Final countdown to main release experiment!
Mobilisation of the RRS James Cook for the forthcoming STEMM-CCS release experiment is in full swing at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton. The RRS James Cook is the first of two ships that will be involved in the experiment to depart for the Goldeneye site. The german ship, RV Poseidon, will depart next week from Kiel in Germany to join the RRS James Cook.
As well as a myriad of equipment for deployment on the seafloor and in the water column, and laboratory equipment for onboard analyses, the Cellula Robotics tool for inserting the pipe for the CO2 release into the sediments has been loaded and the tanks containing the liquid CO2 have been craned onto the stern of the ship (see images below). Scientists and engineers are busy organising their workspaces, installing computing equipment and setting up laboratories - as well as settling into their cabins.
From left to right: Gas tanks on quayside ready for loading; picked up by crane for transfer to ship; positioning tanks at ship's stern (images courtesy Doug Connelly)
Follow all the latest news from the ships via our cruise blog at stemmccs.blog.
The press release for the experiment can be found here.
