Plattform Platform	Reise-Nr. Cruise-No.	Zeitraum Period	Projekt Project	Arbeitsgebiet Working area
Meteor	M215	17.12.2025 - 10.01.2026	DAM MULTI-MAREX	Mediterranean Sea Aegean Sea

Fahrtleiter Chief Scientist	Institut Institute	Auslaufhafen Port of departure	Einlaufhafen Port of return	Stationskarte Station map	Schiffsroute Trackchart
Kopp Heidrun	Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR)	Heraklion	Limassol

Ziel der Reise / Objectives of Cruise:

The cruise started from Heraklion, Crete, on 17 December 2025 (Fig. 3.1) and, after a short transit, reached the Santorini-Amorgos working area. The first days of the cruise were dedicated to the recovery of eight ocean bottom seismometers (OBS), initial testing of the MOMO video system and MOLA landers, and the deployment of twelve ocean bottom magnetotelluric (OBMT) stations for the duration of the cruise. Throughout the expedition, nighttime operations were used for multibeam bathymetric mapping along the shallow offshore flanks of the islands of Ios, Anydros, Sikinos, Folegandros, and Amorgos. During the first half of the cruise, daytime operations focused on the Kolumbo crater and the Santorini caldera, including a photogrammetric survey of Santorini. The Kolumbo crater floor was mapped by AUV Anton and Kalle, while MOMO surveyed the central hydrothermal field. Within the Santorini caldera, MOMO mapped the Nea Kallisti and Kallisti Pools as well as the Kameni lava flows. The MOLA system - consisting of landers, an unmanned surface vehicle (USV), and a gateway buoy - was tested for its operational capabilities and deployed on the rim of the Kolumbo crater from 25 to 27 December. In addition, four MOLA stations were installed at Kolumbo, within Santorini, and south of Santorini for a week-long deployment, and further MOLA system tests were conducted at 60 m water depth south of Santorini. The final week of the cruise was dedicated to micro-bathymetric mapping of the western segment of the Amorgos fault zone, which was additionally surveyed by photogrammetry using MOMO. Toward the end of the cruise, the OBMT stations were recovered and OBS stations equipped with additional pressure and temperature sensors were deployed: three stations inside the Santorini caldera and two stations around Kolumbo Seamount. Onshore photogrammetric surveys were also conducted on Santorini and Anydros. Throughout the cruise, knowledge transfer and outreach activities with local communities and stakeholders, schools, and German and Greek media accompanied the scientific program as part of the Santorini Living Laboratory established within the DAM mission mareXtreme (MULTI-MAREX). Following a two-day transit, the cruise ended in Limassol, Cyprus, on 10 January 2026.

Messungen / Measurements