A "bag" which has been removed from one of the nine 'mesocosms' (experiment water enclosures) is lifted out of the water and hauled on the deck of the MY Esperanza in Kongsfjord. Each bag is pulled from the sea and neatly packed away on deck ready to be taken back to Germany together with the rest of the equipment used in the five week long experiment.
Greenpeace has worked with a team of scientists from the German marine research institute IFM-GEOMAR to investigate ocean acidification, by deploying nine large mesocosms. Ocean acidification is a phenomenon caused by carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that has just as much potential to damage marine ecosystems as climate change. Absorption of excess CO2 pollution by seawater causes its PH level to drop, making it more difficult for calcifying creatures integral to the marine food web to form shells and skeletons.more difficult for calcifying creatures integral to the marine food web to form shells and skeletons.