AKMA-OceanSenses Research Expedition

Exploring extreme environments with a focus on science and education

The AKMA-OceanSenses Research Expedition, led by Professor Giuliana Panieri and Professor Stefan Buenz, aboard the research vessel Kronprins Håkon to the Barents Sea and Arctic Ocean is focused on both science and education.

Our science will focus on extreme environments such as natural methane seep sites - where environmental stressors affect biological communities and produce peculiar seafloor features.

Combining newly acquired data with the data already available to us will increase our ability to understand the present and predict the future.


If you are interested in reading more blog posts from this expedition, please visit the AKMA website:

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Day 1

11th May 2022

Welcome on board RV Kronprins Haakon! Our expedition is set to kick off very shortly and we are so excited! Today, AKMA gave life to an interdisciplinary experience that brings together environmental physiotherapist, geoscientists, gender researchers, illustrator, musician, lawyer, philosopher, school teachers, international students, and climate scientists, a pack of professionals from completely different working sectors. They have swarmed the deck of RV Kronprins Haakon in the Arctic to gather scientific data and develop new learning tools that will enable learners of different ages to experience the ocean using all their primary senses: touch, sight, smell, hearing and taste. The astonishing potential this contrast in disciplines has is remarkable!

While the engineers are working hard to mobilize all the instruments needed for the expedition, the rest of the AKMA team is planning and discussing how the samples will be taken, the different groups will be working together and….asking if we are going to see polar bears.

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Day 2

12th May 2022

While the scientists are planning the upcoming sampling days, and the engineers are still mobilizing instrumentations in Longyearbyen, the AKMA team is putting together descriptions of the different projects that will be hosted during the expedition.

Stay tuned to find out more!

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Day 3

13th May 2022

We are almost at our first study site, but while we were waiting to arrive Jane Zimmerman introduced us to sculpting. Jane is an illustrator, artist and designer onboard who showed us how to use the sense of touch to learn about foraminifera.

Photo is by Davide Oddone.

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Day 4

14th May 2022

Did you know that human health, our health, depends on our planetary ecosystem? We are occupied with questions like ‘does the health of the ocean, and the health of seafloor ecosystems, relate to health on land, and even to human health?’ As we experience more and more of the Arctic seafloor, more questions like this arise.

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Day 10

20th May 2022

Sea pigs are really common in the sediment of the Arctic ocean. Normally they are a bit bigger than this example but it's small size doesn't diminish its adorability. We found this itty bitty sea pig on the Svyatogor Ridge. Believe it or not sea pigs are a type of sea cucumber, and they wander around the seafloor looking for food using their tentacles to detect their surroundings. 

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Day 11

21st May 2022

Today aboard the Kronprins Haakon we welcomed the AKMA Ambassadors, Nina and Berry. Nina and Berry are characters who will introduce people all over the world to the wonders of the Arctic Ocean. Let Nina and Berry guide you on a deep dive into the Arctic Ocean and the world of foraminifera.

This story map has been developed and is updated by Mariana Esteves (CAGE/UiT)

INTPART-AKMA is a collaborative project including scientists from UiT - the Arctic university of Norway in Tromsø and WHOI in USA. Our aim is to advance collective knowledge about methane activity in the seabed, on the seafloor and in the ocean in Arctic regions. The Arctic regions are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate changes, and methane is a highly effective climate changing gas when it reaches the atmosphere.

The Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate (CAGE) investigates the role of gas hydrates in Arctic areas and the potential effects they will have on underwater ecosystems and our global climate in the future. This work was supported by the Research Council of Norway (RCN) through its Centres of Excellence funding scheme, project no. 223259.

AKMA-Ocean Senses Research Cruise