Plattform Platform	Reise-Nr. Cruise-No.	Zeitraum Period	Projekt Project	Arbeitsgebiet Working area
Sonne	SO270	06.09.2019 - 23.10.2019	MASCARA	Indian Ocean

Fahrtleiter Chief Scientist	Institut Institute	Auslaufhafen Port of departure	Einlaufhafen Port of return	Stationskarte Station map	Schiffsroute Trackchart
Lindhorst Sebastian	Geologisch-Palaeontologisches Institut der Universitat Hamburg	Hong Kong	Port Louis

Ziel der Reise / Objectives of Cruise:

Cruise SO270 MASCARA had an interdisciplinary approach and aimed on geological, biogeochemical and oceanographic investigation of the Saya de Malha Bank, a tropical carbonate platform in the southwestern Indian Ocean. The main hypothesis to test was that development and architecture of the Saya de Malha Bank are controlled by water mass boundaries and currents which exert a strong control on sedimentation, ecosystems and biogeochemistry. The expedition SO270 MASCARA therefore aimed on (1) amending models of carbonate sequence stratigraphy, (2) developing a sedimentological model for a carbonate platform under the influence of internal waves, and (3) establishing a model of carbonate sedimentation in an area with varying biogeochemical nature and unlocking the record of paleoceanographic changes recorded in the deposits of SMB. Applied methods include sedimentology, micropaleontology and hydroacoustics for characterizing the deposits; reflection seismics and Parasound for resolving the stratigraphy; CTD, ADCP and biogeochemical data for resolving oxygen and nutrient regimes, and sediment-water interaction. Results will extend our knowledge about controlling factors on carbonate deposition which is relevant for both, a better understanding of how carbonate platforms may evolve in a changing world, and for the interpretation of carbonate platform successions in the geological record. Cruise SO270 MASCARA started in Hong Kong, China on the 6th of September 2019. The working areas located on the Saya de Malha Bank (between 59 to 63?E and 10 to 13?S) and along 65?E between 7 and 15?S, were reached on the 21st of September. The scientific work ended on the 21st of October, after 30 days of data acquisition, with the last station at 65?E/15?S. The cruise terminated with port call in Port Louis on the 23rd of October.

Messungen / Measurements