The last sampler tradition

by Ulf Riebesell on 14.12.2018

There is a tradition with KOSMOS studies. The filling of the last sampler makes the start of the end-of-the-experiment party. The filling though is not an ordinary one. The integrated water sampler (IWS) transforms into a huge Tequila Sunrise. There is always a small amount of water from one of the mesocosms added to the KOSMOS cocktail - this time from M8, the mesocosm with the densest coccolithophore bloom. This is to keep the favour of Poseidon, the god of the sea. The last sampler this time was served on our working boat Wassermann moored in Taliarte harbour. A good test for the carrying capacity of our new working boat. Once everyone had subsampled from the IWS, we toasted to the successful completion of the experiment. And the party could begin.

Filling of the last sampler - this photo was taken after a KOSMOS study in 2009, when the tradition was born.

It turned out that the 5 litres of Tequila Sunrise were by far not enough to throw the party. Another sampler was filled the same way and emptied equally fast. It seemed like the tension of many weeks of hard work fell off our shoulders. It was long dark when the last folks of today’s sampling crew left Wassermann.

As the final step in the preparation of the KOSMOS cocktail the content of this small white bottle - some water taken from mesocosm M8 - was added to the last sampler (photo source: Moritz Baumann)

The last sampler party on Wassermann - time to celebrate the successful completion of this unique and remarkable experiment (photo source: Moritz Baumann)