With the end of the route in Emden, the Meteor made way for the transition to a new generation of scientific ships, including the Meteor 2026, built under the “Meteor IV” project to replace the current Meteor and the Poseidon.
The forecast recorded by the portal German Research Vessels is that the new ship will be commissioned at the end of 2026, keeping active the German tradition of platforms dedicated to continuous observations in strategic oceanic areas.
