Station M

Weather ship recording the world's longest deep-ocean time series

Temperature development at 1200, 1500, and 2000 meters deep at Station M 1948–2007. (Gammelsrød et al. (2008)) Photo: Gammelsrød et al. (2008)

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About

The weather ship MIKE (66°N, 2°E) was established in 1948. From the outset, water samples were collected throughout the water column, from the surface to depths exceeding 2,000 m. This unique time series has made it possible to identify long-term changes in the Nordic Seas.

The figure above shows that a warming of the deep waters below 1,000 m began in the mid-1980s and is still ongoing. The most likely explanation is a reduction in the formation of dense deep water in the Greenland Sea, which has altered the deep circulation of the Nordic Seas and the Arctic Ocean. 

The weather ship was withdrawn in 2010. Since then, efforts to maintain the time series have relied on moored instruments and periodic research cruises, including the collection of water samples needed to monitor long-term CO₂ trends.